RRRG report for The Peak Express Autumn 2010, Issue 27

I am pleased to be able to advise that we have now taken delivery of the RRRG 2011 Calendar, which features the last years of Class 50\'s on service trains. The calendar is selling well, and can be purchased from the Peak Rail Rowsley shop, by mail order from the group, eBay and various other preserved railway outlets.We are very pleased with the product, and hope to have further reviews of it inthe railway press as Christmas approaches. The sales stand has had a few outingsin this period the latest being the Long Marston storage site open day in September, and the stall is planned to appear at the forth coming Peak Rail shunter gala.

It is as well that the sales stall has been doing well as the group has beenhaving an expensive few months. During June we were able to secure two further KV10s and an engine governor, we have also bought a number of new temperaturesensors, a new flexible conection for the rad fan motor, sufficient engine partsto allow the refitting of the last 4 pistons and cylinder heads (which is progressing well) and we are now in the process of purchasing a CU1 control unitand some paxolin boards. Apart from the spares purchases the overhaul of one ofthe traction motor blowers has now been completed, and the work on the exhausters is progressing well at Bowers Electrical. The replacement auxiliary generator armature has been moved to Dowding and Mills, where work is now progressing to reassemble the spare ETH/Auxiliary Generator set and prepare it for storage untill needed in the future. A secure dry heated storage location has been identified where the machine will be able to be kept without deteriorating.
 
During July Peak Rail kindly moved our BG coach up from Darley Dale, and we have now loaded it with the majority of the large spares that had previously been located under a tarpaulin at Rowsley. During the last Peak Express I advised of the purchase of a cab off 50037 Illustrious, which had basically been bought as a source of spares. Our intention had been to keep the cab at Boness for the foreseable future, which the SRPS had agreed to. Unfortunately due to building work that is now taking place at the site in Boness we were asked to have the cab relocated. This actually resulted in something of a stressfull couple of days. When I telephoned the haulage company to ask for prices, etc, and ask when they were likely to be able to undertake the move,preferably as a return load, I was somewhat wrong-footed by the reply of, "I've got a lorry coming back today, it's currently on the Edinburgh bypass, can we pick the cab up now." This was very lucky as it was the only time for a number of weeks that the company were going to have a wagon in Scotland, and was good in that it saved us a significant amount on the cost of the move, but did resultin some very hurried arrangements being made by various of our members. Fortunately Peak Rail were understanding of the situation, and the very short notice, and the cab is now located in the area at Rowsley that had been cleared by our loading the BG.