Autumn 2020
Attention switched to the south side of the carriage in September. John and Graham once again tackled the glazing. Much larger and heavier panes, but far fewer to deal with! Half-round mouldings were fitted around and across the body panels. Jim P found that some of the upper panels which we previously thought were teak were in fact plywood so they all had to be changed. The framing on the corridor side was in poorer cosmetic condition than the north so much time was spent with filler and sanding before any gold size could be applied.
After fitting the final corridor window, attention turned to completing scraping and sanding of the south side
as some residual pink undercoat was found in several places. These included under the roof canvas which had to be trimmed back
prior to fitting of the cantrail moulding. Because the roof canvas wasn't entirely smooth, quite a bit of brown frame sealant was used
to make sure no water got down behind the cantrail moulding.
Messrs Williams tackled the fitting one of the vacuum reservoir tanks just below the solebar.
After chiselling off ancient bitumastic paint which had refused to be moved by needle gunning, the solebars on both sides were completed in grey undercoat.
Internally, Peter framed up the pictures for above the seat backs and Ken fitted the compartment inside window sills against the north side. The pictures in the photo below still have the protective film on the perspex, hence the dim and un-contrasty images
Before the weather became too cold and damp, Jim Ormiston made a brave attempt to get the north side up to 4 coats of varnish - this is the required yardstick before lining out (which isn't so weather dependent) could begin.
Please don't forget the Gresley TK appeal:>
