Christmas Party

Yesterday was the Christmas Party. Nearly twenty people enjoyed the relaxing day at the restoration site. Although it appeared a casual affair a great deal of planning went into the day.

Justin and Kevin arrived early and set up a large tarp to provide shade. This was important as the day was forecast to be over 30 and fine. Paul arrived soon after to start preparing the lunch. As it was a warm day it was decide to have a cold smorgasbord and Paul, with assistance from Jeanette, arranged a selection of cold meats, salads and fresh bread rolls. This was followed by fresh fruit salad. It was set up and covered with plenty of ice until the guests arrived. A large container of cool drink proved popular during the day.

Jim arrived a little later with the other tables and after Kevin and he set them up it was time for a coffee. Getting Paul to have a break proved difficult though. There was a few small jobs to do making sure the carriages on display were accessible. Also a couple of last minute cleaning jobs were found. However it was all under control before the guests arrived.

We were pleased to see some members who can't attend many events. It was good to catch up. Jeanette made sure everyone had some nibblies and a cool drink until it was time to start the main course.

The meal was well received with everyone going back for more. A bit of clever thinking saw the cover with the ice moved to a spare tyre forming a small pool that the fruit salad bowl was floated on and kept cool.

Some mince tarts and Christmas cake was served with coffee.

Of course each year someone has to make a spectacular arrival and Mario wins the award this year after being towed into the yard, his truck had broken down on the other side of Sydney early in the morning.

There were still several people sitting around talking well into the afternoon. An enjoyable day was had by all who attended.

A big thank you must go to those members of the carriage group who made the day a success. Kevin for setting up the tarp and Paul for the catering deserve a special mention.

The photo shows Paul and Kevin having a well earned rest. There are several other photos in our photo gallery in the Carriage Site Activities album.

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.

May Workday

It might appear early to have completed the workdays for the month but there will only be one this month due to other events. We hope to have one or two in June but even they may be difficult to fit in. Keep an eye on the calendar at the left for the latest information.

Paul and Kevin arrived early and a start was made on cleaning the heritage items. After Jim arrived they stopped for a morning tea. There was no time wasted though as we made plans for the display of some of our heritage items while taking our break. Kevin and Jim then moved onto car 547 leaving Paul cleaning and refinishing.

Our plan for the day was to clean and paint the metal items on each end of 547. The end platform has metal railings and uprights plus there are numerous pieces bolted to and through the headstock. The headstock is the large piece of timber that hold the buffers and couplers on each end. Actually they pass through and bolt to the frame but you get the idea. Rusted pieces were to be removed and where necessary repaired and painted before being replaced. There was no need to remove the couplers or buffers but they would be repainted. Some damaged railings had already been done and were ready to go back on, thanks Kevin. It was planned to clean up and repaint the headstock at the same time. Some nuts and bolts are being replaced as required.

We removed much rust and there was one panel we decided to remove completely. It covers the couplers and is part of the walkway between carriages. The bolts through the headstock were heavily rusted as they are vertical and the water just runs down them. It took some time and much applied muscle power to remove them. By that time it was nearly lunch time so by universal agreement we took a break.

The barbecue was lit and we enjoyed a well deserved repast of hamburgers with bacon and salad. We have the lunch almost down to a fine art now as we were better prepared than last week. There was an overabundance of BBQ tools this time. We need to work out a system for covering the costs of these lunches but as lunch for 3 or 4 is little more than we were each spending on takeaway it shouldn't be difficult.

Nora asked us for help loading a tram body and that took over after lunch. We managed to remove several parts for the Tramway Museum. Steve arrived while we were busy there. He was returning several items he had been working on at home. After finally getting the tram on the truck we decided it was too late to start back on 547 so called it a day.

More on Heritage Items

Some photos of the heritage items have been added to the album I started with the last post. These are still in their as received condition. We intend to give them a thorough inspection and clean up over the next few workdays. See the photos here.

Hopefully there will be a workday this weekend. the forecast is hopeful, Sunday will be the first fine day for a week if the BOM is right.

Heritage Items Donated

StateRail has begun the immense task of sorting out their Heritage Collection. Items that are not considered part of the core collection are being distributed to various Rail Heritage groups. We were invited to tender for some items and were successful in obtaining a number of them. We had to collect them from the Heritage store on Sunday.

As there were a few large items, desks and cabinets etc. it was decided to hire a small truck to move everything in one go. Kevin was appointed trucker, John his offsider / navigator, Jim drove the crew car with Alan and Paul as labourers, David assisted with unloading and arranged storage for some items. The collection was loaded in the morning and delivered in the afternoon. Some of the items have been left at the carriage site for cleaning up so they can be displayed at the Museum display in Kurrajong village.



There are a couple of photos here and more of various items will be added later.