You might think that the winter time would be quiet for activity with our diesel fleet but that couldn't be further from the truth. There's a huge amount of maintenance activity going on and the owners of 47105 are working really hard on their overhaul program.
The roof section from the equipment room was put back onto the loco in summer 2015 which allowed us to trial fit the roof after having metalwork repairs, the section is still stripped of all radiator elements and fittings and the roof mounted fans. The radiator elements have been pressure tested to find the good ones that will be refitted and see how many need to be replaced. The equipment room is on its way to having everything in place again however the exhausters are still away for refurbishment, when these are returned the roof will need to be removed again to allow access.
With the equipment room roof temporarily back on ‘105 the engine room roof was removed and placed on the wagon, this section of the roof had heavily corroded areas which have been cut out and replaced. The Brush Type 4 Fund are indebted to Mark Stanley for the work he has done (and continues to do) on the roof and the loco as a whole.
Having the engine room roof off has allowed us to carry out repairs in the engine room without having to crouch and with decent light. The trunking on the B side has been repaired and new sections welded in, this was found to be corroded so has had a full refurbishment. New metal has been welded into some sections of the floor at the generator end to replace corroded metal as a result of the leaky roof.
The B side of the engine room was also completely stripped of all old paint then primed, undercoated and a fresh coat of grey applied. All light fittings and fire piping was also refurbished and refitted before the trunking was reconstructed. This side of the engine roof is now covered with old curtains to protect the resplendent paintwork.
Preparatory work was done on the A side of the engine room and this side is now ready for its first coat of primer. A side is a much harder task than B side due to the large number of pipes running along the wall. Luckily we have some very patient members of the group who have ensured that all of the old paint is removed, it is a shame that the pipe work has to be painted as they look great stripped and polished.
The main air intake filter box has been removed, steam cleaned and is being repainted, with this out of the way some parts of the generator insulation, not normally accessible, have been given a heavy clean.
The electrical cubicle is getting a cosmetic restore with the frame stripped and repainted and the doors to the cubicle in the process of being refurbished. Paint stripping of these revealed several repairs from 105’s BR days. Additional work needs to be completed to rebuild the corners before a final coat of gloss can be applied and the doors refitted.
While all of the other work has been taking place work has started on No. 2 end cab. Several desk panels have been taken away to be stripped and have attention to the fixings and fasteners.
Next on the agenda is the A side intercooler which needs to be removed, this has suffered from a minor coolant leak since we bought the loco in 1994! The intercooler will either be repaired or replaced.
