The Carriage and Wagon Department comprises of three sections
Refurbishment and Restoration
This is done in the large Works which are located in Winchcombe Station yard. As a member of the large Works team you will be involved in both the refurbishment cycle of our operational fleet of coaches and wagons, and the occasional restoration of previously un-restored vehicles. The degree of practical work involved is now very wide ranging and includes carpentry, upholstery, sheet and other metal working, welding, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, body filling and sanding, painting, varnishing, and a host of other activities. If you have any of the aforementioned skills you will be very welcome, if you are non-skilled there are always many general jobs that need to be done! The Works are open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, usually between 0900-1800, and you may attend on any of these days and at times to suit your personal circumstances. Please note that as tasks can often involve working at height and manual handling, you will need to possess a degree of physical ability in order to join these teams.
MAINTENANCE
Our Maintenance Team do sterling work providing essential first-line support to our operational coach fleet in the form of regular safety checks, all sorts of minor repairs, essential replacements (e.g. brake blocks, vacuum and steam heating hoses, dynamo belts, etc), and greasing and oiling where required. This is mainly an open-air job, but a very important one. Anyone with former experience of coach maintenance will be very welcome. The Team meets weekly, but the actual day changes between Wednesday, Thursday or Friday with the variations of operational days during the running season.
CLEANING
The Carriage Cleaning Team provide an essential and very important service because we must ensure that we retain the good relationship that we have with our travelling public. Coal smoke, diesel fumes and brake block dust all go towards making the exterior paintwork and windows grimy, and as such a weekly wash is essential to restore the exterior appearance of our coaches. Similarly, the interior needs to be kept as clean as possible, whether it's windows, tables, seats, floors, or toilets, all are equally important. Our small team of cleaners would be very glad to have more members to assist them, so if you wish to join them you will be made very welcome. During the running season, the team currently meet on Mondays.
MEET THE TEAMS
The GWSR C&W Blog is frequently updated with all the ongoing acitivities within Carriage and Wagon. You'll also find a handy 'Meet The Teams' area, breaking down all the component parts of carriage and wagon, and their current projects.
SPECIFIC VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Our Carriage and Wagon Department have a Volunteer vacancy in their Woodwork Team for skilled Woodworkers to assist in the restoration and repair of our fleet of Mk1 carriages (note we also support other railway Departments with wood related projects if required). We are based at Winchcombe and have a modern fully equipped woodwork shop with a wide range of modern machines together with hand and power tools. Our fleet of Mk1 carriages are all in excess of 60 years old and all timber components are made to measure with the work including:
- Machining of wood mouldings (mainly using Red Grandis) such as door and window frames
- Construction of support structures and fitting of new oak veneer wall paneling
- Rebuilding carriage floor timbers and laying of new plywood floors
We are looking for more woodworkers to cover Wednesdays.
If you are interested, please contact Simon Rummens via cw@gwsr.com for more details. Please note that we are only able to accept Volunteers who can demonstrate suitable knowledge and experience of woodworking and safe use of powered woodworking equipment.
