Ticket To Ride

What can I say about the National Railway Museum but trains, trains, and more trains!

(There's a surprise)

I was surprised  by how much I enjoyed my time spent working at the National Railway Museum. My typical day started at 9am, checking in through "Control", the security office that keeps track of who is, or isn't in the Museum. It's such a large place, with so many employees and even more volunteers, that it's really important for them to know who is there in the event of an emergency. Control is located on the far side of the building from the conservation office, so after checking in, I had a nice walk through the museum, past all of the trains, and through the "warehouse", where all of the train related artifacts are on display. The warehouse has statues, model trains, stained glass windows, signal boxes, signs, and all manner of train memorabilia.  It's all displayed in clear glass cases stacked up warehouse style. It's not the most sympathetic display I've ever seen and makes photography difficult as you'll see. Here's a few of the bits that I walked past every morning. All of these were either on a train, in a train station, or in a train company office at some point in time.



Heraldry in Glass



Stained Glass was a Staple Decoration in Train Stations

Queen Victoria is everywhere!

An Old Weather Vane



Glass Signals



Model Trains Abound!

A Model of the Upminster Train.
My Mum grew up in Upminster so she may have ridden on the real thing.

Sofia at Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter) with a view of "the Warehouse" behind.

My day also featured a lot of trains. The National Railway Museum houses many famous trains. A few that I got to get up close and peronal with included the Mallard, The Hogwarts Castle (yes the real one from the movie!), The Duchess of Hamilton, and Queen Victoria's Saloon Carriage.

The Mallard

The Mallard Coronation



Hand Painted Numbering



Inside the Locomotive


The Hogwarts Castle

The Duchess of Hamilton



Queen Victoria's Saloon Carriage

The Keys to the Castle!!

 

Dressed in Blue Silk

A Bed Fit for a Queen

The Saloon

One of my long-term projects while I was at the museum was to conserve a panel of Victorian stained glass that was in storage, which originally came from the Gorton Works Boardroom of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway. It was made in 1886. This is what it looked like before and after.

Here are a few photos of me in action...

Cleaning construction dust off the tops of carriages in  Station Hall

Cleaning the Victorian Glass

Preparing the lead for new copper ties

Preparing to fix one of the Locomotives in the engineering department.

Preparing historic advertising posters for storage.



My favorite sign in the museum...

So, now my placements have come to an end, and next week classes will start again. I'll be doing a module on Art and Imagery in York Minster and Cultural Heritage Mangement. My friends from the program have all returned from their placements around the globe and we are looking forward to  the new term. Stayed tuned for more adventures in York!

Fixing a Hole

Wow! Can't believe a whole month has gone by, but I've been so busy working full time, its just whizzed by! I finished up my time with the York Glaziers Trust in spectacular fashion; I was given the opportunity to make and install a tiny window in York Minster! They don't get new windows very often, so you can imagine what an honour it is for me. Mind you its a tiny window, high up in the south east spire, which has had some major repairs recently,  but it will be visible from below once the scaffolding comes down. Here's a few photos of the project.

 18th century bullseye glass and lead came samples.

Finished window on the work bench.

 Installed in York Minster!!!!

Me and my window.

I also spent several days learning the art of glass painting.

This paint is fired in a kiln at 630 degrees celcius.

These are my finished pieces, which are copies of actual pieces from York Minster's Great East Window.

Its designed to look old.

An Angel with one of the Four Winds

A Winged Lion

1950's unpainted glass with a new painted backing plate.

My time at the York Glaziers Trust was a dream come true. I loved every minute of my time there, especially our forays up into the Minster, which Nick made sure I got my fill of before I finished. Here are a few more photos from the top of the scaffolding.

New carving

 The view out from the scaffolding, while installing my window.

The view out from installing my window; notice the Minster roof below us?

Looking up at new carvings; The Afflictions: Bad Back

Tooth Ache

Your guess is as good as mine!

Another view out.

 

Looking out from inside

"Clare's Turret"

Stay tuned for a new post about my new adventure at the National Railway Museum,

which has started with flying colors.

A Day in the Life

I've now been at the York Glaziers Trust for 5 weeks. The time is flying by and I have been completely immersed in the Great East Window Conservation. I've now taken the head panel that I am working on through glass cleaning, creating a new cut line for the placement of the glass after conservation, and edge bonding and infilling broken pieces.  Here's what it looks like after cleaning.

This is the new "cut line" with the areas blacked-in where there are spaces that will need to be filled with the lead. This takes into account the space created when the glass is repaired, as well as the original intent of the windows creator, which is considered in light of the written evidence and original paint and grozing marks.

These are pieces of medieval glass which will be bonded with resin. The missing pieces will be in-filled as well. The pink at the top is wax molded to create a re-newed edge for the lead to wrap around.

Tools of the trade. These are some of the tools we use. I do a lot of work with a scalpel. This silicon is sometimes used in place of resin, where a softer approach is needed for fragile glass.

These pieces have been edge bonded with silicon and are set upright to dry. Tape is used to hold them in place. The glass is meticulously cleaned beforehand to ensure a good bond and appearance.

I tried my hand at glass painting. This is a copy of a little bird panel found in the Zouche Chapel of York Minster. This process really makes you appreciate the skill of the medieval painters. Its a lot harder than you'd imagine to paint those fine thin lines.

I just like this photo of the glass :)

Everything that is done to the glass is meticulously recorded in a series of

diagrams and a written report.

These cracks have been repaired with resin and areas missing glass in-filled.

A protective glazing design for the panel that will go in front of the medieval window,

to keep the weather off the window and protect the newly conserved glass.

The glass that I have cut to fit the pattern. Not all of the pieces of the original

panel will be cut for the protective glazing. But enough of the pattern is

copied for the view of the window from the outside to be harmonious with the original glass.

Its not all hard work. Sofia and I went to Blackpool,

 for Sofia's football (soccer) tournament.

Next up is a small window that I will be creating for a tiny window in one of the Minster's spires. It's not often you get the chance to put a new window in the Minster, so I am quite lucky to have this chance. Stay tuned for more details!