We have concentrated getting the parts of the sanding gear made which were missing.  Last week the Oldland end was finished, as you can see it’s currently being painted.  A bit of minor work is required on the Bath end, hopefully being finished this week.  With the Bath end nearing completion the hand brake column has been fitted making that end look more completed, the only thing missing is the actual hand brake!

All the sanding pipes have now been connected up, after a few modifications to the pipes from the sanders to the rail head.

The vacuum setter pipe has been fitted, this now requires having the bracket fitted to the wall and squared up.

Thankfully the Christmas period is over and we can get back to normality!  Between the last update and now the sanders have been assembled and finally fitted to the chassis.  Keith and Dave have made 3 new sander plugs, these are in the cast boxes at the top where when they lifted via the operating handle the sand drops down the pipe onto the rail head just behind the wheel.  Some of the parts were laid out on the floor in kit form just before fitting.

The 4 cheek plates have been shaped around the edge of one side of each sander and re bolted to the side of the toad

The last of the larger hinges have been fitted by Andy to the main door, after a few tweaks the door can be hung at a later date after repairs have been completed to it.  Since these have been refitted, the cabin door end sides have been refitted with the remaining timber we have and started to be painted.  These will be finished when the next batch of timber arrives hopefully mid Jan.  Both window frames have been repaired and painted by a few members.  Under Dave and Bob the inside has carried on being painted, so far the 1^st top coats have been applied to the sides and the roof hoops.  When all the timber work has finally been finished the 2^nd coat will be applied

Major progress had been achieved on the BR standard brake van, both ends have now had the concrete pored thanks to Dave Burton, Martin and Robin, and under the end of the cabin re cast.  4 new studs holding the wooden frame down have also been cast into the concreted at the ends.  We are going to need to drill 4 more towards the middle as the originals have sheared off.  When the weather improves the plan is to clean up the chassis, paint it, and when the toad is completed start the bottom frame.