When I arrived, the lads were in the process of lowering the carriage body of the British Rail Mark 1 coach back onto its bogies. They had four 7½ ton jacks on each corner that were synchronized with each other so that one person controlled the whole up-and-down movement of the jacks.
While the bogies were being finished up, Kenny and I wheeled the end-stair and end-scaffolding away from the other Mark 1 coach. The idea was to switch the position of the two coaches so that the welder could weld in the new steel, working at floor level instead of from a ladder.
The two coaches were coming back into the shed just as we were finishing up cleaning. We had a full wheelbarrow full of oil-soaked sawdust, bits and pieces of torched steel, and lots of other goodies which Bob (from Sheringham) and Bob (from Canada) wheeled out to the garbage skip and dumped the whole mess into the dumpster.
After lunch, back to work to remove the wheel covers on the recently renovated Mark 1 coach to repack the roller bearings. This job was done by Bob (from Sheringham) and Kenny while Steve and I looked on.
Out of a crew of 10 in the carriage and wagon (C&W) shop that day, three of us were volunteers. The rest were mostly lads who had taken early retirement (for one reason or another), who had very useful skills for the NNR, and were working 3-4 days a week keeping the rolling stock moving. After all, a steam-preservation railway that runs regularly-scheduled trains that sees 120,000 visitors a year is no small operation.
The covers were no sooner removed than the call for “tea-time” rang out from Andy. I’ve drunk more tea in the last two days than I have in the previous 20 years!! If you want coffee, the only stuff you can get is Nescafé Instant which is a really poor excuse for coffee.
During tea break, a new person appeared on the scene - Nigel Scarlett who I had been e-mailing with over the last few months.
At which point, I switched from working on North Norfolk Railway equipment to Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Preservation Society equipment - the M&GN brake van.
A bit confusing - NNR equipment to M&GN equipment? Here in Britain, the steam preservation movement is very well organized. The operating railway, the NNR, is incorporated as a corporation with share capital (a for-profit). The majority of shares are owned by the M&GN which is incorporated as a corporation without share capital (a non-profit). The non-profit thus controls the for-profit. However, if individuals want to invest in the for-profit NNR, they can do so through the purchase of shares but control of the NNR is still with the M&GN.
This is a very unique way to limit liability between the various aspects of the railway. This type of corporate control even extends to some of the pieces of railway equipment, particularly the steam and diesel locomotives. For example, the B12 steam locomotive is owned by a non-profit which is controlled by the M&GN. So, if finances go wrong with the B12 corporation, it doesn’t pull the M&GN down. It also provides comfort to those persons interested in restoring the B12 knowing that their donations have gone to the B12 and not to the day-to-day operations of the for-profit NNR.
The NNR lads left at 16:30 leaving Nigel, Harry, Brian and myself working on the M&GN brake van. Andy joined us but wearing a different hat, no longer the foreman of the NNR W&C shop but now a volunteer with the M&GN. While Andy worked on the roof, I was switching between painting and helping Brian rip up and groove some beautiful teak as drip-edge for the roof.
Nigel made the trip down to Holt to pick up supper - I had “chips and beans” (the equivalent of poutine but beans substituted for the gravy of poutine) and a side of cod. Very heavy on the stomach for the rest of the evening.
Nigel had just acquired a new container flat-wagon for the M&GN for the cost of transportation, along with two bogies and spare buffers. This required a look-see at the end of the yard and a quick tour of the equipment. Except for some touch-up paint and loading the buffers with springs, the brake van would be finished in the next few weeks.
We kept on working until 22:00, at which time we all decided to call it a day. A quick wash-up, a ride from Harry back to the foot of Cliff Road, a very slow walk up the hill, and we were back at Camberley House B&B. What with being on my feet all day, I soaked in the bathtub for a good hour. This was the first time I had taken a bath in at least 15 years as I have to share the facilities and there is no shower. (Now, lest you think that I haven’t washed in that long period of time, I have showered very regularly!!).
It was a very interesting day as I learned the ways of British coach and wagon construction, talking to the lads, and asking lots of questions. I had been made to feel thoroughly welcomed with the expectation that I would return again tomorrow. Throughout the day, I had to be reminded that it was Thursday and not Friday - such was the confusion in my brain as to what day of the week I was in. I crawled into bed, turned out the lights, and went soundly to sleep.
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