Carriages Sold

The TRAK committee recently announced that they have disposed of all the carriage stock that TRAK had previously collected. There were many reasons behind this decision but the uncertainty of the future of the association was the driving reason.

The small van had already been donated to the Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway. BL361 was purchased by a private buyer in the local area. The other cars have been sold to Australian Train Movers. As ATM is a dealer in railway rollingstock it is understood that they will be are available for sale.

Working Bee

Due to the changing future of TRAK the committee has decided to sell the carriages. Details are in the October OnTrak. It is understood that the van will be donated to Oberon Tourist Heritage Railway and BL361 has been sold to a private individual. The other cars are available at the moment.

The latest OnTrak announced a working bee on Saturday 7th November to clean up the site and prepare the carriages for sale. Please let Paul know if you are available.

Ready to Party

This Sunday we finished getting the site ready for the Christmas event. There was some tidying up and the toilet area was cleaned. Paul as arranged some of our Heritage items for display in 361.

Justin and Kevin did some work on 547 but were not able to finish the end deck. One platform is done so it will be possible to have a look inside 547 just not exit at the other end.

Members who intend being there but haven't let Jeanette know please do so asap.

Preparing for Christmas

Actually for the Christmas event which is in a fortnight. The main plan for yesterday's activity was to tidy up the carriages. With the continued work going on there is little thought given to keeping the place tidy. Also we had to reduce the chance of injury to visitors walking through the cars.

Justin and Kevin arrived early and did some work on the ends of 547. We plan to have the end platform decks renewed before the event and one is finished. Hopefully the other one will be done next weekend.

The past week has seen some wild weather with wind and plenty of rain. We found the tarp on 547 had moved a bit so that took the highest priority. We managed to pull it back into position and tie it down properly.

Justin then concentrated on 547 and Kevin and Jim on 361. Several containers of rubbish were removed and they both look a lot better.

With the main aim of the day achieved we had an early day.

Photos of the exterior work on the toilet and the new deck on 547 are in the photo gallery.

The Door Saga Continues

There was a workday yesterday and in many ways it was a repeat of the last couple of days. Work is continuing on 547 and on the toilet area of 361.

Kevin spent the day working on the end platform of 547. He removed some of the timber that needs replacing and undercoated the metalwork.

Paul finished undercoating the interior if the toilet cubicle. It will get a colour coat over the next couple of workdays.

Jim removed some more of the lacquer on the exterior of the cubicle. It is hoped to have the cubicle finished well before the Christmas Party.

There will be another work day next Sunday.

Door and More

OK writing about a toilet door doesn't sound exciting but that is where most of the work happened yesterday. Work continued on the toilet section of 361.

Paul installed the latch etc. and it is all working properly. Paul reckons it needs a bit of an adjustment and he will look at again next time. He also commenced undercoating the interior.

Kevin prepared the trim moulding that goes along the panel above the door. Fortunately we have a fair bit of materials after the toilet in 343 was removed.

Jim and Paul stripped a lot of the lacquer off the outside of the compartment. It had many layers but is coming off quite well with plenty of stripper and a bit of effort. After sanding it looks good.

Paul prepared another cold collation for lunch which went down very well.

After lunch Kevin did some work on the end platforms of 547 and Paul and Jim continued of the exterior of the toilet.

More on the Door

There was a short workday last Sunday. Kevin and Paul did some work and planning on the end platforms of 547. There is still a bit to be done cleaning and painting the supports. Some repairs have been done and when this work is complete the new deck can be installed.

Paul started installing the latch on the new toilet door in 361. We already have the paint to finish the interior so that will be the next job. The exterior has been partially prepared. Some of the old lacquer has been stripped and sanded but there is still some to do.

Some of the committee members joined the workers for lunch, Paul had prepared a cold collation which was well received. After lunch everyone called it a day.

There will be a workday next Sunday as the weather is forecast to be fine and cool. Any help will be appreciated.

Finally a Door

One of the projects that has ben outstanding for a while is the toilet cubicle in 361. It was started some time ago when the chemical toilet was purchased. The inside of the cubicle was repaired and much of the outside was stripped of lacquer. However one of the things missing was a door. We had one but it needed some work to fit. It was finally done yesterday. Justin and Paul fitted hinges in the correct place and made a few other changes to make it fit. The latch and striker plate are to go on and it is done.

Work also continued on the side of 547. The screw holes were filled and a start was made on sanding and preparing for paint. They will need some further attention but a good start was made.

Some more deck timbers were prepared and oiled ready to go on when the rest of the end platform is repaired.

There are no photos today as I couldn't be there. But I hope to get a few photos next Monday. Yes the workday next week is on Monday as it is a long weekend. You can still come and give us a hand without missing the Grand Final!

Cover Strips

Work continued on the sides and ends yesterday. It was the first workday for a couple of weeks due to the recent damp weather. Fortunately it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm without being too hot, a good day for a workday.

Justin arrived early and started on the sides. He had prepared cover strips to fill the area over the joins between the sheets of cladding. He fitted these during the day after filling the gaps between the sheets with silicon first.

Work was well underway when Jim arrived. There was some planning to be done and Jim caught up with Mario first and then started on that. See the next post for some more details and an exciting announcement. Justin and Jim looked at the toilet area of 361 which is well advanced but there is still work to do.

Paul arrived a little later than usual after brushing shoulders with the dignitaries at the opening of the new bridge in Windsor. He joined Jim and a job list was created.

Paul and Jim then removed the decking from the second end platform of 547. There is some evidence of prior work here and the timbers supporting the deck are in better condition than the other end but not perfect.

Paul had prepared a cold collation for lunch so that was enjoyed next. After lunch Paul and Justin continued with the side while Jim did some preparatory work on cleaning up the end platform.

Meet the Carriages

Another change to this site is the addition of a "Meet Our Carriages" page. Click on the link under About us to view details and photos on all of our cars.

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.

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.