Spring/Summer 2015
Above the corridor sliding door of each compartment, there is an LNER "Hotel" advert. After making sufficient length of the correct section mouldings, a jig was constructed so that the frames could be mitred, glued and finished flat and square. The frames were then gold sized, drilled and varnished before mounting on the partition. The artwork for the advert came via Stuart Sellar and is retained by 2mm thick perspex, as toughened glass is not available in 2mm thickness.
Al MacPhee stripped the plaster (and other things) off the east toilet walls. He
then replaced the missing pieces of millboard to obtain a uniform surface from waist rail to cantrail
height. The smoothed surface was then coated in intumescent paint.
The missing ceiling panel was manufactured then screwed into place. As the ceiling contour
curves rather sharply where it joins the cantrail, the panel had to be sawn repeatedly half way through on
the upper surface so that it would bend round the curve without splitting. After installation, this
new panel and the rest of the ceiling was coated with intumescent paint.
Parts to form the separator between seat back and seat cushion were made by Graham who then painted them and screwed them into approximate place to strengthen the partitions against distortion during the lift. The complicated dished piece and the multi-angled spacer used a frightening amount of wood to make and required numerous passes through the spindle moulder to get them to the shape H N Gresley intended.
After cleaning up the original (north side) doors, these were painted in green metal primer to protect the ironwork. The new doors (for the south side) were undercoated then painted in gloss black. The actual battery boxes for the south side have also been painted in black ready for the mounting ironwork.
The carriage was taped off in preparation for lifting. All of the securing bolts were knocked out and many of the support rubbers were chiselled out as these were going to be replaced anyway. The rubbers seemed to have glued themselves both to the chassis and to the body underside and as such were inhibiting lifting. Hence they were removed.
