StoneRoad2013's photos with the keyword: original material

Finally, got the planking on the original door, just need to trim that tenon down flush.

The original door frame has been repaired (removing as little original material as will permit a safe result) to restore the proper dimensions. The chamfers have been added but the through tenons have not yet been trimmed flush to the frame. The curved section, just below the window, has had several latching / locking arrangements over the years. Unfortunately, the T- bar style latch from the service era has disappeared.

Whilst cleaning the old paint off the original door, some interesting and very well adhering paint was located. It was colour-matched and some avenues of research indicated that at one time the R&ER had used "Furness Red" as their livery. Red shades are notorious for being affected by sunlight, but this appears to be close enough to have been the original colour of the "Big Saloon".

Having built the main structural frame and cill structure, it is time to begin incorporating the sections of original material into the structure.

Joining the new timber framework - produced at the nominal dimensions - to the time-worn existing ie original material shows up some areas of wear / damage / alterations.

Almost the final stage of repairing the old end arch. There is a little bit more final shaping left to do in order to match the proper profile. As the amount of new wood shows, it had been modified, probably more than once, after leaving the 3ft gauge R&E Railway in 1915.

The six original roof sticks - and a short length of detached cant rail - under repair. This includes work on the cant rail "dovetails" and repairs to a small number of other areas. In order to retain the largest amount of original material, the remains of severely rusted nails that had been used to fasten down the roof planks will be removed using a plug cutter and a tight-fitting section of dowel will be glued in as a replacement and then cut back to match the original surface. This process has just been started and will take some time to complete. The new roof will need somewhere for the new fixings to be attached.

Image showing roof stick ends, after and before repair, as well as the mortice in the cant rail. These joints can be of the "bird's mouth" type, but these are based on dovetails. The upper face of the roof sticks shows the remains of the nails used to fasten down the roof planks, another repair process to be undertaken.

Gluing up a roof stick repair. This wedge of new timber - with the grain more or less matched to the original orientation - is to be shaped to replace a missing joint from the roof stick into the cant rail. The required tenon is almost dovetail in shape. A job for tomorrow, when the glue has properly set.

The six original roof sticks at the start of restoration work, including the three which were attached to some roof planking (which has been retained, although it was too weak to be re-used).

The "for sale" panel after cleaning back the non-original paint, ready for examination for any repairs necessary before the addition of replica sections for the return to the "as built" dimensions. In particular, extensions to the three frame members and two replacement planks. The cut-away effect was re-used as one of the walk-through openings.

Potential problem. Part of one original section, showing the distortion which required some thinking to enable the jointing with the replicated structure.

The original door and the "for sale" section resting against the workshop wall. Some significant cleaning and sanding has taken place, as well as some initial repairs. The planking section stored behind them may well be determined to be too fragile for public display, a decision will be made shortly.

This is the piece of the "Big Saloon" that was in the original R&ER museum. It had been trimmed and repainted for display purposes. The "for sale" stencil was to indicate the fate of the 3ft railway in 1915.

These fragments are the remains of one bodywork panel, and in the poorest condition overall.

Spreading out the various pieces of the "Big Saloon" to see how what we've got relates to the images and sketched drawing.

The remains of the "Big Saloon" roof - this is three of the roof sticks and some sections of planking. There are several unattached roof sticks and an end arch, in addition.

One side panel and one door. The largest remaining piece of the "Big Saloon" about to be unloaded into the workshop. The white colour maybe limewash, along with non-original glass and other coloured paints.