NVR Wagon Group

As we get ever closer to our Scotch Goods Photographic Charter, featuring none other than A3 Class No 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’, we have been very busy making sure every detail of the event is covered.

Following a recent appeal for newspapers, the group have spent the last two sessions wrapping bundles of newspapers ready for the recreation of the back end of a newspaper train; which will feature in the evening event.

It should be pointed out that no trains were operating on Sunday and suitable protection measures were in place…it was just easier to set up a working area alongside the vans in the siding.

After a lunch break and a warm up in Tim’s Brake Van, it was time to move on to parcel wrapping. Over the last year, everyone in the group has been collecting boxes, so it was time to make them look more ‘1950s period’.

We have also been purchasing some original artefacts to use as demonstration loads. Tim turned up with two pigeon baskets and Stu has managed to acquire some Saxa salt boxes (other brands of salt are available)!

Though not in attendance on Sunday, we are pleased to announce that our event will feature a period Land Rover, courtesy of NVR member Russ Jenner. A few staged shots at the level crossing will certainly be in order.

Next session we will be oiling the rake and there will be further preparations to be made to ensure the event is a massive success.

Tickets are still available for both the daytime and the evening photographic events, so don’t miss this unique opportunity to see Flying Scotsman on freight for the first time in 30 years.

To book, visit – https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/569/flying-scotsman-scotch-goods

Also, don’t forget about our photographic charter with No70000 ‘Britannia’. Tickets are still available to book at –

https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/567/rule-britannia

On Sunday we took a break from wagon restoration and started some vegetation clearance at Overton as part of a new and exciting development for the wagon group and the Nene Valley Railway.

Several months work have led up to this point, but we are now very pleased to announce the start of the ‘Overton Goods Yard Project’. The board and management have supported a proposal put forward to develop the Overton station site into a centre of non-passenger traffic, which will see a collaboration between the wagon and travelling post office (TPO) groups to create a 1950s/1960s operational goods yard and living/working museum space.

Those who follow NVR news may be aware that the Overton site has historically been dedicated to the TPO Nightmail Project, which sought to create a dedicated TPO museum over the whole site.

The Nightmail project has stalled and stagnated and so a new proposal has been put forward which will realise some of the Nightmail objectives on a much smaller scale, whilst leaving space for wagon group aims to create a working space in order to demonstrate goods movements from rail to road. The project seeks to tidy and open up the site to provide museum and educational opportunities, whilst providing space for events and working demonstrations.

The NVR board has appointed Tim Hobman as project manager with their full support to move the scheme forward and so the working session on Sunday saw members of the wagon and TPO groups come down to start tidying the site and uncover the original LNWR wall that forms the boundary. The initial stages of work will see site tidying and then stock movements to relocate items that don’t fit within the chosen early BR Eastern Region period. This will all happen over the next few months as time allows, whilst a full costed and phased business plan is developed for the whole site.

The outline plans for the site show all of the usual goods yard facilities, with creation of an LNWR style goods shed, museum building, second platform and finally signalling. The goods shed is planned to be a multi-use space, primarily used as restoration facilities for the wagon and TPO groups, but also an occasional undercover events space. Similarly the museum space has been considered as a multi-use space to tell the story of the TPOs, but also encourage educational opportunities with visiting groups and partnership working with the NVR museum group.

It is also hoped that the development and improvement of the rest of the site will encourage more volunteers and involvement from existing departments to staff the station and yard, making Overton a vibrant and attractive destination for visitors to the NVR.

The project will naturally require significant external funding, whilst not detracting from other NVR objectives and as already stated a full business plan is currently in progress. Whilst still in the planning phase, it is hoped that some progress can be made during 2025 to tidy the site and relocate some current projects to the yard to continue the good work of the wagon and TPO groups.

It is certainly an exciting prospect and one to watch as things develop!

This working session there was a good turnout to try and achieve a big job. We have been very lucky to receive a bequest of money from a member of the railway that passed away earlier in the year, so it was decided to spend the money on new springs for the, as yet unrestored, LMS Brake Van at Wansford.

Whilst Tim and Annika headed to the running rake to carry out a few little jobs, the rest of the team, lead by Steve, started to remove the old springs so they could be sent away and assessed for repair or replacement. Unfortunately, after a few hours of toil the nuts on the spring hangers couldn’t be removed, so the endeavour stalled for now.

Meanwhile, down the siding with the running rake, Tim and Annika set about the job of replacing the ropes on the tarpaulin covering the BR Shoc Open. The ropes have deteriorated over time and it was decided better to do it before the winter for fear of them snapping and the sheet blowing off.

Following the defeat with the springs, Tim and Annika were joined down the siding by Colin, Paul, Steve, Gareth, Mark, and Jason, for another team effort in ticking a job off the list. BR van B786075 has suffered from a leaking roof for the past few months and during the freight running weekend Tim noticed from the footbridge some rather large cracks in the roof canvass, which has caused the roof to get wet and sag in several places. With no facilities available to replace the roof it was decided to sheet it over to get through the winter. Hopefully this will allow the interior to dry out a bit and save further damage to the floor. However, before the tarpaulin could be thrown over the roof a small repair was needed, so it was opened out for inspection. It should be noted that no trains were running on Saturday……we would never obstruct the line on a running day!

Next on the list was a slight roof repair to BR Van B768248, so Steve and Tim tackled this, whilst some others made an early departure.

At the other end of the siding, Stu and Josh were putting the finishing touches to LMS Medfit M470944. A few extra coach screws were needed in the top rails, then the label clips were fitted both sides. This vehicle is now complete!

As we move into winter the pace of work will naturally slow, but we will carry on regardless to ensure readiness for next year’s running.

On Friday there was a bit of shunting and preparation to do whilst we got ready for our Goods Weekend.

With all preparations complete, Saturday morning we hit the ground running for some freight action. Tim was acting as Guard for the Goods Train, with the rest of the team helping with our guests from other wagon groups and participants for the driving opportunities.

We were really pleased to see our friends from the Great Central and Mid-Hants over the weekend.

On the Sunday we were at it again with more wonderful wagons and lots of happy customers, some of which were treated to a ‘behind the scenes tour’.

We were also very proud to honour our friend Paul Foxwell over the weekend with our headboard being carried on the train.

All in all it was an awesome weekend which finished our 2024 running in style….now for some winter maintenance!

Before getting into the update from this working session, a couple of weeks ago Tim gave a presentation at Peterborough Museum as part of the recent exhibition on the railways of Peterborough. His evening talk was in two parts, with a brief overview of wagon development, design, and usage, followed by an overview of the NVR wagon group and a bit about railway operations with an emphasis on heritage railways ‘doing it right’ when recreating history. The talk was very well received and appreciated by all who attended.

The next day Tim gave a condensed version of his talk at the NVR AGM, which was also very well received.

Also, during the week Tim managed to transport his scarab trailer to the NVR as a future exhibit once restored. The trailer was found at a local farm and purchased by Tim due to local connections. The trailer spent its working life at Peterborough East Station and still carries some of the BR lettering and numbering from those days. The front axle is actually the back end of a scarab tractor unit to allow the farmer to make use of the trailer, which will be removed for exhibition purposes.

Back to this weeks session….

The main aim was to get the rake oiled and inspected ready for our upcoming events. Steve set straight to work like a greyhound out of the traps and went down the north side opening axle boxes and syringing out any water.

Steve was then followed by Paul, Mark, and Alan, who topped up the oil and carried out visual checks of pads.

Meanwhile, Tim and Gareth attended to some fixings on Tim’s Conflat. It was found that some of the bolts holding the floor down were loose, so needed a bit of a tighten, with some lock nuts added for good measure.

At the other end of the rake, Stu and Josh added the final bit of metal to Stu’s Medfit. These were the metal strips that protect the top edges of the body sides. After a bit of paint on the newly fitted strips, the restoration of the Medfit is complete.

Every so often there was a green distraction passing the team working on the rake in the form of A1 Class No 60163 ‘Tornado’, so naturally there was a bit of stopping work to look!

At lunchtime Jason turned up just in time for a bit of lifting and shifting. Stu managed to borrow a van, with massive thanks to Simon at Teversham Motors near Cambridge Airport. This allowed Stu to bring up some thin tyres donated by Simon to act as period wagon loads once wrapped up. Stu also purchased two barrels and both him and Jason brought some more cardboard boxes. The issue was how to get this stuff to the siding, so with the consent of the signalman at Wansford we used a trolley to move the gear. With Tim acting as PICOW and responsible person, the team heading down to the siding and returned empty whilst Tornado was well out of the way at Peterborough.

At the close of play everything was much better than it was and the sun even came out!

Don’t forget our upcoming events. There are still places available by going to the NVR website events page.

https://nvr.org.uk/section.php/2/1/special-events/a8bb3e5d8af3e92f6781f3d183a0238d

A slightly late update on last Sundays activities with the running rake at Wansford…

Tim got in early to fix a leak on the roof of his Brake Van prior to public running. With the leak fixed he was joined by Mark, Jason, Colin, and new recruit Annika, to get a few jobs done on the running rake. A massive welcome to Annika 👋

Jason and Mark set to work on the long overdue job of having a tidy up inside some of the vans, whilst Colin got on with putting some experimental weathering on the hoppers in preparation for our NCB photo charter on 1st November. The top lip of the hoppers was painted with black poster paint in the hope it would run down the sides over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, looking the next day, the rain had washed it off! We have another plan for weathering though, so no harm done.

Meanwhile, Tim finished off the lettering on Medfit M470944.

Whilst all this was going on, Annika got the freight brown out and first painted a small bit of Tim’s Brake Van that was missed when it was repainted last year. She then headed down to the Medfit to paint all the bits that were still showing signs of grey after the recent repaint. These were mainly bits on the inside of the side doors.

During the lunch break the group took a walk to collect boxes from Annika’s car. Cardboard boxes are constantly being collected by the group as wagon loads and will later be wrapped in brown paper and string to look like parcels.

At the close of play several jobs were ticked off the list. Three vans were tidied, Tim’s Brake Van was watertight again, several bits were painted, and the Medfit only needs the metal capping strips fitted to the top edge of the body sides to finish it off.

Don’t forget that we have two events coming up…

Firstly, the House Coal Concentration Photographic Charter on Friday 1st November, now at a slightly reduced price and also featuring J94 No 68070 in Wansford Yard shots.

Secondly, our Before the Snows of Winter Goods Weekend and Driving Experience over the weekend of Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd November. This event will feature plenty of freight action, with limited places left to drive Class 45 No 45041 and ‘Driver for a Fiver’ with Sentinel Shunter DL83 in Wansford Yard on Saturday only.

For more info, visit :

https://nvr.org.uk/section.php/2/1/special-events/a009d75762f34ea596e6e28deef06838

With most of the wagon group away doing other things it was decided to try and finish off the LMS Medfit 3-plank wagon that is in traffic, but missing a few bits.

As a thunderstorm was expected at 3pm, Tim set straight to work on the lettering, whilst Stu and Josh started to fit some missing metalwork to the body sides.

After a while Phil arrived too and got on with some much needed tidying in some of the van in the rake. Once Stu had finished fitting the metal buffers to the sides which protect the side doors from damage, he got on with giving them some freight brown paint. Tim had finished the lettering on one side and just started on the other, when the rain arrived right on cue! Hiding under an old T-shirt, Tim managed to complete the lettering on one end of the north side, but then had to abandon the job and drop the side to protect his work from the rain.

At the close of play all concerned were heard to mutter the wagon group motto, ‘it’s better than it was’, as they walked away soaking wet!

We’d like to make you aware of two events in the planning, which will hopefully go on sale in the next few days…..so save the dates! The first being a photo charter and the second a goods weekend and driving experience. We’d like to extend an invitation to all wagon groups across the country to join us and bring a display/sales stand. We’ve contacted as many groups as possible, but if you’re a wagon group member at another heritage railway and would like to join us then contact Tim Hobman.

For more info visit – https://nvr.org.uk/section.php/2/1/whats-on

The session on Saturday was called off due to bad weather, so on Sunday there were five of us to crack on with the Tar Tanker and Van B780952.

Whilst Mark and Alan got on with some more cleaning on the tanker, Tim and Jason finished removing the north east wall in the van.

After a quick lunch break and a change of teams, Alan had to go and Paul turned up for the afternoon session. Whilst Mark and Jason carried on with the tanker, Paul and Tim fitted new wall planks to the van. First Tim had to profile the special middle plank and then the external boards were slotted into place and bolted.

Paul then refitted the original internal boards, replacing the hundred or so screws by hand. On the outside, Tim trimmed the coach bolts down, fitted the door catch and then a bit of red oxide paint was put over the bare metal. The upper planks and metal frame on this section of the van will need rubbing back then primer and undercoat before the whole side is painted in topcoat.

At the close of play the tanker was a bit further forward and Van B780952 only needs the same treatment to the north west wall, then a full set of doors to get it back into traffic.

This session we were back at Peterborough to continue work on the Tar Tanker. Whilst Gareth, Stu, Josh, Mark and Al got on with this Tim was welcoming new recruit Annika and showing her what we are about. After about an hour of Tim talking about how great wagons are she was still awake, so a very promising start!

After a spot of lunch, Tim decided to take a look at the north side of BR Van B780952. The usual problem was found, in that the bottom half of the body side planking was in poor condition. Tim then set about removing the internal boards ready to replace the external planks next time; though at one point he must’ve thought he was in ‘The Shining’ as he broke through a rotten plank and shouted “Here’s Timmy”!

It was also identified that B780952 will need new doors, but this was expected. However, a new roof was put on this van last year, so once the body is sorted it will be fit for traffic. We would ideally like to vacuum fit this van too.

By close of play the Tar Tanker had been cleaned of all the thick tar on the south side and one section of wall within B780952 had been loosened to be replaced next time.

With a shunt of wagons in Wansford tunnel imminent, it was decided to go and oil up some stuff to avoid damage. Several wagons are stored in the tunnel awaiting restoration, but even so, pulling them out without oil in the axleboxes might cause serious damage to the bearings or journals.

The first job was to open up the axleboxes, which according to most dates on the outside, hadn’t been inspected since 2013. This proved difficult in some cases and needed a bit of heat, but after a while we were in and inspecting the pads. All were found to be a bit dry, but in good condition. As expected some boxes had water in, which was sucked out, then a generous amount of oil was applied to the pads and the reservoirs filled.

The main issue with working on a Saturday was the running of trains. Tim was in charge of works and kept in constant contact with the signal box to ensure we were out of the tunnel for the passage of trains and suitable protection arrangements were in place. Unfortunately, after a train had passed we had to wait a while for smoke to clear, but this meant plenty of time for chatting about wagon matters.

Once all the wagons were inspected and oiled, we all packed up and headed to the East Coast Main Line to see A2 Class Locomotive No 60532 ‘Blue Peter’…lovely to see the loco back on the main line.