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Restoration diary

Reports of restoration work on 50029 and 50030.

I am the RRRG deputy chairman, fundraising and publicity officer.  I will post about work on site as well as merchandise offers to help raise money for the Group.

Roof and body repairs spring 2021

Roof and body repairs spring 2021
As we've mentioned in previous posts here, one of our key tasks recently has been to fully repair the bodyshell of 50030 to make it fully watertight and ready to have its overhauled electrical machines installed. We have been hiring well-known locootive welder Ian Williams for this. Recent work has been to the roof and body sides of 50030. Many yea...
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A post-lockdown update

50030 following additional welding work in April 2021
Like many UK preservation groups, RRRG has been affected by the coronavirus crisis and government-mandated lockdowns. Along with all of the other groups at Rowsley, for a second prolonged period from late 2020 until early April 2021, we have not been allowed to attend Peak Rail to work on our locos, other than essential maintenance. This has basic...
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Working party report 4th-5th July 2020 and welding update

Working party report 4th-5th July 2020 and welding update
50030 no 2 end secondman's side, which Mark and Robert Burrows flatted down and painted in primer.
​Following our first working party after the enforced COVID shutdown on the 27th and 28th June, we held our second pair of working parties on the 4th and 5th July.Dave Rolfe, my son Robert and I attended site on the Saturday, and Dave was also there part of Sunday. Dave pumped oil round the ex-50008 engine on both days and barred it ov...
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Working Party Report 28th June 2020 - Return To Site!

50030 as seen in late June 2020. The external appearance has not been our priority and we have put most effort into internal restoration prior to a power unit swap planned for this summer.
Dave Rolfe, my son Robert and I went to Rowsley on Sunday 28th June (Dave was also there the day before), this being the first working party for about 3 months since the national lockdown was put into place.I took to site a number of items of anti-virus PPE and at the request of Peak Rail, our new working procedure required to take account of ...
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Compressors update

Compressors update
The main block of a class 50 air compressor, stripped down and partially overhauled.
The motor end of the compressor, as the overhaul progresses.
The compressor crankshaft. Note the surface rust from water ingress.
The electrical machine end of the compressor.
The compressor body. This particular example has suffered water ingress over the years and we will probably use it only for parts to repair another of our compressors as it will be expensive to repair.
The compressor motor field windings overhauled.
Another view of the field windings of the compressor; the electrical end of the machine has been refurbished.
Another view of the refurbished electrical motor field windings of the compressor.
The compressor fan housing.
The compressor motor armature in the process of receiving overhaul.
Air compressor cylinder heads. Note the one on the left shows signs of water damage.
Our medium term goal is to restore 50030 to a state where the Diesel engine can be started up and the locomotive's systems checked. To this end we are concentrating on both the power unit and generators plus the air and vacuum systems. We already have an overhauled vacuum exhauster in secure, heated storage off site and we have a number of compress...
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Radiator lift additional pictures

When we originally reported on the installation of the overhauled radiators into 50030, we promised some more pictures showing what we did on the day. I took a lot of pictures during the lift day and we hope these will give an idea of everything that was done on the day, and why it was such a long day! ...
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Radiator lift April 2018

The very first step was to remove the mesh cover in the roof panel over the radiator fan.
Then the roof panel covering the radiator compartment could be lifted off to gain access to the radiator compartment itself.
The roof panel could then be lifted well clear of the locomotive and stored on the ground out of the way until it was ready to be replaced at the end of the lift.
We have previously reported on the work done in the radiator compartment of 50030 once the radiators were originally lifted out to allow the compartment to be refurbished. We had hoped that we would be able to lift the radiators back into 50030 following their refurbishment somewhat sooner than now but a combination of bad weather and oth...
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Work party report 8th October 2017

​Dave Rolfe and I were at Rowsley on Sunday 8th October: it was not the most successful of days but we got a bit done.We tried to take the radiator breather pipes off 50029, but she absolutely refused to help her sister and wouldn't relinquish said breather pipes. The bolts were just too rusted and tight, and the access to the bolts very restr...
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Radiator room progress September 2017

On Sunday I went to Rowsley to see Dave Rolfe and catch up on what's been happening, unfortunately no pictures as my car was so full of stock after a sales event that day that the camera wouldn't fit in it!I'm pleased to say the radiator room is very close to being finished, the only tasks that need doing before the radiators can go back in in are:...
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Radiators and other updates - part 2

Radiators and other updates - part 2
Refitting the overhauled heat exchanger to the ex-50008 power unit completes the oil circuit once more and allows us to keep barring the power unit over before it is installed in 50030.
This post is to continue from the previous article rounding up the progress RRRG has made in the first half of 2017.As we had lifted the radiator fan and its motor out of 50030 in order to remove the radiators themselves for overhaul, it seemed a good idea to get this sent off for overhaul at the same time as the radiators were being d...
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Radiators and other updates - part 1

Radiators and other updates - part 1
As we approach the halfway point of 2017, it seems like a good time to to look back at what RRRG has been doing this year and our progress to date.The major work (and expense!) this year has been on the overhaul of the radiators for use in 50030 as we progress towards at least being able to fire up the engine in this locomotive. Along ...
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Radiator fan motor lift and overhaul news

​A major step in the restoration of 50030 is to lift the existing radiators out of the locomotive so that they can be sent for professional overhaul.  Whilst we do have some spares, our assessment of them - backed up by professional judgement - is that the radiators inside the locomotive are in far better condition.  Whilst 50029 and 5003...
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Work party report 7th June

Work party report 7th June

Dave Rolfe and I had a very wet Saturday at Rowsley last weekend (I'd gone on the Saturday as Sunday was my Wedding Anniversary), the weather finally cleared around 5 o'clock!

Given the weather we both found things indoors to occupy ourselves, Dave spent part of the day unbolting and freeing off sections of the radiator louvre operating mechanism. His remaining time was spent sorting out the various fittings, clamps, etc, that are needed to refit the fuel rails to the power unit, and checking their condition, cleaning and painting the metal sections of the clamps. I spent most of the day in 50030's generator room sorting out the best sections of conduit, from our collection of bits ex-50023, 50030 and 50040, to make up the remaining set of conduits. By the end of the day, I had cut sufficient sections to lay out the last of the conduit runs, all that remains to do now with this job is to strip the years of paint and dirt off them, thread the ends of the cut sections and fit the relevant couplers and locking nuts. Hopefully another day's work should see the conduit conundrum resolved. In the process I also identified ¾ of a set for one side of 50029.

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Work on site 1st April

I found another 10-12 conduit and pipe clamps that I need for in the generator room. I cleaned these up with wet and dry sandpaper and a wire cut brush, then white spirited them and painted them. Also put another coat of paint on the 40-odd clamps that I did last time I was on site.

I also re-secured 50029’s tarpaulin which was loose and flapping around a bit on one corner.

Dave Rolfe was on site as usual and continued with painting a second coat of paint onto the radiator grilles.  I took a few photos and noted how good they were looking; we will share these here soon.

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