The panel work within L516 continues. 3 more cedar bunk panels have been stripped back to bare timber.
And the French polished panels returned to Eveleigh.
Steve’s corner is looking great, and come a very long way from the dismantled dingy space that it has been for years. The Lily pattern has been painted and light fitting installed.
Given that most of the original timber panelling on this wall had rotten beyond repair (in most instances, reduced to crumbling dust), Steve has done an amazing job to produce such a stunning finish. The fielded panels are all that remains of the originals, and this has been adapted to retain as much of the heritage value as possible.
The former toilet will spend a lot of time locked off as a store room, so the illuminated “LAVATORY ENGAGED” sign will be a pleasing novelty synonymous with Ritchie Bros cars. Roy’s excellent sign writing skills have reproduced the MEN lettering.
Roy has also been reproducing the lettering on the walls in the compartments on the new French polish. All the sign writing is done by hand.
The big wall near the centre car doors has also been stripped back to bare timber and French polished following the painting of the roof and fitting of light fittings.
Meanwhile the hole has been drilled in the floor to locate the new toilet now that Ross and his team of volunteers have fitted the new retention tank. We’re also playing around with the flush mechanism and plumbing to see what fits. Note the location of the window to the toilet, but we’ve resisted temptation to make this a toilet with a view by locking the window off.
The full set of new cushions for the lounge area has also arrived, and test fitted.
With all the fiddly jobs in the compartments coming to a close, the lounge area remains one of the last big jobs before L516 is complete. We look forward to tackling this in 2015. But for now it is the festive season.
We wish all our friends and supporters of 2014 a safe and happy festive season. It’s been another year of great progress and we look forward to working with everyone again next year.