Restoration of SRJ No.16 and other notes from Sweden: Catching Up : 2013

The year started with attaching the new canvas to the roof. Lasse had made up a prop to hold the canvas under the edge of the roof while he nailed it down

Inside I was almost done renovating B-end driving cab, so the electrical guys moved in to wire everything in

Control cables being wired back into the electrical cabinate

Once the canvas had been well bedded in with home made roof paint (to the original recipe of carbon and cooked linseed oil) we started building up the various cable runs and equipment mountings. When we laid the canvas, it covered all the holes for screws, bolts, vents, cables etc., so before starting, Lasse and Micke marked the position of each on the roof above. Lasse is now transfering those positions back onto the canvas with a plumb bob.

Cable runs being laid out. Almost all of the original (1940s) boxes were re-useable, only the tops needed replacing.

Resistor banks being trial fitted.

With the main canvas down, the headlamp housing could be re-fitted. Note the extra strips of canvas to seal the join.

Maintainance on the operational set was ongoing throughout the year. Here we are brushing off loose varnish from 880 and feeding the wood with teak oil. A re-varnish is a high priority once we get it under cover, meanwhile we maintain it as good as we can.

Inside, I had moved into B-end saloon. This is what it looked like to start with.

On removing a bulging panel, a large number of old tickets, dating back to the 1940s, fell out.

Building up a good gloss finish takes a while, I think this one had 2 undercoats, followed by 4 topcoats.

But the result is worth it!

3 pantographs were renovated during the year

Towards the end of the year we started to refit the window surrounds. As you can see nothing is straight anymore, but not bad for nearly 100 years old! Note also the black metal strip that holds the edge of the roof canvas in place.