No 1 Building - Main Workshops

We and our carriages seem to have become a bit of a vistor attraction at the NTHC in the main workshop (No 1 Building). The ability of visitors to chat fairly freely with carriage restorers as they work being a major part of this. As a result there is discussion as to whether the 6 wheeler No 926 and Barnum No 228 should be kept in the public eye in No 1 building for the forseable future. The two vehicles may be swapped round when 946’s lift is required, the lift being more easily achived utilising the 5t overhead crane that is now fully operational in this bay. So as we are staying put for the moment, please drop by and visit us on the Trust’s working Sundays as indicated in the events section of this website.

No 5 Building

The big news is that this building is in use by the trust as covered storage for Suburban Clerestory No. 1663. So the doors have yet to be installed, the roof flashing is not all in place and so we have small leaks, the power has yet to arrived and a temporary track had to be laid to bring it in, however this carriage is now dry and secured from the worst of the elements. The very real risk of this vehicle passing beyond the point of practical restoration has been averted. We must regard this as a major step forward for the Trust, a big thank you to all the people and organisations involved. Particular thanks to Keith Spencer, Mark Hellebaut, the concreting gang, Ian Sheffield and the Permanent Way team for making this happen.

The focus is turning now to finishing the job on No 5 and in particular making the building secure. After recent prosecutions, ASBOs, security patrols and CCTV installation, the Centre has had much fewer visits from destructive elements, however, we must not rely on this recent upturn in fortune. The appeal for £6,000 for the doors continues. Whilst we are primarily applying to the MLST, LNER (GC) Trust and looking to meet some of this from GCR RST funds any additional support to do this earlier would be greatly appreciated.

Whether we will be able to persuade the Centre to bring any of our other vehicles (the other 3 Barnums?) under cover into No 5 is the next big question, but by continuing to support this building project we live in hope!

No 4 Building Appeal

The appeal for funds to provide us with our own building with enough space to store 4 large carriages plus space to work to restore them continues. To date we have had excellent support from the NTHC in allowing us to store and restore vehicles on their site, both outside and under cover. Constructing our own buildings would put much more permanence in these arrangements and allow us to really focus on kitting them out for dedicated restoration and display.

The generous MLST donation plus others from private individual organisations is steadily growing to the point where detail plans can be drawn for the No 4 facility with a view to purchasing the first materials for this self build project. The initial phase of construction (estimated at £25 - £30K) would result in a roof over one / two tracks, allowing vehicles to be stored under cover while we drive towards converting it to a full restoration facility that is expected to cost a further £30K including specialist carriage body lifts etc.

This project features strongly in a new leaflet specifically aimed at commercial sponsorship / donation (for Trust Members this went out with the July 05 update pack). We have a downloadable donation / gift aid form on the website and would welcome any donations for this essential project.

Outdoor Storage

Six carriages are currently stored outside. These are:

Barnums: No 664, 666 (on loan from the NRM) & No 695
These can be viewed looking south from the NTHC platform when no train is in the station.

Suburbans: No 799 and Unknown
No 799 can be viewed, when stock movements allow, from the NTHC platform looking north towards No 5 building (its the blue carriage). The other suburban is best viewed looking south from the west loop of the miniature railway.

6 Wheeler: No 373
No 373 can be viewed, when stock movements allow, from the NTHC platform looking north towards No 5 building (to the west of the blue carriage).

All vehicles are covered by the CCTV cameras installed in 2004 and regular security patrols. All vehicles have been condition assessed and where not fully watertight (especially in relation to the roofs) have doors and windows removed to prevent conditions such as dry rot on the major structural elements.

Assistance

With more volunteer assistance we could do more to preserve and restore our fleet. Having the largest collection of pre-grouping vehicles means that on the latest calculations, its 150 years before we could restore them all (at the current rate of progress). We hope to improve this statistic, but realistically only with more assistance.

Every individual can have a big impact, whether you feel you have the skills and experience to lead a restoration team on a vehicle or wish to pick up skills and experience as a team member, we have opportunities at all levels and most ages. It’s a good fun way of learning / showcasing skills with the added satisfaction that you are preserving vehicles from an Edwardian / Victorian past to a museum standard that will be much admired when back in service / on display.

Please contact us if you are interested, even if you can only spare limited time you are more than welcome!