Of a naked Hudswell

11th April 2021

Last Monday was Bank Holiday, and despite the reports of wintry showers and a general lowering of temperatures, it was a pleasant day, if the wind was a bit fierce. After various tasks had been completed, it was time to see if Claire would drive itself satisfactorily and so Charlie was first started and hauled the two locos up to the end of the headshunt. Claire was then driven up and on to Track 1, allowing Charlie to propel the locos back and give Claire free reign to run to the headshunt end.

And so I did for an hour or two, checking that everything appeared to be working and although a few snags were uncovered, it was for the most part satisfactory. One such problem was that the front headlamp wasn't working, and after the loco had parked up I investigated and found that the bulb was OK, and I had continuity from the post on the tag board above the relays and that meant only one thing- since the reverse headlamps worked, there was power to the relay but that the connection to the front relay was u/s. That filled me with some dread. The relays are located right in the bottom of the cabinet and are not that accessible. I got as far as unbolting the DIN rail they're mounted on and pulling it out as far as the wires would allow. And sure enough, coyly hiding in the back was a wire with a bared end that must have become detached at some other time I had pulled this relay block out to locate a defect. I decided to go no further on that for the day, but bask in the comparative success that most things worked.

On Tuesday I had a run-round of suppliers to get through, so it was Wednesday before I returned to the relays and spent a happy hour trying to get this darn wire back into its receptacle on the back of the relay base. In the end, I gave up, cut a fresh wire, guided it into the relay with long-nose pliers almost first time and replaced the old one. I fired up the engine to see if it now worked (headlamps on Claire are isolated if the engine is not running) and there was one momentary flash from the front headlamp. I opened it up again and sure enough the bulb had blown - which when I looked a little more closely I realised was hardly surprising since it was a 12V bulb! Fortunately, I found a 24V one in a box in the garage.

Thursday and it was an early start. Nearly 10 years ago, an 'incident' occurred at the Pontypool & Blaenavon railway which resulted in a 37 rolling down the yard unmanned, picking up speed and collecting a 31, and crashing into a poor unsuspecting Hudswell which derailed and helped bring the errant pair to a stop, but not before it also derailed a box van which ended up against the Hudswell's side. There are a number of photos of the aftermath on Flickr- here's one. The direct result was the acquisition by the P&B of Andrew's erstwhile Hudswell Beverley, which with the superior vac fit and transmission cooling arrangements proved superior over their original. Worse stlll, according to staff there, the contract placed for repairs to their loco were left incomplete having been dismantled arguably far more than was neccessary. Granted, at the moment of impact, the locomotive had moved south but the power unit mountings failed and the power unit itself accelerated more slowly, resulting in it passing through the radiator core, but why the power unit was then stripped so far down for examination remains a mystery.

Anyway, wind the clock forward and some months ago Andrew agreed to buy it, though not neccessarily for the collection, rather that we have the skills and technology to make it go again, whereas no-one else was likely to take it on.The P&B had been pressing to get it collected, and Thursday was the day. Now, normally Adam and I set a 'meet up' time which I advise the client on and almost invariably, although I get there on time or 10-15 minutes before, Adam has been there for half-an-hour or more already. I was determined not to be beaten so was on the road at 06.00, aiming to be there a bit before 10.00. In the event, I got there just after 09.00, having not passed Adam anywhere en route.

A few volunteers were already on site and in the car park, 4 pallets of casing parts from the loco awaited collection, with the power unit (still partially stripped) on blocks of wood by the loco. Shortly after a phone call from Adam revealed he was just leaving Strensham having been delayed (!) and would be there about 10.30.

That gave me more time to locate parts and start loading some of them into the van. At about 10.45 Adam and Ian arrived and in short order the 'team' was assembling the ramp and getting the loco loaded.

Meanwhile a large P&B forklift had put some of the bigger casing pieces (that wouldn't go in my van) onto the front of the loco and the power unit on the back over the axles.

That still left a few pieces unaccounted for, and after texts exchanged with Andrew from when he had inspected it, I left Adam and Ian to set off while I went down to the running shed where the air cleaner and a few other were still residing. With the van heavily loaded I set off over the mountain road to Abergavenny, whereas the low loader had headed north to turn back on to the A465 (Heads of the Valleys) route to get to the same place. Knowing that the Merc would have no issues with a loco weighing only 32-33 tons, I assumed that they would be way ahead of me by the time I had set off, so was tonking along to try and catch up but watching my fuel, dropped off at Monmouth for a quick splash. To my surprise, as I rejoined the main road the low loader came out of Monmouth tunnels ahead of me. I overtook them not far after and left them to head back to depot.

Friday, and I should add that grandson has been up this week which can complicate getting up and out in the morning. Despite agreeing to be at Darley Dale for 09.00, Adam rang at 08.40 to say he was there and I dashed down, followed after a few minutes by Andrew. The train was pulled back by Charlie so that the forklift could get down and recover the power unit from the back of the low loader, after which the low loader set off for Rowsley, and after parking the power unit safely, we followed. Phase 1 was to unload the naked Hudswell, which in the end required a little assistance from the tractor unit as I was not bringing Charlie up until later. The ramp was then disassembled, tractor re-connected and relocated down to the car park, where a fresh team were waiting.

For many years, next to the Rowsley station platform has been a bric-a-brac shop housed in a 6w LMS van. But its prime retail location was required by a carriage and it was to be moved to a fresh plinth of track put in over the last few weeks. Track plinths always give extra problems for loading and unloading, as we seldom carry enough rails to span the gap neccessary to get the tractor unit detached and re-attached. So this move, though short, was meticulously planned by Andrew who marked the car park exactly where he wanted the front of the trailer, and was why I had brought both rail tongs we possess, as the rails planned to extend the old plinth sufficient to take a carriage were needed first to make temporary means of bridging plinth to ramp.

But as these two were not quite the same length, we had brought up our 12inch disc cutter to trim the longer. It is common practice to lay the bullhead on its side temporarily and run the loco/wagon up the web of the rail. I don't approve of this - it runs the wheel on the top of the flange, not the tread, and that does not harden like the tread so may get damaged, but for a static vehicle like this I would have turned a blind eye. Andrew however, laid out sleepers longitudinally - Brunel style - and laid the bullheads on top so that the tread ran along the side of the rail head.

The winch rope was paid out and the van moved quite readily off its plinth and on to the low loader, the latter using the extra rails we have to take long vehicles such as CCTs and the like, to bring the first axle up onto the bars welded on the deck over the axles

It went on smoothly, and after minimal chaining (it wasn't going far) we moved across to the new plinth. Here the 2 bullheads were laid in normal fashion, with 4 chaired sleepers (which will be used for the extended plinth) so that the levels matched better.

The van was rolled so far, and pushed/pulled the rest of the way to its new home. The low loader was re-packed with the ramp materials, the tractor reconnected and we waved cheerio for Adam and Ian - until next week.

As it was now gone 3 o'clock we headed back home for a late lunch, after which we returned to Darley Dale to meet with Harvey C for a run back to Rowsley - with Charlie. For once it was straight up, couple to the naked Hudswell and set off back, and it would have been all over within an hour but for a modicum of trouble getting the FPL to re-engage at the crossover on our return.

It was a time to assess the new acquisition, and it seems that for all the shock it received on that day nine-and-a-half years ago, Hudswell's robust design took the punishment without ill effect. Pluto for example was also hit by some tank wagons years ago, and bears the scars with visibly broken rivets and evidence where a ballast block moved and returned to its original position afterwards. In contrast, although one side skirt is loose where it dug into the ballast, there are no failed rivets, not visible deflection and no signs of any other damage. In short, it can be rescucitated and apart from replicating the flex mounting arrangement I did for a loco for Ford last year, and the exhaust system I did on Claire I shall decide what other improvements we might make when I know what its future may hold.

For now, it has not been given a name - so 1387 will have to suffice, and yes, it was sister to Claire (1388) and like Beverley worked for NCB North Derbyshire, so in one sense it has returned home. As Claire is about to depart, we wonder how long it will be before some footpath-spottter identifies it as 1388! This weekend has seen little photo-able progress. Air leaks on Claire were sorted, new tie bars for the low loader ramps painted (I colour-code them for different positions) and two which had become quite stiff had their threads cleaned out with a tap. The last Stauff clamps and train pipe stowage brackets were fitted, and the retaining strap for the batteries created and installed. Claire was out again on Sunday afternoon- the tacho is now working but the speedo sensor suffered an accident and needs a replacement. All in all it was satisfactory progress and the loco will soon be ready to leave.

So that's about it: not a single mention of Royal sadness, no Brexit, and nothing contentious? Still plenty to read, and to look forward, 4 locos to move this week so maybe a picture or two for a change. For now, have a good week, stay careful and see ya then.