ROPLEY
Because "Tornado's" tender was being completed, little progress could be made to CCT S1765 in the first few days of the week, though we managed to catch up towards the weekend. To that end one side is now in undercoat and the other side has had the needle gunning and cleaning down completed, ready for undercoat. Thus we have reached a major milestone with all the preparation work complete. It is estimated that this vehicle should be top coated and ready for the lettering within the next two to three weeks.
Bulleid coach S 4211, under the leadership of John Wright, is coming on well with over half the under frame now cleaned and painted, and new plywood flooring being installed.
MEDSTEAD
Chris and Malcolm have continued their sterling work fixing more cladding and odd size panels into the right place on brake van S 49000, and this was followed up on the Thursday by David Sandford sanding and painting these to protect the woodwork. Tony Carver was continuing his mission to have a neat and tidy workshop by sorting out the many nuts and bolts gifted to us over the years.
The salvaged floor timbers for this vehicle from Southall have now dried out enough, before being run through the planer (to get the right thickness) at Ropley next week.
ALTON
Well the weather being a bit nippy recently, and last Wednesday being at pretty well freezing with an accompanying wind, we decided it was too cold to work outside at Alton. However we had a delivery of timbers expected, so assembled at Alton per usual.
The 3 long timbers for the 2 plank open B 726064 duly arrived by lorry in the station forecourt, but as they were too long to be carried over via the footbridge we adopted an alternative strategy ............. putting the timbers over the fence at the Alresford end of the SWT platform 1 and then carrying them round to platform 3 and onto a platform trolley.
The timbers duly transported down to our work site we took a bevel off the edges, cut them to size and put them in storage under the sheeting covering the wagon.
By this time the wind chill was starting to get to us, so it was in the cars and down to Ropley for the C&W shed. This had the advantage that with Tornado’s tender in the process of being repainted/lined (we correctly assumed that) they must have a heater in the shed..........
John Wright soon had us tidying up hardwood wooden mouldings, moving a load of steel work and vac pipes to under S 1765 and dismantling two lots of dexion shelving and them reassembling them on the mezzanine floor. This kept us busy for a few hours, and indeed warm also.
Hopefully global warming will return soon to Alton ............
Chris Le Corney