Volunteer Liaison Update | 23rd August

​This week's update from the railway, starting as usual with the coaches.

MK2 Tourist Standard Open (TSO) No. 5220. 

Work continues to get the coach ready for the Polar Express.

Dave and Nigel have completed the flooring, and the carpet has been put back down. John was busy putting up more vinyl and fitting seat brackets with Tracey and Miles giving him a helping hand.

With the carpet and brackets back in place, Ben and Josh fixed all the seat carcasses into one side of the coach. The re-upholstered cushions are now being refitted together with the armrests.

On Saturday, Ben, Ian and Brian were resealing more of the windows.

MK2 Brake Standard Open (BSO) No. 9046

Sean and Mike have continued to cut, paint and fit wooden panelling and have carried on with the preparation of the vestibule areas so they can start fitting the internal doors.

Wood for the doors have now been received, meaning we now have enough for all the passenger doors for the BSO,  and make all the necessary repairs across our fleet of TSO's. 

Paul and Trevor started to build a GWR bench in the Cosford Shed before Paul was back painting the floor of the Horsehay and Dawley waiting room, and Trevor went to paint the Furnaces Tearoom and start to repair the front of the serving counter. 

Martin and AJ continue to move spoil from the platform extension. Chris has been bricklaying along the new platform edge. 

Kev has repaired the wiring on the road/rail dumper. This has been tested and is now working fine

Lineside clearance has continued with Antony, Miles and AJ strimming and cutting back vegetation close to 'The Old Station Masters' house. This has improved visibility for passengers and crew.

Improved recycling bins have been installed around the site.

In the works update no. 2

Ruston & Hornsby 20 Diesel 2-foot gauge.

Brakes have been freed, dismantled and are now ready for painting. Brake lever
has also been freed with the help of oxyacetylene. The gear selector mechanism has been taken to Billcar Engineering as the horizontal rod was seized solid, and there were concerns that the casting could become fractured. Work is currently ongoing to remove the matrices from the radiator for rebuilding. Any help or advice would be appreciated for the restoration/welding of the (very heavy) radiator enclosure.

North British 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic No. 27414 'Tom'

No further work has taken place as manpower has been diverted to work on repairing and   maintaining plant machinery.

British Railways Class 37 No. 37263

Driver and Secondman seats have been replaced. The turbo oil has been replaced, the blower motor repaired at the No. 1 end and the wipers repaired and now working at the No. 2 end.

This loco is operational and will be hauling public trains on Saturday 10th September.

Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0 diesel mechanical No. 382824 'Hector'

Over the past month there has been plenty of work on Hector. After the successful start up the first job was to tackle an air leak and stuck drain valve on the brake air tanks. This has now been rectified and is ready for testing. The rear buffers have been removed, cleaned up and repainted. They have now been refitted securely with new matching bolts. In addition, there has been some touch up painting on the doors, front cab panel and bonnet nose as the old paint was either damaged or faded. The gearbox has had some attention, with a new set of mounting bolts fitted front and back as the originals had worn badly due to some bolts being loose. On the chassis, the front spring spacers have been removed to have 2 new ones made for the rear (which are currently missing) which, when all fitted, will allow the loco to sit level. Finally, the damaged front buffer plate has had its bolts loosened off ready for removed in the near future. This has been damaged in the past and there is a severe build-up of corrosion between the plates. There's been plenty of work being undertaken on Hector this past month, and just as much planned for September.

British Railways Class 144 'Pacer' No. 144013.

A thorough internal clean has taken place. This vehicle will be in use for the guard and driver training taking place over the weekend of 17th & 18th September.

The next running day is the Bank Holiday Weekend (Sat, Sun and Mon). Peckett & Sons W6 steam engine No. 1722 'Rocket' will be hauling trains on all three days.

The next event is the 'Horsehay Growler' on Saturday September 10th. Class 37 diesel No. 37263 will be hauling all trains on that date.

Please note that the railway will not be open over the weekend of 17th and 18th September. This is to allow 'Pacer' guard and driver training.

First train leaves Spring Village station at 11am. Pay once and ride all day. No need to prebook. Free car parking at our Spring Village (TF4 2NF).

Thank you for Ben, Sean and AJ for the additional information used in this update.