Plenty of interesting things going on this week. The coach park was often full in the mornings, and we had three schools visiting the museum. More went to Otters & Butterflies. Without exception the pupils visiting us were well motivated and prepared, and very well behaved: a credit to themselves and their teachers. It is good business for the railway, and with very great volunteer input from the museum’s education team. A huge thank you to all of them, and especially to the amazing Freda Morgan, who was an evacuee herself and has a fantastic story to tell the children who come for the World War 2 Evacuation Experience.

Friday’s school visit was complicated by a very large tree coming down on the line near Woodville, thus preventing any service between Staverton and Totnes Riverside for the day. The Class 09 had to be despatched to rescue the 10.45 train, which never reached Totnes. The Big Red Bus was pressed into action as a rail replacement service.

Work on the new carriage shed at Buckfastleigh continues apace, with almost all the steel erection now being complete. It is beginning to look very impressive.

Work has started in earnest on 1369 over in the running shed. The tanks were removed almost as soon as it came out of service, and further dismantling and component removal is in progress.

Over in Carriage & Wagon, painting of the bubblecar is going well, and although the photo from last Monday shows the first coat of green going on, it has now got as far as being lined out. Dave Watkin has been doing most of this work.
Outside, BR Mark 1 No 4785 continues to be refitted internally. The photos show Jim West working on a window: fitting a drain pipe, and then replacing part of the wooden trim. The dangling wires are part of the table service system.

Over in the main workshops an interesting job was the assembly of the crank axle for the new-build LNER design P2 locomotive. This is for the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, who have already built Tornado. Check their website at https://www.p2steam.com/2017/06/08/cranking-it-up.

The photos, taken on Wednesday 07 June, show the stages of work in chronological order ( starting top left ): One part is set up on the bench, while in the background the other part is heated with gas jets in the same way as a tyre.
Rob le Chevalier checks to see whether it is hot enough. Once the required temperature has been achieved it is lifted in a specially-made cradle and carried across to the first section.
It is then carefully lowered and the final alignment checked.
It is a perfect fit, perfectly aligned: another brilliant job by SDR Engineering. Nick Davies and Tony Wilson were also involved; David Elliott from the A1 Trust recorded the whole operation.

Best wishes

John Brodribb
SDRT Museum Curator

Please note any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent any of the South Devon Railway affiliates.