Charles Benedetto, Andy Sheffield and John Olsen tackled the removal of the lower halves of the axleboxes on one of the two foot gauge steel bodied slate wagons; work we started last week. Using a combination of heat, hammers and cold chisels the remaining nuts were released and the lower halves of the axleboxes freed off.
By the end of the morning all four axleboxes had been freed off and the sodden horse hair wadding removed to allow the water in them to drain away. The fixing studs were cleaned with wire brushes and coated with grease to arrest any further rust development. The wheelsets are now free to be swapped over with the correct pattern wheels held by the Bala Lake Railway.
Photos by John Olsen