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Restoring IVAN in 2008
The final phase

Photos by members of the restoration team.

The brake van project, designed to encourage younger members of the RPSI to become involved with practical work, has been described as "a masterstroke" by our funding consultants.

The masterstroke, however, required rather a lot of work to make it ready for its official launch on July 30th. With any commercial project this would be no problem - simply employ enough people to do the work on time. But this is a voluntary project, and some of the youths have devoted more time to it over the past two months than would be expected of them in any full time job!

At the time of writing there are approximately two weeks until the project must be completed. Some work remains. Here's what has been achieved so far this summer.

Part funded by the Northern Ireland Museums Council.

May - mainly taken up with university exams

On another solo painting foray, Mark got a lot of cream gloss onto the required surfaces.

One verandah roof was assembled. The ratchet straps assist in pulling the tongues into the grooves.

Nathan captured this shot of James and Mark routing cornerposts. By the end of the day, the intrepid trio had all 4 cornerposts for the Belfast end complete bar the paint.

Dave trial fits a windowsill into a cornerpost.

James cuts the tenons on the next windowsill.

With those tenons completed, Dave mortised holes for the central window pillar.

A perfect fit!

Mark worked to make the internal battening in the panelling, seen in grey. James and Dave's window pillars can be seen to good effect here. Now a little fettling is all that is needed before this can be painted!

June

Ben took time out of his punishing A2 revision schedule to do some work on IVAN's verandah doors. He had rebated the uprights and top and bottoms of the doors at a secret location to allow the tongue and groove planking to fit snugly in place. Today, he mortised all eight door uprights in IVAN's mortising machine - they are seen here on the step of one of our latest acquisitions.

The uprights required mortising - the tops and bottoms needed material removed to form tenons. Ben clobbers the piece he's working on with the iMallet.

James' effort of the day was to paint on these stencil markings - on the other side he used gloss paint, which produced a bit of a mess. On this side he borrowed some brilliant white undercoat - which was less horrible and sticky, and produced this rather good looking result. He is now confident he can sucessfully apply the rest of the lettering to IVAN when the time comes.

The marking signifies the date the van was lifted - in our case this was July 2007 (the twelfth!) and WDX is the code for Whitehead Excursion station - WD is of course Whitehead (NIR).

James tries out one of his lettering stencils..

Mark was trial fitting these parts of the bulkhead panelling.

The bulkhead header had been sanded down and painted - as had the surviving (Larne end) cabin door.

James and Edward put the cream coloured undercoat onto the H shaped parts - but the main job was . . . .

Completing these 4 verandah door frames - a Ben masterminded subproject.

A view of the Belfast end bulkhead header during trial fitting..

James and Dave fit the bulkhead panelling..

Next they moved on to the Belfast end verandah roof. Dave knocks another plank into place.

An almost complete Belfast end verandah. Dave and Nathan look pleased with their efforts.

BBC Radio Ulster presenter Anne Marie McAleese interviews Edward, James, Phil and Nathan. Nathan's mum can be seen adding moral support..

The main job of the day - securing the roof down with these short carriage bolts. Unlike the side wall bolts, these don't need to be cut short.

The Larne end roof is partially assembled - but it won't keep the rain off like that!

The salvaged cabin door (actually for the Larne end) sits almost in place at the Belfast end.

Mark had wangled a day off work, so he and his team installed this last verandah side wall. This was made possible by hot rivetting the sections seen here around the wood back into place the week before.

Edward replaces panelling on a door from van No.72 which he is refurbishing.

The top panelling also needs replaced.

Carpenters use screws and chippys use nails. James is evidently a chippy, as he secures this bulkhead header together after gluing.

TG4 came down to do some filming. Sadly, the youths performed a rain dance in excitement after seeing their brake van outside, after which the heavens opened. In a bid to stop IVAN swelling like a prune, they unfurled the small canvas on the roof to make a sort of tent.

The Guinness engine propels IVAN to the platform to have some pictures taken.

Nathan and Mark put the Larne end roof fully into position.

The Belfast end verandah is now in its full gloss cream splendor.

James and Dave firmly secured the Larne end verandah roof into place.

Edward gets some doorposts sorted out for the Larne end verandah doors.

Nathan observes as Edward pokes at the new doorpost.

Ben bashes together his new door.

Dave had been champing at the bit to rebuild this wall for months. Now he got his chance.

With the outer layer of planking completed, the inner layer of timber starts to go in.

From this angle you could convince yourself only dors and roof are required to finish the van.

The newly fitted wall needs held up by bolts and screws soon.

July

Ben assembled the last two door frames, while Edward was busy preparing the panels.

IVAN with a door in position.

The cabin roof planks cut to their final lengths.

Larne end bulkhead - panelling glued together before painting.

Edward hammers a bolt through the landside wall . . .

. . . for Phillip to secure with a nut on the other side.

John cuts a sheet of steel to the correct size for to go behind IVAN's stove.

Verandah rooves fitted - steel sheet in place - now the cabin roof can be fitted.

James and Mark intent on getting the planks fully together..

An almost complete roof from above.

And from below.

The Whitehead scaffolding was erected next to IVAN to provide safe access onto the new roof. On the roof Phillip can be seen heroically sanding and shaping.

While Phillip continued masticing the roof, James and Nathan lift the frame for the bench seat into place.

Nathan screws planking into position on the bench seat.

A wagon label holder getting screwed into place.

Inside the van, Mark had completed the bench seat, complete with authentic folding lid.

Edward adjusts filler on the wall.

This lamp bracket is a mystery. We took it off IVAN in 2006 and we have now replaced it where we found it - but what was it used for?

An enormous amount of mastic was purchased to seal up the wooden roof planks.

Mark, Edward and Michael observe with amazement Phillip's work on smoothing and undercoating the roof the day before. Today the roof canvas was to be fitted.

The scaffold was moved to the Larne end to enable easy access under the roof, where clouts had to be driven into place to secure the canvas.

A lower layer of canvas will protect the upper layer from the wooden roof and any edges which may try to abrade or puncture it.

The Larne end of the canvas tacked into place.

The team contemplate their next move.

Mark, mature and experienced yoof, explains his next good idea to James.

Chairs borrowed from the site department were used to tension the roof covering and so avoid any unsightly crinkles.

Both ends of the canvas secure and the nails hidden under battens.

The roof canvas in place.

View our Helping Us Page to see how you can volunteer in Dublin or Whitehead and get involved.

Or, join us as a passenger.

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