ISSUE 63 - MAY 2001

Saturday 16th June is the deadline for Issue 64 of The Railcar.

NEWS

SALE OF CLASS 117 VEHICLES BY ANGEL TRAINS Bruce Knights, of DERA, has informed us that he is to handle disposal of off-lease rail vehicles on behalf of Angel Trains Ltd. Bruce is based at MoD Shoeburyness where approximately sixty Class 101, 117 and 121 vehicles are currently stored.

Bruce is ready and eager to handle enquiries for Class 117 vehicles and will probably organise "open days" for inspection of vehicles. He is prepared to include spares taken from surplus vehicles as part of any deal. The more complicated disposal procedure for Class 101 vehicles, given the risk of residual asbestos, has not yet been completely formulated. The Class 121 bubble cars will almost certainly be sold at commercial rates for departmental service on the main-line.

Please contact Bruce directly on 01702 299716, mobile 07771 811627, or by e-mail at
bik@bknights.freeserve.co.uk 

101 NOTES by Paul Moxon. 101689 appears to have been taken off lease on 29th April, but its actual last day of working was on Thursday 26th April, when returning to Manchester Piccadilly, it killed a person near Belle Vue. The unit went to Longsight for checking etc., but didn't reappear in service. (It was not stated if it was a suicide or a trespasser that '689 hit).

101657 (formed as D2 set 53211 + 54085) appears to have been reinstated. The earliest reported working was on Friday 4th May, when it worked Marple and Rose Hill services.

101680 and 101685 worked a special service (in conjunction with the Llandudno Transport Festival) from Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog, on Sunday 6th May, and the units completed one round trip on the Blaenau branch. However, upon arrival at Llandudno Junction, the units were taken off the diagram and sent to Chester, as they were low on fuel (150142 substituted). 101685 was reported as working the branch single-handed on the Bank Holiday Monday (7th).

PRESERVATION

BO'NESS 126 On TC 59404, work is concentrating on the last few jobs before the new Formica panelling can be fitted. Finishing the new ceiling timber framing has allowed re-wiring to commence (all interior wiring for lighting, heater control and water heaters, as well as a substantial amount of underframe wiring). New coach board brackets are being fitted (between side lights and cantrail).

CHURNET VALLEY 104s 50455 was moved to Cheddleton on Sat 5th May and has already had several large chunks of rotting bodyside removed, with welding expected to start the following weekend. Eighteen replacement hardwood lower glazing strips have been machined at a local joiners, and Kevin has jig-drilled the fixing holes, and varnished the finished items. The car also passed its 'B' exam at Cheddleton on the same day. The remainder of the glazing bars and hardwood window finishing strips for the passenger saloons have been sent away to be hand stripped of the attractive (?) NSE brown paint and are expected back at the end of May.

103 COVENTRY / SOUTH MIDLAND RAILWAY  The following from Alfred Roberts:

The DTC M56160 at the AWD Siding site of the South Midland Railway Group, Dunstable was broken into and vandalised. Some tools were stolen, 56160 had all its windows apart from the Perspex front windscreen broken. It was daubed with graffiti and a door forced open: the sheet over it was torn off. The graffiti has since been painted over and three-quarters of the floorspace (cab, first-class, centre saloon, vestibules) cleaned up. The sheet is torn and far side full of glass. I plan to sheet over and later replace broken windows. There has since been legal issues arising regarding both the trailer and its location.

Substantial support will be needed for this vehicle (I hope towards medium-term, not short-term), and an organisation arranged to handle money, manpower, facilities, parts, equipment and so on. I'm not yet at the stage of appealing for help but these circumstances should be borne in mind. Considerable technical skill will be needed to remove the wiring from the DTC.

DMU GROUP (WM) 108s The following from Trevor Daw:

We have been fortunate to have a new member (Neil Lloyd) join the group, with a special interest in Leyland engines. He worked on the type and Wilson SCG five-speed gearboxes when he was an apprentice in the 'bus industry. He arrived at a time when our mechanical items were not having the attention they deserve. He offered to carry out a thorough service of all the engines and transmission components. Starting at one end of our rolling stock, he worked his way through. The result is an enormous improvement in the general running condition of our engines and transmissions. He has trained one of our younger members, Rob Cresswell, to undertake general repairs. A schedule of regular servicing has been established. A policy of servicing replacement items started last year, so that a serviced item will always be "on the shelf". All this work has involved other members of the group who have carried out tasks off site to help speed the heavy gang.

MRC DERBY LIGHTWEIGHTS

A work session was held on DMBS M79018, the oldest first generation DMU car in preservation. A thorough assessment was made of the missing underframe components and work required to get the vehicle into working order. All components in stock were fitted. A new BIS box cover was made, copying that on M79900. Internally, the plywood floor was completed and further window surround timbers fitted. On Iris, (M79900) Chris Lings has fitted a new guards van roof and painted the van into green.

• If you can help any of the following groups with their needs or information, please e-mail us at editor@railcar.co.uk

WANTED

Pictures - I own the Class 110 on the East Lancs Railway and I would like copies of pictures of Class 110s in traffic, and of my set in particular, or information on some of its workings. Allan Schofield, scudfield@aol.com.

Pictures - Any Class 101 pics, particularly interiors and in the Skegness area. Sharon Gray.

Exhauster - For the Middleton Railway, I am seeking a standard rotary DMU exhauster. EM2 Locomotive Society.

Seat Frame - wanted one three-seat single frame with hand hold for Class 117 W51400. Ian McDonald.

Mounting Rubbers - Has anyone had any engine mounting rubbers for Leyland 680s made or have any idea where we can get some? Paul Ellis, NRM 108.

FOR SALE

Seats - from Class 101s - free, but must be uplifted ASAP or they will be skipped. Williton Traction Group.

CD-ROM - "Trains Galore I", containing over 2,000 high-quality images of British Railways from the Eighties to present day including many photographs of preserved railways. More details may be viewed on our web site at www.deesoft2000.com, or contact DeeSoft, PO BOX 3000, NOTTINGHAM NG7 4EE, tel. 0115 924 9645.

Engine Spares - The Cheshire Locomotive Preservation Group have contacted us as they have a substantial amount of Leyland 680 spares, bought as a job lot with some Sulzer spares, which they want to sell. Their five-page list contains everything from a complete overhauled 680 engine to bearings, gaskets and seals, and everything in between. Contact them for a copy of the list.

Glass - I have some items of glass for sale/swap: i) A small number of glazing panes for a Class 116 (or possibly 115/117/118?); ii) Two internal vestibule glazing panes for a Class 103; iii) Approx. 50 sliding quarterlight glazing panes for Class 108s. Kevin Dowd.

Video - "101 Twilight" video, 60 mins duration, featuring 101s in N. Wales and around Manchester. Cost £10 inc. P&P. Cheques made payable to "Gwent 108 Group".

CD-ROM - 101 Twilight CD containing over 100 high-quality digital photos of 20 units, in N. Wales and around the Manchester area. Cost £6.50 plus £1 P&P. Cheques made payable to "Gwent 108 Group".

BATTERIES by John Joyce.

Eventually we all come to the conclusion that it's about time some (post script — all!) of our vehicles actually had a set of new batteries, rather than a second-hand set from a scrapyard of unknown history. To be fair we've done very well from those, having had several sets from scrap class 108s and mark 2s over the years and had several years' life out of them, but these sources have now dried up.

What has finally prompted us into action is Class 127 51618's No. 1 engine being distinctly lethargic to turn over when cold, and refusing at all in cold weather. The batteries date from 1988, and are thus at best suspect, particularly as it has the 18-litre 8-cylinder Rolls C8 engines instead of the more mundane 11 litres of Leyland 680. The units are stabled outdoors and the thermometer has recorded temperatures below minus 15 this Winter.

Odd perhaps that only the No. 1 engine was being troublesome, and so we changed the starter and checked out all the connections along that circuit — a slight improvement, but still by no means satisfactory. On reflection, the starter on No. 2 engine is right next to the battery isolation box, whereas the No. 1 is almost at the opposite end of the vehicle, making another ten metres or so of cable (and voltage drop) each way for the No. 1 engine. With the starter changed and the connections checked, we can't do much about the cable, and so the batteries must be next in line.

Evan Green-Hughes turned up Deta Batteries of Alfreton as a possible source, and after a conversation about the various types a favourable quotation was received. To save everybody else the palaver of trying to identify types of battery, here is a summary:

BRA1. Originally the "single-size" black rubber batteries approx 8" square and 18" high. These have one of each (positive and negative) terminals, with a central float assembly and two unscrewable filler caps. They were superseded by plastic cells in wooden crates, and are found on Mark 1s and possibly DMU trailers. The crate is of similar dimensions to the previous rubber cells, being a direct replacement, and the cell itself occupies perhaps half of the crate. Our C&W dept currently buy these new for Mark 1 stock.

BRA2. The bigger version of the BRA1, again originally black rubber cells approx 12"x8"x18". These had two terminals on each side, a central float, and two filler caps. They were found on a lot of DMUs, some Mark 1s; notably catering and sleeper vehicles. Again they were replaced by plastic cells in wooden crates, this time with two positive and two negative terminals, and the float being integrated into a single, central, filler plug. This rather convenient float arrangement seems to have been superseded by the flip-cap type of arrangement which means you can't actually see the electrolyte level unless you either have a mirror or a dipstick of some sort. Nominal capacity approximately 400 amp-hour.

BRA3. A similar cell-in-crate arrangement to the BRA2, for replacing the black rubber-cased BRA2 when they were fitted without wooden spacers between cells. The crate is slightly smaller and the cell has no plastic spacers either side of it.

BRA4. A double version of the BRA2; pairs of plastic cells in wooden crates. They are extremely heavy! The crate is approximately the same dimensions as two BRA3 crates. Our Class 108 came with these, and the 104s now have them. These can be a real pain to deal with and top up, depending exactly how they are fitted; the Class 108 in particular being a real fiddle. Capacity is around 460amp-hour.

BRA5. This is a double version of the plastic cell type BRA1, fitted to some trailer cars. I believe these and the BRA4s were used when alkaline ("NiFe") batteries were being replaced with lead-acid.

BRA6. This is an uprated replacement for the BRA2, with 21 plates per cell instead of 19. The storage capacity is correspondingly bigger at 440amp-hour. Deta offer it as a replacement for the BRA2, along with further uprated types of 23 and 25 plates giving 480amp-hour and 520amp-hour respectively. These sit in the same crates as the BRA2 but occupy rather more of the crate (and are correspondingly more expensive and heavier, too!).

Ordering Replacements
A useful tip: if you have serviceable crates and connectors you can
re-use, it can save you a lot of cash, especially with the BRA4. As a guide a set of BRA2s will set you back around £600+VAT, or around £800+VAT if you buy crates and connectors too. Beware, the thread of the connecting studs changed from imperial to metric in 1992. The connecting straps should still fit but the nuts are different.

David Hurst of Deta states that the BRA2 and BRA6 are normally in stock, whereas the 'specials' take around 7 working days and all-new BRA4s around three weeks. Check out http://www.detabatteries.co.uk/
or 01773 604231/4 (their sales/service number).

Fitting
Before you start, make a note of which way round the cells go on each side of the vehicle, if there isn't already some indication. (usually there is a '+' fastened to the inside of the battery box at one end) It could save a lot of embarrassment later! If you buy new cells, then obviously the old ones have to be taken out, and the cells swapped over. They should just lift out of the crates, and the replacements drop in, although of course things rarely work out quite that easily. A couple of the interconnecting straps attached to two of the terminals provide a useful handle to yank the old cells out with.

As the new cells are supplied full of electrolyte and charged, they should be ready to go straight away. After fitting, check the voltage at the battery charging socket — it should be around 25 volts — and then fire it up. If it's around zero volts, you've either not connected them all, the charging fuse is dead, or possibly one side is back-to-front. The two banks on the same vehicle are not necessarily the same way round. If the voltage is around 21 volts, you've got a cell back-to-front.

We have had a set of BRA2 cells for Class 104 DMC 50528, and a set of the "super-size" 25-plate BRA6 cells for Class 127 DMBS 51618. Both have proved very satisfactory so far. The latter required the wooden packing in the crates to be modified somewhat.

A final thought. "Why not just fit lorry batteries?" After all it's just a bus engine and buses don't need such chunky batteries. True enough, but they have little reserve capacity to leave lights and heaters running for a few hours if the engines aren't running, or if you have dynamo-fitted power cars. Perhaps more importantly, lorry batteries are far too easy to nick for the crane / shunter / coal grab!

WIRING by John Joyce

For those contemplating some rewiring, the following notes may be of some use. mohm should of course be m(Omega).

Cable Sizes and Railpart Part No's
Current cable types - Reychem Polyrad

Railpart cat no	Strands	mm2	£/m	Approx resistance mohm / m (pair of cables)
006/110950	37/0.2	1.16		38
006/110960	37/0.25	1.82		24
006/110970	37/0.3	2.62	£0.61	17
006/110980	37/0.4	4.65	£1.14	9.5
006/110990	61/0.4	7.67		5.7
006/111000	80/0.4	10.1	£2.34	4.4
006/111010	126/0.4	15.8		2.8
006/111020	196/0.4	24.6	£5.73	1.8
006/111030	276/0.4	34.7		1.3
006/111040	396/0.4	49.8		0.93
006/111050	360/0.5	70.7		0.62
006/111060	475/0.5	93.3	£13.73	0.47
006/111070	608/0.5	119		0.36
0006/155020	27-core jumper cable

Old cable types

Strands	mm2	Replacement	Typical Uses
3/0.036"	1.97	37/0.3	Some heater circuits
7/0.029"	2.98	37/0.3	Most control circuits
110/0.0076"	3.22	37/0.3	A few control circuits - use 37/0.3
7/0.036"	4.60	37/0.4	Heater power circuits (motor, glow plug)
7/0.052"	9.59	80/0.4	Power supplies, lights, train wires 33 and 34
163/0.018"	26.8	196/0.4	Charge sockets
416/0.018"	68.3	360/0.5	Engine start
235/0.029"	100	475/0.5	Dynamo, main battery

A note on the use of 7/0.052" for some circuits where it seems excessive. Whilst a smaller cable would be sufficient to carry the required current, the voltage drop becomes unacceptable over lengthy runs.

NEXT ISSUE : 20th June 2001

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