NGRM - The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

January

Saturday 3rd Working Party

Attending – Ann & Winston McCanna: Ray Brooks: Adrian Woodall (duty attendant); Keith Theobald: Mike Carpenter.
Ann dismantled the Christmas tree and put it in store with the decorations.
This cleared the way for Keith and Mike to access the top of the display case in the slate screen to sort out the failed case lighting. This proved to be a defective lamp bulb, and Keith is to see Steve Thorpe about a replacement.
While that work was in hand, Ray Brooks spent useful time with Henry, and much debris was vacuumed up. Winston dismantled the track components from the four stools by Rough Pup, in preparation for repainting the stools, and re-siting the information panels. During this work Keith and Winston resolved how to fit the additional length of “Hughes” round section rail into the display, and Keith then had the rail length adjusted at Pendre to fit the length of the stool.
While this was going on, Mike went to Pendre to collect the tall scaffold tower and this was erected for us on the staircase landing by the Young Members Group.
By this time Adrian Woodall, duty attendant for the day, arrived.
All set to and dismantled, cleaned and reassembled the contents of the two show cases which still required this work to be done (case in the slate screen, and the industrial case on the back wall). All the show cases have now been so treated with the exception of the temporary display case, and this will be spring cleaned when the WHR is removed on 18th January. The cases look much better for the effort, and this task will need repeating every few years.
In the afternoon Winston made a start on cleaning the brass plates on the wall over the staircase, but suspended this work while he, Keith and Mike installed the Westminster lamp. In this task we were assisted at the right moment by Andy Vick, who appeared on cue to work with Keith on the scaffolding, securing the lamp to the chains.

The Westminster lantern in position over the stairs

Thursday 8th Working Party

Another successful working morning.
Those attending were - Ray Brooks; Tom and Pauline Place; Phil Sayers; Ann and Winston McCanna. Brian Kelland and Eric Wooding also came in and dealt with the end of season cash from the donation boxes.
Ann and Pauline spent a good while carefully masking up all the areas around the yellow skirting boards, in preparation for repainting. Phil meanwhile cleaned the surfaces of the skirting with white spirit. He also did the yellow noses on the stairs.
Ray and Tom repainted the four stools which mount the track displays and are placed around Rough Pup. They also did the four stands which Winston has made to display the information plates at a better viewing level.
Winston clambered up the scaffolding on the staircase, and cleaned the remaining plates, that did not get tackled last Saturday. While up there he also cleaned the glass in the Westminster Lamp. In the afternoon the scaffolding was dismantled and removed.
Plans for next Thursday are to paint the yellow skirting, and re-assemble the track displays.

Thursday 15th Working Party

Another successful working party. Attending were - Tom and Pauline Place; Ray Brooks; Ann and Winston McCanna; Phil Sayers; Brian Kelland; Chris White. Eric Wooding also came to offer moral support.
Among the tasks undertaken, Phil re-painted the yellow safety skirting boards on the ground floor. Masking for this had been done the previous week, and some of this had become detached and needing re-applying and Ann McCanna did that. Some will require a second coat of paint, and this will be applied next week. Ann and Pauline then gave the stairs a thorough clean, including re- cleaning the yellow nosing which looks shabby very quickly. There was a considerable amount of debris on the stairs following the removal of the scaffolding from the landing.

Tom Place dismantled the temporary Wilbert Awdry photographic display. Tom then assisted Ray and Winston to clean up and re-assemble the track display stools on the ground floor. These now incorporate raised, angled mounts for the information panels to make the panels easier to read. Winston made these since our last working party.

Chris was photographing items in the collection in order to get images onto our web site.
Steve Thorpe replaced the defective bulbs in two show cases, and the enamelled steel panel which conceals the access hatch to the case in the slate screen was replaced.

Next working party will be on Thursday 22nd January at 0930

Thursday 22nd Working Party

A highly successful session: present were - Ray Brooks; Phil Sayers; Ann & Winston McCanna; Eric Wooding; Brian Kelland with Frank Yates making a welcome return following his mishap and Gerald Grudgings for the first time.
As the museum is to be officially visited on Tuesday and Wednesday by parties from the Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis, we left the place as clean and tidy as practical.
Phil put a second coat of yellow paint on the skirting boards near the door to the cafe. This entailed re-masking that area, which was done by Ann. Ray got out the vacuum cleaner to collect dirt and rubbish from the floors. As the Welsh Highland Railway people had cleared out the Temporary Exhibition showcase, Eric and Brian were able to give it a thorough spring clean for Alan Holmes to mount the Bryneglwys Quarry display for 2009 during Outdoor Week. Frank continued painting and improving the inside of the cab on Jubilee, which comes in for fairly heavy usage by children visitors. Gerald made a start on oiling and moving all the heavy items in the collection with a pinch bar, as nothing has been moved since the museum was re-assembled for the official opening. Gerald dealt with Dot; Dundee; and the Bryn Eglwys, Dorothea and Oakley wagons successfully. Winston finished re-assembly of the track components on the stools around Rough Pup. Phil painted the brackets made for constructing a free standing triangular stand using three of the "Wharf" boards which had been fitted as a temporary display in 2005 and in store since.
On the previous afternoon, Winston continued with the task of copying the Johnny Morris recordings on to a PC. This is a very time consuming task, as it all has to be done in real time.

These parties will continue each Thursday morning when there is no train service, i.e. 29/1; 5/2; 12/2; 5/3; 19/3; 26/3; 2/4. A leader is needed for 12/3, if that is to be held.

Thursday 29th Working Party

Today's working party was supported by Ann and Winston McCanna; Ray Brooks; Phil Sayers; Eric Wooding; Brian Kelland and Frank Yates.
The first task was to start the job of repainting the lower edges of all the white paintwork on the upper floor. This suffers very badly from cleaning with a wet mop which leaves dirty water everywhere. For our touch up task, the floor has to be masked to protect it and Winston started this time consuming job before Ann took over with the masking tape. Phil then welded a paint brush and it looks much better for all the effort. Some further touching up will be required next week to cover the darkest marks, and then work can move down stairs.
The second job was to erect three of the "Changing Face of Wharf" boards into a free standing triangular stand. The wood blocks had been manufactured and were painted last week and Tom Place had purchased mirror screws for the task. Ray and Winston tackled this job and Eric pitched in when needed.

Changing Face of Wharf display

Frank Yates meanwhile was soldiering on re-painting and improving the cab of "Jubilee", which is beginning to look quite smart. All the brass work has received a polish and Frank is working from top to bottom in the cab with the paintwork.
Phil also cleaned and conserved a very recent donation from the Talyllyn Railway Company. From the darkest corners of the paint shop has come the very Wharf - Dolgoch board which is featured in the Patrick Whitehouse film which plays in the museum. The board is therefore of 1951 vintage, and has a place in Society history. For safe keeping it has been displayed on the ground floor.

February

Thursday 5th Working Party

This morning's session was attended by Ray Brooks; Ann and Winston McCanna; Phil Sayers; Gerald Grudgings, Eric Wooding, Brian Kelland and Don Newing.

Phil started by putting finishing touches to the white paint he applied last week on the upper floor. Ann and Winston masked up the ground floor and Phil then made good all the soiled white paint downstairs. Ray painstakingly oiled up every oiling point on Jubilee 1897, Rough Pup and George Henry. He also oiled the bearings on the wagons not lubricated last week. Gerald used the bar borrowed from Pendre and moved Rough Pup, and the Host Wagon. He also had a go at Jubilee.

Eric and Brian repaired damaged paintwork inside the temporary display cabinet. Ann cleaned up after Phil and Winston washed all the skirting boards on the upper floor. Don was working in the office, and broke off to take some pictures of working groups.

Saturday 7th Working Party

One of our regular monthly working parties was held this morning. The attendance was down due to sickness and the weather. So we had regrets from Richard Evans, Phil Sayers; Frank Yates and Gerald Grudgings.

Those who did assist today were - Don Newing; Ann and Winston McCanna; Ray Brooks; Sue Whitehouse; Eric Wooding ; Brian Kelland; Keith Theobald.

Ray started to transfer the roofing slates stored in the LNWR slate wagon in the yard to the adjacent GWR wagon, while Winston cleared the way in the Gunpowder Store to move out the Corris Railway Mail Waggon, which has been repainted. The mail waggon was moved across and placed on the end of the museum's storage siding behind the water column. Keith moved the LNWR wagon to the Gunpowder Store in the afternoon by using the Bobcat. This wagon is next in the wagon re-painting programme.

Following coffee and biscuits, (courtesy of Ann) Eric dealt with the gift aided donation received on Thursday before continuing to repair damaged paintwork in the Temporary Exhibition show case. Brian, Ray and Sue worked cleaning the locomotives in preparation for re-opening on Saturday 14th. Winston assisted Don in completing the tidying and clean up in the office, and discussing with Don and Keith a future work programme.

The Corris Railway mail waggon outside

The next working party will be on Thursday 12th February, after which there will be a respite before we re-commence our efforts on Thursday 26th February at 09.30

Thursday 12th Working Party

The working party was attended by Ray Brooks; Phil Sayers; Ann & Winston McCanna and Eric Wooding.

Work was primarily targeted at getting the whole museum ready for re-opening to the public when the half term train service starts. So Phil Sayers cleaned all the glass up and down the staircase, while Ray; Ann and Winston finished off cleaning the locos to complete the task started last week. After coffee, when we were joined by David Mitchell, we enlisted Ed Lund's assistance additionally and moved the LNWR slate wagon into the Gunpowder store to dry off for re-painting at future working parties. This move should have been simple as Keith had left the wagon immediately outside the shed door last week end but, in the few intervening days, the wagon had been pushed back and the slate saw bench placed by the shed door to be wired up for use during Outdoor Week, to assist in the building of the bothy to house the weigh bridge. We therefore had to move the saw bench before putting the wagon under cover and then replace it when the wagon move was complete.

Ann cleaned and dusted all the smaller artefacts, while Phil ensured that the outside of all the show cases were free of finger marks. Ray brewed up some conservation wax in readiness for continuing the task of conserving track components in the gunpowder shed.

Eric collected two boxes of items from Lawrence Garvey which were on offer to the museum. On a cursory inspection they comprise models, some complete and some some not, and rolls of drawings. These were placed in the store for future examination and decision. Eric then completed the repair he made last week to a small area of damage inside the temporary exhibition showcase.

During the morning we were visited by three regulars. Frank Yates had been unwell and had not recovered sufficiently to return to working duties and Tom and Pauline Place had been away on family business and had only just returned. Apologies were also received from Brian Kelland, who was unwell.

The next working party will be held in two weeks time on Thursday 26th February at 9.30 am. All will be welcome

There was a letter enclosing a gift aided cheque for £2,500 as a donation to the Museum Trust .

Phil and Ann clean the Guinness locomotive while Winston supervises!

Monday 23rd Bryn Eglwys temporary exhibition mounting

Work in progress

Alan Holmes and Ray Brooks installing the Bryn Eglwys exhibition

Alan Holmes and the Bryn Eglwys exhibition

Thursday 26th Working Party

Our regular wintertime Thursday morning sessions resumed again today. In attendance were Chris White; Ray Brooks; Phil Sayers; Ann and Winston McCanna; Brian Kelland; Frank Yates; Eric Wooding.

The intention had been to make a start on wire brushing the LNWR slate wagon in the Gunpowder Shed, but permission to use the shed had been given by Keith to the members of the Outdoor Gang, who were engaged upon the construction of the Weigh Bridge Bothy in the corner of the yard, and the shed and wagon was full with their kit. Additionally Chris was finishing the painting of some new station signs, so that project was shelved and we moved to Plan B.

Ray started sorting and listing the contents of a couple of large boxes of railwayana which had been collected a couple of weeks previously from the care of Lawrence Garvey. Phil gave a clean to the items on display on both ground and first floor. It is surprising how quickly things get grubby when the place is open to the public. Ann gave the Awdry Study a good clean. Frank continued working on re-painting the inside of Jubilee 1897's cab. Brian cleaned glass and translucent signs, while Eric dealt with donations. Ray had spent two days earlier this week assisting Alan Holmes to install his temporary exhibition on the Bryn Eglwys Quarries and Winson found some show case stands that were needed for this and put them into the show case.

The platform from the scales in the Gunpowder Store was moved to Pendre for repair.

We shall meet again on Thursday of next week at 09.30 and the next regular Saturday session will be on 7th March. All are welcome to join in.

The Bryn Eglwys display taking shape and painting the cab interior of JUBILEE

Working in the Awdry study and sorting the items received

March

Thursday 5th Working Party

At today's session we had support from Phil Sayers; Ray Brooks; Frank Yates; Ann and Winston McCanna; Brian Kelland and Eric Wooding.
Frank continued with re-painting the cab of Jubilee 1897 while Ray, Phil and Winston started the work of wire brushing the LNWR slate wagon in the Gunpowder Shed. Brian, Ann and Eric did routine but essential cleaning in the main body of the Museum. By keeping on top of this aspect of Museum hygiene it make it so much easier to retain the whole display on top of its form. We also took delivery of plywood from the supplier for future use as folders to store drawings and posters.
The next working party will be held on Saturday 7 March, when a larger gang is anticipated: all will be welcome. There will then be future Thursday morning sessions on 12/19/26 March and 2 April, after which they will be suspended through the daily train operating season.

Saturday 7th Working Party

Present were Tom Place; Ray Brooks; Phil Sayers; Richard Evans; Frank Yates; Brian Kelland; Don Newing and Winston McCanna. Frank continued to work on Jubilee 1897's cab, and it really is beginning to look quite smart. In the Gunpowder Shed we trundled out the LNWR slate wagon, and used the power wire brush which Keith had kindly arranged for us. While Richard powered the rust off the floor of the wagon, Ray and Phil finished off with hand brushes on the superstructure, before turning their attentions to applying conservation wax on cast track components in store on the shelves. Tom and Winston manufactured two large plywood folders for storing posters flat. Don was busy with his camera and then dealt with accumulated office paper. This included introducing new change of location records, to be used to control the movement of items in the collection around the Museum.

Once the wire brushing was completed Richard and I applied a rust inhibitor to the wagon, and this task took us until mid afternoon.

The LNWR slate wagon gets a coat of anti-rust primer after being thoroughly wire brushed. Richard Evans in background.

Thursday 12th Working Party

Winston was away, so Ray Brooks took the lead. He was joined by Phil Sayers; Frank Yates and Brian Kelland. They continued where we had left off the previous Saturday, with Frank working on Jubilee, and the rest applying paint to the LNWR wagon in the Gunpowder Shed and continuing with the seemingly endless task of conserving track components.

Thursday 19th Working Party

We gathered up again in beautiful spring sunshine on Thursday 19th March for the weekly working party. Attending were Ray Brooks; Frank Yates; Phil Sayers; Chris White; Brian Kelland; Winston and Ann McCanna; Alan Holmes. Alan first put the finishing touches to his exhibition on the Bryn Eglwys quarries before continuing with the seemingly endless task of conserving track components in the Gunpowder Shed. The LNWR slate wagon was wheeled outside of the Shed and Ray and Phil set about applying a coat of red oxide to it. Chis re-assembled the platform weighing machine, which had seen repairs done to the platform, and he then worked on the office PC, dealing with the museum catalogue etc. Ann and Brian polished all the brass on the items in the museum and then applied a coat of conservation wax. Winston assisted with painting the wagon and generally filled in. It was so pleasant that we took coffee on the platform and enjoyed a slice of cake brought by Ann, and we finished by taking lunch together in the cafe.

The next session will be held on Thursday 26th March. Please come along and join the fun.

20th March Memorial Service for James Boyd

On Friday 20th March, a memorial service was held for former Museum Trustee James Boyd, who died on 20th February. There was a good turnout of representatives from the Museum Trust and the Talyllyn Railway, and from many other followers of the narrow gauge movement in England. Wales, and the Isle of Man. The service was held at the church of St James the Great, Colwall, followed by a reception at The Downs School. Many of the visitors then adjourned to the Downs Light Railway, located in the school grounds, with which James had long been associated. A fitting send off on a glorious early spring afternoon to a founder of the narrow gauge enthusiast movement.

The 2-6-2 Locomotive named after James was on display, but unfortunately not in steam, awaiting a routine boiler inspection. Here it is inspected by Richard Hope and John Bate.

Two present Trustees of the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, Don Newing and Keith Theobald, and two past Trustees, Alan Holmes and Winston McCanna, await departure from Hoyland Down.

The 0-4-0 locomotive "Brock" makes a spirited charge up the bank towards the tunnel with a heavy load, including Charlie and Robin Daniel and John Milner in the first coach. 0-6-0 petrol-hydraulic "Tim" acts as banker.

Thursday 26th Working Party

The working party was attended by Frank Yates, Phil Sayers, Ray Brooks, Tom Place, Brian Kelland and Winston McCanna.

Frank continued repainting the inside of Jubilee 1897's cab. Ray and Phil put another coat of red oxide paint upon the upper surfaces of the LNWR slate wagon in the gunpowder shed. Tom finished the task of listing the items offered for donation via Lawrence Garvey. We then ensured that the main museum hall was clean and fit for the public. Winston purchased further supplies of red oxide paint to maintain progress on the wagon task.

The next stage of the wagon task is to wheel it out side into daylight to check that no areas have been left unpainted. It will then require the grey paint for the upper surfaces before the black can be applied on the lower fittings.

We shall probably concentrate next week on continued conservation of track components in the gunpowder store, now that we have fresh supplies of wax.

The next working party will be held on Thursday 2 April, with another on Saturday 4 April. All welcome.

Sunday 29th Wagons Departing for Corris

The Museum's Corris Mail Wagon and other Corris wagons based on the TR have been moved temporarily to Corris to take part in the Corris 150 celebrations. Pictures by Richard Greenhough.

Loading at Wharf

Waggons assembled at Maespoeth