Wednesday 28th June a dry day with a cool cloudy start but great for working outside.

                    On arrival the transport firms were already in collecting the guest locomotives

                                        

                                Hard to believe the AA box now sited on the entrance road came to us like this after 59 years as a garden shed that was going to be scrapped and burnt.

After a busy festival of steam gala the toy museum was found to be abused with trains taken out of the displays and played with, so relocate to their positions and fit larger washers onto the lock bolts so the door will not pass it even with abuse.

Thinking we may have lost an exhibit or two as there is some spare tank track and rope on the cupboard and a space on another cupboard, will need to go back through the old posts for photos. Thinking we had a chieftain bridge layer there.

After carrying the AA box contents up to it the door was closed and no key so artefacts were placed in the Scammell cab to save more distance carrying then it was off down to Line Wagon 2 to do more roof scraping and cleaning prior to white primer application with a roller.

Reports of one of the 3 roof lights in line wagon 1 not working meant a visit down the yard after checking the light a soldered connection was found to be dodgy it moved the light would illuminate so wires cut and bared then a new solder fitting was clamped on and hey presto 3 working lights.

The wagon has been used as an observation post by Carriage and Wagon during the Gala judging by the cold coffee cup and seats in there.

Line wagon 2 now has 50% of the ceiling scraped and sanded with a coat of white undercoat applied with a roller.

 

Enough of that so out in the sun on the Morris we have agreed to work from the top down to save revisiting work damaged by working above it.

A generous clean with a wire brush in the angle grinder followed by the sander with a coarse grit paper on got the rusty parts back to clean metal and exposed a couple of dents with filler in that was duly removed

50% near done with lots of rust and filler out and some etching primer applied this should bond well and slow the return of the rust.

                                         

                    Looking better now it needs the rear welded to the rear bulkhead and some sanding

                                        

                              From the front with a protective sheet over the new windscreens

A couple of time consuming jobs but progress has been made it now looks a lot better as work in progress but a few minutes welding on the Scammell roof will fill a couple of pin holes then we need to get the welding done inside to secure it to the back panel, we also need a gutter strip for the drivers side.

                                            That is all for today.

 Cleaning up some old, Ratcliffe Scumble glaze tins.

Scumble, is a thin stain varnish in a variety of wood colours, it was very popular in Victorian days right up until the 1950s.

The idea was to create a wood grain pattern finish on wood and metal work .

The scumble was pained over a light buff base  and wood grain patterning was created by pulling various sized combs an rollers through the scumble, once it became tacky to create a woodgrain finish.

This was to create a pleasant effect over woodwork to hide defects.

These old tins were rusty and filthy .so masked up and into the blast cabinet they went to clean off the lids and rims, then put under the wire wheel and coated with a a yellow tint to go somewhere near the traditional, gold mirror finish still present on the underneath of the tins.

Next we have these letters that were found underneath the flooring of the former Abergavenny wagon works building we moved to Toddington many years ago.

Although in a poor state they were written to a lady who must have worked in the office, written by an individual who was repeatedly asking for money to pay off debts, clearly feigning affection.

Dated around 1954, references are made to watching Harry Seacombe in Newport and the mysterious "P" whom money was owed.

Finally a photo showing the first cut of the Moquette  material, in readiness for the first 

stage in, reupholstering GWR Collett coach 4777,based at HoneybourneAirfield.

  A Landmark Day

The AA box was moved to the entrance to Toddington Station, today, in time for the start of the, brilliant Cotswolds Festival of Steam, this weekend.

Mark Young picked it up in the field on the telehandler, and skilfully drove down the main road backwards, he couldn't see the road as the box was in his line of sight.

The box should draw attention from passing traffic, arousing curiosity, hopefully leading to more new visitors.

Thanks to Keith Taylor, who steered this project, so well.

The mess at the back of the cab

A repair to the connection between the roof of the Morris Commercial and the back panel had been well bodged, by me years ago.

Time for all that to go.

The repair and some of the back panel, was removed

an infill patch with a 90 decree flange was welded in, to provide  a firm anchorage for the roof.

It is now ready for the next stage.

 Wednesday 21st May 2025 a nice start with rain and possibly thunderstorms forecast but it was dry and sunny.

The first job was to get some clinker from the pit where they empty the steam engine fires and then fill the AA box stand to level but within minute the mission hit problems.

                                                        no air due to an explosion in the sun

                                                

So a walk down to the bunker and use an engine shed barrow for the 100 metre push, this means the frame is ready for the box to arrive which is hopefully Friday morning on the tele handler.

The blue ( to weigh 5CWT )scales have been sat outside the groups shop so now moved to the loading dock and the lever mechanism was removed for cleaning with a weak acid and wire wool before a wash off, dry and coat with lanolin just leaving the wood and paint to do.

                                                    

                                     Before                                                                                   after

                       

                                                                    reassembled 

                                                

The inner door handle on the first line coach was only just engaging the square so the inner handle was sunk further into the door.

                                                

The Morris 2T 5CWT lorry has had new screens fitted but the passenger side was not sitting nicely so bead out reposition glass the clean and refit beading so now a job done.

                                                        

A missing door stop off the museum coach was located a few weeks ago but today it got fitted

                                        

The museum coach also got a replacement sign as the RATS COACH was ambiguous and did not show any purpose so now it has a new one.

It was then time for line wagon number 2 to have more paint scraped off the ceiling then a powered rotary wire brush in the grooves followed by the first coat of white paint.

                         Whilst we were working 3 engines arrived for this weekends steam gala

                                                                                

                                                                            

                                      To join others already in the engine sheds awaiting the gala

With the sun out is was good to see the railway was busy with travellers and spotters who were hiding as this engine steamed in..