Hi all.

1198 is now at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway. A press release is
being knocked up at the moment, but basically there was a vote
amongst the members after the P&BR appeared on the scene following
our first press release, and the P&BR won the vote.

1198 has already run in service a few times last weekend. She is
popular with the people there and we are keen to build on that
momentum.

Have you all seen these youtube films?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pYsTCmW-XvE
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2RfhKujRKg
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXRSWjk5Wl0

That's the good bit; to keep that happening we need to keep working
on 1198.

The contact deatils are for new members or for anyone wanting to make
a donation:
Don Evans, Membership Secretary
11 South Mead,
Redhill
Surrey
RH1 2EL

Incidentally, before we start on the jobs, a big Thank you to the
person who anonymously donated a large sum recently. You have been a
big help, and your kindness is very much appreciated.

First Jobs
These are to relocate the stores from the passenger areas to
temporary accomodation and then to start work on a couple of huts we
have been told we can use. One will be more for stores, while the
other, space allowing could be used as a workshop. Anyone with big
muscles, or any builders or budding builders? Please get in touch.

John has set in motion the fitting of an electric supply for these
huts so we can get on with the work.

Other jobs.

Painting.
The vote was for Blue/Grey, however the idea is to do plain blue
sides to start with, then to add the grey. This will mean the unikt
has three liveries at the line, the current green undercoat, then
blue, then blue/grey. As a closet 'Jaffa-Cake' fan, I am biding my
time :-)
If you are a good painter [and I am a totally lousy one] please get
in touch.
This will need to be done in the next few months, as it is not really
a job to be done in November, for instance :-)

Interior cleaning.
It's a less glamourous job, but it has to be done, the upholstery
needs a clean/shampoo and the flooring needs a deep clean as well.
OK, so Mr. Lousy Painter will probably get this job, but could use an
hand? please? pretty please?

Windows.
The CEP fishtank windows are alive and well, although the fishtank in
the DMSB was changed at Meldon, we do have a few more steamed ones to
be dealt with. There have been a few suggestions, John thinks they
can be baked to remove the condensation, Darren has the idea of
drilling a small hole to allow the glazing to 'breathe' while Phil is
looking for a glazier who can manufacture more, and better.
And once we have dealt with the steamed ones, there's the etched
ones....
In some cases where there may be bodywork concerns, we may decide to
replace the entire window, this is a 3 person job, and best done in a
platform. We do have 9 of these assemblies still at Meldon, which
brings me to the next topic...

Van and Van driver needed.
We have to move the last of our stores from the shed at Meldon. These
are 9 complete CEP window assemblies and a couple of pallets of
batteries. Can anyone help here?

Mechanical/electrical.
Thanks to Martyn' hard work [he drove down from North Yoprks to Devon
and back two weekends running] and with the assistance of Paul, Phil
and Julian, this was fitted over two weekends in 2006, after the
Dartmoor Rly suddenly decided to use 1198 for the gala. This is on
the DMSA and means we have light throughout the whole unit and heat
in the DMSA and TBC. The plans that Darren have, will be to extend
this to the DMSB to give heat there, as well as looking into the
possibilty of fitting a westcode box onto 1198 so a blue star loco
can work in multiple as well. This would make 1198 into a really
useful unit.
Robert wants to look into battery-isation, this would involve the
fitting of batteries to the underframe of the TBC, but needs further
works, and possibly HMRI aproval.
EMUPS is very fortunate to have people like Martyn, Darren, Robert
and John on board who all have excellent knowledge of all things
electrical and mechanical. Are you one too? Please join up, the more
the merrier!

Doors.
This one is Phil's 'baby', and is to one or two at a time, remove and
refurbish the doors. Owing to the fact that some doors will only fit
in some doorways, it is not always possible to fit a new door in
doorway A, and use refirbed door A in doorway B, refurbed door B in
doorway C etc., we found this out as far back as 2004 when we took
some doors donated by Coventry's CEP to try to fit on 61742 at
Meldon, as Steve and Stewart will tell you, one fitted, the others?
no chance!
Anyone wanting to help on this, please get in touch

Toilets?
Chris N has volunteered to take this on, but the whole underframe
area gould do with a jet wash/scrape/clean of some description. Any
takers?

Bodywork.
1198 is in very good condition overall; however there is a spot where
the guttering in one corner has lifted causing a leak. This needs
attention; are there any welders/bodyworkers about who could help?

Disabled sliding door.
No, the door will not be disabled! :-) but it will be for people who
are. The idea is to remove part of the partition between the goods
area and the standard class compartment, rather like 1699 had done,
and fit a lidining door to allow a wheelcahir user to enter through
the double doors and then go through the sliding door to sit with
family and friends. We do have the parts recovered at immingham from
1699 but legislation has moved on and the 1699 door width is now too
narrow, so we need it to be wider.
Phil has plans, and Darren is interested as well, so anyone wanting
to get involved, please get in touch. This will most likely be a job
done when it is raining outside.

Tables.
The feeling used to be that you could not fit tables between facing
sets of InterCity 70 seating. However, anyone who has seen what has
been done with the two TSOs at Bridport will realise you can. We are
working on a design that will fit over the trinket trays and have a
fold-up leg and be wide enough to also allow for a fatty like me to
get past the centre armrest without sending it and its contents
flying.
We think we have worked out the ideal template, and will be looking
to work further on it during the rainy season.

We are keen to see 1198 'Linda the Lymington Flyer' become a unit
that is dymanic enough to meet almost any requirement of the line it
is at, and to that end are happy to see ongoing imporvements all the
time. All this will take money, and we have the low loader bill to
complete paying off as well. Some people may not be inclined to
get 'down and dirty with Linda', fine, but maybe you would like to
help those of us who are? If you want to send us donations, again
please write to Don at the above address.

So now we turn to the Thank Yous.
Phil will be sending out a comprehensive list, but I do want to say
my own thank yous.

Martyn, who really wanted 1198 at the Eden Valley Railway, if only we
had another unit - you could have had that one! He has as I have
said, done a heck of a lot for us and I am very grateful.

John of course for getting us to the P&B, deserves my thanks and for
the lifts to and from Newport station as well as help in the small
things that add up to make us all welcome. Oh, and the webpage on the
line's website...
http://pontypool-and-blaenavon.co.uk/pages/EMUPS.htm
Thanks again.

The Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway, for agreeing to us going there and
making us very welcome indeed. We are looking forward to at least
five years of working together, and I am very keen to see 1198
working into Blaenavon High Level, with me as either guard, or,
hopefully, driver!!!

Rod Done, the low loader man, for the best deal we had ever dreamt
of, a big Thank You. For anyone wanting to move a train, forget
Alleleys and Heanor - Rod is The Man!

And lastly but definitely NOT leastly, THE MEMBERS.
Without them this would have simply not happenned, those who have
stayed the course so far, those who fell by the way, those who fell
by the way and then came back - three of them so far - and those who
joined later and turned around the structure of the group. All in
their own ways, some more, some less, have all made 1198 a success!

Once again, anyone wanting to become a part of all this can contact
us through...
Don Evans, Membership Secretary
11 South Mead,
Redhill
Surrey
RH1 2EL

Regards to all

Albert Mutton
Vice Chairman
EMUPS