Preparing for the Exhibition

It is now just six weeks until the exhibition and there is plenty to do. The Carriage Group has agreed to assist with preparations as well as during the event. In return for the assistance provided the Carriage Group will share in the profits made. Any funds that are available for Carriage Restoration will be very handy. We need to pay for paint for 547 as that will commence once the side claddings are installed.

We have already cleaned, repaired and started painting the bookcase. It needs a coat of final colour to be complete. We will also clean and repaint the a-frame display stands. They are being used this weekend at the Mt Victoria Train Festival but after that will not be required again until the exhibition. Paint will need to be purchased for both stands.

On the weekend of the event, which actually starts on the Friday with setting up, the Carriage Group will be responsible for putting up signs around the area, marking out the hall and assembling the Trak display stand. Over the weekend we will assist the Promotions Committee in any way needed. After the event on Sunday evening there will be packing up, collecting the signs and cleaning up. If the hall is not left as we find it there will be cleaning charges that will reduce our returns.

This is the most important event of the new financial year for Trak and a succesful weekend will mean a good return for the Carriage Group. If you can help please do.

A Busy Day

Once again we turned up to work on 547 but first there were a few other jobs that needed our attention. I have previously said how dangerous the steps were getting so that was our number 1 priority. I removed the top step and cleaned the area of rusty nails etc. before Stephen and Alan arrived. As soon as Stephen started he prepared the replacement step using the former Victorian van steps. Meanwhile Alan and I were busy elsewhere.

Mario needs to move one of the trams opposite our cars and our scaffold was in the way. Actually only one corner was, so Alan and I dismantled part of the scaffolding and then secured the remainder. When the step was ready Stephen gave us a hand and then we all returned to the steps to assemble them. In all two steps were replaced and it is now a lot safer.

In the photo Alan is supervising Stephen as he measures the spot for the second step we replaced. The old step can be seen leaning against 361 (or should that still be W462 as it is in use as a works vehicle?).

After lunch it was time to get to 547. David has lent some rotary wire strippers and we tried them out on a piece of scrap using a cordless drill. It wasn't turning fast enough to make an impact so we will try again next time with a power drill.

Alan has fixed the generator as best he can and it works for a while and then fouls the plug and stalls. With a clean plug it runs again for a while. We tried a rotary tool with a sanding attachment and it cut through the paint quickly. Some sanding and stripping continued using the belt sander on the ceiling as well as the gas burner and hand sanding. A far bit was done by the end of the day.

There won't be a workday next week as we will be at Mt Victoria Steam Train Festival. The next workday will be 4th June.

More on 547

Last time I gave an update for 547 I mentioned we had sanded some of the recently stripped area. This shows a panel that has been sanded and surrounding areas that haven't. Getting into the details is difficult but we will try a rotary tool with a sanding attachment. Work here will progress much faster if we have a few more hands on deck.

Alan is working on the generator as I write this (or that what he said he was going to do when a spoke to him a while ago) so hopefully it will be back on deck on Sunday.

Silky Oak Part 2 and More

In a previous post I mentioned we had been given some Silky Oak timber. When this was initially announced to members we were offered some more. One of our members is removing a couple of Silky Oak and offered them to us for timber. I think they have suffered in the drought and many have died. Alan is following up and we have approached Hawkesbury Woodcraft to cut them for us. We will need a truck or similar to move them so please let us know if there is one available.

There will be a workday on Sunday unless it is raining heavily. An email will be sent early in the morning so if you are in doubt check for a message before leaving home.

New Links

You may have noticed that a couple of icons have been added to the site recently. The wheelbarrow is from AustralianBlogs which as the name suggests is a site that links to Australian Blogs. It has keyword search capabilities and is worth checking out. New sites are added each day. I choose the wheelbarrow icon from all those availalbe as it looks like something that would be at home on our restoration site. It is a little old battered but still pretty useful, much like most of us! Our carriage Site will be added there after it has been announced to the membership in the June OnTrak.

The other link is to FireFox the best browser no matter what operating system you use. Nothing to do with carriages but important when you are checking on the site. Not only is Firefox safer but also more useful, check out the extensions available.

The TRAK site has had some changes too so follow the link to it. There are some updated links on the links page and an exhibition page has been added with a list of exhibitors which will be updated regularly.

What will we do on Sunday?

Although we had no workday this weekend there definitely will be one next Sunday, probably. We have some jobs planned. As well as continuing with the paint removal in 547 we have some maintenance to do and there is some exhibition stuff outstanding.

David Ranger has lent us some rotary wire brushes that Stephen intends to test on some old timber. If it works without damaging the surface it may prove a faster way to remove the old paint.

Alan has been working on the generator and hopefully it will be running properly by then.

If you have been at the site lately you would have noticed how the steps we all use to access the BL (the most important carriage as it is where we keep the coffee) have become a little wonky, actually the top step has rotted away and is now quite dangerous. We have been donated some steps off a Victorian guards van and we will use a piece of these to fix the steps. Thank you to our benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous.

I will cover more on the exhibition in another post but one of the jobs we have to do is prepare the bookcase. It has been cleaned, repaired and sanded. Then Paul applied undercoat. It needs to be painted if we remember to buy paint before Sunday.

If Kevin is feeling better he will be working on 683. There is plenty to do but it is coming along well.

As you can see there is plenty to do so if you are available please be there and give us a hand.

A couple of other bits of news are that there is no news so far on our Silky Oak. Also the planned move of 547 has been delayed for while as Mario is very busy and will be for sometime to come.

Progress on 683

Here's an older photo of Kevin (behind) and Paul (in front) working on 683. Alan is just visible on the platform too. This is quite an old scene as it was just after we took the second railing off. Since then the whole end back to the door has been removed. Kevin took much of the steelwork home for repair and painting and is returning it as he finishes each piece.

I will post some more up to date photos of 683 soon.

Gas, Sandpaper and Undercoat.

Another workday is past and once again we accomplished a bit. The exhibition is now only a couple of months away. I will do a post on what the Carriage Group is doing for and at the exhibition. The first thing today was to do some repairs to the book case stand to prepare it for the exhibition.

Previously some damaged areas had been filled. Each time we use the stand it sustains some damage in transport. I sanded and checked the stand and then Paul sprayed some undercoat on the repaired areas. We will get some paint for the next workday and the stand will be ready. Paul suggested we use a darker colour so it doesn't show the marks so easierly.

During this activity the discussion turned to a replacement. The stand is great once it is at an event however it is bulky and always seems to get damaged. If we could make something that folds down and was more durable it would make life much easier. Several ideas were thrown around and Stephen sketched out the combination of the best. We will show Alan and see what it will cost and what is involved in making it. Hopefully it will be ready for the exhibition.

After lunch we sanded the area in 547 that had been stripped. Stephen had tried to strip some more with the gas torch but the gas ran out. He was working on the last panel of the first side too. The area we sanded came up very well. The little remaining paint and even any scorch marks came off and the surfaces are ready for paint.

Progress has been good considering the small number of people working on it. The walls will be ready for paint very soon.

Workday with a Difference

This week's workday was a bit different as we didn't get much in the way of actual work done. Some unkind people may say that is not all that different to most workdays. Sometimes it is useful to stand back and see what you are doing and decide on the future direction.

Stephen and Jim spent much of the day comparing paint samples to various parts of 547. When David arrived he had a few more suggestions. By the end of the day Stephen had a list of the various colours needed to paint 547 inside and out.

David had escaped from the pressure of being the father of the bride during the last week before the wedding and visited the site for a little while. His main purpose (excuse?) was to deliver our new fire extinguisher. Using the gas torch to remove paint in 547 made many of us a little uneasy. Open flame and century old timber do not make a safe combination. Stephen has been very careful though and we have had nothing worse than slight scorching so far but now we are prepared. David provided a detailed training session which consisted of pull the pin and point the rubbery thing at the fire.

Paul arrived later in the day, he was still recovering from a big night out in town. The heritage buses were giving rides around the city so that naturally was where Paul had been. Going on the time he answered my email he is keeping the same hours as our treasurer. As Safety Officer he was very pleased to hear the extinguisher was delivered.

Our generator has given us a bit of trouble lately. Alan had serviced it a while ago but it still ran rough and smoked so much you would think it had an Alco motor not a Briggs and Stratton. That's a diesel- fan joke, apologies to anyone else. Mario had told us there was a filter behind a cover plate which gets clogged. Everyone gave Alan a hand to load the generator into his ute so he could take it home and check it out.

At that stage those left on site decided to partake of a coffee and call it a day.