May Day Mayhem

Firstly, as mentioned in the last blog, the details of this years' Summer Diesel Gala have been finalised. Both guest locos have been announced and, now, the ticket booking and information page on the GWSR website is up and running. The link is here. 

Remember, this is a TICKET ONLY event. £20 (1 day pre-booked adult ticket price) gets you access to unlimited travel on our railway covering the 13 miles from Laverton to Cheltenham Racecourse, a 40 minute frequency of services, access to our Diesel Shed and Carriage and Wagon facilities, trade stands and displays, as well as access to our usual facilities across our station sites. There is no gratis entry to any of our sites over this weekend.

We certainly hope that the weather at the end of July is a little more settled and pleasant than our typically unpredictable Bank Holiday weather! As I left home the day promised to be miserable. The trip up the M5 was not particularly pleasant and I was left facing the probability that my Secondman turn was going to be a wet one. However, on arrival at Toddington, the weather improved and, apart from the occasional light shower, was actually quite pleasant at times. This enabled a lot of work to take place outside, much to the relief of the Type 4 Group in particular.

This weekend had been chosen to start the replacement of the 6 refurbished pistons back into the engine room and, if time would allow, to remove the remaining 6 for refurbishment. As 47376 'Freightliner 1995' was rostered for the diesel turn it took on the mantle of super shunter and was used to drag 47105 (along with 37215 and D6948) over to the gantry crane.

47376 'Freightliner 1995' acts as Toddington MPD 'super shunter' to pull sister 47105 out of the shed.

47105, along with 37215 and D6948, is dragged out into the yard under a slightly threatening sky.

Once under the gantry Tim, Dave M and Ian started to replace the 6 refurbished pistons into the Sulzer lump. No job in the engine room is ever easy due to the confined spaces and this job is definitely no exception. Not only did the piston need to be hauled across the yard on a trolley but then hoisted up over the loco and then guided into place. With Ian and Tim in the engine room, Dave was given the unenviable task of winching the piston up using our rather antiquated gantry.

One of 47105's newly refurbished pistons ready for refitting.

The first piston is winched up over 47105's engine room.

Dave M (standing) and Ian (back to the camera, in blue overalls) prepare to slot the piston back into its cylinder.

Ian and Tim (extreme left) guides the piston back into place as Dave (top right) lowers it in.

The weather was to hold off long enough for the job to be completed. Meanwhile, back in the shed, Rich W was prepping some of the other engine room materials ready for refitting.

Freshly cleaned casing ready for repainting and refitting on 47105.

Also in the shed, Mark S was busy prepping Class 24, 5081, ready for work to commence on its suspension issues. One of the jobs to be done was the fitting of the lifting clamps to the lifting points. Most locos have 4 set lifting points that are reinforced and distribute the weight of the loco evenly. On the photo below, the two lifting points on B side can be clearly made out by the addition of the yellow clamps above the centre of each bogie. The loco will have the same on the opposite side and 4 hydraulic synchronised jacks will be used to lift the loco.

5081 gets prepped ready for being raised clear of her bogies in the near future.

Finally, Mark B and I set about getting Class 26, D5343, ready for her UK tour which starts with a trip to Swanage for their impending Diesel Gala. Most of the prep had been completed on Saturday and Sunday meaning that the loco was sat out in the car park at Toddington waiting to be loaded. The following photos are courtesy of Tony Richards.

Sunday 30/04/17 - D5343 gets the once over ready for her holidays to a number of other railways. (Courtesy of Tony Richards)

D5343 gets a quick wash and wax ready for her excursion. (Courtesy of Tony Richards)

After completion, the Class 04 shunts D5343 out into the car park. (Courtesy of Tony Richards)

One job that needed to be done was to ensure the brakes were applying evenly from the cylinders. Armed with a short handled spanner, mallet, tape measure, and with D5343 back in the yard, Mark B and I set about measuring the rod extension from the cylinder when the brakes are applied and, where necessary, readjusting the rigging on the bogie. Normal extension is around 2 - 3 inches from each of the 4 cylinders on each bogie. Some were significantly out, others were still acceptable. 

D5343 in the yard at Toddington.

One of 4 brake cylinders on each bogie. The measurement was taken on the extension of the rod from the cylinder shaft. That is the part that has the hole in it in the centre of the picture. When the brakes are applied the cylinder fills with air pushing the rod out and pushes the brake block against the wheel. To minimise excessive wear this should only extend out of the cylinder by 2-3 inches.

While I am doing the very difficult job of applying and releasing the brakes, Mark B is under the loco tightening the brake rigging on the front of the bogie.

The brake rigging. This is what pushes the block onto the wheel when the brakes are applied. Two nuts need adjusting (one already has the spanner round it) to realign the blocks and readjust the extension from the cylinder.

A couple of other checks were completed to fulfill insurance requirements before the 26 was shunted back out into the Car Park to await her lift to the Swanage Railway - her first port of call.

Not everything on the railway was going as swimmingly as the progress in the yard. We received a message from our DOO (Duty Operations Officer) at around 1pm that 'Foremarke Hall' (one of our resident steam engines) had decided to throw a tantrum in Toddington station and would need replacing on the 1330 working to Cheltenham. 47376 would be required earlier than anticipated to haul an extra round trip. After a quick change of clothes, and with Ian still fitting a piston, Dave M and I went to the rescue. Ian returned to work the 1555 with me as rostered.

Thunderbird 1 reporting for duty!

Mainline diesel workings for May:
The coming month sees a slight increase in diesel usage throughout. As well as our normal RED timetable workings on the weekends of the 6/7 May, 13/14 May and 20/21 May we also have additional running over the 13/14 May due to our 'Cotswold Bricks and Trains' event. Over this weekend the Class 20 and Class 73 (in a rare passenger outing) will be Top and Tailing the DMU schedule with our 3rd rake of coaches. This will give you the rare opportunity of traveling the Laverton extension behind mainline locos. The loco rosters are as follows:

May 6th and 7th (RED) -      37215 (1555 Todd-Chelt and return)

May 13th and 14th (RED) -  D8137/E6036 (Top and Tail in place of the DMU)
                                               47376 (1555 Todd-Chelt and return)

May 20th and 21st (RED) -  45149 (1555 Todd-Chelt and return).