A very hot day on site slowed the pace a little, but it didn’t stop real progress across several projects. With it being a public open day, all the display items were moved out to their positions and the museum in shed 83C was opened up. Work began on the replica eighteen‑inch gauge power wagon, rubbing down the flaking paint, getting a grey undercoat on, and stabilising a patch of rotten timber. The Bishopton manrider had more filler applied to rebuild the timber profile after the earlier wood repairs.
A serious bit of heavy shifting took place when one of the rifled naval shells was manoeuvred to the entrance of workshop 83B, followed by standing its partner upright and starting to clean the casing. The engine stop cable on the Ruhrthaler locomotive was repaired, and then it was time to head up the site to uncover the Safety in Mines Research Establishment Greenbat loco (BB307) and the tunnel cleaning machine. The aim was to assess their condition, how much cosmetic work they’ll need, and how best to move them back down to the main railway once the truck is out of the way. Despite the flaking paint and debris, both machines are in surprisingly sound condition and should be straightforward to restore.
There was also time to look at how best to fit the end panels on wagon B10’s chassis. It’ll need to go round to workshop 83B for the work, so the panels were placed on the chassis ready for it to be moved once the Wickham trolley goes into shed 83A.
Back on the restoration front, final wood preparation continued on the Dough wagon, mesh guards were fitted around the engine space on the Wickham trolley, and workshop tasks and container lighting installation carried on steadily.
Later in the day came a stint on passenger operations: three trains run and as ever plenty of happy passengers carried.
A long, hot day, but everyone pushed through and made it a successful one.
> View - All Entries in July 2026 | Most Recent Entries | All Diary Entries