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.

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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.

                                         Wednesday 15th April 2026 a dry but windy start to the day.

                                       

The Boxford building has beeb stood outside for 4 year now awaiting a permanent location but the paint is peeling in places so a scrape and a sand down followed by an application of thinned linseed oil on the bare wood areas, when this has soaked in and dried we can repaint to areas.

                     

     

                                     

The transatlantic shipping sign from the days is having all the rust removed mechanically before filling and repainting,     This is a long job as the sign base metal is badly pitted and it all needs to be mirror finish to slow the rust down.

                                                    

Natures growth spurt was noticed in the 1874 building gutter so out with the ladder and remove a gutter full of dead leaves and moss doing this we also spotted a broken slate that needed immediate repair. The front of the building was much cleaner.

                   

                                                  

The ticket cabinet and wall panels that had fallen off the musuem coach wall 2 weeks ago were refitted and secured with counter sunk screws, the cabinet was refitted but  cleaned and wiped over with lanolin.

            

      

                                   

             The cleaned up and treated cabinet and desk are now looking loved in the corner.

                                                   

The restored fire extinguisher done a few weeks ago has been installed in line side wagon number 2 and the door furniture has been refitted.

                                                 

The mystery engineering tool is standing in the yard taking up space so time to get it freed off so the heavily rusted parts can move again a soak with oil followed by being got red hot then cooled and re oiled has got a few handles and a clamp moving. So time to leave it soaking in oil so it can creep through the joints.

Throwing some modern plastic rubbish off the platform the no entry sign was found face down on the ground, not in our remit or scope but it is now back where it belongs.

 11th April

The new vintage weekend event for 2026 is in full swing so as a visitor the trip down to Hayles Abbey in the 1920’s rail car was a good opportunity to photograph the poster now mounted on the GWR notice board we fitted at the Hayles Abbey halt two weeks ago.. And one of the ladies in period costume sat upfront in the rail car.

 Wednesday 8th April 2026 a lovely sunny summer day

                                   

The AA box has received a newly painted petrol can and the door edging strips were found to be warping and falling off so requiring a drill, countersink and a screw to get them flat again.

With the  GWSR Vintage  weekend on this Saturday and Sunday it is hoped the classic car fraternity will appreciate this exhibit.

       

Nice and warm so ideal for floor painting in Honeybourne box and Taylors office, so more sweeping hovering and moving exhibits so we can apply grey floor paint.

However once in thw Honeybourne museum it is apparent that some thing have moved in the display cabinets so reposition them first.

Then down to the cleaning and painting.

                             The glass is in on the line side oil lamp hut so this is ready for a repaint

Taylors office floor got the same treatment.

The line side 2 wagon interior paint is a bit shiny so a coat of matt lacquer has been applied.

The Scammel Scarab was covered in dust from the gravel drive and rain so a wipe and wash with the hosepipe made it look better.

The load on the rear is weathering so a recoat with gloss black improved the visual look to something in transit for use rather than scrap iron.

 

With the addition of new petrol and a squirt of easy start it fired up easily and ran so the solar panel is keeping the battery charged so time to inflate the well perished tyres to 30psi or 2 Bars to save any that are well rotted from exploding. Engine running well and tyres inflated it was time for a few shunts backwards and forwards to clean the brake drums up.

Now the sun had dried that water after the wash down peeling paint stood out so a quick sand down and repaint was needed.

The 2Ton 5 cwt Morris cab has also had work done, one door window is in but with the wrong winder because the correct one has been temporarily mislaid.

And the bulkhead has had a  plate welded in after having the rust cut out.

All these things now look more inviting to encourage visitors to get closer and go inside to look around with the vintage weekend being the test.