Lynton & Barnstable coach 7 arrives at the works for repair

[Hayfield1]

Both ends have now been fitted and I am getting a better idea of what needs doing in building this kit



For a better fit of the roofI have had to shorten the top carriage side tabs and cut slots where the partitions are, simply to get a decent fit of the roof



I have also rolled the roof this morning, however I brought this third class special on the 30 th of August, on the 25th of July I brought the brake 3rd, I found that the roofs had been swapped over at some time before they went on sale, just a lucky spot

As I said I have two other Langley coaches, an all third and another brake 3rd, I need to phone Langley and ask if they still sell the etched frets with the seats, grab and door handles on (I need 3 sets) and also if they can supply cast bogies and fittings for the these other two coaches

John

 

[Hayfield1]

I drilled out the axles holes and fitted wasted pinpoint bearings, I also found a good stock of Jackson 10.5mm wheels, the only issue is the axles are 26mm long and this means I will need to pack out the bolsters by 1mm each side


the second solebar has been fitted, one set of foot steps have been bent to shape, but I am in two minds whether to fit them

I spoke with Langley Minature Models sadly they dont supply spare bogie sets or other brass castings and have no etched bench seat frets, these latter items were on a spare space on the brake third etch and there are no plans for any new etchings in the forseable future

Next up is to see if Slaters will supply their own castings, plus I think I will try and make some basic bogies myself

Anyway back up to Colchester tomorrow as I need to measure solebat rods and queen posts plus finf the diameter of the end hand
rails

John

 

[Hayfield1]

I arrived at the workshop and the body had been lifted again, the new bolt holes that were required had been marked and drilled and by mid morning the rubber sealing strip had arrived



Also during the week batterns have been screwed in place to which new pannelling will be fitted to. This will hide the void made by lifting the movable compartment divider panels, for when closed compartments are necessary (in the colder months). This is part of the additional refurbishment we are carrying out



Martin is painting one of the moveable deviders in the paintshop



Another job has been fitting mesh infront of the sliding venterlators, plus we are now tidying up some of the areas on the inner side of the doors which has had the varnish worn away



It took us more than an hour to persuade the body to fit as it has tristed a bit over the years, then ages to fit the vertical body retaining bolts, let alone the very large horizantle bolts. Still the coach arrived in the first week of August, whilst we have a workshop manager full time, the bulk of voulinteers come on Tuesdays, so in a way the progress has been faster than expected

Once the bolts are fully secured there are a few repairs required to some of the frame work. Then the job of fitting the metal panels and replacing the beading, so plenty of painting still to be done.

All the items for fitting the new deviders has been painted, some work and replacements for the seat slats will be required, Plus fitting the hat shelves on the bulkheads, so quite a few more weeks works are required befor it can return to Woody Bay

John

 

[Hayfield1]

After a couple of weeks in Italy I returned to the workshop on Tuesday to find out how much the coach has progressed




Internally the boxing in of the seat rears has started (to hide the gap formed when the partitions are raised), under the seats remains to be fitted, but much nicer than the plain blockboard infills originally fitted. The seat back slats are yet to be re-fitted



This may not look like much work but was the reason for the coach body twisting. Replaced a repair we think was done in Woody Bay which ended up twisting the body and resulted in a bit more repairwork than expected



We have been upgrading the door ventilators. After fitting the mesh (to keep insects out) We have revarnished areas where the varnish has been worn away.

Also Big Dave was cleaning up the metal panels prior to re-fitting them, Little Dave painted the metal compartment guides, then he assisted Martin in sanding back the seat slats prior to re-varnishing them, some need repair/replacing, Malcolm came in and was forming some metal fittings and Charles busied himself for most of the day.

The highlight was soup is back on the menu at the Donkey and Buskin.

The Workshop is full to the brim, coach 7 and van 23 erected inside and parts for van 23 and coach 9 packed in all the spare spaces we have

John

 

[Hayfield1]

A bit of a gap from the last September post, thought I had updated over the past 4 weeks



Two Tuesdays ago a start had been made on refitting the panels



As well as Dave fitting the panels back, Dave and Martin were in the paint shop, varnishing seat slats and painting the metal brackets for the dividers



Views of of both sides of the coaches center sections with most of the beading in place



Damaged beading replaced




Lower beading just about to be fitted (french side)



The jobs seem to be growing, as well as painting the lower coach sides and ends, it has been decided to paint the guttering. The roof also needs repainting and we are in a better place than Woody Bay to do this. I am preparing the end and side guttering as a lot of paint is now starting to come away from the body



Last week Steve had sanded the coach ends



By the end of the day most (hopefully all) of the woodwork had been fitted to the outside of the coach, and a start has been made in filling the screw holes with 2 part body filler

I doubt if it will be ready by the end of November as painting will be dependant on the weather/temperature

We are doing this near to Colchester and if anyone fancies a visit or wants to give a hand PM me

John

 

[Hayfield1]

On Tuesday we had almost a full house, 7 working and Tim who is on the sickness popped in to see us. The past two weeks we have been preparing the body for painting, initially aimed at aimed both concealing the screws holding the beading to the body and the odd gap in the beading joints,

With the bare areas are being primed and sealant filling the gaps between the beading and metal panels, Big Dave and Steve have been hard at work. Charles has been refurbishing the lamp tops. Martin and Little Dave were repairing some coach seat slats which were damaged when removing them



That left Nigel and me sugar soaping the roof, trying not to make it too wet as some of the wooden guttering is down to bare wood which needs priming and a bit of filling in places. In this photo we have just started with a small area cleaned



Looking down one side and the roof is starting to look better



Nigel on the tressels as we reach one end



Now going back down the other side



By the end of the day 3/4 of the roof has been cleaned, this is not a full repaint job as the paint work is in good condition. Just one coat of roof sealant paint required.

I think at one time Woody Bay wanted it back for the Gala, but as there was a long delay getting it to us, the repair was completed quite quickly. But we are now doing much more painting than initially anticipated, plus we are up grading the coach interior, it was hoped to get it back by the end of the month, looking more like I think some time in January. At the moment we can paint, but its all down to the weather and man power

John

 

[Hayfield1]

I have not updated the post for 2 weeks so this post covers both weeks



Two weeks ago David had been undercoating the beading



Myself and Nigel worked on refurbishing the roof gutters after finishing cleaning the roof, others were doing various jobs, and Ben started fitting back the seat slats



On our return the seat slats had been fitted, David and Ben were scraping off old paint and varnish on the window glass, Steve was wire brishing the end steps, then painting them



In the afternoon we installed the partitions between the seats, at the moment they are in the down position



These are the central supports, they are screwed to both the seat tops and the roof bulkheads, one each side and a peg is inserted through the supports and partition. You can see the hat shelf brackets painted black, the coach sides have a simple plain bracket, the shelf slats have been varnished, all things are coming together and I assume the coach will return to Woody Bay early in the new year I doubt if we will have more than 3 visits prior to Christmas so getting the required number of top coats will be finished, let alone all the other bits still outstanding before we break up for the Christmas and New year period. Still we would have done far more work than originally requested

The last job of repainting the underframe will be left for Woody Bay staff as they have access to a pit between the tracks. They may also feel the need to re-varnish the areas we have not touched internally. Otherwise externally most of the coach would have been repainted

John

 

[Hayfield1]

Two weeks ago we arrived to find the coach wrapped up



We started painting the roof



The first coat finished



We came back yesterday and painted a second coat of Weather shield, which should protect it for a few years more

The others were on differing duties, with two of the Tuesday gang off sick Ben was on painting duty, Big Dave and Steve were fitting paneling under the seats and hopefully the exterior painting will now have started. The weather is a bit against us with the temperature and moisture the controlling factors.

It is expected to be with us until Feb when it will return to Woody Bay and the new chassis for van 23 coming up from the workshop (only 2 years late !!)

If anyone wants to see it up close its at our works near Colchester, just PM me

John

 

[Hayfield1]

I thought I had better get on with my 7mm model, after putting in pinpoint bearings the axles were a bit long than the bogie stretchers were designed for, so spacers were fitted, the circular bolster rubbing plate was stuck to the floor and tapped to 8ba thread



The coach is now free running and quite stable



Lamp tops stuck to the roof, and Roxey Mouldings door handles brought

I now need to read up the instructions and I assume fit the door grab handles

John

 

[Hayfield1]

Sorry about the lack of updates, the past 3 weeks have been varied. The first two weeks it was so cold in the barn, too cold to paint and only the machine shop and tea room had heat



The 3th and 4th compartment have doors into the open saloon. There are two shorter benches in these compartments, 2 x single and 2 x double benches, one of each in both compartments. The open saloon has 4 single fold up seats.

When this coach was first built a simple vertical post was made, as information was sparse in the early years

The right hand post is an original

It came to light the posts were angled inwards and had a metal casting to fix it to the floor. These were included on the second special 3rd class coach that was build, spare floor castings were made at the same time



Posts in place two weeks ago



On the bench you will see the partition stays with the hat brackets on.

Each double bench has two of these fitted centrally to the bench tops and roof bulkheads, It will become apparent once they are fitted and the partitions are up



Arriving on Tuesday some painting had started, both ends, roof guttering and soleplate




Dave started to paint the small white panels, but it still was a bit on the cold side

Coach grab handles are being cleaned, other metal work is also being painted prior to refitting

Its been decided to also spruce up the interior a bit so all the interior looks to be the same, as we will keep the coach until late March/early April when we hope the chassis for van 23 will come up as the coach goes back

 

[simond]

Hi John,

its good to see what you and your colleagues are doing. It’s amusing, but educational, to see that you are trying to ensure that the 12”-to-the-foot model is prototypically accurate.
keep up the good work!
best
Simon

 

[Hayfield1]

Simon

Sadly we still have to compromise, an example is a steel underframe. However we try our best to be as true to the original as we can, but still comply with safety regs etc

 

[AdeMoore]

Enjoy these updates and what goes into making them look so splendid. Your 7mm model is looking very good too.

 

[Hayfield1]

Enjoy these updates and what goes into making them look so splendid. Your 7mm model is looking very good too.

AdeMoore

Thanks, you would not believe how much discussion goes into these projects, in trying to keep everyone happy (mainly keyboard warriors who have nothing to do with the society). Having said this there are quite a few folk who live and breathe these lovely items and want to keep a small part of local (Devon) and railway history alive


John

 

[Hayfield1]

Arriving on Tuesday some of the metal work which had been refurbished has been refitted to the coach ends



Some paneling has been painted, but painting is only possible when both the temperature has risen and the dew point reduces



In this photo you can see the center brackets are fitted and the compartment panel is in the up position, retained by a central bolt
The hat stand bracket is in place ( sadly not high enough * ), waiting for the end brackets to be fitted
Also two brass panel stays need fitting between both windows

Panel in the lowered position

View through the window from the side

The brass footplates in the door opening have been fitted, the hat shelves is the next main job, then a last snagging list will be made

Various other small jobs are still on going, sanding, polishing and small items painted in the paint shop

Weather permitting the exterior panels will be painted and when dry the body will be varnished.

* The central stays have now been removed, new hole positions marked and being drilled

We are getting ready to ship it back, but the chassis for van 23 needs to be ready and sent up on the trailer which will take the coach back

John

 

[Hayfield1]

One side had been painted, but it was too damp to paint the other side on Tuesday



A start has been made fitting the hat shelves



A start of fitting the center section hat shelves

Since Tuesday all the body painting has been finished, now it needs 2 coats of varnish
The seat slats which were not removed and replaced have had a top coat of varnish

Still lots of finishing off to do but the end is in sight

 

[Hayfield1]

Strictly not coach 7 but derived from van 23

I was given a box full of Ash off cuts, 55mm wide, 9mm thick and either just over or just under 300 mm strips. Big Dave gave me a box of over a hundred items and said make something



Well after a year plus I thought I better come up with a plan, so a Sparrow Terrace evolved



I made a back board from 9mm Ply, which we cut out on a band saw



Then I made a series of boards, 3 or 4 strips wide and 1, 1.5 & 2 strips long, depending on what positions the boards would occupy. These were glued together using simple lap joints, then cut to the sizes required



This is how far I have got in assembly, I have glued together roof sections but its been too wet to cut these to size (until today) but I will take the roof boards to the workshop and use the machine rooms chop saw as its more accurate than mine at home, and can cut the width in one go.

The face panel will be made of ash planks for looks so another 14 sections will need to have the laps routed

Unknown to me at the start there is a concerted effort to help sparrows this year, We are lucky to have loads on our feeders, the box is destined to be fitted into a thick rose hedge, east facing, each box is 150mm x 150mm with the bottom of a 32mm access hole 150mm above the bottom of each box. Sparrows like to nest in groups, I have a plan to build both a Robin and Blue Tit boxes from the ply off cuts of this box.

Sorry to go off on a tangent

John

 

[Hayfield1]

The painting is nearly finished, just snagging prior to two coats of varnish, This photo shows the hat/baggage shelves in place with the partitions down



This photo shows' how the shelves are attached to the coach sides, the brass guide between is to hold the partition in place



End hand rails now fitted and the bolts given a coat of black paint. Still plenty of brass-work (fittings) to fit once they are nice and clean and shiny, plus roof items are still being painted and will be fitted back in place.

 

[Hayfield1]

Bird gate for those interested



Roof fitted, we put some more pieces through the router and I am making the front, which will be detachable to allow cleaning once nesting is finished. Provided it ever gets used.

Still it seems to be coming together, sadly the Mother in law now wants one !!

John

 

[Hayfield1]

This is one of the lamp bung holders with the lids of the bungs in the background. When the oil lamps were removed the bungs were placed into the hole in the lamp holder



The lamp holder tops are being prepared for painting



Steve and David fitting the roof top handles



Time to wash the doors (all original on this coach) in readyness to touch up the paintwork after several years use. Ben and myself refirbished the inside varlish finish before Christmas



These are the bungs and lids which now are redundant as the lights are now electric.

We are now just working through a list of jobs, hopefully Dave got a coat of varnish on since Tuesday.
Door handles waiting to be polished, the door slam units are waiting to be painted and new rubber bungs fitted, plus a list of other minor snagging items

Dave has gone down to Woody Bay for a pow wow over the next few days, with the chassis for van 23 high on the adgenda. From memory its waiting to be shot blasted prior to welding tests and painting, also a part of the vacume cylinder is still outstanding. I think the plan is to bring up the chassis for van 23 when the low loader comes to collect coach 7

John