ISSUE 42 - AUGUST 1999

INTRODUCTION

We asked last month who would like to host the 2001 get-together. Only one group has come forward. Anyone else interested?

Saturday 11th September is the deadline for Issue 43 of The Railcar.

THE RAILCAR ASSOCIATION

Railtrack vehicle sale This has met with a very positive response with interest in nine of the ten 101 cars and the Bubbles. Some of these would be bought with the intention of cannibalising them. Unfortunately Railtrack have now withdrawn the Reading Bubble (55020) as they intend to cannibalise it themselves. The results of Railtrack's asbestos checks are awaited before sales can proceed further.

Questionnaire Enclosed with this issue is a questionnaire for your opinions on how TRA is functioning so far. Please return these to Tony by the 4th Sept. to allow a summary and analysis to appear in the next issue. This will give people something to think about before the convention.

Spares co-operation Following on from last month's success story on Class 111 buffet car parts, Mike Evans is appealing for help in locating Class 119 parts that had been removed at Gwent Demolition.

MC Metals Tony Fox has suggested that in recognition of Jim McWilliam's help to the DMU preservation movement, we could invite him to the WSR event. He could be presented with a picture of a unit that has passed through his hands, or some other momento. Possibly groups could contribute £10-20 to pay for his accommodation. Comments to Tony please.

Brian Morrison book The saga in Rail Express finished with Brian quoted re our amendment list: "a few are wrong, particularly when I am told that a vehicle photographed in 1987 is no. 54384 when it was withdrawn a year before."

We questioned the contributor of this amendment who explained further: "We know that E51441 is not leading. A DTC is, 51441's working partner at Cambridge was E54384. The date given for this photo is wrong - it is not 15/7/87 as at this date 51441 was in the Parcels Sector fleet as proved by the photo on the opposite page. Page 58 (bottom) shows E51430 and E51441 stabled at Cambridge on 23/3/87."

NEWS

ANGEL TRAIN CONTRACTS The company has now found secure storage facilities at an MOD depot in the Shoeburyness area. 54350 will go there once it can be extricated from Crewe South Carriage Sidings, which are very crowded. Also going to Shoeburyness will be the BY 117s some time in September. These are to be stored serviceable, with a view to re-leasing. Early disposal is therefore not on the agenda (although some of these BY cars are surely beyond restoration for mainline service). The 121s will stay with Silverlink to cover for 150s during refurbishment. Disposal of CK, HA and LO units will probably be during March-May 2000, i.e. in the run-up to the Summer 2000 timetable, dependent of course on 170 and 175 deliveries and subsequent cascading. Plans for asbestos decontamination have yet to be finalised.

L704/L706 were due to be given C4 or C6 overhauls before they moved there.

TRANS-PENNINE MODEL While Dapol never actually released their planned Class 124 model, they can still offer a more-or-less complete model via the spares department. However, the lack of a glazing mould, with the curved cab windows, could cause problems. They can offer:
2 bodies unglazed - you would need to paint the front stripes on;
2 chassis with separate buffers - you need to drill the buffer shafts out slightly and paint the red fronts;
2 seat units - which need to be cut short to clear the motors;
2 complete motor bogies;
2 trailing bogies
all for £70 or Dapol could offer the parts separately. For further info contact Kevin Grindley (Wrenn/Spares Manager) on 01978 860584.

PARTS & SUPPLIERS

SUPPLY PROBLEM Last month Chris Bull told of the trouble he had in obtaining seals to overhaul vacuum brake feed valves. We had an excellent response to this - with a reply received before the issue was even printed!

After we complete the newsletter it goes on the web site and within an hour we had an e-mail from John Joyce (Llangollen Railway) stating that Brett Rogers had just had a batch of these seals manufactured.

Because of the minimum order there were five spare sets, at £40 for a set of three seals. Subsequent sets should be cheaper now that the tooling charge has been paid. Anyone interested in these contact Brett. John Joyce is planning to do an article on the overhaul process.

Chris has also now got a local supplier producing these and will sell overhaul kits at cost. More details will follow.

John Joyce also mentioned that they had sourced the suction hose for the exhausters, a 2' long 1" inside diameter hose, like a smaller version of the vacuum bags on buffer beams. They go between the exhauster and the release pipe via a strainer and one-way valve, and tend to deteriorate over the years with all the oil and eventually get holes in them. Although CK Heinke that made them no longer do (although they do the vac bags and cylinder vac hoses), an alternative oil-resistant suction hose is available which can just be cut to length. However it should be noted that when the Llangollen lads took a sample off 50447 to match (the aforementioned 2' x 1" ID hose), when they tried to fit the new one to 50454 they found the fittings on 50454 are for 1.3/8" ID hose! (Two supposedly identical vehicles!)

WINDOW RUBBER n the recent letter from Railpart re. parts for sale were window rubbers 10/500003 and 10/500004. Chris Bull will have samples of these at the WSR for further inspection.

PRESERVATION

LLANGOLLEN RAILCAR GROUP Class 108 DMBS 51907 has been repainted, staying in blue / grey. A little more welding is still required to finish off DTC 56490's cab before repainting can start. New switch panels have been manufactured and await fitting and wiring up when the rest of the work is complete.

Meanwhile Class 104 DMBS 50454 has had a new starter put on one engine, plus new batteries as the old ones were life-expired. Its bodywork is looking to be a major nightmare when finally tackled; DMCL 50528 is another "doesn't look too bad" but we all know what that means!

Also on the go is the fitting of some proper instrument lights, to the 104 first. With running at night and in a tunnel it was decided to get some of the newly-available white LEDs to experiment with. So far, a speedo and a tacho have been fitted with eight on each, and while not yet fitted, they look very promising in the dark. Theory has it that they never burn out, they only take 5%-10% of the power that bulbs do, and having fitted them to the instruments directly (rather than just illuminating the general vicinity) they ought to be rather more effective.

NORTHAMPTON 122 W55003 is now in overall Brunswick Green (Mason's W2219), with small yellow warning panels applied in Standox Fleetline Corn Yellow. Lining bands have been applied to both cabs and all the No. 2 side in Standox Ivory courtesy of Gary 'Michelangelo' Austin, who they wish to thank.

Door edges are lined out in luminous yellow/green. (So they can see passengers falling out more easily).

Bogies & frames have been done in Chassis Black, roof in Mason's Matt Black. Cab end roofs will be in Standox White after cleaning down and application of primer/filler. Guttering has been lined out in orange as cant rail marking.

Door locks are currently being refitted. Half the doors are to be locked out on each side to save wear and tear. All the passenger and brake van glass is refitted with kite-marked glass. New window rubber is in process of being fitted.

New step boards are fitted, and all have been coated with a non-slip preparation.

No. 1 engine has been rebuilt to cure an oil leak at the fluid flywheel crankshaft end. The job required a complete strip down of the fluid flywheel and the engine sumps. This involved removing starter, fuel pumps, etc. The job was done in situ. However, the internals of the engine have been inspected and passed fit for service. All components are now cleaned down and checked. The centrifugal oil filter was certainly cleaned out. This was thought to have been this engine's major problem. The paper filter was lined with about 1.5 inches of crud leaving a central space of about 3 inches. The cause of the seal failure was believed to have been a lack of oil caused by a build up of gunge. Note:- crud and gunge are, of course, technical terms for slimy things found in the bottom of sumps and oil filters. The engine was flushed out with flushing oil and now the exhaust is practically clear. No.2 engine will be done in due course.

TELFORD 104 Sod's law strikes again. After praising how good Telford was compared to Oswestry, both vehicles have since suffered at the hands of thieves/vandals. Fire detection circuits were damaged, fuel tank gauges smashed, batteries shorted, and EP valves damaged. Knowledge of the approximate time scale means that analysis of the site CCTV system may provide the identity of the offenders.

Meanwhile, the faulty DSD in 50479 has been repaired, and the corresponding unit in 50531 has also received attention. New door trims are being manufactured by a joiner in mahogany salvaged from a kitchen unit. New panels for the interior of 50531 are taking shape from 1/8" ply sheet.

WANTED

Class 119 Parts - appeal for help in locating any Class 119 parts which had been removed at Gwent Demolition. Railcar Enterprises.

Fuel Filters - we would like to find a source of the cloth element type for the first filter in the fuel line as fitted to 680-engined DMUs. The type is CAV BF11 BS599. They can be found in the BUT Overhaul Manual - section L56. Does anyone know if they still exist, and from where? Dean Forest DMU Group.

Chris has since added : "no cloth type available any more - we have left the filter housing in the fuel line to catch and drain any water. We've been told by many people that the normal fuel filters on the engine are OK to catch the rest of the crap."

Bogies - information about a source of spare Class 108 trailer car bogies. D.M.U. Group (WM).

FOR SALE

DMU - Class 115 as a restoration project. Epping & Ongar Railway 01277 366616.

Headcode rollers - we have a few rollers and small-diameter end caps suitable for two-aspect (not four!) headcode blind/boxes. They were rescued from Southern EMUs but will do for two-aspect DMUs. They are free to any good DMU homes. We can bring them to the West Somerset Event. Dean Forest DMU Group.

Window rubber - Beclatite internal window rubber (50p per metre). Railcar Enterprises.

Mileometer - axle journal fitting suitable for a Class 122. Class 122 No. 55009 Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Class 121 DTS - 56285, ex-Sandite vehicle DB977486. Body in quite good condition, no asbestos, some window frames missing. Bogies complete with brake gear except for vacuum cylinders. Interior gutted but spares available including seats. £1500 ono. Contact E. R. Smith on 01635 862738 Fax. 01635 874394.

  • A final thought for this month from the Llangollen Railcar Group: five-minute jobs on DMUs come in two flavours; six hours and three days!