1212 1987 - Swedish Railcars - Helga Hägar

09/09/2025

New generator drive belts installed today.
The old belts have been fitted for over 40 years and finally failed last week.

29/08/2025

A bit of fault diagnosis today. The main generator fuse had blown.
It seems the voltage regulator is outputting 33.6v which I think is a bit high and causes the fuse to heat.
Does anyone have the instructions to adjust the regulator?
I moved the arm on the variable resistor, but it made no difference.

13/07/2025

I guess it’s publicity even though a few of the facts are wrong.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Ct12yeZAn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

27/06/2025

09/05/2025

Helga is ready for a driver refresher day and then entry into service following FTR.
This week…
Lights install completed in cabs and passenger area.
Horn pipe work installed
Exhaust stabilisers fitted.
Gutters masked and painted roof grey.
1212 and 1987 reunited to easily access luggage racks and seats stored in 1987.
Luggage racks installed.
All remaining trim fitted.
Seat frames washed.
Floors mopped and then mopped twice more, I need a training course in mopping as all it seems to do is move dirt around.
Seat cushions installed and bolted into place.
New ceiling fitted in toilet and toilet room cleaned.
Lots more ‘missing’ bolts installed.
Black marks from window install cleaned off bodyshell.
Full tidy to move all tools into the van area of 1987.
Tail lights programmed to flash red.
Still to do next week:
Sealant on engine air inlet.
4 pieces of wood trim to be fitted.
2 pieces of orange trim to be fitted.
1987 to have a thorough external wash.

29/04/2025

Externally 1212 is now almost complete. A couple of small brackets and the pipe to the horn at the engine end still to fit.
So this week the usual team has:
Fitted the remaining window
Fitted the headlights
Fitted the interior lights (diffusers still to clean and fit)
Fitted more internal trim, we just keep finding more.
Painted the remaining black section, some orange bits and some yellow bits.
The rain gutter is now complete on all 4 corners, with the engine vents installed and the silencer re-mounted on top.
Now that Blue Circle has moved we had the chance to get outside for a couple of photographs with blue sky and temperatures in the mid 20s.
Hopefully Helga and Hagar will be re-united later this week allowing us to finish the interior (the luggage racks, diffusers and seat cushions are stored in Hagar)

23/04/2025

Another 3 long days for the team working on Helga this week.
The ceiling is now 95% complete thanks to Richard.
Orange and yellow paintwork complete (a couple of small bits to touch up)
The masking tape has now been removed.
One roof vent fitted for the engine air intake.
31 windows installed. Only one to go when some new rubber arrives. It was a nightmare job, blood isn’t a good lubricant for fitting windows!

20/04/2025

Window overhaul.
The sash windows known in Sweden by some people as goldfish bowls, were made in the 1950s in Scotland.
They are double glazed with 2 separate panes of glass separated by a rubber seal.
The seals have all expired and there was a lot of condensation between the panes.
New double glazed panels have been manufactured by Pilkington Glass and have now been installed into the original frames.
4 windows have been refurbished, the toilet window has been left in original condition as it is opaque.
Photos show strip down and rebuild of the last window this afternoon.double

18/04/2025

A week of hard work.
More interior reassembly.
3 coats of yellow
1 coat of orange.
Grey epoxy on the cab roofs.
7 windows refitted. (No locking strips yet)
Another 16 windows and 2 coats of orange to go.

03/04/2025

2 weeks of progress and the first coat of orange primer has been applied to 1212 Helga.
Some rubbing down is required next week before another base coat is applied and then some layers of top coat.

17/03/2025

New gutters cut to shape and now being installed.
New peg-board ceiling panels cut, painted and fitted between the original Formica panels.
New steelwork welded into place on the lower body sides

08/03/2025

The roof between the cabs is now fully bolted in place.
Inside the Formica sheets have been refitted with new support beams.
Next week should see the peg board that fits in the upper ceiling painted and then installed.