A very warm Wednesday and the first time we have had our lunch outside this year.  Just three of us today Michael, Jim and myself.  Michael finished off some turning on the lathe to make the second pivot for the brake pawls and then set to work to attach the beading to the first of the dash panels.  In the morning I spent an hour puzzling over the front of the tram deciding exactly where to put the brake column. Then we marked out a cut out in the dash where the ratchet fits through.  After lunch Michael then clamped the pre bent beading to the dash after cutting out the small part for the ratchet.  He then began drilling a series of holes through the bead and the dash which were then tapped M4.  Small cap headed machine screws were then screwed in.  These will later be filled with filler to look like small rivets.

Here Michael is drilling the holes carefully with all his tools laid out neatly on the wall.  This workshop is OK in the sunshine but can be a tad cold in winter.  Once the beading is fitted the metal will be trimmed to the shape of the bead.

In the morning Jim did some sanding work on the rail that the seat backs fit into. This looks like the top seat latt when finished and needed its lower edge rounding off. I spent an hour checking the design of the seat backs yet again (prototype 10 was made) and then in the afternoon we carried on fitting latts to the A side seat base.

This shows how we screwed them on using clamps to hold each latt tight while each screw was put in.  Working together we got all but the last latt finished before the end of the day.  Another day of steady progress.

Just three of us today - Jim, Ian and myself.  Ian spent the day putting a coat of undercoat on the brake rigging and then got back to the varnishing of seat latts.  They are nearly all done with their first coat.  Jim and I continued with the saloon seats.   Jim spent the morning making the final adjustments to the C side seat base so that it fits with enough clearance to be removed but not too much so that it rattles.  I continued with A side seat base.  the first task was to put a spare latt along the backs of the frames to hold the whole structure in alignment while the actual latts are screwed on.

   Here you can see the frame with the spare latt being screwed onto the rear extensions of the frames.

Then the assembly was turned over and the first 4 latts screwed on from the rear to make it square.  It was then put into the tram upside down, trimmed roughly to length and clamped to the rear bearer ready for screwing the remainder of the latts on next week.   The saloon looked like this at the end of the afternoon.

The backs will be fitted when both bases are finished.  Another good day and the weather is definitely getting warmer.

Another good day. I had picked up the beading for the dashes from Fidaport and Michael trimmed them to length they have now been primed and hopefully next week we can start attaching the dash sheets to the beading. Michael then spent the rest of the day making various pins and pivots.  These are for the sway bar and for the pawl that operates on the handbrake ratchet.  They look rather good when done.   Ian put primer on the beading and undercoated the rest of the brake gear as well as varnishing another set of 13 seat latts. Jim helped me drill all the screw holes in the rest of the first seat frame in the morning and then got to work fitting the frames to the second seat unit, the base for A side bench. I started working through screwing the next 9 latts on C side bench, got 4 done before lunch and then Stephen joined us and helped me finish the bench off.   We worked on it upside down trying to remember to get the light and dark latts in the right order.  When we had finished we turned it over and tried it for size.  It looked amazing to our eyes.

Not very good quality but this was the position at close of play.  C side bench complete except for trimming the ends and A side started.  Sorry about the quality I forgot my camera and used my mobile.  A very good day's progress.

A quite cool Wednesday with a lazy northerly breeze blowing.  However there was plenty to cheer the soul.  I had a car full of steelwork from Fidaport.  The 4 brake rods and two pieces of flat bar bent to go around the top of the dash. Also they had done a lovely job of bending some feather edge bar in two dimensions so tnat it forms a beading to go around the dash.  Bob was worried because the verticals were about 3mm out.  I then told him that we had estimated the end of the dash plate off a very fuzzy photo and that we could only guarantee the dimensions to about 2 inches.  Anyway all the steel was unloaded and Ian spent the day priming it.  Michael came again and turned some more cotter pins for the brake gear.  Jim and I carried on with the seats.  By the end of the afternoon we had got the first four seat latts screwed into place.  (75 1" no 8's altogether).  The result looks like this.

The alternating light and dark latts are looking good.  At the moment there is an extra latt on the back to steady the frames.  This will be removed before we finish.  Ian varnished another 9 latts so that we can complete this seat next week.  Only another 3 to go.  All in all a good day.

A good day with just the core team of three in nice mild weather. I had collected the steel plates for the dash panels and the first thing to do was to try one in situ

It certainly changes the appearance of the tram.  Once I had marked out various things on it Ian then took the two panels to give them a coat of primer. Meanwhile Jim and I started by marking out the seat nosings for the saloon ready to cut the mortises that hold the frames.   After we had drilled them Jim cut them out while I cut the tenons on the frames.  By the end of the day we were able to test assemble the frames into the C side nosing.

Here it is with all the frames fitted but not yet screwed into place.  Jim is working on cutting the mortises in the A side nosing.  Suddenly after many months of measuring and preparation we have what is starting to look like a seat.  Meanwhile Ian got started on putting a coat of varnish on the seat latts so that we can start to screw them into place next week.  All in all a good  days work.  Away from the tram the brake rodding is progressing and hopefully should be ready next week.