This picture shows the floor by the slam doors. On the left of the picture can be seen two new wooden sections that have been inserted into the floor framing to give added strength to the floor. On the right can be seen the smaller sections for the centre of the coach which had (at that point) to be inserted. On top of this will be placed the keruing flooring, this being screwed to the floor framing.

Despite the poor lighting inside the coach the picture on the left hopefully will give some indication of the progress being made.

The view is from the non-apparatus end looking towards the middle of the coach (where the cross bracing can be seen). On the left hand side the original flooring can be seen standing on the new flooring Later in the day the original flooring was removed from the coach.

The "box" in the middle of the picture is actually one of the registered fittings and had been moved onto a section of flooring that had been screwed down. This allowed more of the original flooring, seen at the bottom of the picture, to be removed later in the day.

More of the original flooring has now been removed and the new wooden flooring can be seen in place. Soon after this picture was taken the fitting on the right was moved down the coach and the remaining flooring was removed. Work on installing the new floor has temporarily stopped while the chassis is cleaned and painted.

The first of the new leather pouches that are being made for us. We have been lucky to have found a saddler who has not only been able to repair several of the original pouches we have but also, he has been able to take one apart to use as a template for making brand new pouches made from leather. The first one was delivered on Sunday as is seen here.

The cost of having these made is now cheaper that having the remaining leather pouches restored, some of which will go on display when space becomes available.

The first use of this pouch is expected to take place at Rail Mail 2005.

The firm who eventually made these were able to turn around the four sets of nets (twelve nets in total) in a matter of days.

The first of three days working over the Easter Weekend saw more floor bracing installed, most of the carriage has now been done with only a few sections that will be under the bench still to be done. Later in the day this area was under the new flooring and the general public will ever see any of the work on the chassis or floor framing. Such a shame when so much effort has gone into it.

The area of the chassis that had been cleaned using a needle gun and wire brush was given the rust converter treatment as can be seen in this picture. The liquid is white in appearance but turns black when it dries.

A busy day on the coach today. The headstock that had been cleaned the day before is seen here shortly after being painted in metal primer. Unlike Sunday, which was rather cold, today was rather warm and the paint was drying almost as quick as it could be applied. The chassis of the carriage is rapidly approaching the time when it has been completely derusted and painted, this has taken a few years to achieve and is a relief to those of us who have been using the needle gun for more hours than we care to remember.

The first of the internal side panelling has been installed as well as the angle bracket that supports the side of the coach.

The framing around the side of the coach that had been modified as a result of the Great Train Robbery has been reinstated to its original form. The Great Train Robbery modifications included the removal of the window and part of the frame so that a loud hailer could be installed.

With the roof now entirely removed the coach looks very different. Additional bracing has been added to the coach, which makes it much harder to walk about.

As the end of April approached a start was made on removing the last section of original cantrail. This is made of two sections and the picture shows the upper section with the first half having been removed.

By early May most of the wood for the floor had been cut although some of this has yet to be fixed in place. The only wood now needing to be cut is the strip of wood along the edge of the floor, seen on the right hand side of the picture. Notice how more of the side panelling is now in place and is being painted.