 24th April 2004The day was spent just getting ready for tomorrow when work starts in earnest. The refurbished roof hoops were all given another coat of black paint. The picture on the left shows them all after having been painted and represents exactly half of the hoops on the coach. Note: The ones on the left are of different shapes and lengths; this is to take into account the apparatus area and also the water tank. The wooden spacers that are screwed between each of the hoops to ensure equal spacing and also to enable the ceiling to be firmly secured were located and placed in the container. Other work included removing paint from internal wooden areas, so that they can be repaired and repainted. |
 25th April 2004A very busy day today, with various areas being worked on. Brian White has set himself the task of applying neatsfoot oil to the refurbished leather pouches this week. Today saw all five of them treated along with the laminated straps that suspend the pouches from either the lineside standard or the carriage traductor arms. |
 David Clarke has set about the "apparatus quadrant", which guides the net lever inside the coach. This is needed back on the coach soon, so David has taken the item apart and wire brushed it back to bare metal. |
 All the screws holding the cantrail to the uprights were removed and the first section of the cantrail was removed so that the new one could be installed.A start has been made on preparing the new cantrail, with one of these being marked up and some of the mortises being cut out. An additional roof hoop (number 16) was removed to enable another section of the cantrail to be removed tomorrow. Four screws, two on each side, hold down each roof hoop. The two on the fitting side just pulled out due to the rotten cantrail, while the two on the apparatus side had to be sawn off due to rust. |
 Brian White, having finished with his leather pouches, started to rub down some of the internal woodwork. This needs to go back in place shortly to enable various apparatus parts to be placed correctly. |
 26th April 2004The old cantrail on the fitting side of the coach has been cut in two places to create three shorter sections. This will make it easier to remove from the coach, since they are HEAVY! |
 The final remnants of the Great Train Robbery have finally been removed from the coach; the area that held one of the loud hailers had the framework removed. This was found to be particularly stubborn but David Clarke persevered until it finally succumbed. Replacement sections of wood will be installed in due course to allow for the installation of the original window. |
 The net lever quadrant, that was wire brushed yesterday, was degreased and rust treated (as shown in the picture) before being painted in metal primer. The good weather today meant that the paint had dried within 30 minutes.The upper apparatus net was also given a second coat of metal primer. |
 Brian White has now finished rubbing down the section of internal wall, which has also seen some repairs using the "Glue and Sawdust" formula. Tomorrow will see this being sanded and then painted in wood primer. Note: The cut out area on the left hand side is where the apparatus door handle fits into when the door is open. |
 The new cantrail on the apparatus side of the coach was completed today, with all remaining mortises being cut, as well as the scarf joint. The adjoining section of cantrail also had its scarf joint cut. The cantrail was then positioned on the coach and slotted into place at the third attempt. |
 The view from inside the coach. |
 27th April 2004The start of the day saw the cantrail from the fitting side removed, this enabled measurements for the new one to be made. |
 The new cantrail after the two sections have been cut and clamped together. Whilst it may look quite simple to create a scarf joint, it is not! The work takes a couple of hours and also the joint MUST be perfect, since this one will be exposed to the elements. This was also glued together and clamped.The other section of the cantrail that sits on top of the one pictured was also prepared, the mortises required for the toilet area were cut and a scarf joint were prepared. |
 Brian White has now started to paint the piece of internal wall that holds the net lever quadrant.Other internal parts were located and moved to the container for repair work to start. |
 Various parts of the metalwork were also painted today; the picture on the left shows that net lever quadrant in undercoat. Other items painted include the upper section of the carriage net frame, bench brackets, knee brackets and the bar that connects the upper and lower sections of the net frame. |
 28th April 2004The start of the day saw all twelve of the bench support brackets being moved from storage to the container. The first one is seen before being stripped. |
 During stripping it soon became apparent that the workforces of old had pride in their job. After the outer "hessian" was removed, the material was stitched up on top of a horse hair type material that was used to pad the support. The padding itself was also stitched, as shown in the picture.Once all of the supports had been stripped, David Clarke started to wire brush them ready for painting. In addition to this much of the previously items of metal work that had been painted in undercoat was given a topcoat (red, channel green and black as required). |
 The big news of the day was the fitting of another cantrail, the marking out, cutting of mortises and then fitting taking all day. Not a straight forward task and one that has to be right first time. |
 Another view of the fitting side with the new cantrail in place. A second cantrail sits on top of this one! |
 29th April 2004The bench leg supports after they had been wire brushed, degreased, rust treated and the exposed area painted in metal primer. Note that the main body of the leg has small spikes sticking out; this is to grip the padding that is wrapped around the leg before the hession material is attached. |
 The new net lever installed on the coach. |
 The new upper cantrail on the fitting side as well as some of the roof hoops. The roof hoops have only been clamped on at present so that they can be positioned correctly. |
 A general view of the coach at the end of Thursday after the cantrails have been installed and the roof hoops positioned. |
 30th April 2004The bench leg supports after they had been painted in grey undercoat. |
 Three new brackets for the lineside hut's handrail. The rail should be installed in the early part of May. |
 With the new cantrail installed on the fitting side of the coach, the door pillars have now been placed back on the coach and screwed in. Note the sash clamp used to pull the cantrail in to position. The cantrail still has to be screwed to the uprights. |
 The apparatus area with some of the panelling back in place, this was done so that the board spacing could be worked out for the replacement door that is being built at Didcot. The panels on the door should line up with those shown in the picture. |
