The Saturday was the first opportunity that I had to get back to Toddington for the first time in nearly 6 months! It was also the first opportunity that I had of seeing our new arrival in the 'flesh'. Class 20, 20228, had arrived back in December to join up with sister loco D8137. Although still awaiting the return of its exhauster as well as having its decals fitted, the loco does look superb when up close. It will look the part when we get the opportunity to pair it up with its sister.
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| The 'new' arrival. Looks very smart in its coat of BR Blue. |
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| D8137 sits in the yard while it awaits the work on its traction motors to be completed. |
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| D8137's traction motors are now back on the bogies. One has had a tidy up and new components; the other is a refurbished one from 20035. |
D5343 is still awaiting the return of its liners and, in the meantime, the CMDG Team have started to turn their attention to the body work. Earlier last year, Dave S had started to undertake some repairs to the cabs however the period of the lockdowns had caused some of the metalwork on the bodysides to deteriorate further. Saturday saw Dave, Simon and Andy start to remove some of the more heavily corroded steel and assess the steel structures behind the sheet metal skin.
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| Simon and Dave discuss what should be marked up to remove next. Andy was ensconced in the engine room looking at the integrity of the cross members. |
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| One panel already marked to be cut out. By the end of the day most of the area to the left had also been cut out. |
BRCW built locos were notorious for their poor corrosion resistance and, with the Class 26s and 27s, being based in Scotland didn't help their cause. However, the investigation also flagged up that back in its BR days the loco had sustained accident damage in this area.....probably a sideswipe with a wagon or another locomotive. It has always been known that the loco would need significant body work repairs however it probably wasn't anticipated to be done at this time. By the end of the day the loco would have a gaping hole in its flank courtesy of Dave and his trusty angle grinder. Work was also being conducted on the CMDG's other loco, 45149. Richard S, along with Jake and Harrison, were undertaking work to return the 'Peak' to serviceable condition after its winter store. Most of this involved cleaning in line with the requirements of the B Exam.
The overhaul of 1693 is now in its final stages. A date for its repaint is tentatively in the diary and the finishing touches to the preparatory work are now being made. Tim and Dave M were busy on different parts of the loco ensuring that everything was ready for when the final coats can be applied. Dave was busy putting a coat of undercoat onto the wheels which meant that the loco needed frequent moving so that the paint could be sprayed on evenly and without too much difficulty. Tim had the attention of the roof where he was giving another application of the grey undercoat.
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| A very smart looking 1693 in its undercoat. The loco has its date with the painters set and the finishing touches to the prep are being completed. |
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| Viewed from the cab of 37215, you can clearly see that the roof of 1693 has now received its coat of grey undercoat. |
37215 continues to be readied for its return to service at the end of April. The Wednesday team have been busy with a variety of tasks relating to the locomotives' B Exam that has included giving the outside a much needed clean, checking the braking system and testing the safety critical aspects of the locomotive. On Saturday, I was given the task of cleaning the cabs....a nice, easy job to ease back into.
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| 37215 out in the yard prior to having its internal clean. |
The loco had been out of service for a couple of years whilst it had attention to its wheelsets and traction motors and, throughout a lot of this time, it was kept outdoors. One of the big issues this can cause is an insect infestation and, the hoover certainly had a lot of work with disposing of the hundreds of fly carcasses that littered both cabs. Nice!
As part of its continued shakedown, the loco was used on the ECS movements on the Sunday as part of the railways ongoing preparations for re-opening. Luckily, this passed without incident and the loco should be raring to go on the 25th April for the first Diesel Day. However, firstly, it has a date with a sound recorder on the 16th April.
As was mentioned in the last blog, on social media and on the GWSR website, we have three Diesel Days at the end of April, May and June as a way to get crews recertified ready for normal services to be recommenced in July. All three days are being run under the Covid restrictions we operated to last year....one rake of stock, pre booking only and no intermediate stops at Winchcombe or Gotherington. The roster is as follows:
Sunday 25th April - 37215
Sunday 23rd May - 45149
Sunday 27th June - 47376 'Freightliner 1995'
These days are PRE BOOK ONLY! There will be no seats available on the day. For more information and to book, visit https://www.gwsr.com/Diesel_Enthusiasts_Days_25_Apr_23_May_and_27_June--post--96.html
