Bury Standard 4 Group - Restoring 80097 and 46428
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It my last report it was mentioned that work was ongoing on re-building our wooden four planker wagon, this wagon was finished over the summer and now sits outside the Bury Transport Museum.
The next project was the ELR’s Standard brake van which was needed for the October gala, other wagons to be used on the gala were all oiled up prior to their use.
In November the CME Allan and myself had a five am start when the boiler/firebox was to be offloaded from our Weltrol wagon onto a low loader to be dispatched to our contractor in Teeside.
The Weltrol wagon was in need of some repairs after all the boiler/firebox work that had taken place on the wagon some timbers were missing and some were broken, these were all repaired or replaced.
Roofing felt was replaced on one of the box vans which had the felt blown offin the high winds late last year.
At the start of 2015 we re-railed our wooden wagon in the museum yard has it had been left standing on the cobblestones and was leaning at a slight angle.
Some rails were cut to length and placed underneath the wheels; this required a high rail and a low rail to get the wagon level.
We were asked if the wagon underframe at the back of the carriage & Wagon shed belonged to the Bury Standard 4 Group, which it was. It needed to be moved after sitting there for eighteen years off its wheels, it was put back on its wheels and then we had to find all the other bits to put them back on eventually, like the buffers and the brake linkages.
All the parts required cleaning then re-assembling so that we had a working hand brake, hopefully it will be back on the rails shortly.
With the better weather coming I have just started working on the BS4G shop roof in the siding in front of our shed so that it can be repainted.
There is also work to be done on the box vans and plenty of other work to keep us busy.
Since the last AGM we have had a very busy year rebuilding the Ex Royal Navy 4-planker. This is now running and it only needs repainting over the summer.
The Bury Standard Four shop vehicle has been repainted on one side only as it has taken up a lot of night time work. The roof still needs repainting and lettering up to finish it off, hopefully this will be done over the summer period.
Very little painting work could be completed last year due to the inclement weather.
I have slowly been rebuilding the railways 3-planker, three sides have been rebuilt and it now only needs the side rail to be fitted, which hold the door hinges.
All of the wood used in the rebuilding of this wagon was donated, including the door rail.
Our four 3-plankers were also painted inside to help to keep the wood in good order.
The GW Brake van was found to be leaking, so roof paint was applied which solved the problem, two more of these vans will need doing this year.
The Lancashire & Yorkshire LYR Oil tanker in Castlecroft yard needed cleaning up which was done, it was washed down but this vehicle needs to be painted this year.
The roof was repaired on one of the Box Vans in Rawtenstall Station; both of the Box Vans were numbered and lettered up.
We also got involved with the painting of the ELR steam operated breakdown crane, which was stored inside Baron Street shed. The jib of the crane had previously been rubbed down but required painting before it could be shunted outside to make space for 80097. We then helped with the moving of our loco from the Bury Standard Four shed to Baron Street shed.
The new boiler barrel and the firebox on the Weltrol wagon are now inside the Bury Standard Four shed, so that work can continue on them inside of our workshop.
I then spent some time generally clearing up the site around the Bury Standard Four shed, removing rubbish and scrap metal.
As always the work is continuous and there is always something that needs doing, anyone wishing to help out with the work of the Bury Standard Four vehicles are most welcome.
Keith Savory.
In my report last year, I mentioned that the work on a Box Van’s body work was coming to an end; we repainted the van in the summer of 2012, it was then signed off for use in the freight train.
Once this was out of the way a start was made on rebuilding the old LSWR 5 planker wagon, this meant stripping down the sides of the wagon to the underframe where we found that a lot of work was required to rebuild this vehicle back to its original condition. We decided we could do this and took the bull by its horns by fitting two new buffer beams and now work is just coming to an end on the underframe by fitting a middle beam, which should hopefully, be in place in the next few weeks. By this summer we should have fitted the floor and work on the upper section will be done next winter 2013.
Other work has also been completed on various wagons, four new doors were rebuilt and fitted to one of the 12 tonne box vans but unfortunately both sides of this vehicle have rotten timber work.
To carry on repairing this vehicle will cost money so a decision needs to be made on whether we should continue.
We have a 12 tonne standard brake van about which a decision needs to be made about who owns it; this is because the Carriage and Wagon Group volunteers are coming to the end of rebuilding our own LMS brake van.
Before Christmas our 16 tonne mineral wagon was moved up to one of our sidings for welding work around the two buffer beams and the underframe, so that it could re-enter traffic. A big “thank you” to Alan and David for doing a great job with the welding repairs.
At the same time entering traffic after a period out of service, was our GWR Toad brake van.
A local farmer contacted the E.L.R. as he felt he had something that the railway might be interested in. This turned out to be a DB container (wooden type) I discovered when I was asked to go and take a look at it. The wooden container was rotten, so I said “no thanks” however, I was persuaded by the farmer to take it and we now have what’s left of a DB container on site. This gives us even more work to do!
Most of our work for the coming summer will be lots of lettering up as well as keeping on top of all the other work that is needed on the wagons. To do this we need materials, like paint, nuts and bolts, and bits of steel just to keep us going.
A lot of people keep asking about our tank wagons, not a lot is happening as they are stored out of reach, all five vehicles need new cross heads and new saddles. A crane will also be required to remove the tank barrels, this cannot be done where they are stored at present and to do the work will require money to be allocated to the job before we can start on the restoration.
If they are repaired the question is would they be allowed to run on the railway again?
Keith Savory.
Here you will some general pictures of our wagons that we have restored or are waiting to be restored.
Here you see three BR Standard Brake vans all in line during a shunting move. Left to Right B954762, B955127 and B950835. B955127 is now owned by Andy Hardman. – Date Unknown – Copyright Keith Savory.
Since our last report, work has been completed on our GWR ‘Toad’ Brake Van. This was finished last July, but it is still waiting to go into the Carriage & Wagon Shed so it can be signed off for use on the railway.
Other work has been done on one of our Box Vans which needed new doors and planking on the sides. We soon found out that it also needed a new floor as woodworm was clearly present. This was a big job as the van was full and there was nowhere to put the stuff either inside or out. We had to work around the contents of the van to fit the new floor then replace the side planking, then all it will require is a repaint, hopefully by the time you read this the painting will have taken place.
There is another Box Van with wooden planking and plywood doors, these doors need replacing and also the side planking has to be removed, again this van is full and will need to be emptied to allow work to start on the sides. Two of the said doors have been made and fitted but work has had to stop as the L&NWR Co box van requires our attention as it is going inside The Bury Transport Museum. This also had to be emptied before the necessary repairs to its woodwork could commen ce this includes rubbing down and filling before a full repaint and re – lettering, It will then be fit to go into The Bury Transport Museum for display.
Also under repair is our LMS Ballast Brake Van which is being repaired inside the Carriage and Wagon works by the “Mid – week lads”. They are rebuilding it from the under frame upwards and are doing a brilliant job. Hopefully this will be ready by Christmas.
The photograph below shows the condition of the brake before restoration was started.
A wagon came up for sale on the railway which we purchased. We are now the proud owners of a five bar wagon, unfortunately it was cut down for use with the engineering works in the 1970’s. We are looking to convert it into a ‘Highfit’ wagon in the near future. So far the only work we have done on it is fit a new floor and give it a good oil round until monies can be raised and time can be found to finish the work.
Keith Savory.
In my report last year, I mentioned that the work on a Box Van’s body work was coming to an end; we repainted the van in the summer of 2012, it was then signed off for use in the freight train.
Once this was out of the way a start was made on rebuilding the old LSWR 5 planker wagon, this meant stripping down the sides of the wagon to the underframe where we found that a lot of work was required to rebuild this vehicle back to its original condition. We decided we could do this and took the bull by its horns by fitting two new buffer beams and now work is just coming to an end on the underframe by fitting a middle beam, which should hopefully, be in place in the next few weeks. By this summer we should have fitted the floor and work on the upper section will be done next winter 2013.
Other work has also been completed on various wagons, four new doors were rebuilt and fitted to one of the 12 tonne box vans but unfortunately both sides of this vehicle have rotten timber work.
To carry on repairing this vehicle will cost money so a decision needs to be made on whether we should continue.
We have a 12 tonne standard brake van about which a decision needs to be made about who owns it; this is because the Carriage and Wagon Group volunteers are coming to the end of rebuilding our own LMS brake van.
Before Christmas our 16 tonne mineral wagon was moved up to one of our sidings for welding work around the two buffer beams and the underframe, so that it could re-enter traffic. A big “thank you” to Alan and David for doing a great job with the welding repairs.
At the same time entering traffic after a period out of service, was our GWR Toad brake van.
A local farmer contacted the E.L.R. as he felt he had something that the railway might be interested in. This turned out to be a DB container (wooden type) I discovered when I was asked to go and take a look at it. The wooden container was rotten, so I said “no thanks” however, I was persuaded by the farmer to take it and we now have what’s left of a DB container on site. This gives us even more work to do!
This is the container after restoration.
Most of our work for the coming summer will be lots of lettering up as well as keeping on top of all the other work that is needed on the wagons. To do this we need materials, like paint, nuts and bolts, and bits of steel just to keep us going.
A lot of people keep asking about our tank wagons, not a lot is happening as they are stored out of reach, all five vehicles need new cross heads and new saddles. A crane will also be required to remove the tank barrels, this cannot be done where they are stored at present and to do the work will require money to be allocated to the job before we can start on the restoration.
If they are repaired the question is would they be allowed to run on the railway again?
Keith Savory.
Bury Standard 4 Group
901 Walmersley Road
Bury
BL9 5LE
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