IT'S ALIVE!!

....so screamed Dr. Frankenstein when his monster started to move, and it is a bit of a similar feeling when  a locomotive belches back into life after a long overhaul. The weekend just gone was the turn of Class 26, D5343 to get a first start up in nearly 2 and a half years and a significant engine overhaul. 

If you cast your mind back to early 2020, before the world went temporarily insane about a virus, the Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group were preparing D5343 for a visit to the Somerset and Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton when it was identified that the liner seals in the engine were leaking significantly and needed replacing. 

Back in early 2020 our HoD, Andy D, helps to ease out a liner from the block of D5343. 

At the same time the group decided to combine the engine work with a bodywork overhaul. The ravages of the Cotswold weather had caused quite a bit of deterioration to the bodywork and it's supporting metal work, despite original restoration only being finished in 2013. BRCW locos and rolling stock were well known for their tendency for rot and corrosion, and their Scottish service life didn't help. 

As can be seen from this picture showing one of the cabs of D5343, the state of the metalwork on the loco was pretty shocking. 

Fast forward to the present, and a significant amount of work has got the loco to advanced stages of its overhaul. After having it's engine integrity tested after many parts had been removed, cleaned, repainted and refitted, the loco's Sulzer lump was started for the first time since 2020. The video is from Alex Raybould. 

The body work and underframe has also made strides towards completion and it is looking more likely that the loco will make a very welcome return to service in 2023.

No. 1 end bogie has now had a full coat of primer, and the body has had it's first coat of blue undercoat. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould)

Work has also continued apace on Class 37, D6948. The long awaited body lift occurred a few weeks back and the Growler Group team have thrown everything at getting the jobs completed in double quick time. The traction motor brush boxes have all been cleaned and damaged elements replaced from spares - including the dampers. The bogies have had a bit of a wash and brush up, getting rid of some of the dirt and grime, whilst the traction motor gear is to be cleaned through of carbon deposits. 

From a few weeks back, Paul G and Keith get to grips with removing and replacing the old dampers. Not a job for the faint hearted!

As the season winds down we see less running for the diesel fleet, with an increase in the DMU running during the week. However, Sunday, 25th September sees Brush Type 4 Fund utilising the PINK timetable to celebrate the 60th birthday of the ubiquitous Class 47.

47105 and 47376 'Freighliner 1995' sit together at Winchcombe during our Santa Specials in 2021.

Both BT4G locos, 47105 and 47376 'Freightliner 1995' will be in service on the Sunday in a mixture of double headed and top and tail formation over the three round trips. 

Hope to see a lot of you there. 

Deadlines, deadlines!

It's not often we start with the DMU fleet on this blog, but today reverses that trend as we start with the latest on our Class 122, W55003, and it's ongoing restoration. 

If you recall, the 'bubble' had to stay at Winchcombe after completion of it's repaint after it was found to still contain a quantity of asbestos under it's flooring. This has remained hidden and undisturbed since the vehicle entered preservation and, had been perfectly safe to remain there - asbestos is only dangerous when it is disturbed and fragments. However, the DMU Team were hoping to replace some of the flooring that had become rotten but this would mean coming into contact with the remaining asbestos. This would require a substantial amount of specialist safety equipment, specialist contractors...and a huge cost...so the decision was taken just to remove the asbestos

W55003 sits outside Carriage and Wagon whilst having it's asbestos removed. You can see the protective blue tent that has been erected inside to contain the work area and prevent any contamination.  

This was completed during mid-August and the 'bubble' was returned to Toddington so the Team could make a start on the new flooring. Before it left Winchcombe, however, the Team used the opportunity whilst at Carriage and Wagon to check through the electrical systems and clean around the inspection hatches. 

Two of the inspection hatches opened up. (GWSR DMU Facebook Page)

Both driving desks were both energised which allowed for the control checks on the correct relays and solenoids - something that needed doing to ensure nothing had been inadvertently disturbed during the asbestos removal. 

Outside the vehicle, and under the solebar, a number of electrical boxes hold wiring, solenoids, switches an assortment of circuits and fuses. (GWSR DMU Facebook)

Onto the last week (w/c 29/08) and the DMU Team continued with some of the electrical testing on the 'bubble'. They also took the opportunity to treat both the Class 122 to some new batteries. 

W55003's new batteries. (GWSR DMU Facebook)

The BR Blue Class 117 DMBS, W51360, was also treated to some new batteries and the engines run up to ensure that the vehicle is mechanically sound - just in case it is needed if one of the power cars in the main set fail. It will also need some cosmetic work to be ready after it had repairs to historic crash damage.

W51360 back in May 2021. The damage to the DMBS can be clearly seen on the 'secondman' side pillar. This has now been repaired but still needs to be painted. The restoration of the 'bubble' car has pushed this a bit further down the pecking order. 

The group also managed to get some work on the Class 117 set completed in readiness for the start of the BLUE timetable at the end of September. It has had the odd run out in August during the 'steam ban', but, as the season winds down, it will find itself out pretty much everyday of the week. 

On one of it's last outings it was reported that the number 1 engine on Class 117 DMS, W51405, was making a strange noise. Sunday's work gang stripped down one of the heads, despite the best efforts of a reluctant stud! The heads were cleaned, checked over and gaskets replaced, before being re-assembled - although this wasn't fully completed due to the heavens opening! It is hoped that the Wednesday Gang will have the work completed and the engine sans strange noise! Some more pics courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook page. 

As you may have seen on our socials, and in the last blog, we were finally able to proceed with the body lift on our green Class 37, D6948. This job had been on the waiting list for nearly 2 years as we needed to borrow the lifting eyelets from our friends at the Scottish Class 37 Group at Bo'ness. With the bogies now out from under the loco and the underside of the body accessible, it meant that it was all hands to the pump as we have a tight schedule to get the work completed.

The lift team pose for a seminar shot. (Courtesy of Kev Jarvis)

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week (w/c 29/08) I was rostered out on the Class 20 on the PURPLE timetable so was able to make a rare foray into the midweek team's working before heading out on the footplate. On the Tuesday, myself and Keith made a start on removing the remaining accessible traction motor brush boxes from the wheelsets. A start had been made over the previous weekend and some of them had already been cleaned both by hand and in our new oil bath. 

Three of the already removed brush boxes from D6948. The two on the upper left have both been cleaned. The one on the bottom right is awaiting it's dip in the bath. 

Also propped up on the bench was the offending main res air pipe - one of the main reasons for the lift. This was causing instability in the air supply through the loco and had caused quite a lot of 'leak off' when in service. 

It's amazing how something so small can cause so many problems! The hole has been enlarged slightly to see whether the structure of the pipe was stable enough for a patch, but this was quickly dismissed and a new pipe will be fashioned. 

The pipe was removed to check to see if there was enough stability in the pipe to affect a repair but this was dismissed and the decision to create a new piece of pipe was taken. Thankfully, the railway has a number of very talented pipe makers and smiths within the collective motive power team and, a couple of them have agreed to help with the new pipework. One of the pair has previously worked on D6948 - Neal Cooper, who fashioned the steam heat pipes for the loco during it's restoration back in 2014. The second is Eddie Arnold, from our Steam Department, who has manufactured the cone ends for the new pipe. 

Mr. Arnold proudly shows off a couple of the cone ends he has kindly fashioned for the new main res air pipe for D6948. Proper inter-department team work! (Courtesy of Kev Jarvis)

Back to the brush boxes, and it was into the Steam Shed armed with sockets, ratchets and plenty of elbow grease. The brush box access covers don't allow for a lot of access making this very much a two man job. This generally means that one has to stand on top of the wheelset to lift the top sets out when the bolts are removed, or to be down in the pit on a step ladder (or podium) to support those that are at the bottom of the motor. This job was mine! 

One of the access hatches with the brush box clearly visible to the right of the wheel and with the cables still attached. As you can see, there is a lot of surface dirt and carbon deposits that need to be cleaned away. 

With the steam engines back on the timetabled services, the David Page shed had the unusual sight of nearly more diesels that steam engines inside the shed with D6948 joining Class 26, D5343 in there.

Along with D6948, Class 26 D5343 remains in the David Page shed during the continuing body and engine overhaul. 

Wednesday would see a bumper turn out with 10 of us eventually present to undertake a multitude of tasks. Keith and I had completed removing all the accessible brush boxes on the Tuesday, so this meant that work could continue on cleaning them up alongside a number of other tasks. This included assessing the condition of the traction motor bellows and removing the rivets from those that were salvageable for refitting or spares (Andy T took on this task), cleaning out the centre casting pivot points and checking for damage (Frank R took on this one), with the main bulk of the work being to remove and replace the dampers on both wheelsets. 

Tools of the trade for changing the dampers on a class 37. Mini-jacks, ringlets, the actual dampers and lots of wooden blocks. Ready to be wheeled around to the David Page shed. 

Andy T admires the flame cut from 37096 while he takes a short break from drilling out rivets in the removed traction motor bellows. 

More traction motor brush boxes that have been cleaned and await assessment. 

Frank gets to grips with the centre pivots on the bogies. 

GG Tech Officer, Paul G, and Keith get to grips with the dampers. In the background, the Class 26 has received more BR Blue undercoat. 

By close of play on the Wednesday all the dampers had been changed successfully and another big job was ticked off the list. It is hoped to have D6948 back into action before the end of the year. 

The overhaul of Class 26, D5343 continues to inch along. The ruse of the hastily applied Civil Engineers 'Dutch' section of bodywork during the Gala put the livery-lovers into overdrive, but this has now given way to the dark blue undercoat ready for the eventual repaint in BR Blue. Personally, I would have liked to see it back in 'Dutch' but, not being a member of the CDMG, my opinion is just that! Maybe one day! However, with the work the team are putting in to the loco it will still look awesome when it is back in service. 

Most of the bodywork has been completed on the sides with only elements needing completing around the cab fronts. The engine also continues to move towards completion and it won't be too long before the engine is ready to be fired up and the integrity tested of the new seals and liners. 

The ongoing saga surrounding our blue Yorkshire shunter, DES is moving towards a conclusion that will hopefully benefit all parties. Paul J, the current owner has agreed to a partnership with Pete and Andrew Bridden that will see DES moved to the Bridden's own maintenance facility and a full re-wire and generator swap will be undertaken. Once completed, DES  will return to Toddington in a shared ownership deal. This will hopefully see three operational shunters at Toddington again in the near future.