NVR Wagon Group

A working volunteer and keen supporter of the Wagon Group has privately purchased two (Nos. 4726 and 4730) of the ex-Ministry of Defence 5-plank opens, that were offered in an auction of surplus MOD equipment. They touched down at NVR a couple of weeks ago and appear to be in incredibly good condition – which in some ways is a shame, as my sources indicate the other similar examples from the same auction went for scrap and were quickly given the chop… 4726 is seen above.

The interior of 4726. We were amazed at the generally good condition of the floors, which was something of a surprise!

No.4730 is next in line. This floor of this one has some holes, but nothing too serious that can’t be replaced. Otherwise it is in the same excellent condition requiring barely more than a wire brush and a repaint into 1950s BR ‘fitted’ bauxite livery, which both these wagons will receive in time – hopefully after completion of current restoration project, ex-LMS CCT 37071. Although these wagons were built for the MOD in 1963, they are in fact copies of the BR diag. 1/044 ‘Highfit’, although the original planked bodies have been rebuilt with steel sides in more recent times.

The end doors have now been removed from both ends of the CCT, meaning the end of the stripping phase is in sight.

A few days later, the ironwork for the end doors was de-rusted and primed.

Wagon Group volunteer Philip has continued his single-handed mission to clean up and prime the structural steel framing. Over two further working sessions he has progressed along the north side…

…and completed all the preparation and priming of all the metalwork exposed so far. Our next job will be to carefully remove the end doors seen in the photos above (which will be used as patterns to fabricate replacements), which will then enable the metalwork there to receive the same treatment. We can also now order the red undercoat and topcoat and start applying it to the freshly-primed metalwork. (All photos courtesy of Philip Halstead).

Wagon Group volunteer Philip has spent two successive working sessions cleaning up and priming the structural steelwork. By the end of the first day, he had cleaned up the rust and primed up to the central doors on the south side.

A week later, he cleaned and primed the remaining half…

…and made a start on the north side. He estimates another two working sessions will be required to complete preparation of the bodyside steelwork. (All photos courtesy of Philip Halstead).

After some time away from the railway over the Christmas and New Year period, we got reacquainted with ex-LMS CCT 37071 which continues to undergo stripping as the first stage of its cosmetic restoration.

The remaining lower bodyside planks were removed, enabling access to properly clean and paint the structural steelwork – it is hoped this can be progressed in stages over the coming weeks and months. Note the remains of the end step (between the buffers), added for the “Octopussy” filming – this is to be retained on the vehicle for display.

All the long side panels have now been stripped back to the bare framework, leaving only the doors to be removed.

By early evening the side doors on the south side were also brought down safely.

At close of play the second set of side doors had also been removed, leaving just the end doors to go. Note another filming modification, the horizontal tie-bars between the nearest diagonal stanchion, all of which will be retained on this restoration project.

The patient awaits… ex-LMS ‘CCT’ (which stands for Covered Carriage Truck, a vehicle designed for carrying motor vehicles and also used for parcels traffic) in the shed at the start of our most recent working session.

The interior looks very sorry for itself. Note the absence of gorilla costume…

Some hours of hard work saw the long panels either side of the door on the south side stripped of their timbers.

After a short break, another of the long side panels on the north side was stripped, the interior now looking like this at the western end.

At the end of the day the van looked like this. Three of the four long side panels have been removed, leaving one more to go, plus the end and side doors. Another solid work session should hopefully see most of the remaining wood stripped, ready for cleaning and preparation of the steel framework for the body. The timber for the roof is being left in situ for the time being, as it is hoped the wood is in good enough order under the existing felt to be reused. However we will not know for sure until we remove the felt in preparation for new roof canvas. The end doors will be retained to act as a pattern, allowing new ones to be made to match, as we are aiming to restore this van to “Octopussy” appearance for its static role at Wansford.

Our new project, LMS CCT 37071, is now in position in the shed ready for work to begin on its cosmetic restoration for a static role at Wansford station. The personnel door and step on the end are part of the modifications made to these vehicles for the filming of the James Bond movie “Octopussy” in 1982 and are now arguably an important part of the history of this vehicle…

The observant among you may notice that this CCT is not the same one pictured in the last update. The original plan was to restore the identical ex-LMS CCT shown in the earlier update, but for various reasons it was felt too difficult to safely move to Wansford for restoration without first undertaking fairly substantial work in situ.

Apologies for the long period between updates – we have simply been too busy to attend the railway lately, but we hope to resume normal service within a couple of weeks or so.

However we hope to start our next wagon restoration project on Saturday 17th November, depending on the necessary checks and shunt being undertaken in time. The wagon chosen is a particularly appropriate project, considering the James Bond movie series is currently celebrating its 50th year…

… one of the ex-LMS CCTs that formed part of the circus train in “Octopussy”, filmed on the railway in 1982. It’s in quite a state cosmetically, but nothing that can’t be fixed up.

A new ‘Image Gallery’ section has now been added to this website to showcase images of the wagons and goods trains at the preserved NVR, past and present. Please follow the link below to view:

https://nvrwagons.wordpress.com/image-gallery/

Van B759852 has finally received its ‘white square’ status, which means it is now passed to run on the railway proper. This is in no small part thanks to Dale from the Carriage and Wagon staff, who massively helped us out by undertaking a last minute repair discovered during its ‘fitness to run’ inspection – many thanks to him for this!

A couple of photos of ‘Medfit’ M470944 and B759852 making their way down to Peterborough (Nene Valley) and being marshalled into the freight train can be found on my unofficial NVR blog here.

B759852 makes its first appearance after restoration at the Steam Gala of 22nd/23rd September. Soon after this event it is hoped to add a ‘gallery’ section to this website, with a portrait of each wagon added as they are outshopped – watch this space!

Don’t forget the brake van rides at the Steam Gala – these are unfortunately limited to over-16’s only, and available only by pre-booking (here) at the present time, as this is something of a first at NVR. The near full-line trips from Wansford to Orton Mere (or the other way around on Sunday evening) perhaps offer the best value for money, and what better way to enjoy the Nene valley than from the open veranda of a brake van? On all the brake van trips, Wagon Group volunteer Tim Hobman is rostered to be Guard, so this is an ideal opportunity to directly find out about the group and our work on the freight stock at the railway.

Bank Holiday Monday turned out to be a busy day with three wagons again being worked on simultaneously. 1941-built “Esso” tank No.1914 received a quick coat of black topcoat to the top half of the tank end, which had previously been stripped and prepared up to undercoat. This means that the metal is now properly protected from the elements and the wagon can be left until we are ready to undertake further restoration at some point in future.

Attention then turned to ex-LMS ‘Medfit’ M470944, the new, previously prepared end planks being bolted into place on the restored steel stanchions.

Unfortunately the required long side timbers did not arrive in time for the day’s work session – our last before the NVR steam gala of 22nd/23rd September. Therefore we took the decision to paint over the tatty timber on the one remaining unrestored side, so it is presentable enough to run in the demonstration goods train at the gala (minus lettering). The wagon will be brought in again as soon as possible after the gala, to complete the job properly once the new timber has arrived. Here we see the primer hurriedly applied…

…followed by a shoddy topcoat, although it looks acceptable upon cursory inspection…

…don’t look too closely!

The following afternoon Tim and Philip spent some time trimming the fixing bolts and adding the dropside door catches, after their Guard’s turns on the service trains. Photo courtesy of Tim Hobman, in failing evening light.

The big news of the day however was the final completion of 1952-built BR van B759852, with all lettering applied to suit its original 1950’s appearance. Here is a taster, further pictures to follow soon…!

Don’t forget the NVR Autumn Steam Gala, on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd September. We are due to host two celebrity ‘8P’ ‘Pacifics’, BR 71000 “Duke of Gloucester” and 60163 “Tornado” – this event is a ‘must visit!’

Along with the two visitors, resident BR ‘5MT’ 73050 and ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No.22 will be in action, along with popular Fowler ‘4F’ 44422. This will be making one of its last appearances at NVR before departing for the Spa Valley Railway, an extremely popular and reliable engine that will be much missed!

There will also be the opportunity to see behind the scenes for yourself, on the popular shed tours. Our recently completed handiwork can be seen on the move in the demonstration goods train running throughout the day, and in a first for the NVR, public brake van rides will be running. This is something of a trial event, unfortunately with an age restriction (over 16’s only), a supplementary fare, and pre-booking only – the page to do this on the Official NVR website can be found here. Tim’s immaculate brake van rebuild B953944 should be used for these rides, so please consider taking this rare opportunity to see our line from this unusual perspective. At the time of writing Tim is rostered to be Guard on these trips, so he can directly give you the lowdown on the activities of the Wagon Group. We very much hope to see you there!

In the last week or so, the metalwork on the ‘bad side’ has been cleaned back and primed, before we remove the existing side timbers and replace with new. (All photographs courtesy of Philip Halstead)

The previously prepared ‘good side’, as seen in the last update, was also treated to a coat of primer.

A few days later the BR brown topcoat was applied over the top, completing this side (apart from the lettering). The headstocks and axleboxes, handbrake levers etc. were also treated to a quick coat of underframe black, so it looks presentable for the NVR September gala. We are now more confident about meeting this deadline with this wagon, as it has seen good progress lately and the three timbers for the long side are now on order, hopefully for fitting next week.