Carriage & Wagon Report, July 2004
by Richard Johnson, 22nd July 2004

We have moved a long way forward since the last report, last month. The Gangwayed Brake 81039 emerged at the end of June pristine in ‘Blood & Custard’ and has been in regular use both on local trains between Toddington and Winchcombe, and on the popular Driving Experience Courses.

Mk 1 TSO (Tourist Second Open ) 4772 took its place in the shed, and refurbishment is well under way. Much had already been done whilst it waited outside. Actually 4772 will only be resident in the shed until the end of the month, when it will go back outside to make way for FO (First Open) 3045 from the Elegant Excursions set. This coach needs a repaint, and some minor refurbishment including attention to some sticking doors. We have a ‘window’ of just 4 weeks this year in which to deal it, when the set is not running. Other than this four week period, the set is in use every two or three weeks - which simply does not give us enough time. 4772 will be back in September.

We have also finished the Conflat mentioned last time. It turned out to be a ‘CONFLAT L’ 733588. The Conflat L was a special breed of Conflat which was specially constructed to carry three powdered cement containers, which discharged through the decking. This was the forerunner of the strangely shaped ‘Prestflo’ cement wagons so well known on model railways. This Conflat L will now be swapped with the Conflat A in the Permanent Way train, and the Container mentioned earlier will go onto that.

Replacing the Conflat L in the shed is a former Southern railway Brake Van 55126. After some thought, we have decided to refurbish this into original Southern colours of grey with maroon ends. It should look quite unique when it emerges. All but the timber flooring is in good condition. The rotten flooring sadly, will only make a good bonfire. This Brakevan is through piped, with a guards brake setter. This means that the guard can brake his train in an emergency, but the Brakevan itself is not fitted with an automatic vacuum brake. The only way the guard can apply the brakes on his van, is with the screw handbrake.

At the beginning of July we had our annual working week. A great deal was achieved; principally the erection of a mezzanine floor which will give us much needed extra space. Congratulations to Eddie Paddon and David Ward for planning this so well. The woodworking machinery we acquired last year from a technical college is now being set out in the space underneath.

Other work done has seen the completion of the ‘Dogfish ‘ ballast wagon, and more work on the RBr (Restaurant Buffet Car) 1675. In particular, the gas boiler has been plumbed back in, and we are almost ready to test fire it up. Once we have got it running, we need to call the boiler inspector back to give it an annual ‘ticket’.

All of the above has been done, in addition to a considerable amount of regular maintenance and running repairs to our service coaches. We seem to have achieved quite a lot this past month.

Pictures of the carriages and wagons mentioned this month can be found in the Carriage & Wagon section of our photo galleries.