Wednesday 13th May 2026 a chilly start and a day of heavy thundery showers.

                             

A walk down to line side wagon to empty out tools and fitting belonging to the owner and start painting now the paint has been mixed to suit.

The first load of rail handling tools and high pressure filters as the light went down Betton Grange pulled in.

                           

Now we have cleared the tools and parts out it looks better but the new paint on the dark background is only a bit lighter and nowhere near the dark stone colour even though it matches when on the brush.

                         So add white to the tin or paint the walls white before applying more stone colour.

                   before                                                                                      after

                        

The front boards on Honeybourne had dropped so a long screw now holds them in position.

                   

                                           A coat of light stone and the signal box looks better.

                                         

The mystery tool has been soaking in oil via the oil points and screw holes, the side screw nut is now moving more but the screw is seized into the posts,even with the guide plate out it will not move.

                                       More oil applied to soak into the rust during the week.

                                              

Next on the list are the buried cable signs that are hardening up as time passes but still need support so a backing plate of brass sheet was cut and shaped. We now need 6mm slot head counter sunk screws to mount them.

                                             

After a dressing and cleaning a primer coat was applied to the signs which will end up black with white lettering however there has been a reaction with the paints so they will need a light rub down when dry and some more paint.

                                                

The post one sign will go on is an original GWR one so a flap disc on the angle grinder got the worst corrosion and debris off then a wire brush in the drill cleaned out the rust in the pitted areas before a coat of rust preventing undercoat followed by some black top coat, now we need to source another post for sign 2..

                       

Then time was up.

 Wednesday 6th of May 2026 a cooler but dry day.

                                        

First task was a simpler one the we had thought it would be namely relocating a fig tree this was near a shed and house and the book says it could achieve 30ft high and wide in 30 years so it is now over 20 ft from a building.

                                                        

A copper and brass crop sprayer which belong to dad has now got a new home in the Fosscross building so it needed a bit of a clean this also revealed some information. A wash with brass cleaning acid solution got it cleaner then it was down to the brass wire wheel,  wire wool,  thin oil, brasso and few cloths.

                   before                                                                                After brass acid cleaner

                          

                  After                                                                                   once hidden information

                         

The second buried cable casting id done but forgot the release agent spray before the pour so it was well stuck to the mould. These will be mounted on a brass backing plate attached to a steel pole to replace the garish plastic ones scattered around the station.

                                        

The 2T 5CWT Morris has had the right hand front painted and is now reassembled, after a chat we have decided to get the motor running before refitting the wings.

            

THe paint repairs on the Honeybourne Signal box building are on going today was more sanding and painting on the window sills and lower light stone coloured boards.

                                                  before primed and one before sanding.

                   

                                                                        After with more to do.

                   

We need more storage and office space so an 8ft X 14ft shed is on order so today Mike and myself have marked out the plot and dug down so we could ft levels pegs and string this enabled us to work out a guesstimate of the amount of old ballast we need to get from Winchcombe yard after we had visited to check availability this morning.

                                      

Another productive day but we could do with a few more practical volunteers on site as there is still a big work to do list on top of the general maintenance of exhibits already out on display. As an extra now we will have a shed base to do then assemble the shed then there is a tin lineside hut and sectional concrete western railway building both in a garden at Pewsey that may need moving to Toddington to save them from destruction by the house builders who have the site.

Coping with disasters

Experience has taught me  to handle disasterous situations, for instance i once dropped a brand new tin of expensive 2 pack brown paint, the lid came off and the beautifully pure brown paint spread into sand gravel dead leaves and soil..

Of course I was saddened and annoyed with myself, but as it was 2 pack paint it would remain liquid and tarry for some time to come, so i had to clear it up for the sake of the environment.

I shovelled up the ground it was on and put the mess into a bucket, not knowing how to dispose of it.

That gave me time for reflection and later  i thought i would have a go at salvage.

I decided to add a reasonable amount of thinners to the bucket and stirred the contents up,

remarkably most of the contamination remained at the bottom and I could pour off the thinned paint through a stocking.

That paint left to stand for a while and was later sprayed on to a lorry panel.

An important lesson which came to mind in the next case which happened yesterday.

I was checking out the Morris commercial which is undergoing an extensive rebuild and i noticed bird droppings on the paint work, it was everywhere on every surface of the recently painted cab. 

What sort of bird could do that?An albatross perhaps.

On closer inspection it was hardened paint and the culprit was soon found, an aerosol of etch primer had exploded and deposited a shower of paint every where.

At that point i remembered how to handle disasters, keep a calm mind.

Not wishing to prep and respray i used some towelling to very lightly soak with thinners and lightly rub the thousands of paint drops, it worked, but if i had applied too much pressure or used too much thinners it could have gone badly wrong.

Several hours later the cab looks like it used to be. 

The empty aerosol 

 Wednesday 29th April 2026 a lovely blue sky but with a cold wind.

The Morris 2T 5CWT work is on going the bonnet rubbing strip is being fitted and secured by bifurcated copper rivets which is problematical as they are in a upside down U channel above the bulkhead, they are stiff to open out and a screw driver could only do so much but they were still able to pull out.

A bit of lateral thinking found an impact wrench tool for slot head screws that pushed into the slot and stayed put so a G clamp was then used to push the tool into the slot opening them up so they are secure. The big but is repairs over the years means the body is too thick for the rivets to pass through far enough to bend open enough.

  one of the successful ones so play spot the copper.

The railway electrical PAT testing team noted our TV in the museum coach was on a shelf and not bolted down so could be pulled off so a nut and bolt has been fitted.

The paint on the Honeybourne signal box has lifted and is peeling so a rub down and treat the bare wood with linseed oil ready for painting in the future.

The BR electrical cable warning signs are out of the mould however the end result is rubberised and not solid.

I have mixed another pouring and this time it got a correct spot on 70/30 mix stirred with a paint stirrer for about 10 minutes so the colour was uniform so we will wait and see.

The one dry sign has now been trimmed and the few high spots removed using a hacksaw, coarse file and a small dressing tool in the dremmel type tool.

The left front chassis and suspension on the Morris has been de rusted and painted

The right side now has the wheel off for access to repeat what was done on the left side.

The spiders and insects have been having a field day.

On the way out a check on the Scarab revealed a door not closed and the info sheet on the passenger seat so now back in it's clip. 

After the wash down a few weeks ago it was covered in thick dust due to the gravel road and adjacent building site so hose pipe out again so it is cleaner for the bank holiday weekend visitors.

 Wednesday 22nd April a lovely sunny start with a cold easterly wind and for a change the car park at Toddington.

                                       

The workshop door has started dragging on the floor due to the bottom of the frame rotting at the base.

So lever it up and bolt on a new piece of timber inside to take the weight.

             

The foundry has done a good job on the wagon lights but the flashing from the casting process needs removing  before any thought of assembly can start.

The belt finger sander was brought into play and did a good job at a reasonable speed the hacksaw was used for big lumps in the corners.

            one completed and one untouched

The original the mold was made from and three new ones now with all the flashing removed

The Steam Passage sign has now been filled and is in process of being sanded smooth this is a very long job and so it gets a few bursts of sanding when there is time.

                                       

On the platforms there are modern yellow plastic signs for buried cables but they stand out like sore thumbs in the period setting so some concrete coloured resin has been purchased and we have a latex mold taken from an old GWR sign so work can begin.

                            A mold                                        Concrete resin and hardener

No instructions or manufacturers name so going on bag size 70% resin 30% hardener mixed and in the mold on top of the perfectly levelled ultra sonic bath

                                                   

Work on the Morris 2T 5 cwt lorry is progressing the bulkhead is finished so onto the chassis forward of the cab where water has caused excessive corrosion where the wing stay bolts on. This area was heavily pitted but not holed so a build up of weld on the surface has strengthened it. Then the painting started.

                                              

                                               

The door lock on the AA box has come loose as the wood has shrunk and the screw have come loose so drill through and fit a nut and bolt. It is just another task on the list of keeping exhibits in good order.

                                                    

We spotted the door hold open hook and chain missing from the museum coach last week so dowels have been glued in, it was the drill and fit brass screws so they will not rot away.

                  

                                                                      Refitted and secure

                                                       

The seized and rusty mystery machine has had a week for the oil to soak in after the application of heat to get parts red hot last week, use of large stilsons got the 2 turn screws out and a lump hammer and punch got the threaded feeder positioning nut to do 1/2  rotation. Now parts are moving the oil can go on creeping into the disturbed rust.

                                             

It was then down to line wagon 2 to remove a ceiling light mounting on the way we passed a pair of very nice Z900 motorbikes.

                                 

                            the fire extinguisher rack is now full of the disposable canisters

                                            

A wooden light mounting was taken back to the workshop where a place for the hinge on the new casting was chiseled away one done the surface line was marked on the brass so we could drill a hole and fit a hinge pin, then the wood was cut away to make the pin sit below the surface.

             .

In between the jobs we had time to take a load of modern detritus from behind platform 2 to the skip and save some useful bits behind the GWR trust shop in the yard.