Wednesday 16th September a nice clear start but with the threat of showers.  A quiet start in the car park.

More shed time today this 10 hours for 2 people to build is way out as everything needs cutting to fit.

We have longer felt tacks as the ones supplied at 8mm long are near impossible to hammer in and hardly grip. some 12mm ones were in the Trust shop for sales so these are being used.

secure the rubber under the lip and trim off the excess so the wind will not effect it.

The door lock and furniture has been fitted

We are not happy with all the short wood joins above the door it is flimsy so a redesign is in progress with longer timbers and boards.

Some thicker timbers have been put above the opening windows these have been sanded down to clearance the hinges and eliminate any rain getting in.

The sealing strips around the fixed windows have been reworked and are tidier.

Yet more tongue and groove on order from Nicks Timber to finish paneling the inside and do above the doors in a long strip not 2 parts.

 Wednesday 9th April a lovely September morning and a dry day so shed time again.

                                            

As a reminder it is Autumn mother nature has been depositing dead leaves in the buildings so some sweeping up is required.

                                                     

The Trusts shop is doing a steady trade and the stock is slowly turning over but it all add to the trusts coffers.

Mike has been busy paneling the inside after the electrician installed the wiring light  and sockets.

Shed wise first job is to reposition the lower windows flush with the front and then router time on the top window to sink the hinges in, our main object today is to get the shed water tight before the weather changes.

Window 2 completed but yet again one needed thinning down a couple of mm as it was too wide for the frame the lower one fitted in.

Onto window number 3 both are fixed solid so an easy job but no as one again is wider than the other and the top is not level yet all windows are the same part number.

with the windows in the outer joint covers were fitted this is when you find one piece of tongue and groove is not in the slot so the wood sits proud still it is covered and another day will see it taken off and fitted correctly.

It is looking better from the outside and is weather proof apart from the doors.

Right hang doors and easy job but not really as the 4" x 4" post have moved and are not vertical and pushing the top of the shed to the right 1" is impossible now most of the boards inner and outer are in the boards are in, thinking caps on and lets cut the post vertical and make a rebate for the rear of the doors.

Running up a 40mm cut with the circular saw and some chisel work meant one door was in. The cut line for vertical is visible in the left photo.

onto door two this was clear at the top but the bottom would not go in so more thinking and this time not rebate cut we need to add some material at the top and a light cut at the bottom.

The next problem arose when thinking a quick fit of the door lock could be done however the morticed hole is not wide enough and there is no wood left to screw the lock into position so that is a look at next week but the interior is now protected from the rain.

 Thursday3rd a dry day so time to get the rubber roof on the new shed.

4 rolls of very thin easily torn felt removed and rolled up 3 will be in the skip the 4th will be saved as we have felt on other buildings.

                                          

                                      Spreading the glue on the first half ready to unfold the sheet onto.

                                                            

                                                             One half done so final glue going on.

                                                           

                           The roof is now on and water proof just needs the edges doing next Wednesday.

                                                     

Then six heavy cast iron windows had to be moved around the corner to allow the electrician to get power out of the main office.

A couple of hours but it will keep the insulation drier and the plan is windows and doors next Wednesday so it is fully dry inside.

 Wednesday 2nd August summer is officially finished so today is overcast with drizzle and rain showers.

                                          

                      A sign autumn is here but the leaves are falling early after the long hot summer.

                                                 

                      The paint is going on the mail coach so the museum look a bit more inviting.

                                                               

An old crate dated 1946 was purchased from the Malvern Flea Market as the name was just about visible but after a clean with oxalic acid it is easily readable, F K Sharp were a growers produce haulage firm based in nearby Evesham so it is highly likely they also used the railway.

Work on the new shed for storage of books and railway photos continues.

Part 2 of the top roof and insulation has been completed.

We were 10 boards short in the kit so a trip to Nicks timber got some cut to size these were the easiest fit off all, the machined finish was far better instead of 5 minutes a board all 10 went down and secured in less time  than that,

The end board was again a gravel board but it works well.

The thin felt was then lightly secured and weighted down to keep the rain out as the rubber sheeting is being acquired on Thursday.

Now is time to look at the windows the bottom went in but the top needed the application of a plane on one side so it was loose enough open and close, the top mounted hinges in the plan screw on the frame but leave a gap so a router made them sit flush.

A light spraying of linseed oil over the outside timbers has changed the colour but will add protection.

The rubber roof needs a dry day to apply the adhesive but next week we should get the other two windows and doors hung along with fitting the weather strip to the joints. The electrician arrived to discuss the installation required so things are moving along nicely.

 This wonderful Enamel sign

I picked this gem up at a car boot sale in Bude in 2025

It tells of the time in the early 20th century, of the massive migration of families from the UK to seek new and better lives in the New World.

The sign, badly marred by chips and rust, deserved the best of efforts to restore it.

The rust was totally ground out with a small round ended carbide burr, and then the scars were filled with car body filler, sanded flat and then , using an airbrush and Cobalt blue glass paint the background was filled in and the lettering restored.

In the first photo the name of the agent is unreadable, and searching the internet got me nowhere.

I discovered a museum in Callington, and sent off an email, they identified the Agent from the 1912 census, as William Edward Folley an insurance agent who resided in Laburnum row. note no phone number just his address, thank you so much to Callington Museum for their help, in filling the historic missing piece to the puzzle.  

 Wednesday 26th August the warm weather continues with thunderstorms forecast for this morning so start with a view on platform 2 Toddington. 

The museum coach is now ready for a coat of light stone after a lot of preperation.

The Canada emigration sign now has a frame and is looking good a full write up will follow.

But today’s job is try and get the roof on the new shed so it is more water resistant.

First job is 7 bearers on top of last week’s roof.

Then put the insulation in before putting the top boards on.

The thicker of the two stacks of  boards left is laid down, the large sash clamp was needed due to the banana shape of some boards.

Once again the plans do not go as thought so we have used gravel boards on the ends as they fit better.

Now with the threat of rain over the next few days we decided to put the felt on the completed half and put weights on to keep it down so when we do the second half of the boarding we can just roll the loose felt back for access then secure it once boarding is completed.

The felt must be the thinnest lightest grade possible so the south end is tacked on under the facia board but a decision to get a rubber sheeting roof covering has been made as that will last for years, the felt may last until a good wind.