An apt phrase from one of my favourite 'Arnie' films, but in this case there is no unearthly killing machine in the general vicinity nor any downed helicopter pre-tense! Instead, the 'chopper' in this instance was Class 20, D8137 and the reason for 'getting to it' was to help out with reuniting it with its bogies after its Traction Motor swap. On the Saturday the loco had been moved in to the David Page Shed and the brackets fitted ready for lifting the body from the accommodation bogies and that was where it was found on the Sunday.
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| Tim L has a conflab with D8137's owner, Steve M, about the set up on the synchronised jacks. |
The loco has been out of service since it's Traction Motor on the cab-end bogie failed in 2019. You can see the effects of two years outside in the elements on the yellow nose which has faded to a ghostly lemony colour.
Once all the jacks had been plugged in to the control desk and checked for correct working the lift was ready to commence. To make sure everything was going well Tim L was given the role of 'Lift Leader' and each jack had one of us checking that everything was all above board. Carefully, the 'chopper' was lifted in stages so that any issues could be identified and rectified quickly.
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| With the loco now in the air and clear of the accommodation bogies we could start to move things around. |
With the loco in the air we could then start to move the accommodation bogies away and bring the original bogies, complete with new traction motors, in from the Diesel shed and under the loco. It also gave Steve a chance to go around and check for anything under the loco that may indicate other issues or the potential for issues.
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| When the loco is in the air it gives an opportunity to check parts that you don't often see! A variety of fuel and air lines, air tanks, filters and pumps. |
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| Just to the left of centre you can see the pillar that will sit in the hole on top of the bogie. This needed a little greasing after having accumulated dirt and grease removed. |
After shifting out the front bogie without issue between 5 of us, using brute force, the second bogie didn't want to play ball and wouldn't shift. This required a bit more power in the shape of Class 04, D2280, a long strop and some very careful movements. Once carefully extricated from under the '20', the bogie could then be moved away and the original set brought forward into the DP Shed.
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| The first bogie in. In the centre of the bogie is one of the Traction Motors that has been replaced. The brass tipped things sticking up are the electrical cables that will be plugged into boxes under the loco. These take the electrical current from the batteries and generator down to the motors. |
The original bogies were much more agreeable to being moved manually and, within a short time, they were back where they belonged and the loco was ready to be brought down onto them for the first time in two and a bit years.
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| Careful!! Careful!! |
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| Contact! The 'chopper' is down. |
The whole process of bringing the loco back onto its bogies took just over 4 hours, however, the preparation had been completed on the Saturday and the final stages will be completed over the coming weeks. This included hooking up all the electrical cables, testing these for correct current and operation, connecting all the brake rigging and pipework as well as then finally doing a full shakedown test. It's then on to the Fitness To Run exams, which will include a full B Exam, so the process is far from completed. However, it bodes well for D8137 to be back in service at the start of the 2022 season. Fingers crossed!
Whilst we were busy with the Class 20, elsewhere on the railway the Santa Season was getting into full swing. Every year (last year excepted, of course) the GWSR offers a local charity for children the opportunity for them to visit to the 'North Pole' (Winchcombe) to meet Santa by train. It gives the opportunity to visit the railway without the hustle and bustle of a normal Santa train which can be intimidating or challenging for children who may be disabled or have sensory issues. This year it was the James Hopkins Trust which is based in Gloucester. They provide support and nursing care for children who have life limiting or life threatening conditions and their families (https://www.jameshopkinstrust.org.uk). This always signals the start of our Santa season and for this year all services, except the DMU services to Broadway, will be top and tailed. Class 37, 37215 was given the honour of providing half the motive power for the charity Santa services along with BR(W) Modified Hall, 7093 'Foremarke Hall'.
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| With 'Foremark Hall' starting to power away from the token exchange, 37215 plays tail-gunner on the 1300 service to Santa. Safe to say there were lots of smiling faces at the windows - children and parents alike! |
The reason for all services over Christmas and the New Year being top and tailed is that the line is now severed at Winchcombe beyond the Greet Road bridge so that the embankment slip can be repaired behind the new houses built on the site of the old Harvest Home Public House. In order to access the site the contractors have had to lay down some Terram across the tracks and then lay a large amount of spent dirt and ballast on top so that a large crane can be brought in. It also provides a roadway for the construction vehicles rather than lift the tracks completely. You can see some pictures of this on our sister 'Heritage Herald' blog here ==> http://haylesabbeyhalt.blogspot.com/2021/11/getting-wintery-now.html. There is also a section about the rail replacement work at Dixton Cutting - something that has been mentioned in these blogs recently as 37215 and 47105 have both been utilised on rail drop trains in the Dixton and Gotherington locale.
Meanwhile, back in the yard, at the start of the day a shunt had taken place so that the bogies for D8137 could be rolled out from the back of Diesel Shed. At the same time, Class 26, D5343 needed to be moved outside for Dave S and Alex R to continue more work on the body. The loco has been allowed back into the DP Shed whilst BR(W) Manor, 7820 'Dinmore Manor' is away on holiday, which is somewhat fortuitous with the impending weather forecast for the next week or so!
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| Whilst 'DES' was being fired up to move the Class 20 bogies, 11230 was used to draw the '26' from the DP Shed. |
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| By the afternoon the weather had changed from a cold, but bright day to a cold and overcast day. However, the intrepid two-some of Dave S and Alex R continue with the bodywork attention. |
More welding work has been completed by Dave S inside of D5343 while more sanding and application of Red Oxide has expanded the patchwork appearance of the body sides. Needle gunning has also taken care of the bogies, buffers and solebar paintwork with grey undercoat now being applied in patches. The no.1 end secondman's cabside has also seen a trial application of BR Blue topcoat.
With 'DES' fired up, Tim L then pulled Class 24, 5081 and Class 20, 20228 out into the yard to get access to the bogies at the back of the shed. Coupled together, the two locos provide a hark back to the Scottish Highland motive power scene of the 1970s when the classes were often paired on services.
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| It could almost be Fort William in the 1970s! 5081 and 20228 in Toddington Yard. |
In the shed, two compressors were parked near the door. They appeared freshly painted, indicating the likelihood that they were overhauled spares.
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| Two painted Class 37 compressors. |
In fact, they are two spare Growler Group compressors that it was hoped might be able to be transferred into 37215 in place of the current compressors that are leaking. However, these have been inspected by Technical Officer, Paul G, and it appears that they are not as complete as had been first thought. What the ongoing plans are are still being discussed, but the compressors on 37215 are likely to be removed during the winter shutdown for a closer inspection of the compressors. A decision on sister Class 37, D6948's ongoing bracket conundrum is hopefully to be made shortly. The loco has been prepped for a lift, bogie refurbishment and repairs to a long standing air leak since before Covid lockdown however the brackets we normally borrow from our friends at Bo'ness are in long term use by their owners. It is likely that the owners of D6948 as well as the Growler Group will consent to the purchase of a set of pins and brackets, however cost is a big factor...especially when the owners of D6948 also have a potentially costly decision to make regarding the loco's boiler coil which failed its steam pressure test earlier in the year. And I thought the costs of running a performance car were bad!! 😕
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| 37215 back on shed after its Santa exploits. |
Brush Type 4 loco 47376 'Freightliner 1995' was receiving some attention to both of its cabs courtesy of Rich W and Matt P. With the overhaul of 47105 completed it is time to give some TLC to the 47/3 which has been a reliable performer whilst its sister has been out of action. However, of course, that comes at a cost and the cabs have received ongoing attention throughout the last few years to combat the wear and tear of use. During 2021, the cab floors have had attention to repair corrosion damage but also to give the cab area a bit of a tidy up and refresh.
To round off a busy Sunday, the Class 117 was having some attention after its return to action in October on the BLUE timetable whilst a small band were back at it on the Class 122 as the restoration starts to gather pace on the 'Bubble'. The Class 117 received an A exam ready for its Santa duties along with ironing out a couple of small 'running in' issues from its use in October.
After the Santa services, at the end of December and into January 2022, the timetable is a special ORANGE timetable to reflect the severing of the line at Winchcombe. Services will be top and tailed and will run between Winchcombe and Broadway. The timetables are available on the GWSR website. The current loco roster is as follows, but is subject to change if failures occur -
27 Dec - 37215 and 47xxx
28 Dec - 37215 and 47xxx
29 Dec - 45149 and 47xxx
30 Dec - 45149 and 47xxx
31 Dec - 37215 and 47xxx
01 Jan - 37215 and 45149
02 Jan - 37215 and 47xxx
03 Jan - 37215 and 47xxx
Santa services are all sold out and no tickets will be available on the day, however, if you are planning on attending to take photos of the locos then you will be able to have access to the car park at Toddington or from the usual vantage points along the line. Access to the platforms will be strictly limited to those people with tickets to travel. The loco roster is as follows -
27 Nov - 37215 and 47105
28 Nov - 5081 and TBC
04 Dec - 37215, 47xxx, DMU
05 Dec - 37215, 45149, DMU
11 Dec - 5081, 45149, DMU
12 Dec - 5081, 45149, DMU
18 Dec - 37215, 45149, DMU
19 Dec - 47105, 47376, DMU
21 Dec - 37215, 45149, DMU
22 Dec - 37215, 45149, DMU
23 Dec - 37215, 45149, DMU
24 Dec - 37215, TBC, DMU
