The T&I team have been as busy as ever this week, in between bouts of clearing snow and ice from the site.

Below: Shaun and his joinery team of Suzanne and Daniel, now that the bakery windows have been installed, have turned their attention to producing box sash windows for the Band Hall project.  One original window has been restored and is seen here receiving new guide bars for the sliding portion of the window.

Below: More Band Hall windows awaiting painting.

Below: The sliding parts of the new windows receiving their first coats of paint.

Below: Brian and Tom have been battling the conditions to keep the vehicles running.  The Ford Ton Truck has received new core plugs and attention to numerous gasket joints.

Below: Chris is fabricating a set of steps for the boilerhouse in the new, and almost warm, fabrication bay.

Below: Apprentice Daniel has had a thankless task – sorting the myriad stocks of nuts and bolts that have accumulated into all sorts of nooks and crannies.  New racking has been built and this work should save many many hours of hunting around in the future!

Below: Tony consults the job sheet while Daniel looks on.  The pair are sorting the gallopers steps and decks in the Erecting Shop.  Extensive work is to be carried out to these over the next two months, including a repaint by Daniel into what is hoped to be an authentic pattern of colours for this particular ride.

Below: An illustration of why the steps require renewal.  They have been repaired many times in their lives but we must now bite the bullet and carry out quite extensive renewal and restoration to ensure their safety and integrity, given the intensive usage of this ride.  It will also be a change to address the deteriorating paintwork.  The gallopers will always be like the proverbial Forth Bridge though, and every year will see some extensive work on some part of the ride being carried out.

Below: Meanwhile, its -8 in the engine shed and Dave is working away on the second valve chest on No.18.  This gadget enables material to be removed without wearing out the elbow, though final finishing is still by hand.

Below: A demonstration of how the Mark IV ‘gadget’ fits into the chest in order to reach the port face…

Below: This view shows the port face after quite extensive efforts to get it flat again – note there is still some way to go as evidenced by the bar placed against the surface at the bottom of the face.

Below: Remember this?!  I thought a couple of photos of the narrow gauge ‘Rookhope’ snowplough were appropriate at this time!  It will come up to the RHEC for the wheelsets to be substituted as unfortunately the ones fitted proved to be too tight on their back-to-backs for use on our track here.  It will also receive a repaint and then be placed onto the narrow gauge ‘system’ for use when the need arises!

Below: And finally, a couple of ‘seasonal’ shots of a very cold Beamish!