Wednesday 11th April a nice spring morning where a warm sun got involved which is unusual as it is Gold Cup week so snow is common.

The railway is busy twice a day as the race trains are on for the Cheltenham Festival.

                                            

We are after more volunteers to help do the practical work as the pile although a lot smaller is still significant and there is ongoing work just to keep exhibits in good order that are on public display.

To join you need to be a paid up member of the gwsr and complete a rail health & safety course to get a work permit which renews annually  For more information contact Mr Greg Wigg at Tewkesburydirect@googlemail.com about the Restoration & Archiving Trust.

We have a document stowage box in need of repair as it is useful and carriage and wagon group have expressed interest in it for their records keeping.

                                                    

job one is remove all the shelves for sanding and stripping so the sides were opened up as the shelves slots are a closed end.

                                                  

It had been lacquered and painted a couple of times in it's life and the grain had gone dark where it was exposed so a full sanding and stripping then a session with the sanders got it looking more like it did when new.

             

                                        The paint is off and after a good sanding all over.

                

reassembly proved difficult trying both ends of the shelves at the same time so we started again and glued them all fully in on one end with the aid of a sash clamp. Once the glue is set the top can the be clamped down starting at one end.

                                   

The line side oil hut tin repair is now completed as we had the front corner to do, this  time it was a long lever on a block to lift the corner so we could get the trolley jack in and plock the shed clear of the floor that way we could slide the sheet up into position not down.

Hopefully that job is now completed for us as the junior group or Tewkesbury evening group can paint it and install the appropriate oil and tool goodies.

               

The item I forgot to take a photo of last week the completed sharpening stone, now locked near solid to prevent injuries by rotating parts. It will be sited outside the line side hut when that is completed.

Finally after many months we dropped the bed frame back on the Morris dropside truck.       

                                                                                                                                          

By then we had run out of time.

Wednesday 4th March 2026

A beautiful spring day warmer than it should be so lets get outside and do some work we have been putting off due to cold damp conditions.

                                         

The blade sharpening stone is now finished the foot treadle works and it spins up nicely but for display we need to lock it so no visitors get hurt buy the fast spinning parts. pity the photo has not saved correctly so pictures next week as we have transported it to near the oil lamp hut.

The 2T 5cwt Morris bed frame has been sat on tressels since November cold and wet so today a wire wheel took off any rust that has appeared then 2 coats of a French metal paint in gloss black. (the paint was like runny honey and only liked brushing over twice then it separated and went near transparent) but it is on and looks fine.

                     

The rear interior frame of the cab had rusted so a piece was cut out and new plate welded in with applications of  a wet cloth between short burst of welding so the exterior paint remained undamaged.

                                            

An early 20th century enamel sign has been having all the rust cleared from the rusty pitted areas with a small ball cutting bit in the drill. before repairs can be carried out.

                                                

It was then time to replace the rusted lower section of the oil lamp hut we had moved over for public display, the rusty sections were cut off and some new parts cut from an old sheet that had been located, this was needed as new corrugated sheet do not match the curves of the original old sheets.

                                                                 The first part is in

                                                    

                                                                       one side done

                                                

After a good session with the cutting disc in the angle grinder side two is looking better we just need to get the corner wrapped piece in as it needs sliding down on the inside

then the time was up.

 

 A 1930's Thermos food flask.

This item has been with us for some time.

Painted in brown crinkle paint, much of which was rough with rust, a difficult decision was what was to be the best course of conservation.

The exterior was prepared using a soft rotary brass brush and the nickel plating was cleaned with Phosphoric acid.

The exterior was coated in lanolin and polished, tinted with a small amount of brown oil paint, I think it now looks great  and another fine exhibit.

 Wednesday 18th Feb 2026 a dry day but with a bitterly cold biting wind so inside work was preferable..

                                                    

Back on the sharpening stone, Greg has been busy slowly welding up the broken parts and dressing the welds all this is done slowly to save too much heat and cooling cracking the castings. But we now have 2 complete solid stands.

                                                            

The bolts and studs have suffered from corrosion over many decades and 2 broke where they had rotted away when we disassembled the frame, so time to get the seized nuts off using the induction heater to get them hot they screamed all the way off with a high pitch on the dry threads.

                                                

Once the nuts were off the bars were ground down to put a chamfer on the broken ends so we could butt weld them back together. Then all were cleaned up on the wire wheel and bent ones straightened.

                                                 

The sump plate is beyond repair so the solid ends were cut off to act as spacers for the assembled machine as the copper will crush. and a sheet of copper marked out for cutting a new plate.

                                           

After a lot of fiddling dropping and realigning the 5 parts all got clamped together in satisfactory positions the sump has not been sealed in but at least it will not fill with water and crack open should it freeze again as it will be displayed outside.

                                                

With the saddles on and rollers in the stone was refitted and clamped down. It spins freely by hand but will need the tension screws fully in to lock it when on display to save visitors getting hurt.

                                                          

Paint has had a going over with a wire wheel in the drill  to remove loose stuff and and dirt or green growth then a coat of grey undercoat applied.

                                                        

A good coat of oil based black paint will protect the metal from mother natures degradation when outside on display. The stone was treated to numerous rotations whilst some 180 grit paper was held against it this cleaned it up nicely and is better than the green algae effect it had.

A trip to Winchcombe got a rod out of the skip from the newly dismantled workshed that was beyond economic repair. the rod had the eye ground and cut to suit the treadle drive ball on the wheel and the other end flattened so it can be drilled and secured to the foot operating lever.

After this all that it need is a wooden handle made for the turning handle and the stone immobilising then it is ready for display, a relatively easy and quick repair of and old broken grinding wheel.

The interior of line wagon 2 got the final undercoats used up on it so that is progressing well and will soon be ready for top coating the interior..

 Wednesday 11th Feb 2026 a nice morning where the rain held off and the temperature was up a bit.

                                                

With the line side oil lamp hut in position it now needs related objects in and around it as one may have been back in the day so we dug out the blade sharpening stone that requires major repair.

With bthe one casting broken and the trough rotten a bit of heat was required to loosen nut which had rusted on over many decades

                                                       

Once the top saddles were removed we were surprised to find the stone shaft sitting on rollers not just a bush.

Stripping continued after the shaft and mechanism were removed, the leaves and rubbish in the trough has not helped survival

The one side had a plate bolted over it and a load of liquid nails to seal it this was ground off to leave the screws rusted into the holes.

After fully stripping the one side casting was found to have  broken into 5 parts so extensive cleaning grinding the edges for welding up and then using the trusty Parkside gas less welder that would be required to join it back together ensuring not to get much heat into the cast iron.

The broken leg assy was bolted to the good one to ensure alignment when welding.

However the broken side plate would not sit correctly so this was aligned in the vice and slowly tack welded to avoid the cast cracking with the heat..

After the initial tacks it was taken outside so the fumes and light were more beneficial to the task.

The saddles and caps were shot blasted and the cleaned on the wire wheel for primer painting.

The treddle linkage was derusted and primed ready for the top coats, the trough is beyond repair so we need some 2mm steel sheet and and english wheel to do a proper repair so next week is down to the engine workshops for a chat.

 Wednesday 4th February 2026 a misty start that developed into a cold sunny day.

                                  

With the line side lamp hut re-sited last week  now with a photo it was time to crack on so the project leader Mike Dodd can get the youngsters group and the Tewkesbury group to finish it off and do the display but first they need a floor. There was a pile of suitable timber down at Winchcombe yard so a drive down to select 9 lengths over 2m long.

                                                                                                                       

                            The boards needed cutting to 181.5cm length so they slotted into the shed and as luck would have it they fitted the length perfectly with no need to thin one down.

It was then down to line wagon number 2 for more floor work cleaning up and painting. The floor wood is all cut and needs the last 3 boards thinning where they sit proud on the ones underneath then they can be screwed down.

                                                           

Rubbish was emptied out into the skip including some laminated glass sheets and a rotten plastic sheet along with a few dustpans full of dust and general rubbish, this meant the shelves could be sanded and cleaned ready for painting.

                                            

      The interior is now looking a lot more inviting after a clean and paint with primer.. 

                                                 

It was then time up but most of the interior priming, rubbing down preparation for top coating is done. 

There is now light at the end of a long tunnel.