NVR Wagon Group

During August and September, progress continued to be made on several fronts at the railway:

Above: ‘Vanfit’ B768248 received its full complement of original-style 1950’s lettering to match the appearance of neighbouring van B777654. This small but important job completes ‘Operation Tidy Up’ for the time being, this pair of vans now creating an excellent impression in this very public area.

Above: Philip had previously undercoated the unsightly graffiti on ‘Vanfit’ B761651 in the yard, and followed this up with topcoat after freeing up some unyielding door hinges, all in time for the tank-engine themed Autumn Steam Gala. The condition of the roof has now been inspected – the good news is that the timber roof boards appear to be in good order, the bad news is that the seams of the roof covering are poor, and a new roof covering will therefore be required. About one third of the chassis and one axle has also been scraped back to remove the loose rust and scale that had accumulated. In addition, much of the brake gear of ply-bodied ‘Vanfit’ B786075 has been removed, cleaned up and greased, ready to be reinstalled. B761651, above, will require the same treatment before it re-enters traffic.

Above: To help pay for our wagon restoration activities, in early September we held a very successful “Steam Freight” driving and shunting experience course, using the Gresley ‘N2’. As can be seen, open wagon ‘B494730’ (in reality MoD No.4730) was successfully extracted from the carriage siding with our thanks to the shed staff, and returned to traffic in time for the driver experience course. We were pleased to see that all the attendees seemed to really enjoy the day, and we hope that we will be able to hold another similar event, using a different locomotive, at some point in the future.

July has again seen progress on several fronts, namely MoD open 4730, and BR ‘Vanfits’ B777654, B768248 and B761651…

Above: The new floor planks for MoD ‘Highfit’ No.4730 were successfully treated with preservative and installed, allowing this wagon to return back to active service and another job off the list.

Above: B777654 received the finishing touches to its cosmetic makeover, in the form of the remaining items of door ironmongery.

Above: Neighbouring van B768248 has also now been finished off, with the corrugated ends receiving bauxite topcoat, and ply patches being installed to the lower bodysides to seal up the holes and provide a paintable surface, which were then primed and topcoated to match the rest of the van.

Above: After some persistent ‘nagging’ via the members’ newsletters, it was good to see that somebody has come forward and started to paint the second-hand bookshop coach to complement our two finished vans next to it. Sadly I am unable to credit the person(s) responsible as I don’t yet know who has undertaken the work, but it can be seen above that this is already making a massive visual improvement in this previously neglected and down-at-heel area. What a difference!

Above: Our new project for restoration to running order, BR ‘Vanfit’ B761651, was brought into the yard recently so work could begin. Unfortunately the side bearing the heavy graffiti was facing our visitors viewing the yard from the platform, therefore not creating a particularly good impression. With this in mind, Philip spent some time obliterating the unwanted ‘paintwork’ with some primer undercoat, so at least it now looks like ‘work in progress’ rather than a target for vandals. He also spent some time cleaning accumulated rust and grime off one side of the underframe. A mechanical inspection is now required before we proceed much further, but the bodywork seems to be sound and so we hope that this vehicle will be at least relatively trouble-free.

In other news, our “Steam Freight” driving and shunting experience with visiting Gresley ‘N2’ 0-6-2T is booking well. I believe there may still be a limited number of places still available, so if you fancy a full-day, ‘hands on’ driving course a little different to the usual offerings, then please check out the details on the Official NVR webpage here. You can even meet the Wagon Group team in person..!

This update could be the largest ever to date! Below can be found the results of several working sessions over the last couple of weeks or so – most photos courtesy of Wagon Group volunteer Philip Halstead:

Above: Tim and I fitted the new plywood doors to ‘Vanfit’ B777654. This turned out to be a pig of a job, unexpectedly taking up most of the day. However we also managed to get the new floor planks for MoD open No.4726 cut to length, ready for fitting as soon as possible – photos of this to follow once they have been installed.

Above: A couple of weeks later, Philip followed on behind and topcoated the previously installed and primed doors, completing this van, apart from a couple of minor details which will be installed shortly.

Above: Philip has now turned his attention to the neighbouring van, 1952-built B768248. The eastern end was cleaned up and patch primed, the corrugated metal ends generally being in better condition than those of the aforementioned B777654. As can be seen, this van already sports replacement doors which saves us a job!

Above: The western end was cleaned and patch primed to match, as was the timber panelling to the platform side of the van. Ply patches will be required to the lower body sides to provide a more secure mounting for the door catches and an easier surface to paint…

Above: …however the platform side of the van was painted in topcoat, ready for the ply patches to be fitted and painted at a later date.

Above: That said, this pair of vans is now beginning to look really quite smart, a massive improvement on their neglected and unloved previous appearance. We just need someone to come forward and sort out the neighbouring second-hand bookshop Mk1 coach. BR ‘crimson and cream’ livery would be nice…?

Above: We return to ex-LMS CCT No.37071, which was externally restored back to James Bond “Octopussy” condition by ourselves, with the interior works now being undertaken by others. For the first time in two and a half years it now finds itself outside in the daylight, and so Philip took the opportunity to grab a couple of portrait shots in the open.

Above: The other side of No.37071 in the loco yard, heading up a line of wagons…

Above: …of which one is our next project, ‘Vanfit’ B761651. It is intended to restore this van to running order, although we need to check the reason why this van was ‘red carded’ (banned from running). We are hoping that the only reason is due to the unsightly graffiti, although it will of course receive a thorough check over to be sure there is nothing more sinister in store. This van otherwise appears to be in remarkably good condition, needing little more than a repaint, and possibly a new roof covering – to be confirmed…

Above: The southern side of B761651, also in apparently good condition apart from some faded and flaking paint.

Above: Not only has B761651 been brought in, but also 1961-built plywood ‘Vanfit’ B786075 – our grateful thanks to everyone who helped out with this task. This van is also in reasonable order and should be a relatively quick turnaround. Unfortunately this one will probably require new doors, which as we found with B777654 at the top of this posting, are quite time consuming both to build and install. These two vans, along with ‘Vanfit’ B759852 already running in the operational goods rake, will form the beginning of our new project to bring back the NVR BR van train…

Thanks to some solo working from Tim and Philip on different days, ‘Operation Tidy Up’ rapidly progresses towards completion of the first of the vans – BR ‘Vanfit’ B777654. Photos courtesy of Tim Hobman and Philip Halstead.

Above: The new set of ply doors have received a coat of primer, in readiness for being installed.

Above: B777654 has finally regained its identity after many years of fading and flaking paintwork rendering it illegible.

Above: The lettering is now complete to the public platform side, including tare weight, wheelbase, and ‘XP’ markings in the original 1950’s style.

Above: The next day, Philip cleaned up the remaining (western) end of the van, and primed with red oxide.

Above: A few days later, he returned and applied the topcoat, completing the publicly-visible sides of this vehicle (apart from the doors).

Above: This van is beginning to look really quite smart, and the new doors will finish the job off nicely once installed. Quite a transformation when you consider that previously it looked like this: http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=8210

It’s back! After the successful “Steam Freight” driving and shunting experience course with BR Standard ‘5MT’ 4-6-0 last year, the Wagon Group have been asked to arrange a similar event with a very special visitor – Gresley ‘N2’ 0-6-2T locomotive No.1744, during its short visit to NVR in September. Places are limited and there won’t be many opportunities to take the regulator of this engine whilst it is at the Nene Valley Railway, so don’t delay, book now for this full-day, hands-on, driving, firing, guarding and shunting experience!

Friday 4th September 2015.

£385 per person (up to 8 places available) Full-day steam driving and shunting experience course with Gresley ‘N2′ 0-6-2T locomotive No.1744 and the NVR goods train, over the NVR line from Wansford to Peterborough (proceeds to the Wagon Group). Full details can be found on the Official NVR website HERE.

A couple of progress update photos from Philip to add to the report below, as he has topcoated the previously cleaned and primed eastern end.

We are still awaiting an opportunity to shunt the externally-completed CCT 37071 out of the shed and bring in our next restoration projects. In the meantime, we are continuing with Operation ‘Tidy Up’, this being the cosmetic improvement of some of the box vans in the TPO platform at Wansford:

Above: Whilst attempting to find more economical ways of restoring wagons, we made the mistake of trying to use a paint colour-matching service in a DIY store. As you can see above, this was less than successful! In the mess hut we received a number of comments about Easyjet, Hi-Viz clothing, and Outspan oranges – we cannot imagine why! Lesson learned. However, more successfully, the external door catches were also reinstalled at this point.

Above: One end has been fully cleaned down and primed. Unfortunately the horizontal seams on the ends of this wagon are in quite poor condition, but we are not planning to do much about it for the time being.

Above: New side doors have been constructed and are ready to be installed during our next session.

Above: During the week, Philip returned and eradicated the bright orange with proper BR Freight Brown paint. Much better! We may however use up the remains of the orange on the other (non-public) side.

Above: The western end of the van similarly requires cleaning up, priming and painting. Once this is done and the new doors fitted and painted, this van should look reasonably smart and will receive lettering as a final touch in due course.

With the completion of our exterior works to ex-LMS “Octopussy” CCT No.37071, we have been free to be able to begin new wagon projects. We await a shunt to remove the CCT from our workspace in the shed and bring in the first new projects for attention, but until this has happened we will be able to make little progress with the running fleet. In the meantime while we are waiting, we have turned our attention to a couple of static vans in a rather publicly-prominent position in the platform at Wansford, which desperately require some cosmetic attention to remove the ‘scrapyard look’ they have had for several years.

First up is 12T British Railways ‘Vanfit’ No.B777654. This one has particularly badly rusted ends which we will attempt to clean up to a repaintable state. Despite initial appearances the condition of this van is not actually too bad, and a cosmetic makeover should make a big visual improvement.

The two/three lower planks to each side of the doors could really do with replacement, but they are solid enough to withstand being patched. This approach  is not something we would normally consider with wagons for the running fleet (unless the patch repair was really small), but for the purposes of a quick cosmetic smartening-up of a static vehicle we felt it worthwhile and the patch will provide a better base for painting. The plywood patch seen here (centre-right) was itself life-expired!

The plywood patches in the process of being installed. We are having to be particularly efficient with materials at the present time, hence the use of several off-cuts for this job! If you can help us with the very important job of fundraising, please contact us via email or our Facebook page – without fundraising we will be severely limited in what we can achieve with the wagon fleet and we would really appreciate your support.

By the end of the day we were able to clean up and prime both the wood and metalwork to the public platform side of the van. Unusually for NVR vans the roof covering is in good order, and needs no work. The doors will be rebuilt as soon as possible, and the vehicle will be repainted in ‘fitted’ (vacuum-braked) brown livery. At some point in between projects, the corrugated steel ends will also be tackled.

We are very pleased to report that our long and thorough project to rebuild and restore LMS CCT No.37071 back to its James Bond “Octopussy” filming appearance is now complete! The externally finished vehicle has now been handed over to others who have kindly offered to complete the interior fit-out to the required standard. In the process this frees us, as the Wagon Group, to commence work on our main focus of refurbishing and restoring vehicles for the demonstration/photographic running rake, with particular emphasis on the 12-ton vans, in order to gradually reintroduce the NVR BR van train as time and funds allow. This latter point is particularly important at the current time, especially being something of a ‘non-essential’ project, so if you’re interested in sponsoring the restoration of, or part of, a van (or two, or more – no upward limit!) then please contact us via e-mail or our new Facebook page, or come to see us when we’re on site.

The full complement of lettering and whitewall tyres as worn by these vehicles in the “Octopussy” circus train sequences.

Side door ironmongery is now complete, the finishing touch to the exterior (apart from a good clean to remove the dust!)

Our new Facebook page has now gone live, which we hope will be a way to communicate more instantly with our friends/supporters/interested bystanders! Please follow us at the link below or in the sidebar (right, below the calendar):

https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup

Some progress has been made with the small final jobs as we push the James Bond “Octopussy” wagon towards completion. Unfortunately by their nature some of these items are not particularly photogenic or interesting in themselves but have been included for completeness!

The last areas of rot in the top rail were cut out and new timber installed in their place, and a little filler was applied where necessary to the bodysides.

Some fixing loops have been installed to edge of the roof line to provide a secure fastening for the marquee at ‘Santa’ time, seen here in primer.

Curved packing strips were added to fill the gap between the top of the end doors and the underside of the roof. All these components above have since been painted up to topcoat.

The stencils for the European-style lettering as carried by these vans for the filming…

…lettering now applied (albeit a poor quality mobile phone photo taken in the dark!) This is as accurate to the vehicle’s livery for the filming as we could manage, we believe at least 90-95% accurate, which is not at all bad considering the severely limited source material we had available, including reference to the film itself.

The Wagon Group is indebted to Roger Gurney, who has sent us some beautiful recent images of our goods train in action. A selection can be found on our ‘Gallery’ pages.