NVR Wagon Group

Good working progress continues to be made with several small tasks on 1961-built ply-bodied box van B786075, which although essential, are not of a particularly photogenic nature. The chassis cleaning has continued, and the bodysides have received a skim of filler where required ready for painting. Yet more of the brake gear has been cleaned up and painted up to topcoat, with the bearing surfaces greased ready to be reinstalled back on the wagon. The curved roof strips have been added above the doors, and the roof has received a first application of bituminous roof coating, in an effort to extend its life for a few more years. A trial area of BR brown paint has been applied to part of the bodyside, but this will need further work.

These small updates can be followed as and when they happen on our Facebook page, which can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/nvrwagongroup

With the overhaul of the roof and bodywork of van B761651 outside in the yard completed in time for winter, attention has now switched to 1961-built van B786075 in the shed. We intend to work on this van until it can be released into traffic, before bringing the more advanced B761651 into the shed for final mechanical attention to split pins and the like, and completion of minor finishing touches before also being outshopped.

Ply-bodied B786075 requires new doors, but apart from this appears to be in generally good order. We have managed to salvage the existing roof covering by means of a small localised repair, and will give the whole roof a coat of bituminous roof paint in order to prolong its life for as long as possible.

Cleaning and preparation of brake parts continues, and will do so until the brake gear can be reassembled. We anticipate a quick wash and rub down, with a little filler in places, will take care of the majority of the bodywork. Philip has cleaned up the chassis and body ironwork, and has also cleaned back the chassis of  B761651 outside in the yard, ready for painting below solebar level once its own mechanical overhaul is completed.

With winter now closing in, efforts are being made to complete ‘Vanfit’ B761651 in the yard before it gets too cold and wet to paint. A opportune window of drier weather allowed enough time to complete the overhaul of the body, as seen below…

Above: The final previously-prepared side undergoing painting into topcoat…

Above: …and then completed, wrapping up the roof and body overhaul in time for the colder and wetter winter months. Apart from the lettering, all work remaining is now focused on the chassis/underframe, namely an overhaul of the brake gear and renewal of corroded split pins, and some new underframe black paint to smarten it up.

Above: After completing the topcoat to the van body, my attention turned to cleaning up the headstocks and patch-priming any bare metal…

Above: …before giving the whole lot a coat of black underframe gloss. Both ends were completed to the same level as the last of the daylight faded.

Above: Newly-restored James Bond “Octopussy” film star, ex-LMS CCT No.37071, has also now been shunted into position in order to serve the railway in its new storage role. It was stood next to the loco prep area for quite some time, so has got quite dirty and could do with a quick wash over! Here we see the van being turned, as the doors only open on one side due to previous structural damage.

Above: Now parked up in its final location with ongoing preparations for the ‘Santa Special’ trains happening all around, interior works by others are continuing in order to fit out the vehicle for its static support role in the bay platform.

Work has been progressing with ‘Vanfit’ B761651, with the bulk of the works to the roof and bodysides now completed.

 Above: Tim and James spent an ambitious session installing the new felt roof covering. The old single-layer felt is being replaced with a new 2-layer felt roofing system, which should allow the felt covering to expand and contract at a different rate to the roof boards underneath. This should help prevent cracks and bubbles appearing in the roof covering (as was the case with the previous stuck-down felt), and will therefore hopefully give a longer lifespan to the roof covering. The 2-layer system should also be easier and quicker to remove when it does eventually become life expired – at least that’s the theory! The first layer is an underlay felt with sealed lapped joints…

Above: …The underlay is then covered with a capping sheet, care being taken to stagger the joints with those of the underlay underneath, in order to minimise the possibility of water ingress. The roof is very nearly complete – only requiring a little further attention to the seams seen above to finish off.

Above: Philip has now given the remaining body side its last preparatory works, wood hardener and primer being used as required before applying topcoat as soon as we are able.

Something of a misleading title to this update, as there have been snippets on the restoration progress made on this wagon in earlier compilation postings. However, since the completion of a collection of smaller projects (cosmetically restoring vans B777654 and B764248, partially reflooring MoD open No.4730 – which is now back in traffic – and starting to strip the brake gear on van B786075), our efforts have been focused solely on this vehicle in the last few weeks, with particular credit due to Wagon Group volunteer Philip Halstead, who has undertaken most of the physical work seen so far on this van and provided the first three images in this report…

Above: The corrugated steel ends, generally in very good condition, have been cleaned back and patch-primed as required, with some attention also given to the headstocks.

Above: The ends then received a coat of topcoat to finish them off. This van requires replacement shunter’s blackboards to be made and fitted into the brackets that can be seen above the nearest buffer, which will be done as part of the overhaul. In practice, this feature seems to have been seldom used, remaining unmarked whilst vehicle destinations were simply chalked on the bodyside instead!

Above: A start was then made on the metalwork on the last remaining side. Some slightly soft timber has received some wood hardening treatment, which will be painted in due course to complete the bodywork renovation. The generally excellent condition of this van  has meant very rapid progress has been made with the overhaul so far.

Above: Attention then turned to the roof, the seams of the roof covering being in poor condition. A day was spend stripping the old covering, which had been adhered directly to the roof using bitumen adhesive. The life-expired covering will be replaced with a 2-layer roof felting system, that will allow the felt and the roof boards to expand and contract at different rates without breaking up, plus hopefully make it a lot easier to renew the felt in future when replacement is required!

Above: Close to the end of a long day, the old felt is completely gone (the remnants hanging down the sides were removed shortly after this photo). The van is now temporarily under cover in the shed to keep the rain off whilst the roof boards are exposed, with plans in hand to install the new covering as soon as possible.

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.