A refurbished drawbar was fitted to the south end by Paul Hailes and Martin Skrzetuszewski, and 12058 was later moved to a spot outside the paint shop.
The Eastleigh modifications involved removing several rivets, welding a plate in the drawbar slot in the headstock and drilling new fixing holes. These have been progressively undone,
resulting in what is seen here. The two pairs of three holes are for rivets, the top ones having unfortunately been opened out to a larger size. The hole for the drawplate has been
opened up but still needs some work. (MS)
The new drawplate is shown here test fitted. The holes were drilled using the small radial drill at Horsted Keynes. One of the ex-Palvan drawbars has been fitted, the drawbar collar
having been cut down to fit using the workshop’s mechanical hacksaw. (MS)
When the wheelsets were changed on 12058 it was hoped that two of the original RCH type axle boxes could be recovered and reused. The seal between top and bottom was made by a felt
strip, which fitted into a lip on each half of the axle-box. The lips were prone to damage, and very few survive intact. This one is OK. (MS)
It turned out that the RCH axlebox at the south-east corner was not watertight, so Paul and Mark Hailes changed this one for a BR pattern one. (MS)
The drawgear was removed from the Palvan underframe by Tom Simcock and the steel components were grit-blasted and painted by Robert Macmillan and Ray Tanner.
The buffer rods and components were cleaned up and painted (where appropriate) by Robert, Ray, David Chappell and Martin Skrzetuszewski.
A drawbar, nut and collar after grit-blasting. In the background leaning against the wall are end tees for GW 87782 and 12058. On the floor are two buffer castings for GW 87782. (MS)
Right: The two drawbars after painting. In the background is the BR1 bogie on S16210. (MS)
12058 in the C&W Works F-road, having been fitted with the refurbished buffing gear. The south end drawbar seen here sustained damage at Eastleigh, and will be replaced in due course. (MS)
The damaged end stanchions were straightened and repaired by Eddie Carter and his colleague Doug Peskett.
Right: Two of the four buffer rods, as removed from the Palvan underframe. (MS)
The underframe of 12058 was rerailed and the damaged end tees were removed for straightening by volunteers.
The Palvan reached the south end of the yard at Horsted Keynes.
Copies of SR mechanical drawings for 12058 were supplied by Martin Allen in May.
In June the Palvan made it to the carriage works and its body was removed prior to the recovery of the buffing and drawgear. However, both it and 12058 were then derailed to make room for the 50th Anniversary displays in the down yard at HK.
Still no sign of the Palvan (the source of replacement buffing gear for 12058) and no sign of any repairs happening to the end tees of 12058. At the end of the year, at our instigation, an agreement was reached with the manager under which we would repair the damaged tees and the underframe would be rerailed in the new year.
In May/June 2008 the wagon gang had been tasked with the overhaul of LMS medium goods wagon 474558. As this wagon had been withdrawn from the engineering fleet and was now designated as a heritage wagon, it was agreed that it would be reverted to its original condition. Part of this process involved replacing the present BR self-contained buffers with 13 inch diameter spindle buffers with rubber recoil sets. It was intended that these would be removed from a BR Palvan that was allegedly being emptied at Sheffield Park and would shortly be worked up to HK for dismantling.
We were informed that the van’s arrival would definitely be within a fortnight, so we decided to remove the buffing gear from SR 12058 and fit it to LMS 474558, replacing it with that from the Palvan. Needless to say, the van did not arrive within a fortnight: in fact it took some 18 months to get to Horsted Keynes! In the meantime it was found necessary to derail 12058 and, in a subsequent move by paid staff, the tees at one end were severely damaged due to misuse of the Loadall. We were told that they would be repaired.
On the positive side, a replacement drawplate for 12058 was made (courtesy of the Bulleid Society) for the north end, where the original had been removed during the Eastleigh Works conversion. The original was a forging but the replacement was made, through necessity, from steel plate, commercially cut to size and shape. The components were welded together by Steve Rogers as a volunteer job.
Once the underframe was back on the rails, giving access to the arc welding set, many of the extraneous holes drilled or cut into the underframe at Eastleigh during the adaptor wagon conversion were welded up. A set of four buffer rods with 13 inch diameter heads, and two sets of rubber springs, were fitted. These were removed from an SR open wagon purchased for spares from Bristol Docks in 1981 by Martin Cresswell.
The overhaul of the underframe is now pretty well advanced, and the steelwork being made for the body of the wagon is starting to be erected.
Work continues on the brake gear and steelwork for the reconstruction of the body.
Following the arrival of this wagon underframe from Eastleigh Works, all the internal user modifications were removed. The two missing RCH pattern buffer castings were replaced using two suitable spares that wre on site. The open-spoke wheelsets were swapped for two of the correct disc pattern (standard by the time this wagon was built) using one of the portable A-frame hoists and the ever-versatile JCB Loadall.
Bulleid Society members, taking time off from working on 34059, have made significant progress on needle-gunning and painting the underframe and running gear of the wagon, using paint funded by the Society. However, progress came to a temporary halt in December when it became necessary to chip the ice off the underframe before work could commence!
Before and after... A new door pillar made from a SR bogie component. Little is wasted, as the brackets are saved
to be used on other SECR wagons.
Martin Skrzetuszewski
During the autumn the handbrake pushrods were overhauled and refitted, the rotten and split timber packing pieces being replaced with new. Four suitable second-hand end tee irons were identified on site at Horsted Keynes. These were gas-cut and ground to the correct profile and will be ready for fitting shortly. Four lengths of steel angle from scrapped SR coach bogies were also identified on site; these have been sawn to length, gas cut to rough size and profile and ground to the finished profile. After drilling, and the fitting a door securing post, these will also be ready to fit. There is still some work left on the underframe before these components can be attached. Several missing rivets (removed as part of the Eastleigh modifications) have to be re-fitted and some redundant holes (from the same) have to be welded up.
The underframe of 12058, having had internal-user modifications removed. Richard Salmon
Photos and text © Richard Salmon and Martin Skrzetuszewski