Working Party

It was looking pretty wet in Wharf Yard as the team gathered in the shelter of the Gunpowder Store this morning and work was delayed until the heavy shower passed over.

Allan Black, Max Birchenough, Pete Thomas, Andy Sheffield and John Olsen then got the cover off the ex GWR slate wagon basket and laid out the old Corris draw bar on the new frame to mark the rebate positions. John was preparing a fresh batch of conservation wax inside the cover of the Gunpowder Store, ready to apply to the metalwork of wagon no. 136 (as an experiment to see if it could help fend off the Tywyn weather), Max was happily painting, Allan fitting another dumb buffer and Andy and Pete cutting the first rebate when the rain returned and caused a hurried restoration of the cover and retreat inside.

The shower persisted and John called an early coffee break as nothing could proceed outside. We were joined by Ann McCanna and Charles Benedetto for our break and the sun broke through to dry the yard out.

Now the rain was past work could proceed uninterrupted, almost, as a visitor and her son enquired after our activities and Max and Andy stepped up to act a their guides; well done chaps. With the basket fully primed Max moved onto bashing the worst of the rust off the Corris wagon drawbar for John to take over with a wire brush fitted angle grinder in between fitting sessions as Andy and Pete chiselled out the three rebates. A bit more fettling of the rebates remains to be done and the wood has been marked for further attention.

Allan moved onto the last dumb buffer and had it in place by the end of the morning. John did get to apply the conservation wax to no. 136 and the effect on the left over rain water, chasing it off the bobbins etc, bodes well for the longer term preservation of the wagon.

Photos by John Olsen

A dull and blustery morning today in Wharf yard and a big HIAB equipped truck was in the process of loading three TR wagons to go to the Glynn Valley 150 event as the team assembled.

Allan Black, Pete Thomas, Max Birchenough, Charles Benedetto and John Olsen removed the protective cover from the ex-GWR steel bodied slate wagon basket and then shunted wagon no. 136, the three slat slate wagon, closer to the electricity supply ready for work to commence. Charles continued to finish his clean up of the drawhooks to be fitted to no. 136, whilst Max and Allan plugged in their angle grinders to remove more rust from the basket. Pete got down, and dirty, with the cutter blade fitted angle grinder to trim off the excess thread of the long bolts on no. 136 and John applied heat to the first of four rusty nuts holding the final pair of axleboxes to the expired Corris mail waggon frame.

By the time we had waved away the first train of the day Max had swapped removing rust for applying wood preservative to the new Corris frame as he and Allan were getting too close for safe working. Ann McCanna’s arrival signalled coffee time, which we had out on the platform with her, David Broadbent (fresh from his latest round of treatment) and Mike Green.

Post coffee, chocolate and chat we returned to the other side of the line where we turned over the new frame for further wood preservative and Charles opened up a can of black Hammerite to paint the drawhooks and the new lateral axlebox bolts, on no.136, with. With one axlebox remaining to free off, John found that last weeks generous lubricating of the rusty nuts with WD40 had sufficiently penetrated the threads of the last pair so that no heat was required to remove them, just a lot of muscle power.

Max opened a tin of black bitumenous paint to paint over the four heads of the short bolts holding the axleboxes of no. 136; this is an experiment to see if it is a superior rust proofing to Hammerite on galvanised bolts. He also painted the nuts and remaining threads of the long bolts under the frame with the same intention, to test its efficacy. Allan got in on the painting action to apply acid etch primer to the parts of the metal basket that he and Max had cleaned up.

With the wagon cover back on, no. 136 shunted back onto the weighbridge and the drawhooks placed inside the Gunpowder Store the site was tidied and left safe.

Photos by John Olsen

A bright and breezy morning in Wharf Yard and two team members were on site early to make the most of it; this morning extra hands Ian Evans and Robert Morgan turned out to join regulars Andy Sheffield, Allan Black, Pete Thomas, Charles Benedetto and John Olsen.

The first order of the day was to go round wagon no. 136 tightening all the nuts and bolts up, then Charles took up a wire brush fitted angle grinder to clean up a pair of drawhooks as the set we had prepared had been used to replace life expired examples on other wagons. Allan and Pete had the other pair of angle grinders to continue the de-rusting work on the ex GWR steel basket, while Robert, Ian, Andy and John set the new frame for the Corris mail waggon on the stands (recycled from the old wagon 136 frame) for wood preservative to be liberally applied by Robert and Andy.

Ian and John continued the patient dis-assembly of the Corris mail waggon frame, cutting off a final nut holding the frame together and the penultimate nut holding the drawbar in place. The new frame was turned over for the bottom to be treated and then a sleeper crib made to support the drawbar and cross members before the Corris solebars were knocked off each side, freeing the cross members and allowing the central cross member to be turned over for easy access to the last nut on the drawbar. John applied heat with the blow torch and Andy gave the nut its coup de grace to release the drawbar completely.

With the 10:30 train waved away coffee time was called and we took over one of the octagonal picnic tables under the canopy. Max Birchenough and Mike Green joined our coffee, biscuit and chat as the Slate Heritage Trail train was boarding its full complement of passengers.

Back on site the work of de-rusting and cleaning continued alongside the next dis-assembly job, removal of the Corris axleboxes. One solebar was lifted onto the new frame so that we could work at a comfortable height and John once more applied the blowtorch to the first rusty nut after the threads had been wire brushed; it didn’t shift despite the use of the club hammer on the spanner. But John was already heating the next nut and when that was given a whack it moved quite readily. In short order all the nuts were heat treated, including the first stubborn one and successfully removed without damage to the cast axleboxes.

Allan and Pete ceased their cleaning and applied a coat of acid etch primer to the newly exposed metal to protect it from rusting. Charles completed his cleaning of the drawhooks so that they can be painted next week and the, now free, Corris wheelsets were moved out of the way and the sleeper crib dismantled.

With the track clear no. 136 was shunted up onto the weighbridge and chocks inserted. All the metal work removed from the Corris frame were stored inside the upturned wagon body and the wagon cover placed over the ex GWR metal basket, leaving the site clear and safe for the Anything Goes gala over the weekend.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen

Another bright sunny morning in Wharf yard greeted the working party team, Max Birchenough, Pete Thomas, Charles Benedetto, Andy Sheffield, Ian Evans and John Olsen. Despite distractions in the yard taking place just feet from the work site, the main business of the day got underway after a quick shunt of the Corris Mail Waggon frame and the new no. 136 frame.

Pete went to work on the remaining rusted nuts that held the last pair of angle plates inside the Corris frame and Max painted a set of washers with black Hammerite in readiness for the re-assembly of wagon no. 136, the three slat wagon. The floorplate of no. 136 was lowered onto the frame after the remaining horizontal axlebox fixing bolts had been annointed with Evil Green Grease (EGG) by Andy and loosely screwed in place. Then the bobbins and wooden slats were retrieved from the Gunpowder Store and loose assembled in place like some large scale Jenga game. With the four long corner bolts, suitably greased with EGG, inserted through all the bobbins and slats it was time to wave away the first train and go for our coffee break so that the distraction could carry on without the sounds of the working party interfering.

There were no guests to join us for coffee chocolate biscuits and chat this morning on the platform, under the canopy for a smidgen of shade.

We returned across the tracks in time to wave away the Slate Trail Train and then get stuck into the reverse ‘Jenga’ puzzle. It was whilst trying to get the end central long bolts to thread through that John noticed that, despite his labelling the slats and pointing the labelling out to the team, some of the parts were in the wrong place. Cue dis-assembly of the slats to free the misplaced ones and insert them in their correct positions; with an additional twirl of 180^o for good measure, we now had the ends all loose bolted.

Just four more long bolts to fit and while three went in with a bit of pushing and pulling, screwing and finally driving home with the rubber mallet, one bolt would not cooperate as the lowest slat had twisted just enough to thwart the bolts entry into the hole through the floorplate. Not to be defeated John used one of the sash clamps that we recently acquired from the estate of Winston McCanna, a long time gang organiser, to press the twisted slat enough for the bolt to be pushed home. Nuts and washers were then tightened up by hand before an early halt to proceedings was called as John had an appointment with our MS Mabon ap Gwynfor.

The long overdue return of wagon no. 136 to running condition is almost over, while the restoration ‘journey’ of the Corris Mail Waggon is just beginning.

Photos by John Olsen

A hot sunny morning for the team after the fortnights holiday break, but fortunately for Allan Black, Charles Benedetto, Pete Thomas and John Olsen the yard by the Gunpowder Store is shaded by trees.

The first task of the day was to assist Keith Theobald in getting the platform scales, that had been repainted by Steve Crane, out of the Store and into the Weighbridge house. To make the task possible we first shunted the new wagon no. 136 frame and the old Corris Mail Waggon frame west out of the way. Then the scales were partially dismantled to lighten them, as it is an extremely robust cast iron item, followed by laying down plywood and sterling board sheets to roll it over so that Keith could get the Bobcat forks under it. A delicate lifting and moving operation got the weighing machine to another set of boards leading into the Weighbridge House where it was tipped on its side and manhandled through the doorway, rolled across the floor and into its final resting place in the north west corner; where it was re-assembled allowing the temporarily displaced furniture to be brought back inside.

With a growing thirst, and the first train waved away, we went into the relative cool of the cafe for our coffee break in the company of Ann McCanna, Malcolm Phillips, Andy Sheffield, Mike Green and Tom Place. Even inside the chocolate on the biscuits was becoming runny in the heat.

Back in the yard the Corris wagon frame was shunted back up beside the Store and the metal basket of the ex GWR steel bodied slate wagon moved away from its frame and placed atop the upturned Corris wagon body; this was to make the remaining stripping and priming activities easier.

Allan cleaned off one end and then use the acid etch primer to protect the newly cleaned metal. Pete used an angle grinder with cutting wheel fitted to cut off more rusted on nuts to release another internal corner plate from the Corris frame while John used an old fashioned hacksaw to cut through one of the drawbar fixing bolts. Charles applied the second coat of black bitumenous paint to the new floorplate of wagon no. 136 and left it to dry.

The wagon cover was placed over the metal basket to protect the bare metal from the forecast rain later in the week and the site tidied of tools and tripping hazards.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen

In this week’s absence of the regular gang, Talyllyn Tracksiders stepped forward to paint the Pooley weighbridge. The weather mojo arranged a hot and sunny afternoon for the purpose. We also cleared room in the gunpowder store for the impending delivery of the weighing machine currently at Abergynolwyn.

A glorious sunny morning today to greet the team in Wharf Yard; Allan Black, Pete Thomas, Charles Benedetto and John Olsen made the most of it.

The cover was removed from wagon no. 136, the three bar ex TR slate wagon, and its newly galvanised floorplate and a quick game of ‘try it in all possible orientations to make sure we’ve got it the right way round and right way up’. It was in the correct orientation already! Then the wagon chassis was rolled into the sun for Charles to wash it prior to its first coat of black bituminous paint.

Allan got to work with an angle grinder fitted with wire wheel, scrubbing rust out of the nooks and crannies of the ex GWR slate wagon metal basket and Pete and John wielded hammers and spanners on the dwindling number of nuts and bolts holding the Corris wagon together.

We waved away the first train of the day before going for our morning coffee out on the platform where the hot sun proved to be a hazard to both the chocolate digestives and the Jammy dodger biscuits, but the last of Andy’s biscuits were scoffed before the heat got to them. We were joined by duty attendant Mark Gibson, Max Birchenough, nursing a painful back, Keith Theobald and Tom Place for our coffee, chocolate and chat.

John performed a quick bit of dismantling on our old red donation stand to reclaim usable bits, before returning to the yard, as we now have a very smart cylindrical perspex donation station just behind William Finlay; be sure to admire and ‘feed’ it on your next visit to Tywyn.

Back on the wrong side of the tracks Charles painted the floorplate with black paint that was drying almost as quickly as he applied it, Allan scrubbed away more rust and old paint and the last, of four, horizontal axlebox bolts succumbed to Pete and John’s combined attention. They followed this up with cutting through a central bolt on the brake gear that allowed them to remove the brake shoes and the operating arm, having first labelled the shoes to make re-assembly easier.

There will be a two week holiday break in working parties, with the team returning to Wharf Yard on Thursday 15th June.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen

A warm and sunny morning for a reduced size team after last week; Allan Black, Andy Sheffield, Pete Thomas and John Olsen got out our newly PAT tested power tools to continue dismantling the Corris Mail Waggon and de-rusting the metal basket of the ex GWR slate wagon.

Our first job was to turn the metal basket over so that the undersides of all the slats and rim could be properly cleaned up, then Allan could settle down to the task. Andy, Pete and John used a selection of spanners, sockets, air gun and hammers to undo more of the rusty bolts holding the Corris wagon iron work on the frame. The last cross bar, which supported the second brake shoe, succumbed to hitting with the lump hammer to remove it from the frame, revealing it had a slight bow in it, quite possibly a result of the non perpendicular holes through the frame.

With this out and several more nuts successfully removed we stopped for our coffee break out in the sun on the platform, in the company of Mike Green and David Broadbent. A serious dent in Andy’s chocolate covered Hobnob supply ensued over our caffeine and chat.

Refreshed we returned to the yard to our tasks and deployed an angle grinder with metal cutting disc on the Corris wagon as the nuts on the coach bolts holding the SW corner angle plate were seizing and then the bolt spinning as the rotten timber failed. But we managed to remove the SW corner plate, much wasted by corrosion, and the four bolts holding the brake operating arm so that the brake gear can now be dis-assembled.

Our morning was made complete by Chris Johnson delivering our galvanised floor plate for wagon no. 136; we quickly removed it from the flatbed van and placed it on the wagon frame. By great good fortune it was the right way up and the right way round so that we were able to put the wagon cover back on to keep it dry ready for cleaning and painting next week. The metal basket is now ready for a final clean down and priming as well.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen

A dry start brought out a good showing for this mornings working party. Allan Black, Andy Sheffield, Charles Benedetto, Pete Thomas, Max Birchenough and John Olsen were in the yard to continue cleaning up the ex GWR metal slate wagon basket and further dismantle the Corris mail waggon.

Allan and Max had to wait a short time before they could start applying the wire wheel equipped angle grinders to the basket as our electrical kit was being PAT tested this morning, but after about 15 minutes delay they were busy. The rest of the gang attempted to shift the nuts on the cross bars of the Corris wagon, but even after heating up with a blow torch the first nut remained unmoved. This was partly due to the long cross bars acting as torsion bars thus cushioning any attempt to use a hammer on a spanner to break the rust ‘seal’. Reluctantly John agreed that we should cut away the nut on one end and then extract the bar. Andy set to work with an angle grinder fitted with a cutting disc, but even with the side of the nut cut away it still took some ‘persuading’ with a hammer and cold chisel to start turning the remnant of the nut.

We stopped for our coffee break when Ann McCanna and Mike Green arrived on site and sat out on the platform in the warm sunshine that had broken through the cloud layer. We all squeezed up to make a space for Tom Place to join us as we tucked into the chocolate biscuits.

Returning to the yard Allan and Max continued the patient task of removing old paint and rust while the rest of the gang removed the two end cross bars after the nuts on one end had been cut away; but even then the bars needed to be hammered out of the frame revealing that the metal within the wooden frame had rusted very badly. Our attention then turned to the first of the two cross bars that hold the brake shoes, first with the cutting disc, then the hammer and chisel and then the hammer on the bar. The bar didn’t shift! It took the two pound lump hammer and a good swing before it began to move and only when it finally came out did we find the cause of such resistance to movement; the end had been bent into a shallow S shape. It seems unlikely that this occurred due to any operational mishap as the bar is nearly 3/4” thick, so we must presume it was intentionally bent, possibly to correct for an incorrect position of the hole in the frame causing problems with operating the brake shoes.

Rather than attempting to remove the other big cross bar we finished the morning on one of the smaller horizontal bolts holding one of the axleboxes in place using Pete’s hammer action compressed air tool, but the degree of rusting defeated it. Only after heating the nut with the blow torch and then giving the spanner a whack with a hammer did it finally begin to unscrew the bolt. It seems that the frame has been very wet for long periods of time and this not only resulted in the rot in the headstock joints, but has also likely severely corroded every single bolt passing through the frame.

We were presented with a salvaged, and slightly bent, brake operating lever and shaft from a TR slate wagon by Mike Christiansen who had salvaged it from the stream in Abergynolwyn; thank you Mike. This might make a working brake lever on a future wagon rebuild once cleaned up and straightened out.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen

The strong gusty East wind was raising the dust in Wharf Yard this morning as the working party team Allan Black, Charles Benedetto, Andy Sheffield, Pete Thomas and John Olsen joined forces with Keith Theobald to lift the metal body off the Corris Mail Waggon and then, safely, flip it over.

The lifting off was comparatively easy with Keith in the Bobcat and John as Banksman, but the turning over taxed the talents of everyone and there was much discussion before a plan emerged thanks to Andy’s expertise as a ‘Slinger’ during his working life. Essentially by using a pair of strops the body was turned first through 90o, the strops reset and the body then turned the second 90o and deposited on the ground before being moved to a working location atop wooden battens.

The arrival of Ann McCanna, Mike Green and Max Birchenough coincided with the successful completion of the operation and we retired to the cafe for our morning brew and chat. This morning Ann had brought in a tub of chocolate brownies to keep our chocolate levels up, which we gratefully ate, thank you Ann.

With the sun breaking through the early clouds we returned to our ongoing jobs, Andy assembling a second under stair barrier, Allan and Charles attacking the rust on the FR (actually an ex GWR wagon) metal slate wagon basket and Pete removing the drawhooks from the Corris wagon frame.

John went upstairs in the museum to re-secure the stand holding the Rev. Awdry biography folder to the wall of the Awdry Study before rejoining the main working party. Liz Porrett came over to discuss formalising training in the safe use of our power tools and to help get the railway electrical department to PAT test the museum power toolset as they were overdue an inspection before we wrapped up for the morning.

Photos by Allan Black and John Olsen