A good day though slightly restricted after knee surgery but we still got on with some work. My first job as to call at PK Ltd to pick up the beautifuly restored Kaye's Patent Farebox.  This was made in Leeds in the early 1880's by Joseph Kaye Ltd, the same company ythat is now called PK (Pickersgill Kaye) who rather appropriately now occupy the site of the Yorkshire Patent Steam Wagon Company.  They still make high security locks and locks for railway vehicles and when I approached them  for help in restoring the farebox they agreed to do the work at no cost. Nigel Bennet actually did the work at home in his own time and we are very grateful to him

The farebox was locked and the dials recorded the number of times the door had been opened.  The passengers put their fares in the top and the glass allowed the passenger and the conductor to check that it was correct. The coins then went into the body of the box and could not be accessed without unlocking the box and advancing the counter. Nigel has done a  lovely job and made keys for us and we will be using the farebox on the tram on the launch day in August. 

Andy Bailey arrived from Crich and we got on with installing the B end dash. This was complicated as we have so little room. The tram was pushed right up against the shed doors.

We then had just enough room to install the brake handle at B end and to mount the dash . The main problem is to try not to bang your head or any other body part on either the buffers, drawhook or vacuum pipe on the PMV.

The D end dash with the drawhook mount touching the door.

The B end dash and brake column newly installed, with the parts of the PMV showing.

Jim spent the morning tidying up C side and fitting the mudgaurds before painting the floor.  Meanwhile A side is looking nice with its curtains fitted.

Later we continued work on the handrails and then Richard Syms arrived and helped Jim fit the remaining vent windows. Things are coming on.

Another good day with several jobs done but unfortunately I forgot my camera so no piccies.   With the two Mikes plus Jim and I we got stuck in and Mike W spent the morning tidying up A side and then after lunch fixed the curtain onto the front seat bearer.  It looks good in bright red oilcloth.   I spent the morning reaming out various handrail fittings and Jim made a start on polishing some of the brass handrail which needed cleaning after it had been heated up.  Mike Cook carried on making handrail jointing pieces on the lathe.

After lunch when Mike W had finished fixing the curtain all four of us persuaded the seats into place on A side after the mudguards had been fixed in place. The seat looks very nice and the interior is starting to look finished.   After that we set to work to put the handrails on above B end canopy.  this took all four of us but we eventually got them on and again they look great, even if we did forget to fit one part.  All in all a good days work.

No update last week as I was otherwise engaged on the Wednesday but a double dose this week.

On Sunday afternoon Mike Waring and I met down at the railway and spent the afternoon bolting the handrail stanchions onto the stairs.  the first task was to make the square shanks on the old coachbolts fit the holes so they all had to have  small amount filed off till they fitted.

Here the stanchion which has been re bent to fit within the dash, is being used as a jig to reduce the height of the shank.

Then they were bolted on but because of their placing not all the nuts fitted so a little bit of the stair risers had to be chiselled out to enable us to turn the nuts.

Fiddly work in a confined space.   Anyway we managed to get them all done and the result was this.

This was so that today, Jack, from Alton Engineering could bend the handrails to fit.  These are brass and steel 1" 10 gauge thick walled tube. Jack spent the day with the oxy propane torch bending the tubes to plywood templates that we had made 2 weeks ago.

Here he is checking the bend on one of the brass upper rails for the staircase.

The end result was a pile of bent tubes alongside the tram.

The ones for the canopy bends are already upstairs.  Now they all need cleaning up and polishing. 

Jim and Mike had a tidy up of the interior and cleaned it out and Mike then painted the floor under A side seat ready for us to refit the seat next week.   Jim continued the endless task of flatting down the paintwork.  Away from the tram the bells have arrived, from the Whitechapel bell foundry and need polishing before drilling and fitting to their base plates.  It's coming along.

Another really cold Wednesday with much snow till around but a lot got done.   I set to work to make the plywood templates that will enable the handrails to be bent to the correct shapes.  These took quite a bit of working out and in the process we put up the first vertical handrail inside the D end staircase.

It can just be seen on the left hand side of the staircase stringer.  Jim made a start with rubbing down and in the afternoon after I'd finished the templates I fitted the two step brackets at the end of the steps.

Not a very good photos as I'd got the wrong setting on my camera but it gives the general idea.   Away from the tram much is happening.  The curtains to go behind the saloon seats are being made and the first parts for the bell system have been cut out by water jet cutting.  All in all good progress.

We were expecting a Cold Wednesday with snow on the car when I set off but it wasn't too bad.  Lots of little jobs got done. Jim spent the day fixing the window sills then started rubbing down saloon woodwork ready for varnishing. Mike helped me to mark and and drill the holes for the staircase handrail stanchions.  By the afternoon these had ll been done, even though we needed to move the tram at one point to access the end near the PMV.   The end result was this.

Not the best of light but it does show where they are going to go.  However when we got to the other end we found that the lower stanchions fouled the upper rail on the dash so these need to go back for reforming.

Mike Cook spent the day making various widgets for joining handrails and by the end of the day we had made out first joint between a steel and a brass section.  In between go little brass collars, here they all are.  They were turned for me on Saturday by Ron from Middleton.

The joiners either side are two jonting pieces for the gates that go behind the stairs. Malcolm and I made thse out of a small piece of scrap. However I also managed to get the gate rails partly fixed at B end so that I could sort out the rest of the gate.

All progress but just some of many little jobs.  Away from the tram the first parts for the bell system have been drawn and these are now being water jet cut for us in Hipperholme.  I'm looking forward to seeing the results next week.