The only unfortunate thing was that there was no glass in them. Dick & I dismantled them all and I now have 15 complete light fittings, 6 without the glass holder but all including the base plates. This means I can replace the broken/missing ones off W55003 and refit W55001 completely.
We drove back, I dropped Dick off and then returned to the NLR to drop off the spares. I don't think Bob could understand where all these spares were coming from. Still, never mind we've got them and they will prove most useful in the future. I dropped the van off by 2000 hrs. and was in bed sound asleep by 2130 hrs. All in all a very good day.
Bob and I discussed the provision of a 20 foot container as a spares hold all. I agree this is what I now need for all the extra spares.
On Wednesday morning Dick called to say that the wheels had been turned and to arrange for Allelys' to transport them down. I called Bob who will arrange for the crane man to be available for Saturday 22nd May. This will leave the Bank Holiday weekend and the weekend of June 5th and 6th to ready the unit for the Diesel Gala.
Bob and Malcolm, the crane man, duly obliged for 0800 hrs. on Saturday 22nd May. With a telephone call to Allelys' the bogies should be back and ready for repainting, rebraking and greasing up during that weekend and the unit readied for the Diesel gala as mentioned above.
Whilst working on the spare marker lights brought down from Glasgow I found traces of brown paint which means that 51368 will live on W55001.
RESCO replied to the visit on April 20th with a letter confirming all we had talked about. No problems there. Both Keith and myself were very pleased with the reply.
Thursday afternoon provided another milestone in the restoration with the news from Dick that the bogies had passed all tests with flying colours. I relayed the information to RESCO, Doug Lindsay, Keith and Bob Faulkner. The bogies will be returned as mentioned above and will be reunited with the frames over the weekend of June 5th & 6th. Provided I can finish off all other tasks the unit WILL be available for service during the Diesel Gala.
After the news that the bogies were to be returned on May 22nd I had to knuckle down and get the rest of the underframes cleaned and painted. To this end the weekend of May 15th and 16th was spent under the unit. On the Saturday I finished off the cleaning and managed to undercoat all the electrical conduit in orange and all the air piping in white. On Sunday I finished off all the conduits and piping in top coat gloss. I also moved all the batteries from where we had charged them, onto a trolley ready for putting the main set into W55001 and the 9 spares into storage. Various spares were removed from W55001 and taken home for rectification work to commence and/or storage off site.
Discussion has been taking place about acquisition of either a 20' or a 40' container. Colin wants one for the Tkh spares and I could do with one for the DMU spares. W55001 is seriously overweight and will need emptying before restoration can commence. Dick will supply some sleepers ready for levelling off the site and sitting the container off the ground.
Louise Moore brought her sister-in-law and little boy, Mark, for a ride on the railway. I think the little lad was a bit overawed with it all, but they all enjoyed the visit.
Well the day the bogies were to be returned arrived, Saturday May 22nd, broken clouds but dry. I arrived on the line by 0730 hrs and got everything ready. The bogies arrived by 0900 hrs. and the crane..... 1100 hrs. I love it when a job goes right.
The No. 1 bogie was craned in with difficulty as the crank from Jim's had been moved out of the 4 foot and left too close to the running rail. It broke one of the running boards on the Secondman's side.
The No. 2 bogie required a shunt. The crane, an 18 tonner, would only operate with its legs out so a firm and level base had to be found. This was only available at the top of the slope beyond the shop area. The other locomotives were moved out and the second bogie was swung in with minimal problems.
The only things I noticed about the No. 2 bogie was that one of the axle boxes was inverted and that the No. 4 axle was in the wrong way around.
Once in place I could begin with cleaning them down for repainting. I began with the No. 1 bogie. The job is at the best of times a dirty one and by the time I had finished cleaning the frames I was black.
The day had brightened up and I got the two coats of red oxide on without any problems. After a belated lunch I applied two coats of Chassis Black. The bogie looks resplendent in its new coat.
On Sunday Dick arrived with a pick-up full of sleepers which we deposited down by the spare engines. Dick and I then transported the batteries to W55001. We put the 12 charged ones into the battery boxes and the 9 spare ones into the No. 1 cab.
After this I spent the day cleaning down the No. 2 bogies frames and repainting in red-oxide followed by Chassis Black. I ran out of Chassis Black during the second coat so had to revert to a can of Ford Black I had. The final coat gives the frames an almost glass like finish.
During the week I had spoken to Bret who asked if I could assist with EP valves for 51375. As it happened I could so I extracted 10 and deposited them in Dick's pick-up.
I telephoned Bret, on Monday, and he is making up the Torque Reaction Link Pins.
John Collins telephoned and the official size of a 'blue square' is 100mm square.
The late May bankholiday weekend was a weekend off. We had arranged to go to Buntingford to stay with Pat & Pete for a few days. Ostensibly this was a restful weekend but after a day at Duxford, well worth a second visit, and a few 'sherberts' I felt like I needed another rest to get over it!
On the Bank Holiday Monday I went up to the railway. It was not a good day.
We began by reassembling the brake gear on the No. 1 bogie and made good progress. The No. 2 bogie had to be lifted to rotate an axlebox and also have its brake gear reassembled. Unbeknown to me the bogie had been 'shunted' and the gap between the unit and the Class 25 was down to a few inches. So close that I could not get round the bogie without an effort. I certainly couldn't walk round like the previous weekend. Because of the movement all the scrap left by the line was in the way of removing or tightening the hornstay bolts from the No. 4 axle.
The final straw came when the lads decided to steam clean parts off the guest Class 25 next to the bogie gap at the No. 1 end. I was not pleased after all the work I had done in getting the underneath steam cleaned and painted.
After a let off of steam the problems were either resolved or ignored but Nick & I eventually accomplished all we required to do. I was glad to go home and have a rest.
The work done over the weekend meant that the bogies were ready for putting back. This duly happened on Sunday June 6th.
The Saturday before was spent in getting the hornstay bolts tightened up and the remaining brake rigging in place. The pin missing from the No. 2 bogies was eventually found, 'in a safe place', with the other hornstay bolts. The only pins missing, and I haven't got a clue where they are, were the two pins holding the hand brake rodding in place. I had one spare and robbed one off W55001.
We started the engines to give them a run to make sure there were no problems. They started first turn, once again showing the batteries are in good order since swapping out the one bad cell. When the engines were stopped I topped up all the battery cells with de-ionised water.
The last job was to 'oil' all the other pins with a mixture of oil and paraffin. Oh yes, and to fill the final drives with oil, a small but potentially disastrous omission!!
Sunday dawned bright and we soon had the packing ready for the lift. Nick and Dick soon had the unit 'high and dry' and the bogies were in place by noon. It is all on video.
This left the various pipes, air and electrical circuits together with the new cardan shafts to be connected. The brakes were adjusted up as required.
Once again with Nick & Dick's help the unit was ready for testing by 1500 hrs.. The engines were started and air was allowed to build up. Once ready the final drives were engaged and the gear boxes tested. The unit moved successfully under its own power both ways. I had to change a bulb in the No. 2 cab engine indicator panel and once the unit had been under power for a few minutes the electrics settled down and works perfectly.
After this we cleared the site of the packing and put the lifting gear all together for returning to Tyseley. We now have enough packing to lift almost anything. I wonder when we will do the Class 45?
I had booked a test run after the service had finished and at 1600 hrs. I restarted the engines to warm them through. Dave then gave the unit a full check and pronounced that he was satisfied and ready to go onto the main line.
We coupled up with the Class 27, which was doing the shunt, and off we went. As we went along there was a knocking noise from the No. 1 bogie. After investigation it was found to be the brake adjuster rigging safety bracket catching on a balance weight bolt on wheel No. 2 The safety bracket had been bent out of shape during the trip to Tyseley. Once back at Pitsford I 'bent' the bracket straight, well far enough to cure the problem.
By 1800 hrs. the unit was parked at the No. 4 signal ready for the following week's Diesel Gala. I went home very tired but happy that another milestone had been reached.
Stuart and family came down on their way to Paris on Monday and returned on Thursday evening. Both Angie and I had arranged to have Friday off to get the unit cleaned ready for the weekend. Stuart and family came up also and Stuart did some video of the internals of the unit together with some stock shots of the outside.
The unit was duly prepared inside and out and was ready by 1700 hrs.. Both final drives had held their oil level well and the right-angled drives only need a topping up.
During the week I had stripped down the failed right-angled drive and I have arranged with Bret to have it looked at his works. I have dropped the drive off with Dick for delivery to Tyseley.
Saturday June 12th was the first day of the Diesel Gala and the weather was miserable and got worse before getting better.
Due to a lack of available signalmen I had to man Pitsford Siding Box for the morning. It meant however that I kept dry and Stuart who was videoing the South of the line got some good shots.
W55003 was attached to the South end of the Class 117 which meant that my painting of the bufferbeam and Martin's resplendent yellow front end were obscured. We arranged for the units to be swapped at the end of the day.
All proceeded well with only the Class 25 D7629 causing a problem because of oil throwing.
During the afternoon I managed to accompany Martin on the unit. The only problem being the oil seal leak on the No. 1 engine. To minimise problems I shut the engine down when it was not required.
The fun occurred when we swapped units at the end of the day. The shunt was done at Pitsford Siding. All went well until we coupled the two units together. We could not get vacuum, at all. In the end we had to request assistance from the Class 27. The problem was a broken retaining lug on the high side vacuum hose at the No. 2 end. Although it sat on the dummy correctly thanks to the top lug the bottom, because it was not secured, sat 1/2" proud and hence no vacuum could be made in the system. As soon as the two faces were put together it all worked correctly.
With this in mind the following day the head was tie-wrapped together to ensure a good fit. This worked admirably.
The Sunday was a total contrast with good weather all day. We were running the three cars on three engines, the No. 1 engine on W55003 being shut down because of the oil leak, when a bleed pipe on the No. 2 engine of the Class 117 failed causing a total loss of coolant. We were therefore still running on three engines with the No. 2 engine on the Class 117 shut out this time!!
Dick and Mervyn replaced the elbow pipe and the engine was soon back on line. We then shut down the No. 1 engine on W55003 for the rest of the day.
Apart from a few minor problems the three cars worked fine together and looked good in the Sunday sunshine, especially with a 'Swinton' destination on the Class 117.
The main attraction of the weekend was the first passenger workings of PWM651. This locomotive worked well and was very well received by all passengers all weekend. A resounding success.
Apart from the fact that we did not sell many sweatshirts or T-shirts the weekend went well. Angie manned the sales stall all weekend and kept the profile of W55003 high even if it was with marmalade, chocolate cake and fruit cake!
Stuart has got over three hours of video so a good two hour video will be available for sale in a month or so.
I shall replace all the vac hoses next weekend to prevent any further problems. Not that we will have any as the unit is not booked to work until next October.
The unit was still parked in the middle of the loop with not much chance of being shunted during the weekend of June 19th & 20th. I decided therefore to take a weekend off and concentrate on getting the video of the branch finished. I also watched the Cricket World Cup Final between Australia & Pakistan.
The work required on the unit is now of such a nature that a permanent place needs to be secured to finish off the welding & painting. It is also required to allow work on the engine & vacuum systems to be completed in safety. Once agreed and the unit is in place I shall arrange for two weeks leave to complete the job.
During the week I spoke to Graham Thornton regarding the Adtranz spare bogies. I sent in a minimum bid to Jason Mayo nevertheless, even though the minimum considered bid is a bit on the high side for basically scrap bogies with parts missing.
After a week off I was ready to go back to work on the unit the following Saturday, June 19th. Dave Stokes was going in to do a shunt on Thursday which was to get the Class 117 towards the RBR ready for steam cleaning. Martin, however, wasn't sure if W55003 was going with it. I didn't want it to as I wanted to get clear access to both ends.
On Friday evening Martin telephoned to say the units had not been split and that we would do it on the following morning.
Once repositioned and split I commenced to replace both vacuum hoses on the No. 2 end. I then removed the vac bags off the No. 1 end and began to grind down the bufferbeam for repainting. I managed to get it red-oxided by lunchtime.
By 1500 hrs. I had the bufferbeam and buffer stocks in signal red and the buffer faces in chassis black.
The final job was to clean down the axleboxes and paint in chassis black.
Sunday was spent at home getting an article for Brian Morrison completed.
Speaking to Simon on Monday the unit should be back in the bay in the next two weeks ready for the final welding and painting to be undertaken. This will hopefully be during the middle or last two weeks in July to coincide with Dick's long weekends off.
At last the final stretch has arrived. Once painted and with a new seal in the No. 1 engine the unit will be 99% complete and will soon after be ready for certification and
service. I will get Angie to have the plaque readied for an October completion date.
I finally decided on the fortnight of July 12th - July 23rd for the painting. This coincided with Dick's next long weekend when we can get the final bits of welding completed and the Driver's windows replaced.
Before that however was a final weekend down the loop. I came in on the Saturday, July 2nd, and cleaned out the guttering!! Even in summer that loop is a menace to any unit with standard guttering. I then checked the dummy vacuum hose mounts for decent rubber seals. Non required replacement. The next little job was to check the highside vacuum hose that was a little tight in the holder. I will need to file/grind the pin lug down a little to ensure a snug but easy fit. This will prevent the lug being snapped off at a future date. Once that job had been done I commenced painting the remainder of the parts below the frames.
I ground down the EP valve box covers and the rest of the steelwork as best I could, degreased all the surfaces and got the red oxide on by lunchtime. After lunch I applied the top coat of Chassis Black and began applying the orange to the requisite pipework. All that was left on the No. 1 side was the air pipes to be done in white.
I will need to get some more Pastel Orange for the No. 2 side as well as an extra can of thinners. Speaking to RESCO about the upper orange line has resulted in the decision to paint the guttering in orange as the upper limit under the wires.
Brian Ashby now has the quote for the containers and they will hopefully be in place by the end of July or early August. We can then clean out W55001 and also my garage. You never know I may be able to put the car in it again, a real luxury!!
Dick came down with the repaired right angled drive, a good job done & quickly completed. Bret & I agreed a price over the phone. Eric Smith has purchased the two complete bogies from Adtranz and my spare bogie off 51375 has now been taken out and is in the car-park at Tyseley. I will have it moved as and when I can arrange all parties to be available in the right place and at the right time.
The unit is to go into the bay next Saturday. I can then commence the big push to get the unit painted. I shall start with the roof, then the welding and replacement of Driver's window, the half and half coat and finally the top coat. Once dried I can apply the small yellow warning to each end. And all in a fortnight!!
Jason Mayo telephoned to let me know that I had been successful in my bid for DD10/020 one of the 'good condition, some parts missing' bogies at Adtranz. A date of July 12th has been arranged to view the bogies. DD10/079 & 080 had not attracted any bids and were open to offers. Dick is in Adtranz for a course during the week so if he can get a look at the bogies a visit can be avoided.
If I go ahead with the purchase I will arrange with Eric to have his two and my one transported to Tyseley from Derby and then to continue down the M1 with my other spare one, from 51375, picked up from Tyseley and taken on to Pitsford.
I decided to go for broke over the fortnight July 12th - 23rd in order to get the painting done. This coincided with Dick having July 16th - 18th off when we could also make a start on the No. 1 engine crankshaft seal.
I continued painting the underneath of the unit during Saturday July 10th then spent an afternoon collecting some spares in Dick's pick up. The unit was shunted back into the bay platform so the No. 1 side can be started ASAP. Sunday was spent on the No. 2 side painting below the frames.
Monday was spent going to Derby with Dick to inspect the Adtranz bogies. Basically they are all scrap bogies in what can only be described as Barry Scrapyard Condition. The one I was allocated was minus ALL brake gear. Even the final drive was well warn. We decided that the best approach was thank you but no thank you.
Eric and Bret came back to look over the unit and Bret took away an exhauster for refurbishment.
They left with Dick at about 1500 hrs. so I set to work and cleaned down the roof ready for top coating the following day.
By mid day the roof was complete and although a bit patchy is now complete. All that is now required is to clean down the two fibre glass cab sections, repaint with etch primer filler and paint white.
Tuesday afternoon was spent in cleaning down the unit with de greaser ready for the application of the half-and-half coat. By the end of the day I had the No. 1 cab in half-and-half.
Wednesday was spent in continuing around the unit and by the close of play the No. 1 side was complete in half-and-half. Thursday saw the completion of the unit in half-and-half.
Dick was coming in on the Friday so I spent the morning in finishing off the 'bits & pieces' i.e. the door edges and inside parts and the afternoon in getting the No. 1 engine ready for dismantling. This involved removing the curved exhaust pipe, the bellows exhaust pipe, the air intake filter and oil bowl, the free wheel shaft retention bracket and free wheel shaft itself.
Nick and Dick began work on the engine during the afternoon. The job ended up a lot more involved than originally thought. The flywheel once drained was soon split and with suitable bolts was removed from the crankshaft. The engine was supported and the mounting bracket was removed. To get at the seal the next plate is a split plate, split vertically. All the bolts came out, except one. This one bolt required the whole of the sump to be removed. This virtually required the dismantling of the whole engine.
There was one consolation however. Once dismantled we could get a good look at the crank, pistons and bearings etc. Dick pronounced them all in tip top order. All that was required was to order the requisite seals and joints and rebuild.
I ordered the seals etc. from Volvo Bus & Truck at Milton Keynes and they were ready for Wednesday. I also purchased 35 litres of Flushing Oil, enough to flush both engines.
Saturday was spent in finishing off cleaning the parts and especially the centrifugal oil filter which had about 1.5" crud stuck to the inner paper. Hardly conducive to good running. In fact the engine was severely 'gunged' up. This we believe accounts for the seal blowing by simply letting it get dry and cracking.
Sunday was spent in rubbing down the No. 1 side to get rid of the hairs shed by the roller on the cab end and to get the both sides ready for the first top coat. The No. 1 side was re painted in half-and-half and the No. 2 side was also made ready for the first top coat by lunch time. By knocking off time the No. 1 side was in top coat except for the door innards.
Monday morning, July 19th, saw the No. 1 side completed and the No. 2 side main panels in top coat. Monday afternoon saw the No. 2 side door parts all but finished in top coat.
Tuesday morning Dick came in whilst I finished off the No. 2 side. Tuesday afternoon saw the refitting of all the main glass panels. They are now all kite marked and held in by four rubber lugs. The new rubber posed a few problems so we decided to wait until the weekend when I could bring the 'rubber gun' in and we would attempt to do the job with that.
Some of the drop lights will need replacing as they too are plate glass and not kit marked toughened.
Dick continued with fitting the new locks on the No. 1 side. All doors on that side now close correctly. Late Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening saw both sides being rubbed down ready for the second top coat. These were duly applied during the Wednesday ready for a day off on the Thursday.
Friday was spent in finishing off the door fittings and inner parts and painting in the small yellow warning panel on each end together with the ivory lining on the front ends. Gary will undertake the rest of the lining out. The late afternoon saw a start being made to the to the orange cant rail a.k.a. the guttering. This was finished off on the Saturday together with the luminous yellow/green edges to the doors so we can now see the passengers falling out more easily.
Sunday was a day off for me but Dick has now rebuilt most of the engine except for the sump. The sump gaskets that I have in my spares locker are for Albion engines not Leylands, aaaarghhhhh! I have ordered the required part and we will finish off the engine next weekend.
I say Sunday was a day off but in fact I finished off the step boards ready for fitting. They have all been coated in a non slip coating.
The light is beginning to grow at the end of the tunnel and with the refitting of the glass W55003 looks like a unit again, at last.