Of bruise and holiday

12th May 2019

It's coming up to the 9th anniversary that I started writing this blog. Scarcely a memorable one, but each anniversary does make me ponder how much it has all changed. I'll ponder more over the next few weeks.

As I feared, Monday was a write-off as Steph and I had to take grandson back to his mother's. I wouldn't have minded that much but I had allocated the day to getting both Pluto and Charlie serviced and generally checked over ready for their summer holidays. At least they didn't need buckets and spades, they take their sand with them. On Tuesday I had some running around to do first thing, which included picking up trunking for RS8 to go between air cleaner and engine intake, then got back in time to get down to the works and move the locos out of the way to get Pluto out of the shed. I was walking back when I saw people leaning over the gate and went up to find three Scotsmen. This was a surprise as I was only expecting two, and they were wondering where to go for lunch so I brought them in and arranged with Steph to bring down some sandwiches and such. They drank me out of satchets of coffee (must send Andrew off to some more hotels) and spent the afternoon driving Pluto up and down. And just to prove that it is entirely untrue what is said about Scotsmen, they bought both copies of 'The Railway to Merhead. that I had with me. Fine people they are.

Wednesday and I got back to servicing Pluto, which included changing the oil pressure switch for a new one with a lower setting (my new installation was flicking on when the engine was hot and idling, but hopefully fresh oil would improve it anyway) and slid my arm in between the running plate and the supercharger while holding an adjustable to release the old switch. And when I came to extract my arm, I couldn't. This wasn't very pleasant. I was in an uncomfortable position with my left arm trapped within a loco and I'll admit I began to panic. I could at least access my mobile with my other hand and phone for help, but being alone meant it wasn't coming soon. In the end I calmed down, managed to tug the sleeves of my overalls and sweater up a bit and my elbow squeezed past the obstruction leaving me only a large bruise as a reminder.

I had to break off shortly after and meet up with the low loader to collect a customer's loco for repair, so it was that night before I got back and finished the service on Pluto. Very early Thursday I was back down, sorting the locos into some sort of order with the RRA as barrier wagon and as soon as Harvey C arrived, we set off for Rowsley.

No doubt Charlie and Pluto were excited to be off somewhere, but for poor old Ludwig, it was only a test run, as its role was to return with the barrier wagon and the incoming customer's loco.

That loco was unloaded and Charlie took its place: I parked Pluto and Ludwig up and followed the low loader to assist in unloading. That sounds all slick, but in truth I'd bounced a rail off my right hand and my fourth finger had turned distinctly blue and swollen, so with that and my bruised elbow I was not altogether happy with life.With Charlie unloaded and parked up, the low loader returned and we put Pluto on, and the low loader left Rowsley for a second time that day.

Ludwig collected the RRA and the customer loco and returned to Darley Dale, though some noises and a smell of rubber was noticeable from the generator bay.

Footnote: apparently Peak Rail steamed the Austerity the next day to move the class 31 to be loaded. I could so easily have saved them the time and expense as Ludwig would have easily handled it before returning to Darley Dale: but of course, I wasn't asked.

On Friday I popped over to see Charlie at its summer retreat and then along to Pluto, which is having to wait patiently a few more days before completing its travel arrangements.

Saturday, and Andrew and I got back down to the shed to progress more mundane subjects. His first task was to set the new bearing into the clutch pack on Ashdown, where a special loctite has been selected to aid its retention but must be left 24 hours to set. He then moved on to investigate Ludwig and its generator bay. The belt drives are off the tail shaft of the generator and power both the compressor (a big Westinghouse) and the traction motor blower. So one pulley has two drives in opposite directions which to some extent balances the loads but means that once you also added two jockey pulleys for tensioning it was all a bit inaccessible. Once the blower belts were detached and examined, it was obvious they'd been slipping over something, and the jockey pulley didn't freewheel much. Getting either jockey pulley out though was another matter, and the worst of the two - the traction motor blower's - needed both of us working from opposite sides. My body having warned me that Wednesday to Friday had been a bit too much by triggering migraines Friday night, I was nursing a headache Saturday so confined myself to relatively un-physical actions.

But by Sunday I was back to what I class as normal and had got around to thinking about RS8 once again. Incidentally I have had further contact with one of the engineers originally involved with the loco at Tunstead, now retired and living in Lincolnshire, who is absolutely delighted at the progress we have made (I sent him a picture of it from its first sojourn out) and insisting that he will get over to Derbyshire again this summer to see it. Of course, last Monday was a Bank Holiday and so Tunstead was closed, and what's worse, Andy H has announced that he cannot make it this Monday as there has been a call for all able-bodied volunteers to turn out at Wortley Top Forge where he spends much of his other free time. Oh well, that'll leave me to face Pete C all on my own and I better have lots of things to keep him busy on. For starters there's the vac hoses need fitting, and Andrew dug out a couple of new hoses and loose ends and together we band-it strapped the ends on ready. We're begining to think ahead, incidentally, and a suitable driver's brake valve for the vac has now been acquired, and an exhauster and oil seperator are imminent. One thing I still need is a tacho genny - the head is in the desk, the wires are in place but Andrew hadn't located one of the new ones he has somewhere. In the end he still couldn't find one, so raided a complete genny, bracket and drive cable assembly from a spare engine, ready for me to fit tomorrow.

The cab access on RS8 still isn't user-friendly. Once there were steps, but they disintegrated (wood) and the floorplating over the drawgear was distorted and thin. So using sme of the spare treadplate we bought some weeks ago, Andrew plasma cut me 3 pieces to size which hopefully I can trial out as a U shape and bring back to be welded into one piece and have the step risers added. Here he is trimming pieces to length.

Most of my time, apart from the regular demands to make tea, was spent in stripping the customer's loco, ready for the work I have to carry out on it. Andrew however was progressing the clutch on Ashdown, as well as stripping the jockey pulley we took off Ludwig. The primary problem with the latter seems to have been old, congealed grease that had set hard, as once cleaned the pulley spun much more easily. However, a new set of bearings and belts may not go amiss.

Without Charlie, James is now principal shunter, and the locomotives were duly re-arranged a bit this afternoon in between installing the last bits of vac piping on 1382 (Andrew had the parts ready, but with the swan-necks having arrived, they could now be assembled and installed.)

So that's about it for this week. Plenty in the offing for next, including a bit of news I was hoping to announce this week but has dragged on longer than I anticipated. Still, all good things, they say. Coming back next week? See ya then.