Of rain and flood

20th February 2022

I think I might be growing webbed feet.

So, what have we been up to this week? I have managed to get several afternoons in at the workshops during the early part, Tuesday responding to a phone call from a nearby loco operator and delivering a set of brake blocks. But Friday saw the resumption, after a bit of a hiatus, of transport work with the movement of D9525 out of Rowsley. This was originally planned for a couple of weeks ago but that didn't suit Peak Rail so I postponed it to give plenty of time and forestall any other objections.

With Storm Eunice in and around it was a surprisingly quiet and bright morning at Rowsley as I got to the loading area at 8 am to find Adam and Ian already there and about to start setting up. The trailer had had a full going-over: a brake chamber had been replaced, another air leak dealt with, wheels off, tyres inspected and pressures checked, and a couple of new light fittings replacing markers that had been damaged by obstructions over the miles. By the time Heritage Shunters Trust had brought the loco up to the loading area though the clouds had snuck in and rain - even hail - started. The 14 was hauled aboard, shackled down and height checked (16ft 3) and by the time the police arrived at 3 minutes to 11 we were all set to go. Adam had asked me to follow him along past Ashford in the Water where we had to negotiate a bridge notionially declared at 16ft, as an 'extra pair of eyes', so I had a front row view of the two Police cars that Derbyshire Constabulary had insisted on escorting us with. One would dart ahead, holding back traffic at junctions or coming the other way at narrow bits, the other slowing us down until getting the all clear, resulting of course in our being the head of a considerable convoy. Heads turned in Bakewell, phones clicked, and those stuck behind us heading for Buxton were probably relieved a few miles later as we turned right onto the road that lead back towards Baslow and thus Chesterfield. At some point, as we neared the bridge, the lead Police car had stopped 3 or 4 cars and was sat in front of them, wrong side of road, as a mini coming upon them decided they were parked and tried to pass- the Police stopped him and words were said through side windows! We stopped just before the bridge and lowered the trailer suspension; it was a precaution as our 16ft 3 only occurred in the middle and the 16ft markers on the archway showed that it was higher in the centre and we cleared without issue.

I continued to follow as we picked up the Bakewell to Baslow road then headed back to Darley Dale via Chatsworth for dry overalls and lunch. Adam had estimated an arrival time of 2 o'clock so I aimed to meet him at that time but he had got there a few minutes earlier. Between the 3 of us we unloaded the 14 at its new home and it was drawn away by another of its ilk.

Although Andrew wasn't on-call, because of the weather all EMR's Fleet Engineers were available if required to deal with 'local issues' and Friday night Andrew was called out to a train in the Hope valley and had great difficulty finding a route there thanks to trees blown down.

Saturday and it was another shed day with rain about. Andy M was back so it was time to progress the HATRAMM, though I was also spending some time on projects inside the shed, especially progressing the internals of the control desk for D1387. Andy asked what the target was for the weekend and I nominated - apart from on-going tidying up, getting the horns to work, sorting out the miscreant alternator and getting a functional train brake would be good. So he started by investigating how to get the horn valves off, managing to undo several of the M6 capscrews that held the valves down but discovering in the process that the plate on to which these (and the other two valves which are the sanders) should have been held to the chassis were missing the 4 M5 bolts and the only thing ensuring it stayed in place was the two steel air pipes!. Thus armed he took the entire plate off (though it need a hammer to seperate it from the mounting bracket) and came back inside to continue removing the valves in comparative comfort. I had dug out 2 SMC replacements which were 3/8 BSP (the original, 5/2 valves were 1/2 BSP with reducing nipples) and found a 3/8 tee, so the two were screwed together and mounted on the plate, a new pipe made from the isolating cock into the tee and the plate securely refitted. By lunchtime the re-modelled plate was back on the HATRAMM and connected, and with air pressure built up both horns sounded correctly on command.

Oddly enough, after all my comments last week, the diagrams for the HATRAMM show 2/2 normally closed valves not the 5/2's used here, although the mounting plate had pads specifically to suit them so we conclude they were the originals. During the afternoon Andy moved the HATRAMM forward over the turnout to give more space to get underneath and investigate the alternator drive belts. He came back with he news that one was slack and the other was badly worn as the alternator pulley was out of line. This of course was the one which provides the tacho signal hence knowing that all was not well. He showed me this rather sad specimen of an A section belt which looked more like the smaller Z section with a weight problem. As it happened this belt is the same length as the ones which I had in stock to drive compressors on R-R engines, so he was rather taken aback to be given two brand new ones and invited to change them both.

My Andrew meanwhile had taken the van over to Wirksworth to finish some of the work on Charlie and get it back running again, and he arrived back to find Andy M and myself underneath the HATRAMM examining the misaligned alternator. Andrew had of course to spot straightaway that whomever last changed this alternator had put the pulley on the wrong way round: there was a spacer machined on which had it been facing the alternator would have put the pulley in the correct axis. It was too late to do much that night, but at least it was clear what had to be done.

Sunday morning and whichever storm it was today was in full flight. We delayed working on the OBA in the hope that it might abate and I felt bad sending Andy M back into the rain to continue with the HATRAMM but he came back after a while with the news that the pulley had come straight off the alternator once the locknut had been undone and so both new belts were installed and the engine idled at 790 rpm, running up to 2200 maximum no load. He moved on to the train air side of things, though being electrician by aptitude (he sees through a wiring diagram far quicker than I do, but don't tell him) we collaborated a bit over the pneumatic layout.

Initially we had seen an isolating valve which needed a feed from the trailer car in order to function, but came to realise that far from needing that feed for us to operate, the feed in fact came when the trailer car was in control and the power car needed to be prevented from interfering. Eventually it all came good and we had a train pipe functioning as well as straight air (though for all main line railway devotees for train air think indirect brake and for straight air think direct brake).

Meanwhile I had been under the OBA hanging on to M!2 nuts in sockets as Big Mak up top was being operated to tighten them. As a result I was very wet through and we joined Andy in the HATRAMM as he not only had the engine running but was operating the Webasto cab heater. We drove the HATRAMM up and down a few times as we tried to dry out. I have previously shown pictures of the Derwent in flood and here we are again, these taken just before 4.30pm as we began to wind down. The water level continued to rise and was even nearer the level crossing by the time I left, with it due to peak later this evening.

As a precaution before we locked up we lifted anything valuable/electical off the floor: I checked the footpath before dark as a lake forming there can result in the ornamental pond returning, but hopefully that won't be an issue.

Tomorrow it's a silly o'clock start again, partly to dodge any flooding but mainly to get to Tyseley for eight to collect an 0-4-0ST, so I'll wish you all good night and promise to be back next week. See ya then.