The underframes, bogies and ancillary equipment were then brushed with the classic steam loco cleaner's mixture of paraffin and oil to provide a shiny finish for the photographers. The cabs were polished with an application of 'Mr.Sheen' and they did shine after I had finished.
On the Sunday the unit was readied for a 12:30 departure for to Bledlow Bridge. The photographers were not expecting the unit to run and quite a stir was made as it ran into the station. The enthusiasts on the platform were quite willing to pay for a ticket and ride in the unit despite it being more akin to a workshop than a passenger carrying vehicle!
The trip to Bledlow was uneventful except for the fact that my hat blew off after leaving Donkey Lane crossing. With each outing the unit was running more and more freely and the speed limit of 25 m.p.h. could easily be bettered both up and down hill.
My hat was retrieved on the return trip and the unit was retired back to the sidings where all bearings were cool and the engines, gearboxes etc. were all in good order. The oil and paraffin mixture had soaked into the dirt on the bogies and this was left until work could begin on cleaning them off and repainting the following weekend.
After soaking for a week most of the oil & paraffin had penetrated to the base of the rust and dirt on the frames. With an electric drill and wire brush attachment a start was made on one side of the No. 1 bogie. It took a good few hours to get the majority of the accumulated rust and dirt off. The worst accumulation was on the strengthening pieces welded behind the frames to give strength to the top of the axle box guides. This amounted to about an inch worth of compacted dust and grime and virtually caused a 'brown' out it was removed by the drill. Not only are goggles a must but a breathing mask also! Once cleaned down the frame was degreased and then repainted with red-oxide and left to dry.
On Sunday September 15th a platform was built around the No. 1 end of the unit in preparation for the following weekends welding. This platform will also be used to gain access to the roof and guttering along the sides of the unit.
The next weekend September 21st & 22nd was designated welding weekend. I was fortunate to get the services of Tony Cross an ex aircraft welder from Rolls Royce and his son Matty. The sides of the unit were inspected and 8 incisions made with the angle grinder to remove all the badly rusted areas. The inside of the patch area was cut back and cleaned down to bright metal and treated with red oxide. As all the interiors of the patches are accessible from the inside of the saloons any further strengthening will be done from the inside.
These were patched using arc welding gear. The railway does not possess any oxy-acetelene equipment and the MIG welder was inoperative hence the use of arc welding techniques. Rugby Cement and the railway's management seem extremely reluctant to let standard engineering equipment be stored on its site. This makes the job of bodywork patching very difficult but still perhaps time will avail the situation.
The most difficult patch to fabricate was a piece below the guttering on the secondman's side of No. 1 cab. This piece is not only curved around the corner but also into the guttering. With a true craftsman's care the piece was eventually fitted and with a bit of filler and paint no one will notice where the patch was done.
Once in place the whole area was coated with red oxide to protect the metal. These patches ensure that the unit would be weatherproof for the winter. The paintwork was given a week to dry and then the patches were filled and rubbed down to the correct contour of the body side. As both cabs are now complete the interior metal surfaces can be sprayed with Dinitrol Wax Spray to ensure an adequate protection from condensation and further rusting. Similarly the interior insulation and panels can now be replaced. This leaves just the woodwork to be rubbed down and revarnished and the interior cab door panels to be replaced with a melamine substitute.
During the weekend of September 28th and 29th work continued on the filling of the patched areas and cleaning down the bogie frames. A start was also made on cleaning down the underframes proper and any ancillary equipment. The ancillary equipment were the electrical boxes and the heater air intake with associated metal work The air receivers will be left until they are tested and recertified sometime.
The main frames entailed, on one side, removing the cable trunking that contained the wiring for the driver's cab heating and other late additions to the loom. The footsteps were also removed for easier access and for later refurbishment or replacement. Most of the bolts and screws holding the footsteps in situ were rusted too much to remove by using spanners. So a resort was made to the trusted angle grinder. Oh for oxy-acetelyne cutters! Most of the wood was not in bad condition but will most probably be replaced with new boarding and anti slip patches for passenger safety. The frames were taken back to good metal by use of a chipping hammer and wire brush and/or angle grinder then treated with Dinitrol then painted with red-oxide. Over the years it appeared that no more than two or three coats of paint had been used and the original black, still with original transfers/sign writing, was easily distinguishable.
The ancillary equipment was cleaned, degreased then painted with the ubiquitous red-oxide for later topcoating. The air intakes for the heaters were particularly bad and a good layer of dirt was removed from the inside before repainting could be considered.
As winter was nearing the opportunity was taken on the Sunday to drain the coolant, which at this point was pure water, and replace with an antifreeze mixture of ethylene glycol mixed 1:3 with water. Draining the coolant ensured that any accumulated rubbish in the system from the years out of service was also flushed out. The cooling system takes approximately 49 litres of fluid (11 gallons).The unit is to be run every 2 or 3 weeks during winter to keep all parts moving and free and the next run was planned for Saturday October 12th. These runs will include some night running and will certainly test out the lighting on the unit. It will also give the cab heating systems a good test after refurbishment. They were switched into the unit's coolant system over the weekend of the 28th/29th September when the antifreeze was added and were found to be watertight. The test will come when they heat up and get under pressure.
The following weekend, 5th & 6th October the unit was not touched as Kevin was rostered for BR work on the Saturday and C&PRRA work on the Sunday and I was enjoying a weekend away in Germany drooling over DB & DR Class 01 and 18 Pacifics.
The internal ceiling measurements had been taken earlier in the year and the white painted hardboard to complete the job was purchased on October 10th.
I was 46 on that day.
It was cut from standard 8' x 4' boards and transported in Alan Vigar's van from Bletchley Timber. The local builders merchant in Chinnor being unable to supply and cut to size. The offcuts will be used for patching either on the unit or on one of the Association's MK I coaches.
The work on the main frames continued over the weekend of 12th and 13th October. The two worst areas were in the door recesses of the small saloon on the secondman's side of No. 1 cab. Here the severe rusting most probably due to this side being the seaward side on the St. Ives branch where the unit eked out its final years. Once ground down to good metal and treated properly with Dinitrol and red-oxide the actual amount of metal wastage was small. The amount of rust removed however was a few millimeters deep. It shows how large an Iron Oxide molecule is compared to a steel molecule.
The other metalwork to have suffered badly were the door pillars in the small saloon. One will need complete renewal whilst two of the others will need patching. Similarly the window steel has also suffered badly.
The outer plating is spot welded onto a metal frame and the window frame, made of aluminium, is bolted into the outer plate. The internal saloon window frame is made up of two separate sections, the base and the inner frame. The base is of four pieces of wood, one up each side and one each along the top and bottom, screwed onto metal spacers both of which run the full length or width of the window. The metal spacers are in turn welded onto the frame. The inner saloon window frame is in turn screwed into the four base wooden pieces. The metal spacers have in most cases suffered severe rusting and in some cases are non existent. These will be removed entirely and will be replaced with new hard wood spacers, of two or three inches in length, secured onto the metal frames by brass bolts countersunk into the wood. The wood attached to the metal spacers has also suffered from dry/wet rot. This wood will be replaced, once again with hard wood, then screwed onto the new replacement wooden spacers. This will allow more air to circulate around the frames and minimalise the problems of condensation. The other cause of panel rusting has been the blockage and/or removal of the drain pipes from the window frames.
The Class 122 was built so that the gap between the main frames and the outer body was covered with metal sheet. Because the window condensation drain pipes were not threaded properly through these plates the water collected not only on the plates but was soaked up by the insulation and thus caused rusting. This was compounded by the fact that air was not able to circulate thus not allowing evaporation of the water to take place. All windows will be repaired to allow proper drainage. The plates that are rusted will be removed, those that are in good condition will be retained.
The following weekend, October 19th and 20th, the work on cleaning down the main frames on the No. 2 side was completed and the cleaned area was coated in Dinitrol and then painted in red oxide. The unit had not been started since September 8th and plans had been made to give W55003 a run on the Saturday. The unit was switched on and the No. 2 engine started. To my amazement the engine fired up immediately. It was left to tick over whilst I checked the water piping to the cab heater. No leaks were found. After a few moments running the engine was going to be stopped and I pulled the throttle cable to rev it up before shutting down. The engine stalled. I started the engine again and it fired up but refused to run. There was obviously a problem.
The only way to sort out a problem like this is to think it out. Kevin arrived and we started going through the usual procedures. The first thing we checked was the fuel. The tanks had not been replenished since arrival at Chinnor so 75 litres, approximately 16.5 gallons, was put into each fuel tank. The engine cut out solenoid was checked to make sure it was operating correctly. The fire alarm was tested and showed no problems so the engine was tried again. The same result it fired up but would not run. Checking the main switch box showed that something was tripping out as soon as the engine fired up.
The only thing that had changed since the last running was the fact that I had drained the radiators and refilled with an antifreeze mixture. When done the cooling system was full, or so I thought. Checking it showed that after running the system required another 14 litres, 3 gallons, to top it up. I assume that as there are no visible leaks from the system that air locks cause a considerable amount of problems. Reading Hints and Tips merely confirmed this. Once both systems were topped up both engines fired up immediately and ran with no problems. This showed that the Mobrey float switches, certainly on the No. 2 side, are in full working order. The only slight leakage was from the No. 1 cab heater. I suspect a leak in the radiator itself as all connections are tight.
The final drives took two attempts to engage, the first attempt by me and the second by Kevin. The reason they did not go in at the first attempt was simply 'the knack', and I evidently hadn't got it. Not only should the cardan shaft be turned but given a good shaking! Once engaged they proved no trouble for the rest of the journey switching in and out with a resounding clunk. The two trips down to Wainhill Crossing and back proved the unit is in fine mechanical and electrical condition.
The Class 122s and indeed most of the units built to that general specification have a tendency to roll. On poor track this can become quite alarming. W55003 will prove to be a good track testing machine as she found a particularly bad spot just south of Donkey Lane crossing where the ballast had not been packed correctly.
Once returned to the siding the unit was shut down and the final job to red-oxide the frames was completed before the rains set in.
Sunday dawned bright and fair but soon settled down to a dismal grey. The task of refilling the tanks continued and the No. 2 fuel tank was soon full. The gauge was reset to show a correct reading on the No. 2 side the No. 1 side gauge still reads half full. The No. 1 tank was also nearly full when the rains started with a vengeance. There was no option but to begin working on the interior.
The small saloon had been earmarked for putting back the ceiling panels first. But before that could commence the wiring had to be put back into the correct channelling and the insulation replaced
. The wires are held in the channelling by hardboard clipped over by metal clips, or in W55003's case insulation tape! There were only three metal clips in the whole unit. I had been given some 3M nylon tape and this was used to attach the hardboard to the channelling. Once stuck down I don't think this tape will come apart. The next task was to find the correct pieces of insulation for the roof. To this end I donned face mask, gloves and hat and opened the first of the plastic bags with the insulation in.
Careful inspection narrowed down the choice of bag to open and luck gave us a bag that more or less had the correct pieces in. The Guard's van end was first to be started and apart from getting my eyes full of the dust most of the pieces fitted correctly. The panelling had been purchased and cut to size previously, well nearly. The panelling was cut to a 5' length the actual length required for the ceiling arc was 54". It was now that my mistake in purchasing the correct number of pieces became apparent. I had purchased only two 27.5" pieces for the small saloon not four as was required. I had misread my own drawing!
However I had also purchased all the offcuts so with four spare pieces the correct panelling was soon fabricated as two 20.5" and two 7" pieces. The first piece, the 7" strip, was put in place at the Guard's van end above the luggage racks before the light failed completely. The method and the problems encountered will stand us in good stead for the reminder of the panels.
The final weekend of summer '96 was October 26th and 27th. That weekend was started by refuelling the unit to capacity, including heater tanks, and resetting the gauges. The remainder of the time was utilised in finishing off the insulation in the small saloon and fitting the ceiling. The main problem in fitting the hardboard was fitting it behind the passenger communication cord castings and around the light bases. This involved pre cutting the sheets to fit and manoeuvring them into position. The emergency cord fittings are at the tightest curve of the hardboard and because they have only limited movement a lot of effort was expended in getting the boards into place. The easiest manner was to use a 'T' piece. This involved lifting the board more or less into place and holding up by the 'T' piece against the roof. The board could them be moved into position and the 'T' piece used to bend the hardboard to the correct contour. Then with an offcut of wood and a hammer the board was tapped from the other end into position and screwed into place. It was essentially a one man job learned from my student days on the building site as a plasterboarder.
The only cutting not done was for the air vents in the ceiling. These were measured up as 1' from the centre of the light fitting for all light fittings through out the saloons. Actually the BR positioning was approximately 18" away from the light centre line. This placed the vent underneath the fibreglass insulation so I will utilise the 1' position which is underneath the body of the air vent. A selection of vent covers was procured from the old LMS saloon as the originals had gone the way of the original roof and vanished. Fourteen were required and I took them off site for cleaning during the week. They were just dirty and soon cleaned up to a brilliant white.
Once all panels were in place in the small saloon the final job was to ascertain how to fit the lights. The light assembly has four separate sections. The light fitting in which the wires and bulb are held, the contour plate that fits to the curve of the roof, the base plate that holds the light fitting and fits to the contour plate and finally the light shade. The problem was that no matter how the assembly was fitted no more than two screws held the whole lot to the roof without stressing one or other of the components unduly. We could not solve the problem without recourse to a real example. Luckily there was a Sandite unit formed from a Class 122 at Bletchley so arrangements were made to 'inspect' the fitting.