Winter/Early Spring 2022
Following the completion of the structural work on the compartment side, all the panels were filled where countersunk screws had been fitted, sanded down and then treated to a coat of aluminium primer. The vehicle now looks a wee bit less like a mobile slum and a little bit more like a Drummond Corridor Third. When that process had been completed – made a lot easier by the relocation of the 8F to the new steam workshop – attention turned again to the crash damage at the east end. The bottom side members were bolted through where they had been split by the impact, and rebates cut for biscuit joints to be fitted when the new cill is machined and fitted.
Work has now commenced on the fitting of mouldings and beading on the corridor side. It has been the policy of the Museum Trust that all original material must be retained and reused wherever possible and this policy has been strictly adhered to. However, some of the mouldings on the corridor side were either rotten or split and these have now been replaced with new material. A trial run has also been made for beading up the panel joints: this will prove the process, although the beading fitted will be replaced in due course with better material.
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