As a bit of an impromptu session, Tim, Paul, and Steve, headed to Wansford determined to achieve some more vac fitting.

The first job was to get another vacuum cylinder overhauled, so whilst Steve and Paul collected the necessary bits that had already been cleaned up, Tim went off to wire brush the top hat section. After only about half an hour the cylinder was assembled and sitting on the trolley for transportation to the wagon. Later in the day when Tim nipped off to pull some levers in the Signalbox briefly, Paul and Steve assembled another overhauled cylinder….the cheeky rascals! This means we have another one ready for the next van in the queue.

Today’s victim was Palvan B778810. The first job was to get the existing cylinder out, which will then be overhauled and fitted to another van. The method of dropping the middle seemed to work well last time, so we did that again. Once the middle was out then the side hanger was unbolted and the casing dropped, with the help of Steve’s jack.

By early afternoon all parts were attached, with the brakes reassembled, and the Palvan considered to be ‘fully fitted’ again (pending a full test).

In other news, we are pleased to announce our first photographic charter of the year with A1 Class No 60163 ‘Tornado’.

For more details and to book visit –

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/497/east-coast-freight-storm-charte