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.