At the moment it is a story of 'almost there'. Both the Gangwayed Brake (BG) 81039 and the Ballast Hopper (Dogfish) are almost complete.

81039 has had a considerable amount of work done to it. A complete Santas Grotto has been built in each end; the Guards compartment has been fully refurbished, a degree of welding had to be undertaken to the bodywork and three windows had to be removed and rebedded. It has been overhauled mechanically and all the painting (both internal and external) is now virtually finished. You should see it in action on the Local train or one of the driving experience courses by the end of the month. That will be a relief for guards currently having to use one of the 'Toad' brake vans as the brake vehicle in that set.

Similarly, the Dogfish has been thoroughly overhauled mechanically, and everything now works properly. It is being repainted by Sylvie Ottwell into a very smart mid-grey, and should be ready to be released back into traffic in a couple of weeks.

Once both the BG and the Dogfish are complete, we shall replace them with two more vehicles in need of a total overhaul. The TSO (Tourist Open second) 4772 mentioned in an earlier report is being worked on outside, so much headway is already being made. This will give us a flying start when we bring it under cover.

The Dogfish will be replaced in the shed with a 'Conflat' wagon - railway shorthand for 'container flat'. This is a short flat wagon built in the 1950's specifically to carry a wooden furniture container. This was very much the forerunner of the large steel shipping containers which are now so common. The furniture container was initially taken by a road vehicle to be packed. Remember all those three wheeled Scammell mechanical horses with the small flat trailer?. That's what they were used for. After packing, it was taken to be craned onto a conflat wagon to be sent to its final destination. We also have a suitable original container which is in the process of being restored, and when the two are united it will recreate something which was commonplace in the 1950's and 60's.

We are having a 'working week' in early July. In addition to having a major tidy up, we are planning to erect a steel mezzanine floor in the shed to give us much needed additional space. It is currently a kit of parts. It seems to be a bit like a jig saw puzzle, but inevitably without the helpful picture on the front of the box.