Of priorities on top of priorities

2nd April 2023

First thing Monday I had to delay the investigation of the wheel bearing on the van in order to head over to W H Davis' and assist in unloading the Warwell from Friday. As I drove into Shirebrook I came up behind a queue and sure enough there was a low loader with a Warwell leading the procession. When we got to their yard right where we needed to be was a Czech curtainsider with 4 bogies inside.

The driver was asked politely to move over (they couldn't unload him just then as they were waiting a big, big forklift to arrive in order to do so) and we lined up using our paint marks from Thursday - well almost cos we didn't quite believe them - and took the wagon down. This one rolled all the way to the bottom and then the curve and flangeways proved too much and it was drawn off and away with a loco.

I headed back to Matlock to leave the van and Good news! The verdict was that a seal had failed allowing water in to the bearing and premature wear. Am I convinced? Not 100%, I shall retain an open mind.

When East Mids officially vacated Neville Hill depot in Leeds, there remained by way of a memorial, a BG that had been an official barrier car in the event that it had to recover one of the HSTs it then operated. Trouble was, Northern wanted the siding back and somewhere along the way Andrew got the task to re-home the BG. As East Mids had no further use for it, a new home in preservation was arranged but uplifting it was another matter. The road access to Neville Hill, and more specifically where it sat was constrained by buildings surrounding a 90 degree turn and for good measure a low-hanging gas main. Simulating the load on CAD, initially with one bogie of the BG removed by crane, showed that it might just clear the gas main sat on a low loader but the vehicle couldn't get through the sharp left bend beyond. If it was to leave in one piece, it needed to be on rails.

Andrew turned his attention to a nearby Engineers Sidings. Officially closed, it appeared that Network Rail was using it for occasional trolley or plant traffic so he made enquiries as to whether a one-off move of BG propelled by an 08 would be possible for loading out by road. The deafening silence from NR seemed to indicate that this was not acceptable and others had heeby-jeebies with thoughts of rails spreading and an 08 sitting down on track that had not seen traffic of any axleload for quite some time. But the BG was still on TOPS, and a plan evolved such that it could leave Neville Hill with its head held high. Over the space of a few weeks it had a bearing exam, a brake test and an FTR and on Tuesday a loco from Loram at Derby called with headcode 5Z38 and took it, under cover of darkness, down to Worksop where HNRC had kindly agreed to allow us to tranship it.

So first thing Wednesday I met up with Adam and Ian and winched the BG on to the Doll trailer and waved it goodbye as it went to the delights of Scotland.

Meanwhile that day Andrew had a day's leave booked and took a large van down to Bitton, to be loaded with parts relevant to the 0-8-0 Sentinel to bring back north. On my way back from Worksop I picked up a new suction hose for the Cummins on 1387 and detoured via the profilers to pick up various bits, mostly to do with the 03's rapid re-jig. For if there is one thing we are good at, it is taking on responsibilities that add priorities on top of our existing priorities, and especially now that PR has announced on its website that it should be running in the Gala which takes place in a fortnight.

Andrew had to return the van to the hirers Thursday morning but as the rain fell Wednesday night opted to get up early next day and empty it then, leaving it at the yard overnight. And that we did, amassing a large pile of 'components' (from air receivers to silencers via air cleaners and miscellaneous pipes) outside the grey container whilst some more valuable/vulnerable parts when inside. The van was back at the hirers, fuelled and swept out, by 08.35 and all was well with the world.

Saturday though became something of a manic rush. First to receive attention was the Hatramm. Andy M was testing the coil of the troublesome e.p. valve which indicated 250 ohms but started fluctuating, so out of the vehicle it came with the discovery that the coil had a data plate that recorded it as 48 ohms. Could this be the problem? We hunted around: Andrew had 3 seemingly identical valves but cross-checking revealed all 3 had a part number several digits different to the one off the Hatramm. They might be interchangeable, or they might be the normally-closed version of the normally open valve we wanted. In the end we swapped over coils (whose data plates did appear to be the same) and replaced the valve, noticing in the process that the armature appeared bent.

The good news was that the brake fault went away, we no longer had the air brake sitting at 4 bar and unable to release. The bad news was that instead it stayed at release and you couldn't apply it! Re-activating the train brake (we had turned it off as there was no air braked stock to use with it) had the Hatramm working normally, or rather as normally as it should with train brake when there is a significant delay between dropping the train pipe and seeing a brake application.

We moved on to 1387. The original hose had a female JIC end at the sump and a male threaded end at the pump. Andrew insisted that I get a male-male nipple for the pump end and a female-female hose. The supplier didn't have enough 1.25 inch JIC ends so the pump end became an NPT-BSP nipple and the hose BSP one end and JIC at the other, but put together the two were exactly the same length as the original on the bench. On the engine the nipple did not screw in as far as the original Cummins hose male end, making the assembly a touch longer, but we persevered and after a battle got it on, afterwards refilling the sump oil. By now Andrew had arrived and we tried cranking, but still got no oil pressure. We removed the relief valve from the other side of the engine, proving it wasn't stuck, the spring wasn't broken and the pump wasn't delivering any oil as we cranked it and none came out.

The last likely cause was that the oil pump had been dry so long it needed flooding to prime it, so off came the pump end of the new suction hose (the other was under sump oil level) and a short concoction of fittings contrived to bring an open pipe above running plate level. Fresh oil was then poured in so that we had a column of oil bearing down on the pump, and I gave it barely a second's crank by which time the column had been drawn down and in to the engine. We repeated the exercise, getting more than a litre in, proving that the pump was ok and maybe it was now primed. Another battle ensued getting the suction hose back on and an anxious few seconds of crankings as oil ways and filters filled before both our external test gauge and desk gauge showed pressure.

By now the batteries were becoming tired, so they went on charge and we moved on to the 03. With the mid casing section removed I reckoned I could wangle the torque converter through the gap, though signalling what was wanted became the biggest problem. Andy M was fitting the cab door catches and handles to the Hudswell, but Matt had come in and was starting on the second ex DR flat wagon (removing the Radcliffe tail lift and securing the floor) so he broke off and relayed commands. I had earlier in the day fitted the drive ring to the flywheel and the support bearing in the middle, and the prep work on the converter last week meant that it slid straight in as easy as pie, even I was surprised.

Andy M and I hurriedly got all the bolts on and tight. I also got a bit of time in on the Janus, getting the newly lasered slotted bars that act as the belt-adjustment for the two alternators installed. Earlier on Andy M had removed the bottom rad connection from RS8 after draining down the coolant, and although I had thought it was a R-R cast aluminium one, it was in fact a fabricated ICI one, and on closer exam, not only did it have 6 holes drilled for a 3 bolt fixing, but the flange itself was too thin, and had warped which was why it had never sealed up properly since we got it back from Tunstead. Since RS8 also has a role in the forthcoming diesel gala, I had ordered up two new flanges in thicker steel from the laser cutters together with a length of thin walled tube. That it was in fact a steel original meant that we could cut the old flange off and weld a new lasered one on and Andrew marked it to get the right orientation. I put the spare on the shelf for a later date.

But the newly re-jigged pipe was now 20 mm or so out of longitudinal alignment - the silicon hose joint to the water pump would accept it but it was asking for trouble, so we chopped the new flange back off, took the second flange and welded pipe into it, then cut that off with just enough room for a T clamp and hose and re-assembled it all. We filled it with water (plain for now) and it stayed dry, so the battery charger got moved from Hudswell to RS8 and a little later on RS8 it was brought back into life.

Finally, back on the 03 we tackled the propshaft, which needs to be about 120mm longer than hitherto. The adaptor that joins the Hardy Spicer shaft to the Layrub flange on the gearbox is the parking brake disc, and as the former has countersunk bolts it was neccessary to detach the propshaft and disc from the Layrub flange before splitting the disc from the end of the H-S propshaft. Although I had planned to lift the prop out through a side casing door, by now more of it was in the cab and it came out through the cab door and was lowered to the ground.

Sunday, and I was down just after 9 am to find Andy M already waiting. Earlier than usual, we had the Inter City Railway Society due at 10.30 for a visit that had started as being 'about 35' but in the last few days had risen to 'about 50'. I had warned the Darley Dale station team at the Monday night PRA Derwent & Wye Valley group meeting that the car park might be over-subscribed! The early start was to get the sheets off most of the locos, and drag the rake forward on Track 1 so that all can be seen easily - by stopping with the rear of the rake on Track 1 roughly level with the front of the locos on Track 2 and taping across, not only can everyone see each loco but a viewing gallery is created for the 11.15 setting off for for Matlock. With Andrew still in bed it was touch and go, but by 10.00 he had joined us and reported that it 'was a sea of hivi' over at the car park.

Louise drew the rake on Track 1 backwards but as I wrestled with the recalcitrant Hunslet gearbox to get it back into forwards (ready for later) the engine shut down. I assumed it was just that sometimes Hunslet linkages interfere with one another so left it for after the viewing.

At 10.30 the invasion took place: I handed out a single page handout of what was was to see and left them to it, after first reminding them to stay within taped areas and not stray onto PR running lines. After about fifty minutes, they had photo'd all they wanted and some were hanging around for promised cab rides, for which we would push the rake back into Track 1 to free up the track into the headshunt. But Louise refused to start, so without time to investigate the cab rides were rather shorter than we would have liked, but both Hatramm and RS8 did their stuff. Several ICRS members knew RS8 from the National Stone Centre and expressed what a dramatic change of state it was from its derelict condition in the car park.

Eventually the last few stragglers departed for Rowsley and the HST, and we sat down for lunch. A return to Louise revealed a much more mundane issue - we had simply run out of fuel. So the Hatramm, armed with a long heavy duty sling, pulled the rake back a few loco lengths until Louise cleared the fouling point and we could bring the Hatramm alongside and pump 130 litres of diesel across. But Louise still wouldn't go (we had hoped it would bleed itself as the pump access is blocked by the exhauster, but no such luck) so the Hatramm got in front and pushed them back.

The front end of the 03 was stripped down at Midsomer as they struggled to figure out what had seized and stopped the loco (we now know, incidentally, that a bearing in the front of the converter was the cause). That had to go back together and Andy M, assisted by Tony S who was intending to work on his railcar but barely got near it, were to be found reconnecting the drive shaft and belt drives to compressor, fan and exhauster.

Casing top and fuel tank were secured back in place and they were last heard of putting the air cleaner and ducting back.

RS8 drew the Hudswell outside and after cranking it a couple of times to prove oil pressure, we put the Run relay back in (it had been removed to prevent the fuel solenoid energising until we were ready) and cranked again. No luck at first, but Andrew spotted a loose connection on the fuel return line which might have allowed air to be drawn back in, and once tightened the engine came alive, though throttle control is as yet a bit tempramental. At this stage the charge pump is furiously filling the converter circuit, so quickly the reservoir low level warning comes on and we stopped and topped it up two or three times before the level in sight glass steadied and the base pressure indicated. I was watching the electronics indications in the cab - even if air pressure was raised, the speed sensing unit needs adjustment as its default setting was telling me the engine was running over idle so would not have let me put the clutch in and until the main air pressure switch came on other features of the control system wouldn't function, and the afternoon was drawing on.

Spotting an oil leak that might need attention was sufficient to opt to call it a day on that: while the bodies were still around we needed to get back over their respective locos the sheets we'd removed (and that's a much more wearisome task than getting them off) and put things away. And if all this sounds like we had a productive weekend, then you're probably right, though a list of jobs on the 03 we compiled over a cuppa - get the propshaft away and lengthened, install a clutch cylinder and a pair of ep valves, the charge pump and filter, plumb it all together (on fuel for temporary expediency) and re-jig wiring to suit - with only a few working days left is a bit daunting. Still, what is life without a challenge? - answer, less stressful.

The early part of the next week has had to be re-arranged as a job needed to be re-scheduled, so might that leave me time to get a propshaft away for lengthening? Who knows. Come back next week - oh yeah, Easter Sunday but probably I'll be writing this lot up - what else would I do on a Sunday evening? See ya then.