History from the Website


There has been a lot of progress with the "kit of parts" starting to come together hence this page of photos of Autotrailer 169 as on view during the West Somerset Railway's 2012 Autumn Steam Gala.
 
First an outside view from the driving end.
Auto 169 from the driving end
 
Trial erection of the second bay's timbers.
Timber frame for the second bay

The inner end has been moved back in place, it will have to be largely dismantled

Non driving end
 
A closer look at the driving cab framework.
Driving end framework
 
Looking across the cab with handbrake pedestal in place - and smartly painted.
Driving cab
 
An interior view with two seats temporarily in position and examples of some of the parts and the associated jigs.

Interior of 169

View from the saloon to the cab - and the Barclay saddle tank in front.

From saloon though cab

Detail of the roof hoop construction.

Roof hoop construction

Some of the team showing visitors around the autotrailer - many thanks for donations received!

Inside 169

Please help us to continue our restoration of this historic Great Western Railway Autotrailer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final dismantling underway

Image
 19/07/2023 With the assistance of a Hiab crane lorry and an early (for us) start the final section of the original bodywork of Auto 169 was removed from the chassis and work to save the last of the reusable parts was started. The final section although looking a little like its almost 100 years was actually quite sturdy giving credit to the carpenters who originally constructed it Lift off Once it had landed we set to work removing the remaining roof sections and recovering the roof hoops for reuse. The remaining wooden side parts were well beyond further use as carriage components although some may enter the recycling process to become pens! Going going....... Most of the roof is now gone and one of the roof hoops lies by the side for further use. A final tidy-up and a good day's work is complete Now we just need to separate the end section from the floor and remove the steel cladding from the outside before close examination and assessment of what work and repairs are needed pri
Read more

The End is Nigh................

Image
08/06/2023 Firstly, apologies for the lack of recent updates. This is definitely NOT due to lack of progress but unfortunately, things like glass and glazing are difficult to photograph in a way that portrays the work involved. We have today welcomed a couple of visitors to view inside the carriage and both (independently) remarked how surprised they were at the progress made and the quality of the workmanship that is going into the carriage. If you would like a closer look at what we are doing there please send a message and we will do what we can to organise a private tour for you. Anyway, during the last week, we have been busy readying the last part of the original carriage to be removed shortly to enable us to start construction of the new bodywork.                                                                                                                      We intend to remove the section and initially place it on the ground to enable easier dismantling. The end of the carr
Read more

What happens under the sheets......

Image
31/10/2022 Since our burst of activity in the summer, and despite the lack of updates we have been far from inactive. Our first target was to get the galvanised sheets on the newly erected section. The formers that support the sheets had to be made and added.  Then we received our first setback. The sheets needed to be cut to the exact size and although we had previously used the guillotine at Williton this was no longer available, so we had to investigate other ways of cutting the sheets. Luckily, we managed to source a local facility who were more than willing to help so we continued to progress this work. Having been cut to size they then have to be drilled and the holes 'dimpled' on the top and bottom and countersunk on the vertical edges. Above: Batons fitted, and wood dimpled to accept the sheets.  Above: Sheets being drilled prior to dimpling or countersinking Above Dimpling process underway. Four sheets were completed and attached using stainless steel screws, about 70
Read more