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NVR Wagon Group Updates

Discussion in 'Heritage Rolling Stock' started by B17 61606, May 21, 2015.

  1. Duty Druid

    Duty Druid Resident of Nat Pres

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    Its the only way to travel. :)

    Glad to read you guy's have been keeping busy.
     
  2. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Yup - I would be up for that too - and we're getting there, but I think 10 is still a little way off...but it will happen.
     
  3. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    The first time in ages I visited the NVR was due to the attraction of having a brake van ride down the Fletton branch - double whammy, I thought. However, due to the non-availability of a guard, the brake van rides were cancelled. :(

    So I got a cab ride down the branch in a 31 instead :D

    Interesting to note that the NVR management have noticed how popular trips down the Fletton branch are, so it seems Helga is now getting routinely pressed into service for these; an ideal vehicle for the trip.
     
  4. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    We're in no undue hurry. Is there a time scale for 10?
     
  5. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Nothing definite as far as I know. We should be up to six vans when all of those currently undergoing work are complete. We'll probably need to finish the civils brakevan after that, then crack on with the remaining vans :)
     
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  6. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Joshua and myself managed to get over to Wansford for a session on the wagons with Tim & Steve on sunday, and some of the guys followed that up on monday. Before I describe the current state of play, I did ask Tim about the oil/varnish situation on the brake van floor, and he assures me that having been oiled, with linseed oil, it was indeed then varnished (using yacht varnish). It took a while to dry, apparently...

    Back to sunday. Joshua and myself spent most of the day painting things black (under frames and wheel sets mostly) while Steve and Tim attacked various mechanical issues.

    Full details here: https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/879621868894455

    B771300: Doors finished, D-plates fitted, just needs FTR.
    B785122: Doors finished, D-plates fitted, sign-written, last sole bar painted but chassis below still to be done, one W-iron needs attention before FTR.
    B759852: W-irons under repair, spring removed for repair to buckle, wheel sets & W-irons painted ready for re-wheeling.

    As often happens it was a case of two steps forward, one step back on a couple of fronts. While prepping and then building up the w-irons with weld on B759852, it was noticed that one of the spring buckles was cracked. Initial plans to swap the spring with one from the wheel set donor were changed when consultation with a higher power determined that a weld repair was OK for a wagon spring. We finally got the spring removed last thing on Sunday once a suitable source of heat had been found to free off the nuts on the spring bolts. Secondly, while painting B785122 it was noticed that it had a small amount of wear on one of the W-irons, which will need addressing before an FTR can be conducted.

    We now have only a few minor items to complete in order to get all three of these vans back in to traffic, which will bring the number running in the freight rake up to six. The next four are already sat in a siding at Wansford awaiting our attention, but as stated earlier, will probably have to wait for the civils brake van to be completed first.

    Some photos for those averse to using FB:
    1. Building up the worn W-iron edges with weld.
    2. Cleaning up the underside for painting while access easy with wheel sets out.
    3. Painting inside of the W-irons.
    4. Cleaning and painting the replacement wheel sets.
    5. Painting the sole bar (the ends and other side have already been done).
    6. B785122 lettering and D-plate.
    7. B771300 lettering and D-plate.
    8. B785122 & B771300 sit in the shed at Wansford.
    steve-welding.jpg tim-underneath.jpg josh-underneath.jpg josh-stu-tim-wheels.jpg josh-stu-solebar.jpg b785122-plate.jpg b771300-plate.jpg both-almost-done.jpg
     
  7. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Not much to report as the steam in green gala was going on, Tim has been wearing his other hat (Operations Manager - it's a very fine Station Inspector's hat with lots of gold braid!) and Steve has been moonlighting as fireman on No 9 (not that I'm at all jealous, oh no!).

    There were brake van rides at the gala, but sadly the lack of a third locomotive prevented running of the freight rake during the gala.

    Meanwhile, Phil and Trish have managed to attack the Banana Van which is now sat in Platform 1 ready to take on the role of Wagon Group sales stand under Stan's supervision.
    banana-exterior.jpg banana-interior.jpg banana-phil.jpg
    We also note that a set of Tim's resin replica D-plates have made their way up to RVP on the GCR, where they have recently been fitted to their replica diesel brake tender.
    fitting.jpg fitted.jpg
     
  8. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Not much wagon work of late due to the Tornado and Scotsman frenzies, but we did at least get Scotsman on the freight (well, we can dream!).
    scotsman-freight.jpg
     
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  9. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    At last, some actual wagon progress to report again :)

    This week saw working parties on three different days working on the civil brake van and the work to re-wheel 759852. Too many pictures for one post, so I'll split the report.

    Monday saw Tim & myself working on the brake van, Phil on Weds (I think!), and then Phil, myself and Josh on Sunday. Work done is as follows:

    Internal lamp irons refitted.
    End wall windows re-glazed.
    End wall panelling cut and tongue/groove edges primed.
    Chassis sides/ends rubbed down/wire brushed, one side and both ends painted in chassis black.

    We will soon be at the point where we need to undertake the recovering of the roof with canvas, as there is no point progressing the panelling and painting until this rather messy procedure is complete. We have all the materials, but it will be a tedious job.

    IMG_0100.JPG IMG_0101.JPG IMG_0102.JPG IMG_0104.JPG IMG_0107.JPG IMG_0110.JPG IMG_0114.JPG IMG_0324.JPG IMG_0327.JPG IMG_0318.JPG
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2018
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  10. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Meanwhile, on Monday, Tim & myself also refitted the repaired spring to 759852, and Tim supervised a shunt of the pair of wagons in the shed to release the completed civils van for traffic, while the other still needs some minor welding repairs on one of the w-irons before it is good to go.

    Sunday saw a concerted effort to get 759852 back on it's wheels, although as a result of the w-iron welding work taking longer than expected, we didn't actually manage to complete the job.

    Steve undertook the welding, Tim the grinding back, while Josh and myself made ourselves useful preparing the supports, jack and blocks for lifting the van, and removing the brake block centre pins to make it easier to get the wheels past the brake blocks. At the end of the day one set of wheels are in place, but with packing between axle box and spring. At the other end, one side is finished, but there wasn't enough light to finish the grinding back on the other side (even with halogens to help). Hopefully, Tim will be finishing this job this morning (Monday) as I write this, and then seeking some help to get the remaining wheel set under the van (which may involve use of forklift to shift the wheel set - much easier than when we took them out and shifted them round by hand!)

    IMG_0095.JPG IMG_0096.JPG IMG_0336.JPG IMG_0349.JPG
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2018
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  11. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    What do you do, bath in it!? Canvas tends to be the last job we do, even after signwriting sometimes. Anyway, good to see attention given to an important part of preservation.
     
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  12. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    I've never done it, so just going by what I was told (that it tends to run down the sides of the wagon, so better to get it done early in the process). Tim did mention that he'd had pockets added to the sides of the canvas to take a scaffold pole on each side to make it easier to pull the canvas down on to the bonding. That's the full extent of my knowledge at this point :)
     
  13. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Oh, and I forgot to mention, we've managed to take advantage of the Jinty being at NVR to dip our toes in the water and run a simple freight experience. It was all pulled together at rather short notice, and had already sold out before I got back from celebrating my silver wedding anniversary in Edinburgh, so it's a bit academic plugging it now (and I believe there is already a waiting list for possible cancellations/late availability). Should be fun, and I'm hoping to help prep the loco for the day :)

    Given the popularity at such short notice, we will probably try and run some more of these...
    experience.jpg
     
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  14. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    The Jinty and freight was done the last time it was here - I have a WhatsApp video of it setting back with a train taken by my brother-in-law whilst he and my sister were cycling to a beer festival in Castor...
     
  15. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    It's a classic combo really, and I'm looking forward to it as the Jinty was the first Hornby steam loco I owned (albeit 47606), with synchro-smoke :) Still got it (but have now strayed in to the realms of the modelling forum!).
     
  16. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    You'll get no complaints from me :) - my Jinty doesn't have "synchro-smoke", I did wonder if it was only the Tri-ang ones that did?

    I'm trying to think if I'm working on the 8th. I had thought it was heading back this week - obviously not.
     
  17. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Oops - my bad, I think it was indeed a Triang - from the early 70s anyway!

    Indeed not - although I'm not sure when it is going back.
     
  18. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    No work on the 8th :)

    A day worth refusing work for!
     
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  19. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    The Freight Experience on Thursday was a cracking day - attached are a few photos (not all mine, couple from FB report, some from my AEMR colleagues who participated in the day).

    Everyone got a couple of goes on the footplate, and rode in the brake vans for the rest of the time, with two round trips Wansford/Peterborough NVR in the morning, and a third with a smaller group in the afternoon. A lot of fun was had by all involved.

    We will be looking to do this again, so if you fancy it but missed out this time, get in touch and we'll keep you informed when we get the next one planned :)

    (Also on our FB: https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/922777444578897)

    castor.jpg jinty.jpg jintybw.jpg longshot.jpg me.jpg offshed.jpg steamy.jpg track.jpg wansford.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2018
  20. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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