Of plans and measurements

1st March 2020

Blimey I've done some miles this week: all the way to Plymouth for an hour and a half and then back again. Not even long enough for a quick 'ho ho' on the Hoe. Did wonder about calling in at Buckfastleigh or some such but with that amount of miles to do, I find I want to push on and get through it all.

Anyway, back to the beginning. Things were happening at Peak Rail on Monday, and after lunch I set off down the A6 to Matlock to grab a picture or two, with reports of work going on at the river bridge, and bright yellow rail plant in evidence. One of the sports peculiar to this part of Derbyshire is to see how much chaos you can create by putting up temporary lights on the A6. Sometimes you can get to Matlock and find a set has sprung up on your way back that wasn't there before. And not just one, it's not unusual to have, say a set outside the doctor's surgery at Darley Dale and another further south at the Whitworth hospital. And that's much how it was on Monday, and as I glanced to my right as I sat queuing for the second set of lights I saw the rail-mounted excavator heading north back to Darley Dale. No chance to turn around, I had to go on and then return via the back roads, by which time it had parked south of the level crossing and the men were packing away. So I grabbed a photo for your edification and went back home instead.

More stormy weather this week, as I'm sure you've noticed. My trip down the M5 ws punctuated by bright sunshine and heavy showers, but at least Marsh Mills wasn't under continuous downpour like last time I was there. The end of the month is always a hectic period, trying to get out everything you can that's on order, especially as your suppliers are doing the same, so some parts come in and go out in less than 24 hours. With that in mind I contacted one supplier to enquire if my order was ready for collection as I aimed to be there the next day. Oh, yes, came the reply, they're ready for you. And about an hour or so later DPD were outside with the parts - the supplier had actually sent them out the previous day...

I was down at the shed for a while on Friday: installing the final section of fence up to the wall to our neighbours and assembling a set of composite brake blocks for a customer which needed to get away for the month end. So Saturday morning I dashed over to Sheffield to get the pallet away, and got back just before a couple of visitors arrived at the Briddon Country Pile. It was good to exchange gossip but did mean that Andrew and I didn't get down until just after lunch. We took the Lister outside - it was all ready for a serious attempt - and after some hesitancy the engine fired up and ran, though the exhaust was perhaps a trifle smokier than we'd like.

That may of course be a function of it being cold and having been turned over quite a bit, so excess fuel burning off, but just in case we need to shim the fuel pumps in some way, Andrew has now ordered a workshop manual.

It has been very quiet down at the shed this weekend, and not because we haven't been making noise (that smoke didn't come quietly) but because services weren't running south of the Darley Dale level crossing. Apparently last weekend trains were terminating north of the river bridge, but this weekend they weren't going that far, albeit more frequently.

I couldn't resist going across today humorously to congratulate the Station Master on his promotion. What do you mean? he asked. Well, last week you were Station Master of a quiet wayside halt where hardly anyone gets on or off, and this week you're in charge of a terminus with an intensive service, I explained.

So it was that Ludwig was the only locomotive to be operating between Darley Dale and Matlock stations, as joined by Phil G, we got under way with a planned re-organisation. The plan is to lift the RRA and the Midland bogie well wagon off the tracks so that sand-blasting and other restoration works can be put in hand. The 20ft container too is due to move at the same time and the scrap skip, property of Mr Booth, is to depart and be replaced with another, emptier example I left Andrew and Phil to it as I returned to the low loader with a fresh set of slitting discs and completed removing the treadplate at one side of the neck, followed by a bit of measuring up ready to create some improved ramping. The other side may have to be done by disc, though I'm hoping that the plasma cutter will deal with it, but presently it is poorly - the parts Andrew bought haven't rectified it, nor has changing the fuse like they suggested. It is still under warranty so is returning for investigation.

With the train moved back the forklift has been exploring farther reaches of the yard, though it's non-terrain epithet can lead to hairy moments.

It has delivered stuff to the scrap skip; it moved a piece of casing out the way and stillages were moving to and fro as the grey container is partially emptied to make it lighter for transit. Various components from the wagon of Ben Riley's were moved up so that he can collect them more easily. I attacked the remains of the rubber-tyred trolley that had carried a Lister water cooled engine until a few weeks ago. Parts of its frame live on under the LV2, but the reservoir may get re-used on the trailer temporarily and the oil cooler is allocated to the Wickham's power train. Off it all came and some of the pipe fittings, including the special SAE flanges we need for the pump that is going on the back of the LV2, recovered, fitted with new o-rings and fitted to the pump in readiness. Towards the end of the afternoon Andrew was measuring up for racking in the 12Ton box van, and we were also measuring up a section of pre-fab ramp which may well be re-deployed as a means of extending the capacity of the trailer by enabling locos to stand on the slope and thus take locos that are longer than the flat bed of the deck. The details haven't been sorted yet but I suspect Andrew will shortly have a cunning plan.

Another cunning plan has been changed though, as the 12Ton box van is now not to be the engine rebuild van as another, longer vehicle has been earmarked for that purpose. It will instead be used for general storage (hence the racking) and I have unloaded the components I had been stockpiling ready to install lighting and 110V. At least I hadn't got around to putting anything up there.

And that's about it for the week. I'm back in the shed tomorrow with a load of work to get on with, and hopefully there'll be more progress to show for it next wek. See ya then.