Carriage & Wagon - refurbishment and restoration, maintenance, and cleaning
article by: Dave Clark
The Carriage and Wagon Department comprises three sections:
-
Refurbishment and Restoration - this is done in
the old Goods Shed (the Workshop) and Barn Extension, which are
located in Winchcombe Station yard. As a member of the large
Workshop team you will be involved in both the refurbishment cycle
of our operational fleet of coaches and wagons, and the occasional
restoration of previously un-restored vehicles. The degree of
practical work involved is now very wide ranging and includes
carpentry, upholstery, sheet and other metal working, welding,
mechanical, electrical, plumbing, body filling and sanding,
painting, varnishing, and a host of other activities. If you have
any of the aforementioned skills you will be very welcome, but this
does not preclude you if you are non-skilled as training can be
provided and there are always many general jobs that need to be
done. The Workshop is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
usually between 0900-1800, and you may attend on any of these days
and at times to suit your personal circumstances.
Maintenance - our Maintenance Team do sterling
work every Wednesday (hence the name "Wednesday Gang") and provide
essential first-line support to our operational coach fleet in the
form of regular safety checks, all sorts of minor repairs,
essential replacements (e.g. brake blocks, vacuum and steam heating
hoses, dynamo belts, etc), and greasing and oiling where required.
This is mainly an open-air job, but a very important one. Anyone
with former experience of coach maintenance will be very welcome,
but as with the Workshop, if you are non-skilled then training will
be provided.
Cleaning - the Carriage Cleaning Team provide
an essential and very important service because we must ensure that
we retain the good relationship that we have with our travelling
public. Coal smoke, diesel fumes and brake block dust all go
towards making the exterior paintwork and windows grimy, and as
such a weekly wash is essential to restore the exterior appearance
of our coaches. Similarly, the interior needs to be kept as clean
as possible, whether it's windows, tables, seats, floors, or
toilets, all are equally important. Our small team of cleaners
would be very glad to have more members to assist them, so if you
wish to join them you will be made very welcome. During the running
season, the team currently meet on Mondays.
For a day-to-day view of our activities, please go to the
Carriage and Wagon Department blog at http://cwatgwsr.blogspot.com/