18th May 2009

An early start saw several jobs carried out by lunchtime. Davy Sheen carried on painting the water cart. The tank is believed to be of WW1 origin, along with the wheels, though certainly not the chassis. I’m doing some research into this as it doesn’t correspond with known designs from the period, that said, the tank and the patina on the galvanising is very similar to WW1 narrow gauge railway wagons that I have been involved with. I’ll rub this down tonight and apply the third coat of undercoat.

David Young’s homework was early and well up to his usual standard – three refurbished taps and two plugs. Dave is making a pattern for the brass handles for the smaller taps, none of the originals having survived intact.

Meanwhile, in the tram depot a team effort in dismantling the truck from Sunderland 16 continues, Bob Fielding is caught in action here (below)!

Over at the colliery, Dave and I prepared Coffee Pot to lift the tank and permanently fix the new buffer beam retaining bolts. This process went rather well and we finished the job in record time thanks to assistance from Mark and Darren from the track team. A few outstanding jobs remaining, mostly painting and touching up various bits and pieces, but we need to set the springs as well as modify the brake blocks slightly. Dave is seen in both shots below, the aches and pains of this restoration finally coming towards fruition!