Saturday January 16th the unit was parked down the line towards Bridge 13 so it took me over 30 minutes to carry my gear down to the unit and get ready. By this time Graham had arrived so I boiled the kettle and we had a chat about signalling training and the new rule book.
I began by topping up the No. 1 gearbox with oil using my new pourer. It took about 1/4 litre. It’s amazing, with the right tools things are so much easier.
I noticed that the rain had got into the saloons via the drop down door windows and that on the No. 2 side the lino was beginning to lift in certain areas. I therefore did what I had done to the No. 1 side and tacked the lino down in all the door wells.
Then I started work in the Guard’s van. I refitted the ceiling/wall trim followed by replacing the corner pieces. I had also brought up the new Guard’s seat and cushions. Well the seat was all right as was the back, but I had brought the wrong seat squab. I had brought the jockey seat’s back by mistake!!
By lunch time all jobs were done and I began tidying out the Guard’s van. All the old wood from the original trim has now been disposed of. I shall move most of the paint pots into W55001 to leave the van clear, well clearer than it has been. I then gathered up all the door grab handles and removed them to home for grinding down and repainting.
The Siphon was in the platform so I helped myself to some more trim. I also noted that there were quite a few aluminium ‘steps’ allocated to unit 59260. This is a Class 120 buffet as preserved on the GCR. I had sent a mail to the Red Triangle Group about the internal doors off 59292. They are no good to me nor the Class 177/108 so they may as well make use of them. Similarly the trim off 59260 is only of use to the right unit.
After arriving home I extricated the correct seat squab from the spares in the garage. I wasn’t sure whether or not I hadn’t got rid of it in the big clear out.
Saturday evening we went over to Keith and Joan’s for a stop over. Most enjoyable. Keith and I are going to get together to put together a maintenance procedure primarily for W55001, 3 & PWM651 but also one that may be of use for the rest of the NLR’s fleet.
If W55003 & PWM651 are to go to OOC in 2000 I think it best that they are fit to run as per RESCO & Railtrack specifications.
The wet weather continued over the next week with the end of the week very cold and foggy. By Saturday January 23rd it had moderated somewhat and although cool was bearable. The day was spent by finishing off the ceiling trim in both saloons. Sunday was spent in finishing off the eight corner pieces in the saloons. The trim is now complete, thank heavens, it was one job I did not enjoy. The last job on Sunday was to refit the Guard’s seat in the Guard’s van.
Both saloons are complete except for the doors. They will have to wait until the spring. I can now start on the No. 1 cab. Once that is finished I can make a start on the underneath by cleaning down and getting ready for painting.
Two jobs I must finish are the insulation in the front panels of both cabs and the refitting of a correct diameter glass in the high side vacuum gauge in the No. 2 cab.
When we lift the unit to remove the bogies we can do the following jobs, oil leak on No. 1 engine, oil leak on No. 1 gearbox front end & greasing the final drive and gearbox seals.
I decided to spend the next weekend on the ELR at their steam enthusiast’s weekend. To this end I went up the Stuart’s on the Friday, January 29th. We both went over to the ELR where I had some business to transact with Graham. I managed to have a good look around both Ian Riley’s workshops at Baron Street and the Diesel workshops at Buckley Wells. The amount of work required on the Cravens Class 105 is quite phenomenal but the job as usual is up to the ELR’s high standards. The Class 110 was used as the shuttle during the weekend and is in good condition. I had a good look at the unit and am quite pleased with my own efforts in comparison.
The Saturday & Sunday were spent on photographing, and videoing, the BR steam locomotives in use, the only exception being 60007 in BR Blue. This was my first steam event on the ELR and was a most enjoyable weekend.
Monday was back to Northampton to sort some stuff out on the DMUs and pick up the locks that Dick had removed from W55001. These locks, off the Driver’s doors and the Guard’s doors, together with eight spare passenger door locks are going to be sent to Heysham for refurbishment for RESCO certification.
During the week I bought a new flapper abrasive wheel for use on the internal window trim of the No. 1 cab which I recommenced finishing during the weekend of February 6th and 7th. I also bought a new set of screw driver bits for the battery drill. They are excellent and I can now dispense with the rather dubious set from the old drill. I also made up the final piece of trim for the Guard’s van, the floor piece of the No. 2 side by the tools cabinet. This I duly fitted on the Saturday morning. I then set about the No. 1 cab after pinning down a piece of trim in the No. 2 cab.
The first job was to sand down the window frames ready for varnishing. I managed to sand them down, Cuprinol them and get three coats of stain on during the weekend. They are now read for varnishing. I even managed to get out most of the burn marks from where someone had attempted to set fire to the cab. I fabricated a small piece of white hardboard and inserted into the broken Formica’s place adjacent to the Driver’s wiper motor. The rest of the trim fitted nicely except for the box cover of the heater duct where I had to cut a piece out to accommodate the AWS piping.
The last job of the weekend was to remove all the trim from the inner windows of the No. 1 cab for sanding down and revarnishing. I managed to sand down all the pieces and glue together a couple of pieces that had obviously seen better days. They should be ready for replacement by next weekend.
Dick provided a new strap for the ladder so I will replace the fire extinguisher strap that was in its place. This will lessen the rattle at least. We also inspected W55001 for which other parts we still needed and came up with yet another definitive list.
During the week following I stained and revarnished all the interior window trim. It was ready for replacement by Thursday evening February 11th.
I duly arrived on Saturday February 13th and began by putting on the first coat of varnish onto the No. 1 cab window surrounds. Once this was finished I replaced the interior cab window trim. This took until about midday when Graham asked for some help in moving and dismantling two LMS corridor connections for use on the Hawksworth. We finished that job and decided to repair to the tea room to put together a notice regarding shunting manoeuvres into and out of Pitsford Station Sidings after the previous weekend’s fiasco.
Once sat down in the RBR it became a ‘committee’ notice with everyone having their sixpenny worth. Trevor and I sat down to talk about HSE matters and this took another half an hour. By this time it was almost two o’clock.
One other job I wanted to do was replace the glass in two gauges. I managed to do this quite easily with only one broken glass and that was due to my own stupidity!
The next job was to replace the destination blinds in the No. 1 cab. I found that the box had a full set of rollers and that all I needed was the blind itself. Still another set to go back into the spares box. I cleaned up the interior and replaced the blind. It now proudly shows ‘Stoke on Trent’. I also found the one piece of trim that had been eluding me. I could not figure out why I was the piece of trim that was placed below the destination blind box missing when I had all the others. I had obviously put it in the destination box ‘for safe keeping’ and forgotten it! It is now at home being restored and will be replaced next weekend.
The last job was to put a second coat of varnish on the window frames and destination box.
On Sunday February 14th I arrived at about 0900hrs. and immediately put the varnish, I had left it in the unit overnight, into some hot water to liquefy it somewhat. Once done I put the last coat on the window frames and destination blind box. I then replaced various pieces of tin work and tidied up the cab.
Apart from painting the pipework and a few tidying up jobs both cabs are now complete and apart from the door panels the whole interior is now complete.
At that point the rains set in so I contented myself with lubricating the window mechanisms and tidying up all the saloons.
The unit was then due to be shunted back into the No. 1 road. To do the job 45118 & PWM651 were started up. The Class 27 refused to start because of battery voltage problems.
In order to facilitate the move Dave decided to let W55003 shunt itself together with the Blood & Custard Mk I into the siding. So once everything had been cleared we fired up W55003. Yes, even after this length of time the unit fired up first time. We ran the unit up and down a few times to warm it up and then propelled the Mk I into the siding.
Now W55003 is in the siding I can set to clean the roof ready for a springtime painting. I can also get the newly readied steam cleaner out to finish off the underside ready for the bogie lift.
Dick is having the week of March 1st on the railway ostensibly to replate the RBR. I will have this time off also and get some more work done on the unit or possibly on W55001.
Next weekend I will make a start on the underneath of the unit.
The final piece of trim was cleaned down and revarnished by Thursday morning. Keith had telephoned the previous evening to make arrangements for the door locks to go to Heysham for refurbishment. They were duly despatched that following day.
Dick and I will go through the unit during the weekend and decide which doors will be kept and which will be closed off. I can then do some work on those doors during the weeks work in during the first week of March.
The final piece of trim was put back in the No. 1 cab on Saturday February 20th. All that is required is that we refit the wipers and repaint the Driver’s desk in chassis black.
The doors were sorted out and the ones I had already earmarked for use were the correct ones. I can now commence on the other doors and order the panelling.
I cleaned out the guttering on the No. 1 side which as it transpired I needn’t have done. Since the steam cleaner has been in use it has proved most useful. Simon cleaned down the blood and custard coach during the morning and I had use of the machine after that.
I began on the roof where I had applied a coating of heavy duty cleaner. The steam cleaner worked a treat and now the roof is cleaned down ready for final painting. There are only two places where I will need to retouch the undercoat. I also used the cleaner to clean out the gutters. This it did admirably. It also took a lot of the black paint off the fibreglass cab roof. This will facilitate refurbishment in the summer.
I then began on the underneath of the unit. As the unit is in the dock I could not get at the No. 1 side too easily. However I managed to clean down enough without going too mad. The No. 2 side however was away from the platform so I could get underneath properly. I gave as much as I could a good clean and a lot of grime came off as well. When the bogies are taken out I will give the internals another good going over.
After the steam cleaning I oiled the springs etc. to ensure rust did not set in too quickly.
The final job of the day was to fit the door stop for the No. 1 cab to saloon door. This was in a bit of a state but when refitted properly will do the job efficiently. I took the piece home to glue, stain and varnish. I shall use a suitably cut up piece of rubber to provide the buffer surface.
Sunday was spent at work so only a spot of staining was completed. I actually managed to tidy up part of my office as well much to Angie’s pleasure.
Nick & Dick were having a weeks work-in during the week March 1st to March 5th so I arranged to take some time off as well.
The weekend started with more jobs being completed in the unit. The first job completed was a repaint of the No. 1 Driver’s desk. I had managed to get silver paint onto the desk when I painted the tops of the controllers many months before at Chinnor and it had always looked a mess. I used chassis black and repainted the top. The only trouble is that I will now have to repaint the whole desk not just the affected areas. I also repainted the whole of the No. 2 side frames in chassis black. It looks good.
The Sunday was spent in recertificating the Guards so very little time could be put to jobs on the unit. All I had time to do was unload some spares from Dick’s pick-up and then retire home.
The week began as it was to remain all the rest of the week, wet & windy. I began by refitting the No. 1 desk. I then spent a good while fabricating the final two ceiling pieces for the Guard’s van out of 2" wide aluminium. The rest of the day was spent in removing and refitting the locks that are to be locked out of use. Only one gave any trouble and I will need the use of an impact driver to move the screws.
Tuesday started with the removal of the final door panels in the Driver’s cabs ready for refitting with new panels as per the rest of the unit. I also made a start on removing the locks that are to be replaced with overhauled locks. The three on the No. 2 side will not budge so once again recourse to an impact driver will be made. The final job in the unit was to sand down, stain and revarnish the internal doors. I managed to sand down all doors and stain them with two coats of stain ready for varnishing on Friday.
PWM651 had had a complete floor collapse earlier in the year and we bought enough ply to replace the affected areas. This took most of the rest of the day to complete.
Wednesday I had planned to take off and work in the dark room whilst the car was being serviced.
Thursday was used to order the door panels from Bennetts of Bedford. I also ground down and repainted the heater ducting remaining at home. The smaller ducts were in a bit of a state as I had only wire brushed them down before repainting. They are now in good overall condition.
Friday was spent in varnishing the door frames etc. assisting Dick on the RBR and making a start on the last job in the Guard’s van that of sanding down, staining and varnishing the Driver/Guard’s van sliding door upright. I first began by removing the lock and rebuilding it. I also removed the stop block on the Driver’s/Saloon door ready for fitting, at home, with a rubber stop block made up of a cut up rail pad.
On Saturday I refitted the stop block on the Driver’s/Saloon door, sanded down the Guard’s van upright and managed three coats of stain. All that is required is varnishing. I also removed the internal window surrounds from the No. 2 cab to take home and treat.
The big job on Saturday was to tidy up the Guard’s van. I threw out all surplus items, even though some of them may come in use ‘sometime in the future’. I even found 2 x 2.5 litre tins of white undercoat and top gloss paint!! When I bought those I haven’t got a clue. It took me a while to figure out what it was to be used for.
Sunday was spent at home. I cleaned down the trim and managed three coats of stain and one of varnish. I shall replace them next weekend.
Keith picked up the locks from Heysham during the week and I shall take delivery of them next week sometime.
The window trim were duly finished during the week and by Saturday March 13th Spring was not so much just around the corner but fairly marching up the main street. I replaced the trim and varnished the driver’s door upright into the Guard’s van.
I had purchased a new impact driver set so my next job was to remove the saloon door locks from the No. 2 side. All came off and with only one exception all the retaining screws came out as well. The one that sheared off will need to be drilled and retapped for the new lock. I will leave that to Dick’s expert touch. I also removed the cross pieces from the Driver’s doors ready for taking home for grinding down and repainting.
As an aside I took a plastic container down to W55001 and sorted out the final drive mechanisms. It appears with the spare parts acquired from the ELR we now have enough to rebuild the drives completely. Excellent. I also tried to refit one of the air filters onto W55001 but only succeeded in getting it half way where it stuck firmly.
By this time, early afternoon, the weather was very nice indeed. I began to grind down the No. 2 buffer beam. By 1600 hrs. I had done the whole buffer beam and got a first coat of red oxide on.
In the evening I ground down the door cross pieces at home and after washing down left them to dry ready for repainting on Sunday.
The next day dawned fair and warm. I decided to do a job that I was unable to finish during the previous Summer, the insteps of the No. 2 side doors. I also had missed the No. 1 side cab door of the No. 2 cab so that was started first. By 1030 hrs. I had all the door insteps ground down and by 1100 hrs. coated in red oxide.
Dick and I went down to W55001 where Dick confirmed the position on the final drives. I stayed down and refitted the battery box doors on W55001. At last a start has been made. Upon return to W55003 I painted the door insteps in undercoat green and left them to dry in the afternoon sun. I also put a first coat of signal red on the buffer beam.
I had bought during the week a ‘window or glass scraper’ in order to remove the transfers off the windows and surrounds. I does work well and I soon had all the ‘please close the door’ transfers off the windows. The door surrounds were a bit more problematical but I think with a bit more perseverance will come up all right.
Once home I put the first undercoat on the door cross pieces. I will finish them off during the week. By Wednesday evening all cross pieces were completed.
Keith brought the locks over on Thursday and we then spent a day on the branch photting the units, 55029, 55031 & 117 406. I also got my first shot of a 66, 66038 and a Class 170 which was on a test run. All in all a good day.
Once the weekend came around I had managed to pull a muscle in my shoulder/neck and was having great difficulty not looking like Quasi Modo. However duly muffled up I went off to the railway ostensibly to prepare the cardan shafts for removal to Birmingham by Dick and then return home.
I removed two of the spare shafts from W55001 and soon had them labelled up for transportation. My shoulder was easing off so I continued with refitting the doors on the No. 1 side. All doors are now an easy fit. I will need to refabricate some trim from above the doors but have enough pieces spare to complete the job.
All the wooden uprights in all the doors on the No. 1 side were scraped down and repainted in green undercoat. I also managed to rub down and paint all the inserts where the door bottoms sit in. Most were just flaky but some will require inserts manufacturing and fitting. Some will require the foam draught excluders removing. All they do is absorb water and cause rot in the woodwork.
The window scraper was used to finish off removing the ‘please close the door’ labels on the drop down windows. I used the flapperdiscs to remove the ‘do not lean...’ labels off the inside door tops ready for cleaning down and undercoating. This can now be done for the whole of the No. 1 side. I can then refit the locks. I tried one of the door cross members and it fitted well and looks good in place. It will match perfectly when the door interiors are repainted.
The day was now quite warm and so I continued with the No. 2 end bufferbeam. It is now completely repainted in signal red paint.
Sunday was a day arranged to be spent at work. I managed to get finished by 1130 hrs. so after taking Angie to work to pick up a spare table I got to work in the garage at home.
I had removed all the door grab handles and two of the Driver’s door grab handles and taken them home for safe keeping. I ground then all down to bare metal and managed to get one coat of red oxide and one coat of chassis black on during the Sunday afternoon.
Monday, March 22nd, was the day when 31601 was to be named ‘Bletchley Park- Station X’ at Bletchley at 1030 hrs followed by a special run up and down the branch. Keith has been appointed ‘Travelling Inspector’ for the duration of the Class 31’s stay at Bletchley so I will be going out at lunchtime to photograph the special returning from Bedford. I shall endeavour to finish the grab handles before next weekend and then I can return them to the unit ready for refitting.
The unit is to be shunted into position for lifting this Monday evening so I can prepare it for the lift starting next weekend and hopefully lift it over Easter.
The grab handles are now ready for fitting although I won’t fit them until the unit is repainted. The shunt wasn’t done during the week so the unit is still in the same place.
Saturday March 27th I brought the door panels and the locks up to the unit so we can refit them at our leisure. During the last Sunday someone was repainting various tanks out of the Class 26 next to W55003. As a result I now have red oxide splashed down the No. 1 Driver’s door! It’s a good job it wasn’t in top coat!!!
The rest of Saturday was spent collecting some extra spares for W55001 and returning them to Pitsford so no further work was done on W55003. I also obtained a spare 17" interior door for Graham on the ELR.
Sunday was a very warm sunny day and Dick and I started by putting the batteries for W55001 on a slow charge. They came round nicely and stabilised at around 23 Volts after a couple of hours trickle charging. They should be a good set. Maybe it will be worth swapping this set for the older set in W55003.
The next job was to refit various covers on W55001. I couldn’t refit the BIS cover as three out of the four eye bolts had been removed.
I returned to W55003 with the spare BIS cover and swapped it for the one on the unit. The one off W55003 is stamped as being off M51659 a Class 115 driving car. I then ground this one down ready for repainting at home during the week. I also trimmed down the body panel that was replaced originally at Chinnor. This makes the whole of the body line straight, more or less.
During the afternoon Chris Bull and the chaps from the Dean Forest came up to look at the Class 108 trailer. They came in and looked over the W55003. It’s good to have one’s peers look at your work it makes it all worth while.
I then dispatched myself off home to undercoat the BIS cover ready for repainting.
Next weekend is Easter and I’m on Guard’s duty on Saturday. I’ll still get three days in and if the weather is good I may start on the roof.
The BIS cover is now resplendent in orange with ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ stencilled on so I can remember which way the switch goes. I have got enough white spirit to clean the roof of any grease or oil and if the forecast holds I can get it painted in the top coat of matt black. I have also obtained 20 8mm/10mm eye bolts to replace all the broken ones on W55001 & W55003.
Steve Witton called and the cardan shafts are ready and will be available for collection from Sutton Coldfield late next week. That should tie in nicely with us lifting the bogies out for inspection and testing in mid April.