The AA Box gets the thumbs up from vintage car enthusiast

Click on the pic to see text from our neighbour  at Toddington

We put the box at the entrance to grab attention for the railway from passers by, which it now does.

 While  our key blogger Keith is away, I thought I would add a few photo updates

The restoration of the Toilet Vestibule in 1926 build,GWR Collett coach 4777, is well under way, being retiled with 4 inch square,wooden , painted plywood tiles.

The broken, solid  Linoleum floor is repaired  too.

Plus a few photos of the Vale of Berkeley railway at Sharpness who are opening the Branch line to Berkeley road for Passengers 31st July- 2nd August.

Best Wishes to them.

n 

 Wednesday 1st of July a lovely summers day after the heat wave and 3 weeks away.

Mother nature has been busy with plants growing and others failing in the heat so a sweep out of the buildings and some major plant growth removal the brambles have grown 4ft plus over the last 4 weeks.

              

                                                 

The luggage racks from a passenger coach are in need of refurbishment they are hard wood poles with a metal rod holding the net into a slot secured by small wire staples which all needed to come out.

             

           The 7 stripped racks most of the netting is unsalvageable and one pole is broken only the meatal rod was holding it together.

                                               

The poles were cleaned with a scraper then tidied up on the belt sander before a light coating of oil.

                                            

The Morris pickup floor had a small gap on one side so a plate has been put into the corner beneath it.

                                                     

The BR -WR buried cable signs are getting there number 2 had deformed and in the heatwave it swelled up so much it was scrap so a fibreglass matting and resin one has been made in the mould.

number one sign is now painted with the lettering and border in  white, the brass backing plate is secured to the post by 2 6mm bolts with thinned down heads to fit behind the sign.

It just needs installing in the station flower bed where new yellow plastic eyesore signs have been installed.

The rail motor car sign is progressing with any figure that is not right being tweaked.

The only other job done was securing the staple on the AA box door as somebody had closed it without lifting the hook but no photo.

First day back lots done but time consuming job..

 Our good friend and main blogger keith Taylor is taking a break away for a few weeks so I am adding a few updated photos of GWR Bow ended Collet coach 4777.

One compartment is starting to look a lot more like a passenger coach now that the upholstery has been made up by the GWSR Carriage and Wagon Upholstery department.

The team of volunteers at Winchcombe are leading the way in a skilled and challenging area of preservation and restoration work.

Nineteen new luggage rack brackets have been cast in aluminium at Madeley Brass Castings and these are adding to the period look.

 

The bulkhead under the seat has been cleaned down and painted, very soon there will be no evidence of the blue and silver paint that once marred every internal panel.

Pictured, are the window panes and frames I made up for the toilets.

After fixing all the gutter leaks in January, today we had the first real heavy rainstorm since then, and gladly there were no internal drips.

As the coach appears dry I am replacing the wooden tiles back on to the toilet wall, i am screwing the tiles to the wall rather than pinning them. If there is an ingress of damp in the future they will be easier to remove without damaging them.

The Petrol tank has been reunited with the Morris chassis too.

 Tuesday 26 th May a hotter than normal May day in the heat wave the blog may be quieter until july as Germany then Italy beckon  but we will be back up to speed after.

 Wednesday 20th May 2026 a dry start and a warmer day as it should be in May.

The stove in the Honeybourne signal box is dusty and rusting as well as a home to insects so time for the rotary wire brush to get into action followed by some graphite stove paint then a rub over when dry and then a coat of lanolin.

 The brass poker needed a coat of acid cleaner then a wash off and some time on the brass wheel before a polish and coat of lanolin.

After a good clean it is now back in the stove.

The British Rail notice board has become detached from the wall in the museum coach so needed to be remounted, it appears damp is getting in behind the panel and the wood going soft released the screws with the weight of the board.

New nails were fitted to secure the top rail which was then drilled for mounting screws to align with good wood in the coach frame.

                                                        

The buried electrical cable signs are proving to be problematic for some reason one has ballooned and cracked two weeks after it was moulded.

                                                                      ballooned

As they were cast.

The new office has arrived in flat pack form so another job for the future.

The line wagon interior paint has been lightened with white and then the tone adjusted with addition of yellow and red.

                                                          last weeks dried even darker

The new mix looks a lot better and the litre went a long way but we still need another mix.

The end of another day.

 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.