Bill Wright of Rothwell Haigh, Samuel Dunton of Reading, George Orton and J.Spooner of Burton upon Trent, Thomas Tong of Kearsley, H.E.Jones of Hereford, George Cox of Hereford, Walter Watts of Bridgwater, William Wheeler of Guildford,
F.J.Thomas of Chertsey, Thomas of Gloucester, Stubbs of Barrowden, Fuller of St Ives, C.H.King of Wisbech, Godbolt of Norwich, Elias Leonard of Soham, Albert & Theodore Fry of the Bristol Waggon and Carriage Works, W.Watson of Belpher,
Herbert Varney of Belpher, Hallard Howcroft of Hartlepool, Fred Hill of Swineflleet, Uriah Hurst of Woodlesford, R.W.Hodgson of Halifax, John Hardman of the Radcliffe Waggon Works
UNDERWORKS & WHEELS
UNDERWORKS
Removing the Fore-Carriage
The fore-carriage would have to be removed from under the waggon as the splinter bar required renewing (which is not a surprise as they are usually the first thing to go). It is no easy feat to balance out the waggon's weight and put the resting timbers in the right place so as not to stress out the body of the waggon. Once done though the fore-carriage is much easier to work on and also the underneath is too. However I'm most happy and relieved when the waggon is back on all 4 wheels again.
BEFORE
AFTER
View of the fore-carriage and rear cradle from underneath the waggon
Fore-carriage removed for repairs, rear cradle & springs waiting for a last gloss coat
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IRON TYRED WOODEN WHEELS
Repair, Replace x 2!
As well as the weatherboards, wheels are also at the mercy of the British weather, especially if stood outside on grass. Slowly they sink into the earth, and any open gaps between felloe and tyre could result in moisture seeping in beginning to rot the felloe. In fact any gaps are susceptible to rotting if the paintwork has any cracking around the hub or between the joins of spoke and felloe, big enough to let water in. On this waggon two of the wheels had to be replaced (offside) and two had to be repaired (nearside). Clearly the offside of the waggon had borne most of the weathering whilst it had been displayed outside. Fortunately the iron tyres were still in fine fettle and could be reused in the hooping process.
BEFORE
AFTER
Arriving at the studios, all wheels braced by thick plywood discs (as advised) to strengthen them, making transport and moving the waggon around a lot safer
The rear N/S wheel after repairs and undercoating - just awaiting the finishing gloss coats & decoration.
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REAR OFFSIDE WHEEL
Quite the journey had this particular wheel, metaphorically and physically speaking, that it earned a gallery to itself!
The condition of it on closer inspection (by a retired local wheelwright) was much worse than had first been thought. A complete new wheel was required. There was too much rot - mainly in the felloes and the hub. The condition of each spoke (especially the tongue/foot) unknown at this point (I had thought to retain any that could be reused). I took the wheel to a wheelwright I knew and had used regularly in the past. He was able to start straight away on it and over the next month or two he emailed me photos of it's progress. With much sadness however, I received a phone call after another month had gone by informing me of his sudden passing. It was such a shock, and a very special and charismatic character will be missed.
Unfortunately, the wheel was not finished - it still needed hooping and the axle box (sleeve) fitted, although it had been gratefully hooped by his son for me, before I received it. The axle box though had been mis-placed. With no sign of it, I would need to source another one, made harder because of the type of axle that was on the waggon. Without an axle box fitted I couldn't put or use the wheel on the waggon. I sent feelers out on social media and rang as many wheelwrights up as I could find on the internet. Eventually I found a wheelwright down south, who was able to help fashion a box to fit, after I sent him a replica of the axle stub turned by my dad. Now armed with an axle box (tried and tested) and a very large wheel, I drove up north (a bit closer to home) and I was assisted by a forth wheelwright who was then able to fit it.
BEFORE
AFTER
Rear O/S Wheel which needed replacing due to rotten hub and felloes
New rear O/S wheel painted up with a buttery cream coach enamel and in the process of being decorated, fine lines awaiting.
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
