A little tinkering

The plan was to spend the night on Clarabelle but more impending storms put the kybosh on that idea. We did go out to Clarabelle to check on how she had weathered the previous storms and we managed to get a little bit of work done on her while we were there.

Chester's recent fascination with exotic teas made him the obvious candidate for Clarabelle's Official Tea Maker!

And he did some great work scraping more paint off some windows

Meanwhile I finally installed a shelf for cutting boards under the new bench

A wider view puts the new shelf into perspective

Chester at work

It has been sometime since I've been out to Clarabelle but this last weekend, not only did I get out there, I finally put Chester to work!

Here's Chester, hard at work, scraping paint off the glass of the windows

TV Star!

It has been a while and I have not done much to Clarabelle over the Winter months but she did feature in a segment on Building Ideas! Enjoy!

Building Ideas 

Odd Jobs

A casual trip up to Clarabelle last Sunday to do a few little fiddly bits.

Firstly, sorting out my collection of authentic QRR crockery. I'm building up quite a haul! There are a variety of styles reflecting different periods and manufacturers.

I finished the draw under the dishwasher at home and took it up to Clarabelle for installation. The handles are actually window lifts I found in a second hand shop.

Then a test fit of the tiles for the hearth.

An overview of the hearth/LHS kitchen bench as they are developing.

ANZAC Day Long Weekend

A public holiday and a chance to kick on with some more work on Clarabelle. Pallave and I actually stayed on board over the Saturday night so our time there was very productive.

I pulled the kitchen bench apart in preparation for fixing the top. I also attached the draw front to the carcass under the dishwasher.

Half way through adding the top. Note the temporary spacer keeping the walls the correct distance apart while the top is added.

Top on and edged in Silky Oak

At the other end of the bench is this recess where a wood heater will eventually be installed so I lined this area with fiber cement.

Meanwhile Pallave continued her earlier work on the window surrounds adding a second coat.

Isn't she looking fabulous? And Clarabelle is looking good too!

Morning Tea and Trimmings

This weekend we had some visitors from out of town so one item on the agenda was morning tea on Clarabelle. And, while you have a captive workforce, may as well put them to work!

Frith and Alan are Abbie's Aunt and Uncle. Their farm near Wellington NSW was Clarabelle's last home from 2005-2012.

Alan helped me to put up a luggage rack over the kitchen where I can store crockery.

I also put up a glass holder (which is NSWR in origin but neatly holds this original QR glass)

The luggage rack and glass holder in context

Adding Numbers

A small detail but a satisfying bit of work. This weekend I reinstalled the original numbering on the northern side.

First I chalked it all out based on the numbering seen on 1074 at the Ipswich Carriage Works

Working from photos I selected a sample pot of Gold Rush yellow which seems a bit brighter than the Kings Gold I've been using on the interior.

But I reverted to Kings Gold which has a more muted effect. After several coats and cleanup around the margins, I was quite happy with my first attempt at sign writing!

In context against the side of the carriage. This is the earlier style of livery, simple and elegant.

Resurrection at Easter

The Easter long weekend has often been a good opportunity to work on the outside of Clarabelle. This year I thought I'd tackle a complete paint job of the three sides that are close to finished.

The start of day one, around midday. After mucking about setting up and various other bits and pieces, time to get to work. First up to mask the toplights and drop lights ahead of spraying.

It took me most of the rest of the day to paint just the northern side.

Problems of over-spray around the droplights and toplights but the spray gun does give a good sealing topcoat.

End of day two and I had sprayed the western end and the whole of the southern side. Pallave spent the afternoon fixing up the over-spray around the droplights and toplights.

The northern side and western end at the end of day two.

I haven't previously shown much of the eastern end of the southern side because I have done very little with it since arriving in St Kilda. Prior to this weekends coat of paint it was beginning to look ratty and untidy in a variety of colours.

And, in contrast to the northern side which is in very good nick, working on the southern side revealed a number of spots of rot that had to be attended to.

Early on day three and Pallave gets to work on the droplights and toplights on the northern side.

She made good progress and had finished this job by lunchtime.

Meanwhile Chester and I set about with the spray gun and painted the whole under carriage black. So at the end of three days work Clarabelle was looking better than ever!

Another view of the northern side.

We still need to finish off the eastern end of the southern side but the patches of rot have been sorted out and that leaves us something to do next weekend!

And what better reward after three days of hard labour than beer and blue vein cheese in the bath!

Odd Jobs

A relatively short visit this weekend. Test fitting a new draw and prepping for a new coat of paint on the outside. Speaking of which, if you are in the Adelaide area over the Easter break and fancy lending a hand, please get in contact!

Test fitting the draw built at home for under the dishwasher

It's a great fit!

I also spent some time brushing away spiders and their webs from the outside. This is in preparation for a new coat of paint over the Easter break.

The Dishwasher Shelf

A simple job this week made easier by a little help form my little mate!

FINALLY, not long after his 10th Birthday and after years of following me out to the carriage, Chester lends a hand by painting the pre-cut shelf!

The shelf in position with a Silky Oak capping strip at the front. I have removed the bench top here to make it easier to work. I also put in two runners for the draw below.

The dishwasher test fit with the bench top back in place. A tight fit! Note the pipes and cables will be connected behind the draws in the compartment next to the dishwasher.

A little later and I've cut some of the inserts for the end piece and taken the near corner off the bench top.

The Bench Comes Together

I got a reasonable days work in on the kitchen over the weekend - and it's finally taking shape!

The last three supports were fixed in place and the bench top rough cut to size. The bench top is made from Rosewood flooring

I cut and added a new base plate to the right-hand compartment which needs trimming with Silky Oak

Pallave (bless her cotton socks!) managed to repaint the interiors of the other two compartments, working around me while I assembled the top

The wide compartment is for the dish washer with a draw below while the other compartment will be a set of three draws

At the end of a day's work Pallave and Chester pose to show how the new bench sits in the carriage. Not that Chester did much to help!

The kitchen continues

The final support panel for the left side kitchen bench was finished and taken to Clarabelle where I had a bit of a play arranging the bits.

The end support panel completed at home ready for the trip out to Clarabelle. This is a laminated construction around a piece of 12mm ply with Silky Oak trim. On this side a piece of 18mm ply has been added below the height of the bench top thus providing a ledge for the bench top to sit on and a flush inner surface for the dishwasher compartment. This panel stands around 300mm above the bench top dividing the kitchen from where the potbelly stove will eventually go.

Up at Clarabelle the last support panel and the next one just standing in place for a test fit. Here you can see how the end panel will extend above the bench top and the cavity for the dishwasher will be created below.

A rather awkward shot showing all four bench support panels in place but note that, at present, only the second one has actually been fixed. Fixing the other three is next weekend's job!