Of motor and plug

13th December 2020

I'll make no excuse for a few plugs tonight.

So, as I said I had an early start last Monday, but sadly I cold have lain in bed a little longer as the low loader got stuck in traffic and didn't arrive until 3/4 hour after me. Anyway we soon got started and I was able to test the winch in real action. To get the winch rope deployed quickly, it has an air-operated clutch, to which I have fitted an air hose and a pneumatic switch and have a 'suzy' hose so that it can be plugged into an air port on the back of the swan neck, but I had brought the wrong size nipple so instead it had to be wound out the slow way. On its first loaded test I had the added benefit of a pressure gauge plugged on to a test point, which showd that most of the time this 48ton loco was climbing up the ramp at 75bar on the hydraulics, rising a bit momentarily to 120-130 bar at certain transition points but well within the winch's maximum rating of 175bar.

As the winch also has an additional pressure release hydraulic brake that needs 25 bar to release, we left the winch rope attached as a further securing point. Adam and Ian had almost finished chaining down and hooking up when I glanced along and saw an Allelys low loader arriving. The trailer was a 4-axle extendible so much larger than mine, and it came up the lane to stand alongside us, the driver rather looking us over. The secondman came up from the rear steering point - 'Have you brought the TV with you?' I asked cheerily. 'No, not today' they said with a smile and the ice was seemingly broken. We backed clear and left them to it.

I won't go in to detail on the moves that took place, suffice it to say that the work ended on Tuesday night in the dark with another of these gronk things to be unloaded 'when it was quiet' but nonetheless resulted in 3 artic lorries and a Ford Fiesta having to wait patiently while we did our stuff.

On my way I had had to divert to pick up a little acquiition of Andrew's off e-bay, to whit a pair of D&M vacuum brake valves.

With a job I had planned for Monday-Tuesday this week apparently put off until the New Year, I was beginning to think we might be idle on the Transport side but more work came through on Thursday (as I popped over to Stoke on Trent to visit a supplier) so I'll be clocking another 1000 miles this week.

Andrew was the Engineer on Call this weekend and copped for troubles more so than his last few stints, so his time at the shed was more limited. Again we were targeting a commercial job of mine, which involves lifting a Janus loco to release a defective traction motor. There are a few different ways of doing this: the motor is longitudinal, driving through a right angle final drive gearbox on to the axle, supported at the pinion end by that gearbox and at the blunt end via a link up into the frame. If the loco is over a pit, one technique is to disconnect cables and the support link, lower the motor down with a pull lift, so that it pivots around the axle until it points vertically down, then disconnect the row of bolts and lower the motor into the pit. Swing the box back up, drag the loco off the pit and lift the motor up and out. That sounds simple but it is a fair old lump and a two man job, and two men and a traction motor in a pit isn't the title of a light-hearted novel and doesn't leave room for any sudden unforseen occurrences.

That wasn't to be our way though as I built the Geoffrey Briddon Building without proper pits since we are so close to the water table. That Track 3B has more than once become an ornamental pond supports that position. No, for us it was first take the side rods off, then lift the loco on the Matterson jacks to gain access under. (As a footnote, we know the provenance of our Mattersons and it may that this loco has been on them in their original residence.) Unlike most Janii, which get the full treatment and have roller bearing side rods, this example has plain crank pin bushes each with side rod secured by large flanged nut and taper pin. Most of the pins came out quite easily (one had to be a b****r) and all the nuts came off when influenced by Andrew's full weight jumping on a long length of tube over the end of a 48" Stillsons. As I said at the time, too many Pringles. Even after you get that far though, that convoluted Janus brake rigging (it has 12 brake blocks, 4 brake cylinders, and no-one has yet come up with an entirely satisfactory theory as to how you adjust it) still has to come down at that end and the frame cross stretcher come out. That by finish of play today the loco is nearly ready to support the motor, remove the hanging link pin and the horncheck tie bolts and be lifted off that wheelset is a credit to all concerned.

Alistair at ALD asks me to point out that if you are missing the opportunity of riding on Peak Rail or walking the Monsal Trail he still has the 'Monsal Trail then and now' book which is a photographic tour of the old main line comparing photographs (such as E R Mortens) with more recent views at the same locations, both Peak Rail and footpath/cycle trail. (Addendum 3-4-23: 'Railway to Merhead' is no longer on the ADL lists).

Anyway, that's about it. Another early start tomorrow and the next day and the next and the one after that. Will I ever retire? Probably not. Take care and all being well, I'll be back next Sunday with the last installment before Covidmas. See ya then?