24/10/2026
Museum working party 22nd Oct 2026
The northwesterly wind was blowing fitfully this morning, but the clouds it brought were not the leaky variety so that working in Wharf Yard was the order of the day. Andy Sheffield, Derek Putley, Pete Thomas, Robert Morgan and John Olsen were available for work.
Derek and Robert were tasked with recovering the drawbar from the second Aberllefenni Incline Counter Balance Wagon from its position in the two foot of the historic siding behind the water column, giving it the once over with angle grinders fitted with wire wheels to remove the worst of the rust and then treat it with conservation wax. John sprayed the washers, chain and reverse sides of no. 215's brake parts with black Hammerite as this was the most efficient way to paint the chain and also complete the painting of the other parts.
Andy gave the brake handle of wagon no. 215 a light skim with an angle grinder, before handing over to John to remove the rest of the paint, as he found the dust too much. Pete got a conservation wax preparation 101 refresher to make more soft wax for our conservation work, melting the wax before mixing in the warmed white spirit and decanting it into jars. Andy made a start on waxing the second half of the Bryn Eglwys slate slab wagon carcass before coffee time was called, just as reinforcements, David Jordan and Paul Lolley arrived.
We took our refreshments in the cafe with Malcolm Phillips, who was on a periodic 'MODES' update visit, Charles Benedetto and Keith Theobald, fresh from further picture sorting/scanning.
Returning to the yard John did a quick repair of one of the fixing straps that hold our museum signs against the attempts of the wind to whisk them away, replacing a failed rivet. David completed the waxing of the slab wagon parts and stored them on the pallet behind the Weighbridge House, as a part of our exercise the palletise as many of the museum artefacts (that have hitherto been left in the open in Wharf Yard) as possible, ready to be put into a storage container at Ty Mawr.
Pete painted all the available surfaces of no. 215 brake gear, as it was clamped in the Workmate, with black Hammerite. David and Andy separated the two pallets that had been under a heavy duty plastic bench, recycling the pallets, the very long fixing screws and plastic 'wood' battens. Derek and Robert completed the wax protection of the drawbar and left it atop the wagon body as this is a, marginally, better storage solution than on the damp ground. The brake gear, still firmly clamped in the Workmate was manhandled into the Gunpowder Store for the paint to dry and a slightly early end to the working party declared.
Photos by John Olsen
