'This town is coming like a ghost town'....

....so went the lyrics to the Specials' song 'Ghost Town' and the last few weeks have certainly seen the railway become a bit eerie due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. However, things had got off to a fairly bright start to March in the Diesel Department and, heavy maintenance work is continuing despite the fact the railway has decided to suspend passenger operations for the foreseeable future.

One of the biggest events during the early part of the month is the Cheltenham Festival services. Although no diesels are utilised on services it doesn't mean that there isn't the odd appearance of members of the fleet being utilised on other work. This was certainly the case on the Saturday of the Cheltenham Festival where Class 73, E6036 made an appearance at Winchcombe during the Growler Group AGM on the 14th March. The ED was being utilised to move empty stock around and had brought the 3rd rake to Winchcombe from Toddington under the control of Neil C.

E6036 arrives at Winchcombe on an ECS.

The ED pulled into Platform 2 before pushing the rake back into the Engineers Sidings. In the picture below, the loco has not propelled back through a signal at Danger. The entrance to the yard is controlled by ground disc. Class 37, D6948 had been utilised earlier in the week to bring the stock up from Winchcombe.

The ED pushes the 3rd rake back into the yard.

Work also finished on our resident Class 26's cab corrosion repairs and repaint at the end of February however, whilst being checked over for its visit to the Somerset and Dorset at Midsomer Norton, a serious engine issue was found that would require more substantial work to be carried out. D5343 had also been announced as a guest for the Severn Valley Railway gala but this new found issue meant that this was quickly cancelled (Class 24, 5081 was agreed as a substitute but Covid-19 has put paid to that event, along with many others in preservation). On running the engine up a leak was found in the liner seals of the cylinders. This can lead to engine failure so the owning group took the early decision to remove D5343 from traffic completely in order to remove the cylinders and rectify the problem.

It could almost be Haymarket TMD in the 1960s.....well, maybe not! 5310 and D5343 in the yard at Toddington in 2020.

D5343's 6 cylinders are laid out on the floor of Toddington Diesel Shed after removal.

With this issue now identified it is likely that the BRCW Type 2 is likely to be out of traffic for most of the year.

Toddington's other Class 26, 5310 on extended visit from Llangollen, inches closer to a return to its home base in mid Wales. With 'Shunty' (Class 04, D2280) having finished its stint on the jacks the Traction Motors that had been removed from 5310 for refurbishment were ready for refitting. In early March the loco was shunted back into the David Page shed so that it could be lifted and the motors resited on the bogie frames.

The intrepid GWR/Llangollen Diesel team that worked on the refitting of 5310's Motors. (Courtesy of the GWsR Facebook site)

Its a shame that, despite its extended stay at Toddington, 5310 won't run on GWR metals, with D5343 now out of action and the railway closed the intended double header to celebrate the class' 60th birthday will not happen. The loco will be returning to Llangollen in the near future, when transport can be arranged.

As mentioned, 'Shunty' or D2280 has come off the jacks and now sits in the yard. Bodywork repairs are in full swing as can be seen with the cab in primer and the engine doors stripped back to metal. 

With the lifts for both D2280 and 5310 finished the next big job requiring the jacks was to lift Class 37, 37215, and return it to its refurbished wheelsets. The work on the Traction Motor bushes, dampers and the tyre re-profiling had been completed and it was time to get the loco back on its own bogies. The dates were set for the 18th and 19th March and a group of 8 of us descended on Toddington early on the Wednesday morning to conduct the work. Not only was the loco to be lifted, the accommodation bogies needed to be removed before the loco's original bogies were resited, the loco lowered, brake blocks changed and then all the electrical connections reinstated....all in 2 days!

Wednesday is usually a very busy day. However, with the Government advice being to stay at home and prevent too much social contact and, the railway having abandoned services for the foreseeable future, the yard was incredibly quiet! Eerily so! Under the guidance of Growler Group Chairman and Technical Director, Paul Good, we set about getting the loco into the shed and the jacks into the correct positions. This is a precision job which, if not conducted accurately would end up with a serious incident. The jacks had been purchased from BR a number of years ago by the Diesel Department for use by the Motive Power department and had been refurbished in order to allow big lifting jobs to be undertaken in house. Over the last couple of years they have been worth their weight (pun intended!) having lifted 5081, D8137, 5310, D2280, DES and now 37215 with D6948 waiting in the wings.

Class 37, 37215 is shunted into position in the David Page shed.

The jacks are moved into a rough position ready for the lifting brackets to be placed on the loco. 

With the loco shunted in to the David Page shed the lifting gear was prepared ready for the raising of 37215 off its accommodation bogies. In order to lift the loco, a set of brackets need to be fitted to the specific lifting slots which are then secured to four synchronised jacks. The lifting brackets being used were very kindly loaned to the Growler Group by the SRPS at Bo'ness. A very big thanks to all at the SRPS.

The lifting jacks loaned to the Growler Group by our friends at Bo'ness. These attach to lifting points on the loco body before being secured to the jacks. 

With the lifting brackets attached to the loco and the jack, everything can be lined up and the pins put into place. 

With the brackets lined up and pinned, the lifting can begin.

With brackets in place, the jacks were man-handled into position before Paul checked to make sure everything was in the right place before the slow process of lifting the loco skyward could begin. All 4 jacks are synchronised therefore being able to lift together, at the same rate, from one control panel. With Mark S manning the panel, instructions were given to start the lift. It is always a heart in mouth moment as you are moving 50-60 tonnes of locomotive into the air.

Dan keeps an eye on no.4 jack as it raises 37215 skyward.

The loco is inched off the accommodation bogies.

Ever wondered what the bottom of a Class 37 looks like?

Once the jacks hit 16 feet it was time to stop the jacks and prepare to roll the bogies out from underneath. But, first, one of the most important things of railway life comes first.....

....did someone say TEA?!

After a brief stop to replenish energy it was back to it. The next order of business was to move the accommodation bogies out from under the loco before moving the refurbished set back underneath the loco. This bit needed the manpower as the bogies would have to be manually pushed from under the loco body. At 20 tonnes a piece this was no easy feat. Once clear of the loco body and jacks, the forklift could then be used to move them to the front of the shed where Class 04, 11230 could take the bogies back into the yard for storage.

'Who's going to push it?'

With the 2nd bogie also clear the forklift, driven by Ian C, is hooked up to drage the 2nd bogies to the front of the shed. 

Mark S, in control of 11230, gingerly pulls the accommodation bogies down the yard. 

Whilst the bogies were being repositioned down in the headshunt siding Dan and I started the final preparations on the refurbished wheelsets back in the diesel shed. The final bits needed to complete the bogies for refitting centred around cleaning up and greasing the required friction points and adding copious amounts of Copa-slip to resting points.

When lowered, the loco body rests on a centre bolster with four friction points on each bogie - two front and two back that allow the loco and bogies to swing to take corners. Above, is one of the friction pads showing the shock absorber (centre right, a rubber pad with a metal sheet on top) with the cap (bottom, centre left). The bottom of the cap is greased before being placed on the pad. The loco body then rests, lightly, on the metal plinth.

Day 1 finished with the Copa-slip being applied to all the friction points.

One of the mounting points with Copa-slip applied.

Day 2 was even more quiet. As with Wednesdays, although quieter in the yard, there would usually be services running with cars and coaches all over the car park. But, with everything suspended it was even more noiseless than Wednesday. First order of business was to ready the bogies to be moved from the diesel shed to under 37215. One of the jobs needed doing was to clean and lubricate the bush covers to be refitted when bogies were back under the loco. A quick run over with a wire brush and then to lubricate the pin that holds it in place.

One of the traction motor bush covers.

Whilst cleaning the covers Mark S had fired up 'DES' and had entered the shed to transfer the bogies from the diesel shed to the David Page shed.

'DES' is hooked up to the first of the two bogies. John, Mark S and Paul oversee the movement.

Once the bogies had been carefully manouvered into the David Page shed, the forklift was fired up once more to assist in pushing the bogies back into position under the loco. Again, precision was paramount so that the underframe of the loco, or the bogies, would not sustain damage when the loco body was lowered. With the bogies in situ and as accurately positioned as possible with the naked eye, the loco body was cautiously lowered.

John G keeps watch as 37215 is carefully lowered. 

Nearly there!

TOUCHDOWN!

With the loco back on its own wheelsets it was dragged forward slightly over the pit so that work could get started on replacing the brake blocks and reprofiling the brake rigging. Working in pairs, Andy, Dave, John and I started working on replacing all the brake blocks....24 per bogie and all have limited accessibility. A taxing job even for the most patient of people!

Head of Department, Andy, gets to grips with the brake blocks on a Class 37.

Cue cursing, swearing and bruised fingers!

Paul, John and Phil have a quick conflab about the brake blocks. 

'This is how hard you need to whack it!'

As the brake blocks were re-fitted I was following behind with Paul and Dave re-assembling the brake rigging and setting the slack adjusters. Paul, Mark and Dave also fitted some of the new bushes to the dampers and, with Phil, gave everything the once over to check that everything was in the right places. By the end of Day 2 the loco was back where she belongs in the Diesel Shed after a number of months in the yard. Next jobs include wiring the traction motors back up to the electrical systems, securing all the blower conduits and getting rid of the flies in the engine room! However, with no services running the urgency level for having the work completed has lessend slightly but it also enables the possibility of organising a test run without having to worry about affecting passenger service.

At the end of two very full on, but rewarding days, 37215, back where she belongs.