Restoration diary

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.

As I am taking some time out from the project to re-join my old American Football team for this season, Chris Thorn again reports: "Saturday 9th saw John Pinion, Tom and Chris at Booths to process new arrivals 37692/37798. Whilst already stripped they did yield some promising brake cylinders. The afternoon saw Dave join Chris and Tom at Rowsley. Dave continued making piston lifting brackets, Chris sorted new spares arrivals and Tom continued in the cab. Sunday saw Mark, Ian and Pete join the overnight trio. Two more pistons were refitted on Sunday and more spares were delivered from Mark's. Tom wired in the new cab lights and refitted the new fault light panels and AWS horn, all overhauls from recent ex Booths components."

As I was unavailable due to having a bad back, this report is from Chris Thorn. "Dominic, Tim and Mick Ratledge cleared the roadway to the shed and re-graded the surface. They also sorted the scrap pile ready for collection and helped little Chris refitting cubicle doors to Renown. Tom completed painting the cab vestibules, refitted overhauled ceiling vents and the warning light cluster. Dave opened up all the loose brake cylinders and added the corroded ones to the scrap pile. Ian and Pete sorted the latest arrival of new engine parts and refitted some more pistons. I brought up more parts from home, continued sorting our spares and shifted the heads in the shed to clear the floor space ready for new arrivals."

Chris Thorn & his brother Tom spent four days doing a marathon session over the Easter weekend, making great inroads into cleaning back loose paint and sanding on the entire interior surfaces of No.1 cab, fitting better wooden shelving to the pallet racking in the coach, did further sorting of spares, listed what we are still missing, removed the remains of the brake frame piping and cleaned & painted the frame & structures behind.

For various reasons, the last two work parties had to be cancelled. We decided to postpone the one that fell on Mother's Day to the following weekend, but in the event that one had to be cancelled too, so today was our first visit in nearly a month. As Ian's power unit parts have not yet arrived, he, Dave & Pete fitted two cylinder heads. I tidied the elec workbench in the coach and found homes for many items, then wired the first three warning resistors described above.

Due to inclement weather, Ian & Pete spent the day removing cut pipes from the latest haul of air system spares, while Chris T continued his cataloguing of spares. I fitted & wired the resistor board, then fitted the left-hand cab warning light resistor board on top of the cubicle & Chris B helped me laying in cables for it.

As the next batch of new power unit parts have not yet arrived, Dave, Ian & Pete mated the remaining 12 pistons to their conrods, then sorted the unusable cylinder liners separate from the good ones and did further tidying of the container. Chris T did more tidying & sorting of 37 & 50 items in the coach, while I dismantled an old telecoms terminal board to retrieve useful terminal bars. Tim & Dom arrived at lunchtime & assisted with various things during the afternoon. I attempted to mount the resistor ladder network board I had made, but it was a case of one step forward & two back, as I had not accounted for a bundle of cables that run in front of where the board will mount & which fouled the bottom resistor, so I had to remove the resistors, re-drill the board & re-assemble it all. Sounds simple, but getting the resistor brackets mounted square is most difficult, as they tend to rotate when tightening their fixing bolts & we ran out of time before I could attempt to re-fit it.

Dave was bored so he took me to Rowsley today. While he cleaned off & painted one set of side, top & intermediate cylinder head covers, I marked & carefully drilled the board for the resistor ladder network on the pillar drill. After lunch, I dismantled some old terminal bars while Dave washed all the cups & plates that had been used & left, then we tidied & swept out the room in the coach which will be the changing/eating room.  Apart from a few little jobs, the coach is now completely sorted.

We had more or less decided to give this one a miss with the threat of more snow as Rowsley usually gets more than lower-lying places, but Dave decided he was going anyway, so I went with him. The roads were clear & there was about 2-3 inches of snow on site. Dave started to fabricate a device to compress piston rings as the piston is lowered into the liner, as we had one ring break last workparty. We fitted the last two fluorescents in the coach & I did some more sorting of items in the coach & measured a paxolin board to be cut down to make what is known as a 'ladder network' of spare resistors to replace the Z71 earth fault de-sensitizing resistor. We were missing this item & the one I was given last year was open circuit and thus useless. The ladder network will be fitted in the redundant space next to the main start contactors.

Chris & Tom Thorn continued sorting spares in the coach and the shed, then made an inventory of what equipment we have for the brake frame, and found we appear to be missing nothing for Repulse and have a good quantity of spares. Pete & Ian were intending to fit B3 piston & conrod, but discovered the oil ring was damaged, and as we have no spares at the moment, they decided instead to fit the cylinder head to B7. Chris Bodell & I cleaned the steel workbench, then we all moved it over to the coach and manoeuvred it inside to its allocated spot. Chris & I then re-built the 'Dexion' racking and secured it in place, then I fitted the last socket. Apart from two more fluorescent lights still to fit, the coach is now usable as a workshop.