A very satisfying day.  In the morning Jim put some gloss black on some parts of the suspension so that we can assemble a complete unit.  Paul took advantage of a dry morning to square up the old underframe and reinforce it.  This was finally got to the point where it is only 0.5mm out of square.  I then got on with putting the remaining screws in the roof planks.  We put the underframe away when it started to rain but had got it reinforced.  After lunch I finished off the roof screws while Jim and Paul drilled and countersunk 16 screw holes into each of the drip rails. These were then masticed and finally screwed in place with 2" no 14's below the ventilator stripsd and above the windows..  The drip rails made a subtle but distinct chage to 107's appearance that makes it looks a little more like a tram every day.   The brake pull off springs are nearly ready and another research trip to Crich is being planned shortly to measure up various brake components ready for production drawings to be made.  All in all another good day at the office.

A great day for several reasons.  Firstly, after some work by Paul on the grooves, Jim and I got the roof planks dry fitted in the morning.  We then took them off again and started filling the grooves with mastic.  After lunch we finished the masticing nd then wet fitted the roof planks.  This had to be done before the end of the day or we would have had to scrape all the mastic out again next week but by coffee time we managed it.  I then put some screws in to hold the boards down and the end result looked like this:

The location and the low roof make it difficult to photograph but at last 107 has a complete and watertight roof for the first time since the 1920's. 

Ian spent the day putting undercoat on the suspension units and they look good.  Now just the top coat.

Paul and Stephen spent the afternoon reasembling the old underframe so that we can build a 'truck' for 107'.  This will be a temporary stage till we get safely to Middleton as there isn't enough height in the workshop to put the wheels under the tram.

Here the underframe basks in the lovely sunshine.

As the joints are in poor condition and can't be bolted the various corners are being reinforced with bits of ply from my old model railway.

Now we just need to add another 11 of these and square the frame up and we will be ready to attach the wheels.  Things are coming on apace.

A frustrating day.  Paul spent the morning enlarging and chamfering the tongues on the 4 loose boards so that we could spring them in.  Jim and I wedged a door in place so that we could measure up properley for having the door wheels made.  Ian resumed painting the suspension units and got everything properly primered.  After lunch Jim and I tried to fity the boards but they were too tight at one end and too loose at the other.  Some head scratching and experimenting showed that we had somehow managed to get the board the wrong way round and the groove on one side in the wrong place.  We then took it off and started to enlarge the groove.  Next week we will try again and hopefully get the roof fixed in place.  Away from the tram I have started to research the brake gear and dash components.    Some photos of similar cars in books have proved helpful.

Some more steady progress.  Jim and Paul spent the day making the last upper deck plank that is being made in 2 halves to fit.  Both halves have now been measured and cut and grooved so that they can be joined to make one wider board that fills the gap.  Hopefully they should be fitted next week.  Ian Dougill spent the day painting metalwork including the axlebox covers which were delivered today.  Stephen and I spent time in the afternoon starting to reassemble the old underframe so that we can build a truckand make the measurements needed for the manufacture of the last tie bars.  I should have some pictures next week of the underframe.  All in all a good day with a full team on site.

Not a huge amount of progress today.  I finished fixing the edge roof plank on B side which needed it's 8 horizontal coach screws and also put the torsion lozenge in position.  Paul and Jim spent their time measuring and sorting out the last remaining planks which will all be forced into place at the same time.  There is space for 4 full width boards and a small one less than an inch wide.  we decided to fabricate one wider plank to fill the gap from pieces of another 2.  This means cutting 2 boards lengthways then planing a groove along each inner edge then glueing them together.  We got one cut and the edge routed and smooth ready for cutting the groove with a plough plane.  These are now ready for the second one to be cut next week.    We might even get them all fitted next week.