A benign weather morning in Tywyn, which was sandwiched between two rainbands, allowed Allan Black, Pete Thomas, David Broadbent, Charles Benedetto, Andy Sheffield and John Olsen to continue working on the frame and slats of wagon no. 136. With the cover off, Andy, David, Allan and Charles made quick work of sanding down the old paint to give a good key for the new grey primer.
Charles and Andy continued working on no. 136, first wiping the frame down with white spirit and then painting; Charles did the flat surfaces while Andy was given a small bottle brush to paint inside the many holes. This innovation not only allowed a good layer of paint through the entire hole but also saved the conventional brushes from destruction. David and Allan dismantled the video monitor stand that had been put into the north wall store and put the parts under the stairs. Pete used a welders hammer and angle grinder to remove the rust blisters from the other side of the door of wagon no. 117 in preparation for a fresh coat of acid etch primer.
John had been busy during the week removing most of the tools to the museum in preparation for the winter works and completed the clearing of the floor in readiness for wagon no. 146 to be stored inside for the winter. The arrival of Mike Green on site heralded our coffee break in the cafe where we were also joined by Keith Theobald.
David and Andy painted the wooden slats for wagon no. 136 on the platform while Pete painted the de-rusted wagon door by the Gunpowder Store. Allan and Charles were inside the museum measuring and then cutting the new length of yellow edging to fit neatly behind George Henry. The job was essential to minimise the possibility of a visitor hitting their head on the projecting angle of the stairs, and was in response to just such an incident. John took a hammer and cold chisel to the lumps of tile adhesive on two pieces of MDF, salvaged from the demolition of a section of the ‘Big Wall’; these will be re-used to mitigate another safety related issue identified by Russell Hatt in his last inspection.
The final jobs of the day were to replace the protective cover on the frame of no. 136 and then move no 146 into the Gunpowder Store, along with the door from no. 117, leaving the site tidy and safe.
Photos by John Olsen