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Rebuilding Gresley TK 1002 - Chapter 7

Summer 2013

compartment A seat

seat back lifted during installation

After considerable effort and time spent finding a suitable upholsterer, we found a suitable candidate firm to make the seats and backs for the coach. The upholstering was complicated by the fact that the original seats appeared to have been made in situ as there was no obvious way of fixing the top of the seat backs in position after they'd been covered by moquette. We overcame this problem by putting a check in the bottom of the top crossrail which located the large piece of plywood used to form the rest of the back. These two items were temporarily fixed together while sent to the upholsterer for the seat back to be formed. On return, the two were separated, the moquette forming a temporary hinge which allowed the back to be held out horizontally while the top rail was screwed to the bulkhead (as in the above picture).

Chris Smith worked on the preparation of suitable wood stock to make the rails and supports which are fitted under the seat cushion assembly. Don & Robbie made the seat bases and also the rather complicated separator piece which supports the bottom of the seat back and under which the seat base is tucked.

Al and the needle gun

Al MacPhee chipped clean the solebar of bitumastic paint and then needle gunned away the rust. A very noisy and messy job. The solebar and headstock was then painted in primer to prevent the re-formation of rust.

west vacuum pipe east vacuum pipe

In order to clear space for the mounting of the (MGS grant financed) stepboards, the vacuum pipe section which had been formed to bridge over the departmental handbrake on the south side had to be replaced with a straight section. Removal of the bent section was a challenge to say the least. After removal of the bent vacuum pipe, Bob and Don continued with the de-scaling and de-rusting of the south side solebar.

Bob, blocking

Bob Mowat continued the task of glueblocking the south west area of the coach in preparation for the start of fixing of the external teak panelling to the south side. The inside matchboarding was sealed first with aluminium primer, then intumescent paint applied before the glue blocks went in as access was easier. After glueblocking, another thick coat of intumescent paint was applied this time to include the glueblocks.

before after






Lining of the compartment ceilings was started - the photograph shows the before and after (two adjacent compartments actually). After pinning up the 4mm plywood, the holes for the ventilators were cut, then the whole compartment painted thickly with intumescent paint.

Corridor ceiling (undercoated)

Don started lining the corridor ceiling with 4mm plywood to cover over the existing very pock marked surface which used to be millboard (LNER's name for thick hardboard) plus all the various paints, plasters and fillers which had been applied over the years. Bob Mowat had chipped away the various millboard coatings, but the resulting surface, although infintely better than when we started out was still not good enough for direct painting.
The plywood retaining pins were punched flush or below, the holes filled and sanded, then intumescent paint applied before the undercoat of matt white.

Progress ground to a halt as it was discovered that 2 steel plates on either end of the chassis were corroded and needed replacement. The wooden body would have to be lifted off the chassis. So all the doors would have to come off and all the windows be removed. Bummer!

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