February & March 2011

Since 2975 has been moved into public view as part of the 'NORD Express' display, we felt the need to make it look more presentable.

The first step was to wash the whole coach down and clean off the less stubborn rust marks. The before and after photos below show the extent of the dirt we had to remove.

2975dirt1 2975dirt2 2975roofb4aa 2975roofb4aa2 2975cleaningroof 2975roofdirt

We recently began to remove the worst of the rust and cut out any corroded metal plate. The plan is to cover the worst parts with new plate as a temporary measure.

2975hole 2975wirewheeling

As for the surface rust, our young volunteers have been carefully removing, rust treating and priming along the length of the coach.

2975primer 2975paint

The interior of this coach had been been untouched for years, so as you may have guessed, it required a thorough clean. So we used one Sunday morning to wash the whole coach from top to bottom, sweep the floors and give everything a good dusting.

Pictures of the clean interior can be seen below:

2975interior20112 2975interior20114 2975interior2011 2975interior20115 2975interior20113

Keeping with the interior theme, there are plans in the pipeline to split off the pantry & kitchen area from the rest of the vehicle. As the condition of the two areas is terrible and they contain asbestos it would be in the public interest to isolate this area.

However, we intend to allow public access to the Saloon area subject to Asbestos and air quality checks.

This area will contain information boards & display cabinets to add interest and explain the history of 2975 and Wagon-Lits in general.

We hope in doing this, that visitors will be encouraged to donate towards the project.

The first step in allow public access to the interior was to construct some steps, which can be seen here:

2975steps