Restoration diary

As I have missed the last two work parties for various reasons, this report will cover the period from the last update on July 4th. Dave & Chris Thorn, assisted at times by Chris Bodell & Mark Burrows, have continued to sort and load the items stored outside into the second BG. Chris B has also made good progress cleaning & painting in 30s no.2 cab, and refitting various covers & wooden trims. Ian & Pete have continued re-fitting pistons with new rings, big end shells and stretch bolts, and torquing down cylinder heads. All the above continued today, and Tim & Dom made an appearance to catch up with our Flying Dutchman; Paul Sturm, who was visiting from Holland. Paul spoke at length with us to see the progress we have made since his last visit two years ago, then very kindly bought us all a drink at the end of the day at the Church Inn by Darley Dale.

Dave made some more space in BG2, before he and myself forklifted 6 turbos on to pallets ready for loading into the north end. We also palleted up a fan motor and scrapped the frame off a compressor. I painted more turbo and intercooler pipework, using our new spray gun.

Ian, Pete & Dave hoisted up and fitted another three overhauled cylinder heads to the power unit, and torqued them, and another head previously fitted, down to 600ft lbs. Chris B cleaned & painted some sections of intercooler & turbo pipework & I carried on tidying the small control cables with cable ties & attempted to fit the last three remaining sections of 185mm cable to the field divert resistors, but found them all apparently the wrong length and with crimps fitted at angles which at the moment prevents them from being bolted to their connections on the reverser.

Due to various reasons, we decided to cancel the last work party. This weekend Ian and Pete made a list of parts needed to complete the top end engine overhaul so they can hopefully be ordered this week from the supplier. They then continued refitting the new big end shells we had in stock, temporarily using old nuts on the stretch bolts, as we wait for more new ones. Finally, with the help of Dave and forklift truck, they brought the remaining overhauled heads round from the shed, ready for refitting to the power unit. Tim, Dom, Chris B, Chris T & Dave moved a significant amount of the items in the shed into our newly-acquired second BG for storage. Mark B brought two car loads of spares he has been keeping in his garage to also go into the new coach. I finished laying in the control wiring for the reverser, and started tidying up the loose wiring with lots of cable ties

We cancelled the last work party as it was the diesel gala and we had been told there would be no yard access. Today, Ian & Pete torqued down two more cylinder heads, but as they were working on the side of the power unit next to Renown, they found access difficult for the four-foot long torque multiplier, so just tightening two heads down to 600 ft lbs of torque took virtually all day. I sweltered inside Repulse finishing connecting the cables onto the main neutral terminal bar, then started sorting the control cables for the reverser. I also compared a large 1000mfd electrolytic capacitor (the size of a large baked beans tin) that I have been loaned, with ones we have on the input boards for the KV10's, to see if they will fit, and I found they did. We need four of these capacitors per KV10 input board, but as ours have not been used in at least 10 years, I have been advised they will probably no longer function, and I have been trying to source replacements. We had an unexpected call for help from Peak Rail in the afternoon, as one of the P.Way gang fell of a rail wagon and sustained possible hip, neck or back injuries, and we assisted the ambulance crew carrying the man to the ambulance.

Dave continued cleaning & painting the second turbo, and yesterday examined the two remaining turbos on the power unit & found they both rotate freely, which is good news. Ian & Pete torqued down two cylinder heads to 600fpt, then examined the camshafts in the power units still in the locos to see if they were in better condition than the section that has some water damage in the ex-008 unit, but found both sections examined were in similar condition due to having stood idle for so long, so an off-site repair is looking likely. Chris Bodell continued his dirty work cleaning the clean air compt at No1 end, and has almost finished the one side now. I continued wrestling with the field divert cables, but found one marked for the one position that appears about two feet too short, so this will need further investigation.

Ian, Pete, Chris T & Tom washed down both locos for their appearance at the upcoming PR diesel gala & by the end of the day, both locos looked pretty good. Chris B has taken on the unenviable task of cleaning debris from the No.1 end clean air room, and by close of play it was difficult to see where his overalls stopped and his head started! Dave Rolfe has dismantled and freed off the stuck turbo and is now cleaning and painting it. I fitted the last two missing sections of 185mm cable to the field divert resistors, and spent the rest of the day wrestling with the six 3mtr lengths that drop down to the reverser, as they need to be fitted in a certain order to avoid having them tangled, which requires fitting and removal multiple times until you get it right, not that easy due to the confined space of the thin-man's passage and they are quite stiff due to their size.

On arrival at Peak Rail today, we discovered copper thieves had cut the four cables under No.2 end bogie to one of the traction motors. Two Peak Rail coaches had also been vandalised. This was reported to PR management. After examining Repulse, we discovered no other obvious damage & the other five motors seem to have escaped untouched. Ian, Pete & Dave stripped the seized turbocharger & removed both sets of bearings & although the shaft would move slightly along its axis, it stubbornly refuses to rotate, so this will be investigated further next workparty. I continued sorting & fitting the cables to the field divert contactors & resistors, discovering we are two lengths short, but have several duplicate surplus lengths which have been marked with their positions & could be used as spares or for Renown.

Mark, Pete & Chris attended Booths to recover various EE generator components and also managed to acquire various cab idents from the demic WCRC 47's that had recently arrived.

Dave, Ian and Pete checked all the turbos under the tarpaulin to find a suitable A1 example suitable for repair. The turbo of choice being finally identified as the one right at the back! Extraction took best part of all day before taking it over to the container. Chris T made a start on cleaning the clean air compartment at no.1 end, before Chris B took over this task. The Chris's commenced disconnection of No 1 end blower ready for lifting but progress is currently thwarted by a rather tight impeller nut.

Skipping the temptation of four round trips on Thunderer, Chris T treated corrosion in no2 end clean air compartment and gave the whole floor a coat of primer. Dave completed the repaint of B1 turbo which has been serviced and cleaned. The redundant staging alongside Repulse was also dismantled to improve access around the loco.

Yesterday Dave Rolfe manoeuvred one of the power unit turbos into the container with the hoist, and spent today cleaning it down. Pete & Ian refitted another piston, though not without some effort, and fitted another head over it. I fitted the retaining clips to the cab warning light resistors, then continued sorting the large cables to the field divert contactors & resistors.

Chris B cleaned the exterior and honed the interior of three more brake cylinders, Ian & Pete fitted three more pistons to the power unit, Dave fabricated a second drip tray that goes under the turbos, as the originals are quite badly corroded, Mark B brought some of the latest Booths acquisitions for storage, while I fitted the connecting bars between no.s 1 & 2 field divert contactors & started sorting the large cables that go between the field divert resistors, contactors & the reverser into their correct positions. Once this is done, they will be removed, properly cleaned & fitted permanently.Chris B cleaned the exterior and honed the interior of three more brake cylinders, Ian & Pete fitted three more pistons to the power unit, Dave fabricated a second drip tray that goes under the turbos, as the originals are quite badly corroded, Mark B brought some of the latest Booths acquisitions for storage, while I fitted the connecting bars between no.s 1 & 2 field divert contactors & started sorting the large cables that go between the field divert resistors, contactors & the reverser into their correct positions. Once this is done, they will be removed, properly cleaned & fitted permanently.

In the morning we had our annual AGM at the Whitworth Institute in Darley Dale, and as usual we were graced with a large turnout from the membership. We then went to site and various work was undertaken during the afternoon, before we retired to the Shalimar Indian restaurant for our annual pre-Christmas curry.

Dave played with his new toy today, a 4-ton forklift truck, to help Ian & Pete remove one of the turbos and the intercoolers from the power unit in readiness for removing the camshafts. Chris Thorn continued sorting out airpipe runs and cleaning debris from the clean air room, and removing air pipes to allow the removal of the exhauster by the brake frame for overhaul, while his brother Tom continued working in No.1 cab. Mark Burrows covered the spare bogies with tarpaulins, Chris Bodell started cleaning the air pipes Chris was removing, while I finished wiring the auxiliary contacts on the no.3 field divert contactor.

While they are waiting for the next delivery of parts for the next four pistons, Ian, Pete & Dave removed the steel bars (stays) that provide extra support for the intercoolers and turbos at the free end of the power unit & started loosening bolts, hoses & connections on the one remaining turbo (the other already having been removed before we got the power unit from Crewe) and the intercoolers, as Ian has taken advice on the inlet/exhaust cams and has now decided it would be wise to change them for 'newer' ones. To allow the camshafts to be removed, the turbos & intercoolers require removal. Only the intercoolers are actually in the way, but they provide part of the support for the turbos, so both need removing. Chris continued working on fabricating various sections of pipework for the air & braking system, while I finished assembling, fitted and began wiring the aux contact block on the no.3 field divert contactor.

Chris T, his brother Tom & Dave R all spent the weekend on site again. Chris appears to have turned into our resident pipe fitter, with three more air pipes for the brake frame fabricated in the clean air room. He fabricated a new section of conduit for the fire bottle activation cable in the thin man's passage, making all four runs complete. Six internal doors had replacement locks and handles fitted making all these complete. In No.2 cab all exposed conduits were cleaned up & painted in primer. The window quarterlights were removed & the steelwork behind cleaned up. His brother Tom continued work in No.1 cab, which looks pretty good now, with most of the interior surfaces cleaned & painted, and all the rear bulkhead equipment & the roof lights refitted. Chris B examined the four brake cylinders Mark B brought with him, finding two good ones, one that may be usable & one scrap one. He then cut & drilled pieces of steel which Mark, after tidying up the sales stock, fitted on the inside of the opening doors we are not using in the BG to make it more secure. Ian & Pete freed off & lubricated the cam followers on 'B' bank. The four suspect inlet/exhaust cams cleaned up okay, so hopefully the camshafts will not now have to be removed. The tarp was removed from the power unit so Mark B could phot progress & more oil was smeared round the inside of the liners. I cleaned & fitted the contact tips to no.s 2 & 3 field divert contactors, likewise the copper braids to the no.3 contactor & started reassembling the no.3 auxiliary contact block.

As some of you will have heard, in the last game of the season, seven weeks ago, I blew my left knee out again, and today was my first time back on the railway. A new consignment of engine parts had arrived with Ian, but the supplier was apparently out of stock of oil rings, so he, Pete & Dave decided to look at the camshafts. Generally they are in good condition but some cams are rusty and will need replacing from our stock of spares. They replaced one of the four defective fuel pump cams, but have not yet decided on some suspect inlet/exhaust cams which are pressed onto the shaft, therefore necessitating removal/dismantling of camshafts. After re-acquainting myself with where I had left the cubicle wiring, Dave helped me re-fit the third main Field Divert contactor, which I had stripped & overhauled whilst recovering from my knee injury at home. These contactors are heavy and notoriously difficult to fit, due to the usual space constraints, so we were both surprised when it mounted first time with no trouble. I then fitted the copper braids that I had cleaned to the no.2 contactor & got a spare contact section for the auxiliary contact block for the no.3 contactor, as one was heavily corroded & broke when I stripped it for cleaning.

A long two-day session involving a visit to Booths scrapyard, where we were able to weigh in various scrap parts from the container and shed, while acquiring useful items such as low-hours liners, cylinder heads and the aux. gen removed at a previous work party. Various electrical items such as traction motor blowers were dispatched to Bowers of Heanor for overhaul. Thursday was particularly well attended, with Mark B, Pete C, Dave R, Andy R, Chris B, Dominic J and new volunteer Steve Grimes all present. All bar Pete & Andy went to Booths & Pete helped Andy feeding wires from the last three cab-warning resistors. This was finished in the afternoon and the cables were tidied up, and this is another area now completed. After helping unload various items when the guys returned from Booths, we left site around 9pm. I don't know who was the last home, but I didn't arrive until gone 1030pm! On the 19th, Dom, Chris and Alex also undertook cleaning of 50029 in preparation for display at the Peak Rail diesel gala next weekend on Friday.

Mark B & Ian were having a general tidy up of parts from the latest scrapyard hauls, then after lunch they removed six gudgeon pins from spare pistons & con rods, greased the pins, stored them & the pistons & marked the conrods for future scrapping. I brought up various items from my house for storage in the coach then wired in another three cab warning light resistors.