NVR Wagon Group Updates

I (somewhat unexpectedly) spent most of the day providing tea & coffee in the cafe, but did manage to ride the final trip of the freight driving experience day.

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1823995074457125

"Yesterday saw the first Freight Driving Course of the year hosted by the Wagon Group and featuring Class 14 number 9529 as the motive power for the day.
The sun shone, everything ran well, and as a result there were a lot of happy customers and staff.
Here are a selection of pictures courtesy of Tom Woolley, Jason Issac, Paul Bricklebank, Tim Hobman and Stu Northfield."

 

Josh and I spent a large chunk of today stood in a hopper with our feet firmly in the four foot, chopping bits off...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1824767564379876

"On a roll from the Freight Driving Course on Friday we’ve been back at Peterborough working on the hoppers.
Tim was pretty keen to get all the lettering painted, so whilst he cracked on with that Jon painted the bearing covers yellow and handles white, Jason made a start with the inside painting, and Stu and Josh cut out more hanging metal from the corroded hopper bottoms.
The hoppers were failed in traffic mainly due to the risk of corroded metal dropping off the undersides. This is where the coal discharge hoppers and doors have rusted and bits were falling off. As these aren’t structural and can’t be seen (unless you look over the top), it was decided to just cut out the bits that might fall under a moving train. Stu and Josh have tackled this task, with a bit more to do until complete.
We were also joined by Bill Forman to weld back on two handrail supports that had come loose.
By the close of play the outside of all four hoppers were complete. There is just a bit of work to complete inside in terms of metal cutting and painting, then fitting of the D-plates and works plates to see the hoppers finished off."

Work in progress...

 

...and the results of all our efforts:

 

Another day hacking chunks of metal off the hoppers with Josh helping...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1835212026668763

"Well that’s it, all done with the hoppers.
Almost all of members of the wagon group were in attendance today and saw the finishing touches put on the hoppers.
Stu and Josh got straight on with cutting out the last bits of loose metal, whilst the rest of the group, including new member Iain, continued painting the inside of the wagons.
Tim started by grinding some sharp metal flat inside one of the hoppers, then got on with fitting the plates on the chassis. Created by his own fair hand, they really finish off the wagons.
The wagons will now be submitted for a fitness to run exam. Fingers crossed they pass and then they will be added to the running rake."

 

Four hoppers, all to the same design, all made in different works. Job completed with replica plates from the fair hands of our own Mr (Handy) Hobman...available for commissions with an ever growing set of master moulds

 

And as if you can't have too much fun with freight, booking is now open for Friday 17th June when we will be running a Freight Driving Experience in the day and a freight photo charter in the evening, both using 92 Squadron as motive power.

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/303/southern-goods-driving-experience

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/306/southern-photographic-charter

 

Another day spent making stuff better than it was...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1845454855644480

"Today saw a smaller team working on the Banana Van while various members are away or working. Phil started on the rub-down and was soon joined by Josh & Stu who also got on with prepping for paint. By the time Trish joined in, there were panels ready to paint and by the end of the day all four were wielding paint brushes, and one side and both ends of the van were in a fresh coat of freight brown...ready for Tim to reinstate the lettering when he's back."

 

And hot on the heels of yesterday's update, Tim couldn't resist dropping in and reinstating the lettering...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1846232595566706

"Because Tim was getting withdrawal symptoms from missing yesterdays session he popped in to Peterborough today and put the lettering back on the Banana Van. He was joined by Trish, who touched up some missed bits from yesterday and painted in the white on the door furniture, brake handle and lamp irons.
Stu has taken the chalk boards home for a bit of tlc, so hopefully next group session these will go back on and see the van looking good for another few years."

 

And a good way to end the week...

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1849205398602759

"GOOD NEWS!
With thanks to the engineering manager, Karl, the hoppers have passed their fitness to run exam and will rejoin the running rake as soon as possible…at least in time for the freight driving course on 17th June."

And there are places still available for both sessions of the freight driving experience and the evening photo charter on the 17th.

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/303/southern-goods-driving-experience

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/306/southern-photographic-charter

 

There are a couple of updates pending, but due to illness there are now a couple of places available on the afternoon session of this Friday's freight driving experience with 92 Squadron:

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup/posts/1862935500563082

Comment on the FB post if interested (or PM me here on NP and I can put you in touch with Tim).

There are also places still available on the evening freight photo charter if anyone fancies it:

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/306/southern-photographic-charter

 

Nice work on the freight hoppers, hope tomorrow goes well.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit yesterday for the course (a last minute decision with an afternoon slot available.) The driving course is ideal for those who want a turn on footplate but not the full driver-ex; it's planned well so you drive different parts of the line in different directions too.

The rides on the brake van between goes is its own experience too!

A few phone photos as I headed straight on to Lanacashire last night.

 

Finally sorted a few other pictures from a great charter the other week.

 

Thanks @Wagoniester for the photos and the kind words - was a pleasure to put a face to a name

I'm still catching up on the FB reports, but in the meantime the website has been updated (since the start of COVID I've been busier than ever, so these updates span from back then to now!);

https://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/2022/06/22/2020-q1-2021-q4-the-covid-years/

https://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/2022/06/25/2022-q1-a-new-hope/

https://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/2022/06/25/2022-q2-two-freight-driving-days-and-a-photo-charter/

The latter includes some other photos from the freight driving day and photo charter.

Over the next week or two we will be revamping other areas of the website to improve the historic information available on our wagon fleet.

 

As we have another working session coming up this weekend, I probably ought to catch up on the stuff already reported on FB, so back before the freight day, we had to prep the rake ready for running (our current arrangements with engineering department require the rake to be inspected/oiled prior to each use after it has been stabled for any length of time).

Monday 13th saw small a team work on the vans at Wansford during the day, preparing four vans for movement to Peterborough NVR, and they were joined later in the day by more of the group to oil and inspect the running rake in the Civils Siding.

 

Tuesday 14th saw a major wagon shunt moving wagons between Wansford, Peterborough NVR & RailWorld.

Four vans in the restoration queue were moved from Wansford yard to Peterborough NVR.

The hoppers were extracted from the bay platform at PNVR and taken back to Wansford to rejoin the demonstration freight rake in the civils siding.

The wagons in RailWorld siding #1 and PNVR bay platform were shunted along with the four vans brought from Wansford.

At the end of the day, all of the operational wagons were in the rake at Wansford, there are four static vans in the far end of PNVR bay platform which will be cosmetically restored to present an interesting sight to arriving trains (Banana Van, Goods Van and two of the wooden chassis wagons from inside RailWorld), and RailWorld siding #1 now contains Tim's conflat, five goods vans and a CCT (all current or imminent projects except the CCT). The remaining wagons (mostly civil engineering, but also another van fit) occupy the remainder of PNVR bay platform.

 

And after all that, we played with freight trains for a day Lots of happy punters from both the freight driving experience and the photo charter which followed. As you might expect, I was busy helping run things, but I managed to grab a few shots throughout the proceedings.

 

Yesterdays work session involved a lot of dodging the showers, but by the end of the day it was still "better than it was", and as a result of the doughnuts and a cake supplied by the cream tea train, we were all "fatter than we were"

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongr...sP3SH835JYeBU2q7TzwiVjrJYZ6Xxri89XCEZS4FJ5r1l

"Today has seen the group make a start on the new arrivals at Peterborough in an effort to keep the platform area looking tidy.
Most of the session was spent on the cosmetic overhaul of Van B777633, but some work was also done on the wooden coal wagons in preparation for their cosmetic overhaul later this year. It has been decided that B777633 will not become a running van due to heavy corrosion and instead will join the banana van in becoming an exhibition space for the wagon group.
Todays session was boosted by a sugar rush in the form of doughnuts brought by Tim to celebrate his birthday today. Unfortunately rain stopped play, but not before some great work was achieved.
Outside of todays session Stu has been busy updating our website with new pages on operational wagons, a page detailing what’s in the works, dedicated pages for each wagon, more photos and updated contact pages giving our working sessions for 2022.
Check out the updates here -
https://nvrwagons.wordpress.com"

1. Stu, Josh and Jason get started attacking the van
2. Josh removes the steps on the Peterborough Coal Wagon
3. Jason sanding some filler
4. Phil gets stuck into cleaning the end
5. Stu preparing to fit the next new plank
6. More sanding from Jason
7. Josh fits the door catch
8. Phil making great progress, but the middle will need some attention
9.Tim on filling duty
10. At close of play looking patchy, but some great progress

 

Yesterday saw the Wagon Group take a break from working on our own wagons and many of the crew head over to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road to have a look at theirs When we planned it, we didn't know what the weather would be, but were actually glad to be sight seeing rather than working in the heat.

We took the opportunity to measure up a couple of vans to obtain some useful information for some of our own projects.

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongr...3HppLFr3R1yGvnUDkDh5J7aBU7GH3uiscSASh6gtVjVAl

There are a huge number of photos on that link, so only a taster reproduced here from my own shots.

 

I see they have an example of my favourite wagon - the BR Grain Wagon.