A working party of 5 today, so quite a lot was acomplished.
Work continued in the cab on getting the last of the painting prep done and, towards the end of the day, 90% of the undercoat had been applied to the interior of the cab roof and back cab rear pane,and, as the weather was so nice,the rear locker was also prepped and undercoated.
A significant moment occurred when 240FLM had the missing hand bell refixed, much fun followed while everyone tried to ring a tune.
A working blue beacon light unit on the roof has been installed and just needs connecting now.
A trial fit of the locker doors was made but it became apparent  that a little bit of fettling is needed to get them to fit properly.
The last bodywork fittings and steps were fitted and also the access cover plate on the turntable.
Colin got on with finishing the fitting on the nearside inner arch and then, with help, also managed to fit one of the new front wheel arches which was bolted into place. Some of the bolts will have to be changed, but the wheel arch is in place.
The "defective" pawl was removed and the problem of it sticking has been identified as worn pin so the required tension is not on the spring that pulls the pawl back into the housing. This is nowin the process of being remade ready to install next time.

Pete & Colin got stuck into revealing the extent of the rot in the  old inner front wheel arches, It was a little bit of a shock to see just how bad they were to say the least. Fortunately, Colin had come prepared with sheet steel and welder so after much cutting, sanding, cleaning and setting up, the first small panels on the nearside wheel arch were " tacked in". Pete got on with opening up the offside arch and also continued with the prep work on the cab interior. It was during that prep that Pete uncovered, very slowly, a remnant of the days when 240FLM was stationed at K22 Wandsworth
(1969-1981) when he discovered that someone had painted the appliance call sign, K223, on the dashboard!
It had later been painted over during one of the 2 resprays the appliance has undergone. This will be cleaned and retained as it is an integral part of the appliance history.

​A significant step forward so far this month with the commencement of the re cabling of the ladders. The new cables had been sitting patiently for almost 2 years, and last week, Colin took the plunge and single handedly started the refit. A daunting task considering it has been over 2 years since he last saw a TL up close with all its cables attached! After an awful lot of effort, all the cable were finally attached and the scene was set for today Wednesday 11th October when Colin was going to have support form other group members with the final push. At the end of today, the cables had finally been rove correctly, secured at all points following the manufacture of new pulley pins and then finally turned around the pulley wheel block within the fulcrum ready for a test. Success!

3 working parties have taken place during the month, not to well attended unfortunately,but  good and steady progress is still being maintained. The focus this month has been 2 fold, the reinstatement of the ladder fittings to enable the re-cabling to take place, and, the start of the cab interior refurbishment. Pete Weight has taken on the cab and Colin continues to progress the ladder fittings as well as the many other items he is either making or restoring.  The ladder fittings, beautifully restored by Graham Pearce, have started to find their way back home and the cab has had a strip out of the old unwanted or inappropriate, later addition wiring and some original installations that look decidedly unsafe!
The paintwork has had a first rub down and both the front floor pans have been stripped back to reveal the condition of the floors. The OIC side, generally in very good condition and solid, required the insertion of a steel plate, suitably sealed with marine grade sealant, while the drivers side has revealed a rather unpleasant hole which will require a rotten section being cut out and plate being welded in. Other niggly jobs included drilling out broken screws and bolts followed by retapping to accept new units.  Another section of nasty rust penetration has been discovered on the nearside lower corner of the windscreen mount, this can be back plated and filled in preparation for painting. The radio mount in the front of the roof has been prepared to receive the original radio pack which is now cleaned and ready to be installed once the painting is completed. Several items have been removed for restoration, these include the glove box, OIC seat frame, grab handles and the 2 original interior roof lights.

Colin and Paul Wing formed the working party and between them they managed to get a few more jobs completed.
The sparge (Monitor fixed supply ladder mounted pipe) is now refitted to the ladder and Paul has done stirling work cutting the catches for the inspection panels on the deck and around the water pump..
​Colin managed to refit the foot locker, interior end panels that allow access to the front pair of jacks. Unfortunately, we are 4 catches missing so new ones will need to be sourced.

 Colin Farrington, Trevor Barnwell and Steve Houston set about removing the rear wheels and the installation of the new rear wheel arches. A heavy task but after a long day they finally sat proudly on 240FLM.
Fitted at the same time were the new rubber trims which act as spacers and also protection to the metal contact points around the perimeter of the arch.
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Unfortunately, the top section of the wheel arches do not sit snug to the upper side panels so these will need to be remade during the winter. It appears that the new wing shape is a little shallower than the originals but unfortunately we had not spotted this. Still, all in all a significant step forward.

Colin & Pete Weight met at Gressenhall to restart the years work, They managed to refit some of the beautifully restored" Kick down platforms for the No2 to stand on at the head of the ladder,a couple of the ladder pawls and the hook ladder brackets.
​Colin installed for a trial fit the monitor and head roller mechanisms which he had been working on over the winter. A short but successful day and one which allowed us to see 240FLM moving so much closer to completion. She did look smart with her nose on!

Although there was only me in attendance, it was a useful working day at Wicken yesterday.
 managed to get all the remaining body panels fully polished out as well as 95% of the turntable. IN general, apart from quite a few small areas of rust/bubbling paintwork, the body work is in really good condition. I also had a go at cleaning one of the rear cab 1/4 lights that had fogged up and was pretty scratched. After a lot of research, I plumped for some of the Maguires PlastRX and a supersoft buffing head for the electric polisher donated by Mitch Theobold that I had been using on the body. Well, after 2 passes on the inside and 3 on the outside, I think we can strike off the need to replace the windows! I also had a single pass on one of the rear windows and again, brilliant results. All in all a good day. In the new year, I need to pick up a drill size polishing mop and then I can complete the polishing around the operators consul and the more intricate parts around the frame.

Trevor Barnwell, Paul Wing and myself assembled at Wicken for a working party today. We straightened up the O/S of the pump housing and fitted all the alloy sheets and trim. I cut a new housing cover and refitted the "skin" while Trevor and Paul experimented on cleaning up the alloy decking.
We ran short of screws so although many parts were refitted some items will need the remainder of the screws fitting.
Trevor had the covers off the console and checked all the electrics and repaired the blown fuses. Parts were taken away to be sourced/ replaced.

Colin Farrington & Trevor Barnwell in attendance:

Trevor started reinstating the rear wiring to the back lights and Colin fixed the deck plates in place at the rear, then, rebolting the outrigger that holds the O/S locker was completed and the front deck board was trimmed and 1st coated with paint.​

Trevor then stripped down the rear number plate holder; unfortunately, it is too badly rusted to use. So we discussed a solution which Trevor will try to get made.
 

The day continued with Steve Houston, Paul Wing, Pete Weight and Colin cracking on with the new wings and cleaning many of the small panels which were then refitted to the chassis.

​Spent the day at Wicken with Pete Weight.Pete carried on painting the main ladder extension, 2 people should be able to finish this in one more day.I carried on fitting the N/S front locker, this is now together, just needs bolting to the frames and the

June 23rd: Another successful day! while the others got on with rubbing and painting the ladders I carried on building the near side locker.It is ready to be lifted onto the appliance and the finished length marked and the last two panels made. It can then be painted and the alloy skin refitted and it can be fitted back on the appliance.

A rather unpleasant wet day but more rubbing down and additional prep on the ladder sections and some paint added before the rain stopped the work.Colin & Trevor made excellent progress on finishing the rear locker, finally getting the all important coat of bituminous paint on it before offering it into place. It fits!​

Bank holiday Monday and a site visit was made by Dave Porter (the welder) to measure and check on exactly what materials are needed to repair the 3 damaged rounds. repair the broken hydraulic lever bracket and weld on a new plate over the rotten rear section.
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Meanwhile, both Colin & Graham Pearce have been busy away from Wicken: 
Colin has begun making new box sections for the nearside lockers and Graham has constructed a home based sandblasting cabinet and has been putting the first of the small parts through it with excellent results.