If you have been following RRRG for some time, you will remember that about a year ago we purchased and collected a number of spare electrical parts from the owners of 50021 Rodney. Amongst these was the electrical cubicle originally in 50011 Centurion before that locomotive was scrapped. Our reason for purchasing the cubicle was to use as a donor for rebuilding 50029's cubicle; as a rule of thumb the items that were removed from 50030 before we bought the locomotive were carefully unscrewed and the wiring in the electrical cubicle was in good condition. The same cannot be said for 50029 unfortunately, with many of the cubicle wires having been cut. To save the headache of pairing loose ends we aim to transplant the relatively intact wiring loom from the ex-Centurion cubicle into 50029. That there were a good number of other components in the donor cubicle that would be useful for 50029 was a bonus. The actual frame of the ex-50011 cubicle is however not in such good condition as the cubicle frame already in 50029: many of the catches for the doors are either bent or broken and it is obvious the cubicle has led a hard life since the locomotive it resided in was scrapped. For this reason we cannot just swap the cubicles around between Renown and Centurion and a process of making one good one from two halves is necessary.
These pictures were taken on 9th June 2013 and show progress on the careful stripping of this cubicle and some of the parts we have recovered from it. Electrical volunteers Steve Tripp and Andy Rowlands are shown at work but credit must also go to Julie Rollason and Sarah McCall for their invaluable assistance with this sub-project.
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The complexity of the wiring loom is obvious from these pictures which show volunteers Steve Tripp and Andy Rowlands removing some of the last major components before we make a decision on how to tackle the wiring loom. A good number of useful items have been recovered from this cubicle for re-use in 50029, as shown below.
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Shown below is one of the cubicle doors from the ex-50011 cubicle. We have already refurbished the equivalent door and installed into 50030 and we have a better example in stock for 50029. This is actually one of the better condition parts of the cubicle frame and speaks to the state that the ex-50011 electrical cubicle is in.
The next task is to assess the wiring loom in the 50011 cubicle and how best to remove it. As the pictures show it is a many-tentacled monster and will require considerable thought as to the best way forward before we dispose of the frame of the 50011 cubicle. With the size of the "thin man's passage" inside a 50 round the side of the electrical cubicle now not befitting our volunteers' physical profiles, we may also look to lifting the cubicle out of 50029 as a way of proceeding.