Progress of LNER Brake Pigeon Van 70759 - 2010
And the spring followers
January 2010
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Racks and brackets removed and paint scraping
well under way.
well under way.
Guards compartment getting the
same treatment.
same treatment.
Evidence of the removed panels.
Racks removed but still a number of brackets
still putting up a fight.
still putting up a fight.
Another task is the removal of rust between the
steel roof hoops and the boards. Which requires
the use of a hammer.
steel roof hoops and the boards. Which requires
the use of a hammer.
And standing well back as the rust lands on
the floor!
the floor!
With snow on the ground work outside is limited.
Before Christmas more of the panels were removed during this
exercise two original Teak panels were discovered these have
been put in store, the removal of the rust between the body and
under frame is well under way.
Inside the racks have been removed along with most of the
hinged brackets these have been identified to enable the refitting
of the original racks in the luggage end.
The task of stripping paint from the luggage and guards area
panelling is also underway.
Before Christmas more of the panels were removed during this
exercise two original Teak panels were discovered these have
been put in store, the removal of the rust between the body and
under frame is well under way.
Inside the racks have been removed along with most of the
hinged brackets these have been identified to enable the refitting
of the original racks in the luggage end.
The task of stripping paint from the luggage and guards area
panelling is also underway.
Thanks to Goodturn Engineering
120 brackets have been cut from
donated angle. 40 or so will be used
to replace the life expired frame
Brackets, in the mean time the rest
are going to be used to re fix the
floor joists to the side timbers.
This is the first real bit of restoration
to be performed on 70759.
120 brackets have been cut from
donated angle. 40 or so will be used
to replace the life expired frame
Brackets, in the mean time the rest
are going to be used to re fix the
floor joists to the side timbers.
This is the first real bit of restoration
to be performed on 70759.
Mean while the task of de-rusting the roof hoops that was started
back in January is continuing.
back in January is continuing.
April 2010
With the ceiling panel removed and retained
for use as a patten, the spring and mounting
bracket can be seen.
for use as a patten, the spring and mounting
bracket can be seen.
Saturday 1st. In preparation of the
removal of the gangway plates.
The removal of the gangway top
springs and the release of the
spring follower flanges gangway
top sliders took place.
With the retaining pin removed
the spring is moved side ways till it
clears the follower this gives room
to slacken to mounting bracket
bolts enough to loosen the
bracket and permit the spring to
be removed.
removal of the gangway plates.
The removal of the gangway top
springs and the release of the
spring follower flanges gangway
top sliders took place.
With the retaining pin removed
the spring is moved side ways till it
clears the follower this gives room
to slacken to mounting bracket
bolts enough to loosen the
bracket and permit the spring to
be removed.
Follower with rest rust
removed
removed
Follower removed, the dry
state of the rust shows
that the releasing fluid
had not got far.
state of the rust shows
that the releasing fluid
had not got far.
Follower in place with
temporary retaining pin
temporary retaining pin
The spring followers are
the next to go. Of the 4, 3
were easy to remove but
the 4th required a 4” pair
of Stillson wrench. a large
hammer and a jack to
release it from 60 years
of rust.
the next to go. Of the 4, 3
were easy to remove but
the 4th required a 4” pair
of Stillson wrench. a large
hammer and a jack to
release it from 60 years
of rust.
Spring and bracket removed
A kit of parts waiting for cleaning and
a coat of paint
a coat of paint
During paint removal a bit of history was
uncovered the paint time line BR silver
undercoat, blue top David and Charles
yellow and SDR maroon paint
uncovered the paint time line BR silver
undercoat, blue top David and Charles
yellow and SDR maroon paint
More evidence of war time build a panel like
this would have ended up in the shop boiler
before the war
this would have ended up in the shop boiler
before the war
May 2010
15th Top panels from the
proposed compartment
were removed for
refurbishment these will
be use to replace
damaged ones in the
goods van end.
proposed compartment
were removed for
refurbishment these will
be use to replace
damaged ones in the
goods van end.
The removal of beading both along the top and
between the panels
between the panels
First panel out
June 2010
These photos show our first efforts at restoring teak panels on the 70759.
"Before" illustrates the problem of paint & scorch marks (made by an over enthusiastic blowlamp operator in the
BR era) not showing up until the first coat of varnish is applied. This varnish had to be stripped off, most of the
remaining paint came with it, the panels sanded & 3 coats of fresh varnish applied. Some of these panels came
from the other end of 70759, being only 1/4" thick they are quite prone to damage, & the worst ones were
replaced with better from the other end where the planned conversion work will render them redundant.
"Before" illustrates the problem of paint & scorch marks (made by an over enthusiastic blowlamp operator in the
BR era) not showing up until the first coat of varnish is applied. This varnish had to be stripped off, most of the
remaining paint came with it, the panels sanded & 3 coats of fresh varnish applied. Some of these panels came
from the other end of 70759, being only 1/4" thick they are quite prone to damage, & the worst ones were
replaced with better from the other end where the planned conversion work will render them redundant.
Before
After