A6581: July 2014

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

29.7.14

Our first group work since a fortnight ago. And again the weather has been fantastic for working on 6581.

Due to the amount of work still to be undertaken, it was decided Keith would start to clean under the barrel behind the anchor mount and that I would clean the wheel.

Keith has made good progress cleaning the area behind the anchor. So far two areas have been cleaned, which does not sound a lot however due to all the rivets, it is a good advancement. The areas cleaned are the eastern face including the mount and the south face. These are now sitting in primer awaiting their turn for undercoat. The undercoat will commence once all the areas are sitting in primer, which should be within the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile the wheel has been cleaned both back and front. Compared to 6071, we thought this would be easier to clean, however it isn't. The lack of spokes makes holding the angle grinder difficult in tight spaces and some hard to reach areas were extremely hard to get to. Even with the drill it wasn't easy. However after 4 hours work it was complete and was sitting in primer awaiting its turn for undercoat. Attached is a photo showing the newly primed wheel against an undercoated W bar and a freshly glossed Brake Pin bar.

Eventually this will all look like the hanger, sitting in its lovely black gloss.

I'm ending today's post with the usual request for volunteers to join our group. An imminent Mega Shunt is to occur in Swithland due to the newly created Carriage Shed. The movement of Teak Coaches to this facillity and the MK1s possibly being moved opens up a good advantage for us. All being well, all wagons needing overhaul/restoration work will be grouped together in the yard, allowing us to work on them in time. The list of wagons is rather large and more help would be greatly appreciated. If we had a big group we could possibly work on a couple of wagons simultaneously. Please do get in touch, details found on our website.

Saturday, 26 July 2014

26.7.14

A little update from Keith.

He has now re-attached the Hand Brake pin bars and has glossed them in the ever so lovely coat of black. The nuts have split pin holes however we will need to drill them clean due to the old split pins being stuck. This should be done in next couple of weeks. Edit:attached is a photo showing the work taken on 29.7.14.

Keith has also taken off the metal plate from underneath the barrel that holds the pipe work in place. This will be cleaned and once the area is again complete will be re-attached. The nuts do need re-threading however and should be completed next Saturday.

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

23.7.14

Work had to move to a different day this week, due to work. And this also meant only one member was present. This does not mean work stopped, oh no. By the contrary.

Work continued under the barrel on the frame. As some faces had already been worked on, the task of working on the other faces continued. No less than 5 areas were cleaned and primed and the photos are below.

As the weather has been fantastic, it was also decided that a couple of areas that have been sitting in primer should be under coated. So the frame has been undercoated from the corner to the hand brake pivot point, including the front of the axle box and W bar. The photo can be seen below.

Our next task will be to re-install the Hand Brake Pin bars and then gloss them in place. We have decided that we will gloss once an item is re-attached, thus allowing more space in the van and moving the project along.

Also our next task will be to clean the wheel and get that to the same stage as the axle box and also carry on under neath.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

15.7.14

Another brilliant day weather wise and productivity wise. Keith is back off his Holiday and has made progress on the hand brake pin brackets. These were taken off a couple of weeks ago and stored awaiting work. Keith has cleaned them back and primed them over the weekend. His first task was to paint them into undercoat, then they would be pretty much dry by the time we placed them back into store.

As previous posts would show, work has now started on the frames, mainly in the north east corner. The out side is now sitting in primer as shown below.

With the front sitting in primer, it is now time to start behind, with the first task being cleaning the frame behind the spring. Sounds easy, and is relatively easier compared to 6071 as it is just turning to dust and dirt. The section was cleaned and then work started on the section under the Tank Anchors. This section is hard to clean with a grinder, so our ever so faithful drill was used. Its difficult as the anchor is held in place by a selection of nuts and bolts. Now we could have released every single bolt but it really is pointless as they are all in good condition and would actually create more work.

Once that section was cleaned, work then moved slightly further back, and work commenced on the stretcher that runs diagonally from the north east corner to the center. Why? Well if you are to paint 4 sides of a very small space, the likelihood of catching and damaging the paint is very high. So to stop this from happening, tackle 2 sides, and move onto another small box. And in doing so, not only do you lower the chances of getting paint on our overalls, more of the frame can be covered in less time. Below are 2 photos showing the areas of work, which are now sitting in primer.

Meanwhile, after undercoating, Keith made good progress cleaning the center anchor and this now sits in primer. He also carried on cleaning the main frame. As discussed in previous posts, this can be a time consuming job. The amount of rivets has also taken a toll on the brush, a new one is now imminent. Below is a photo showing Keith's work. This side is now 3/4's done and should be fully cleaned in coming weeks.

As you can see a lot of work is happening and there is still more to do. With the work on the nearby carriage shed almost complete, the sidings will be involved in a mega shunt, mainly moving coaches to relevant storage places, MK1's to Rothley and the Teaks going into their new home. This will then mean most of the wagon fleet will be based at Swithland. We could do with expanding our group to maintain these wagons in running condition and to release freshly overhauled/restored wagons into service. There is plenty to do, and you do not even have to be skilled. As long as you can hold a paint brush and use an angle grinder you will be fine. If you would like to Get involved then email gcrwagongroup@outlook.com

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

9.7.14

Work is still moving apace on A6581, even if there is a wasp nest in our tool van acting as a deterrent.

Work this week started on the handbrake pivot support bracket located in the center. This has been fully cleaned back and is now primed. Photo below shows it in its primer coat. It shall not be long till it is in its grey undercoat.

After the above area was completed work started on cleaning the north east axle box. As previously mentioned in past posts, the way of working at present is to concentrate upon one area and to re-attach items quicker, meaning we can maximize our storage.

As you can see, the guides, the main axle box and the W iron bars have all been cleaned and primed. All the writing found on the axle box is now visible.

As you may have noticed, work has also started on the axle tie bar, which is still in place. After releasing the bolts, it was found that the tie-bar ends have been bent inwards and made tight against the W iron bar, meaning it is not something that will come off. It has been decided to keep it in place and to tidy as we go along.

The back has also been cleaned and half has been primed. The other half will be re-cleaned and primed on the next occasion.

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

1.7.14

More of the sole bar has been attached today. It is now cleaned up to the handbrake pivot supports, which is around half the distance. Again cleaning around the rivets has taken more time however I am sure the photo will do the work justice.

Photo above shows the area of which has been cleaned and primed to-date.

Photo above shows that work has also started on the springs.

The main idea is to complete one corner, and get all the small items re-attached to stop the risk of items being damaged or lost. So work will continue in this area by myself, including cleaning the bottom of the barrel and the frames on the inside, the wheel and axle box along with the main axle.

Meanwhile, Keith will undertake the same job on the South East corner. If correct, this will move the project along quicker than 6071, and also allowing the brake and pipework to be re-attached quicker.

As you can see, work is really underway on A6581, and we would like to have more help. If the photos of our work has encouraged you to help us, please do get in touch.