I popped in to do lettering on a few chairs.
Monday 24th
I popped in on the off-chance of seeing/assisting with turning the tender. Rumour has it that Moveright are now coming on Wednesday instead!
Boxed up some boot scrapers, but I have now run out of shelf space. The railway starts operating in another week, so hopefully sales will take off again.
Weds 26th
Poor old Fred was all on his own working in the siphon at Winchcombe!
Gil and Bruce, assisted by [Loco Dept] Dave had begun cleaning and drying the tender top by the time I had arrived. Bruce was making gaskets for the steam heating pipe. Mike W [also Loco Dept, but increasingly helps with 2807] turned up, so there were three of them tackling the bitumen paint. Somehow, they all managed to complete the job without painting themselves into a corner. Luckily, it was a sunny day (apart from two minor anointments of heavenly water) and the bitumen went on fine.
Bruce has been preparing the rear steam heating pipe section ready for David to weld on the flange at the end so that it can be bolted back in place. It had been welded in place, previously, due to some rushed job by another mob! The bracket on the back of the tender required some tidying up to make a smooth surface. Bruce also cleaned up the end of the pipe ready for welding.
Today's rumour: Moveright might be coming on Thursday or Friday.
Friday 28th
Tender still pointing north! But at least it is now in the car park, which kind-of suggests that a lorry is expected soon! It looks quite smart with its shiny black coal space.
I painted 3 chairs crimson plus 4 GWR (bronze) green, and fed the mouse.
Saturday 1st March
Tender still in the car park. Gil joined Fred & Ray at Winchcombe, working on the siphon van. It was supposed to be moved under cover … I forgot to ask!
John & I started by doing some rail chair work. John decapitated bolts that were still in some chairs. I painted the lettering on those that were almost complete.
After elevenses, we tackled the bits that we'd taken off the loco before it went to Tyseley. Armed with diesel, scrapers, wire brush, plastic brushes, paint brush and rags, we began cleaning the grot off the rods & pipes. By mid-afternoon, we'd had enough. It was not easy working alongside another engine inside the shed, and being bent over doing the cleaning, it became a back-aching task. Nevertheless, we got through almost half of the bits.
Today's rumour: Moveright has had a lorry stolen.
Sunday 2nd
An early start, with Bruce and David arriving to do a spot of welding on the steam heating pipe. The rear pipe had previously been welded in place, so Bruce & David have made a proper bracket, and flanges for the pipes on either side of it. I misguidedly thought it was a quick welding job and I'd be home for lunch … so didn't bring any.
It transpired that the positioning of the bracket, and the alignment of the flange on the pipe, and the length of the pipe all took time! The weather didn't help, though much of the time Bruce & I were relatively dry beneath the tender - unfortunately, David was getting wettest, as he was at the end of the tender doing the fixing! The heating pipe itself is about 9 feet long, and when David was welding the flange onto it, Bruce & I were holding it at various angles to enable David to access each side of the flange. At one point we had it completely vertical.
Finally, the bracket was in place and the flange welded onto the pipe, and all that was needed was to tighten up brackets holding the pipe to the tender. There's not a lot of room under there, and David found it even more troublesome because he had his welding helmet on. By this time, 4 pm, it was beginning to rain quite hard.
And when you've finished a job … there's only to putting-away to do! In this case, that also included putting the tender back in the car park where it was yesterday!
Many thanks to Carpo for shunting us about.
Roger
Post Script
Those of you who read railway magazines may well notice write-ups about the late Mr Francis Blake. Francis was instrumental in the rescue of many locos from Barry. He was also one of the early shareholders in what was to become Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd. His was a significant contribution to the rescue of 2807. There is a write-up by Andy Bryne in the next edition of 2807 News. [the 2807 supporters' magazine]
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