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| As first seen in the shed in
2003. Behind is the USA tail car and the remains of two British
coaches. |
February saw a lot of sweat
getting the HST front end back on the rails for a proper check
over. |
The badly damaged control
column |
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| Having stripped out the
control column we finally managed to get the HST and the two remaining coaches
outside in the daylight for the first time in years. |
To take it back to Bredgar we
completely stripped it all down. The front bogie was already off and had a
broken wheel. This is the neat but lightweight power bogie. |
The body rests alongside a
covered Austin Healey at Bredgar. |
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| The head has been removed from
the Briggs and Stratton 5hp giving a chance to clean the piston and
valves. |
The badly damaged body would
not cost a great deal in money to repair but it took a long time and a lot of
patience. |
Once the dents were banged out
the body was filled where neccesary using heavy duty filler. This was then
rubbed down several times and refilled to give as smooth a surface as
possible. |
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| Once satisfied we could do not
better the rest of the paintwork was rubbed down or stripped and the body was
given two coats of primer. |
When the primer was dry a grey
undercoat, two coats, was applied. |
The HST alongside 112 showing
the yellow undercoat and the black 'Beatle wig'. |
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| The body was painted in
crimson and cream - for no better reason than that was close to the livery that
had been applied to the British coaches. |
The body paint nearing
completion |
In the end it became a
question of painting something on 112 and then attacking the HST while the
other paint dried. |
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| The completed body on a low
level trolley. The seat brackets lie alongside waiting to be
fitted. |
The complete body with
nameplates and lettering. The piece of temporary track was just long enough to
start it up and move it six feet each way. |
The restored control column of
which I was very proud until events at the Strand took a turn for the
worse. |
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| At rest at Riverside Station
during testing - which proved satisfactory but perhaps highlighted the fact
that the loco is not powerful enough in this configuration to handle the sort
of crowds at the Strand. |
The small but powerful
disruptive element that roams the Strand and has no regard for other people's
property or enjoyment had smashed the front window, damaged the control column
and scratched the paintwork within two weeks of it returning to the
railway. |
Having now repaired the
restored loco it is stored for safe keeping at Bredgar until such times as
secure accommodation can be provided at the Strand. |
