Of ransom packages and sore jaws

26th November 2023

Oh look, one month until Christmas.

This week hasn't been all that productive. I tried swapping the CPU module in the Alstom loco (to replace that one that had no 'OK' light on) it accepted the program and declared that its firmware was too early a version. The module that was not OK must have a later version, so I opened them up and exchanged the PROM and refitted it. Up it came and I began to check through the sequence ready to start up. Then all of a sudden the OK light went out. I swapped the CPU module for another. I got farther with it this time, indeed, I had the automatic start sequence functioning but almost immediately the 'main air pressure OK' message came up on screen - the air pressure was nowhere near raised and the light on the input card was still out. This might be accounted for if I had a line crossed in the program that otherwise sends the correct message at the appropriate time. I jotted a note down quickly and went on. Then a Fault Warning message came up - Torque converter overheat' I had just about scribbled a note that it was displaying this but neither of the t/c warning inputs had gone out (which they will if the temperature switch breaks open) when the engine stopped and yes, the CPU 'OK' light had gone out.

This is not a problem I've ever encountered before and clearly its internal protecion system has closed the module down. If it was rainwater ingress (and we have had rather a lot lately) which card has it affected? There are 3 input and 1 output modules, a power supply and the CPU modules, all plugging in to a 'rack' which itself has electronics in. Depressed and frustrated, I packed up.

Late in 2019 I had a temporary filling put into one of my teeth which was supposed to last until June 2020, but then some pandemic upset the apple cart and the dentists was only seeing patients who were 'in pain'. Maybe I should have lied, after all, the filling hadn't lasted 6 weeks (not the first time I had made a joke about going back with a warranty claim) and if I had had sufficient inkling (long term readers might recall that I was forecasting that the heritage movement could write off 2020 when the prognosis was that we'd be back to normal in 6 weeks or so) to be that sure of my own predictions., I might have done so. The dental practice continued to send periodic texts assuring me that they would see patients who were in urgent need but that the additional precautions precluded seeing patients for regular check-ups. That fizzled out 18 months or so ago and it sank in that we had been culled from their records and needed to find a new dentist. But getting an NHS one at the moment is a bit of a difficult task, and eventually we were accepted by practice the other side of Chesterfield, where it was determined that after 3 years of no attention, I needed several extractions. One of these was first thing Tuesday, and took over half an hour as the teggie concerned broke up and the dentist had to spend some time and energy getting a grip on the remaining bits and pulling them out.

Not put you off your breakfast/coffee/lunch have I? It put me off, and fortunately the job I had planned for Wednesday-Thursday, pushed back to Thursday-Friday, left me Wednesday to recuperate and generally feel sorry for myself, which I most certainly did. I spent the time on drawings and other such things, including re-reading the manufacturers data on the Jones crane. The instrument panel lists a charge warning light. Aha, thought it must have had something. I don't know which one it is mind (there are several warning lights, but only one is labelled AND works, and that's Oil pressure) so the quest is on.

The Royal Mail stuck one of those cards through my door. Not the annoying red ones that claim you weren't in when you were, but a grey one that says that they have something for you but won't deliver until you pay a ransom of £3.50 because the sender didn't put sufficient postage on. I duly paid up. Andrew had spent a couple of evenings in the shed 'tidying' (I wasn't in the mood) with the result that the second Polstore had found a new home on a different wall alongside the earlier one, its space had been taken up by the workbench that carries the pipethreader and 'my' bench had been displaced and took up residence in the middle of the shed.

Anyway, we had work scheduled for Thursday and I was feeling better and hit the road just after half-seven. The destination was Long Marston, to turn two locos around and return with a third. Because of the weight of the last, it needed an escort vehicle so Adam had engaged the services of a guy called Jaimie which made my work much easier! I passed them at Leicester and pushing on ahead, arrived at site at about 10.15. Once the access had been opened, I was relieved to find the first loco and our last ready where I had asked for them, so we set about ramping the first one on, turning the lorry around and taking it off again. In the good old days there had been a triangle, but rationalisation had taken this out and as effectively all curves were the same way, flange wear will be uneven. With the first loco back on its rails a few feet from where we started, it was taken away and a second brought up, which we winched on and turned around again.

Unfortunately there was no way to do this as slickly as we had in South Wales a year or so ago, as we took the second loco off, it was now obstructing our access to the loco we were to collect, but I had worked out it was still the most efficient way to achieve it all - efficient as in not having to assemble and dis-asemble the ramp more than neccessary. I drove the loco away from the ramp end, we moved ramp and then the lorry to one side, and I drove it back clear so that we could go back to where we had just been and load the last one. In contrast to the other two, this had been stood a long time and its brakes were dragging, so it screached a bit as it went up. All this had occupied about 5 hours on site, much as I had hoped except for starting a little late due to traffic and such. My journey down took 2 and a half hours, my return journey though took over 3 due to road works, police cars detaining a van on top of a road junction, congestion around Leicester and a coming together of a pick-up truck and a car in a middle lane of the M1.

Phil meanwhile, had to park up near Coventry for the night, and hoped to be at Rowsley for about noon Friday, but wanted me to meet him at Bakewell to go wrong-sided at the roundabout. We arranged he'd ring me as he left Chesterfield, but when I hadn't heard I assumed he'd forgotten and drove up to Bakewell for about 11.50, and was sat on a bench in the sun when he came through to say traffic in Chesterfield was dire and it would be nearer 12.40. As I only had 30 minutes valid parking where I was, I moved the van somewhere else and returned to the bench. At about quarter to one, Phil rang as he came into Bakewell. I wandered across the roundabout, Jaimie arrived first in the Escort van and blocked traffic getting on to the roundabout from the Chesterfield side, and I walked out into the road and stopped it coming on from Rowsley. I gave Phil the ok and the lorry comes around from the Buxton direction, across the front of the Rutland Arms Hotel, and dives down towards Rowsley, with Jaimie pulling in behind and me waving thank you all and heading back to collect the van. It all works quite slickly provided you don't get anybody being bolshy and if we tried going around properly - we probably could but it would mean stopping, raising neck and rear suspension to clear the kerb, shuffling to and fro on the rear steering to gain more space and angle, and block the roundabout for about 15 minutes.

Down at Rowsley we unloaded and Bagnall the Barclay, having earlier this week hauled the Network Rail 73 down to Matlock for collection by rail, towed it away and parked it on the headshunt to await a suitable opportunity to move down to Darley Dale.

Andrew was away Saturday, and I spent most of the morning at home. The pain in my jaw having subsided Wednesday-Thursday, had resumed, but I had some drawings to do and set up another PLC rack with a mains supply and test the CPU modules that had failed earlier. To my relief they paused and then came back as OK, so I concluded that the rainwater had penetrated either the base rack, the power supply, or, on further reflection, the first Input module where the program was flagging faults which were not borne out by the module display. I opted to change all 3. Later that afternoon I popped down and did some further meaurements on the W&L loco so that I could progress that design work.

Andrew returned this morning and after a early lunch we headed down. I swapped the PLC bits over and reloaded the program. To my irritation it refused to start running. It didn't report this back to me on the software, it just sat there saying OK but not RUN. As I logged off in disgust it suddenly gave me an error message - 'the installation has a fault' - Really? There was a fresh pool of rainwater on the desk top since the beginning of the week but I had put a linbin out to catch it and covered the PLC underneath with thick plastic sheet. As Andrew was around I found some silicon sealant, went up on the cab roof and gobbed it all around the flashing beacon, the only place where water could be getting in. Andrew meanwhile was sorting out a couple of stillages, putting springs in one rack, some bits he'd decided were no longer required into the scrap bin and moving a couple of H beams out the way. He'd also cleaned out the brazier and had a good fire going, burning mostly ivy that we cut down a few weeks ago.

As darkness fell we moved back inside and walked the pillar drill together with its tooling shelves, to its new home as part of his grand-master re-arrangement plan. He had been assembling an engine stand for Jagger's spare 6VPH block but the MIG gas bottle was nearly expired and we loaded 3 bottles into the van for me to take down to Matlock in the morning.

Oh yes, that ransom package? It arrived on Thursday, a window envelope with my name address and an ebay refrence on, a first class stamp and containing a DIN plug as used on electrical components like solenoids. It would clear a pillar box aperturte but not one of those gauging slots they have at post offices. Presumably it had clogged a sorting machine and so Royal Mail declared it a Small parcel and therefore attracting a higher charge. There was no note inside and strangely a Matlock postmark. For some time it remained a mystery, but on Saturday I checked a hydraulic valve I had bought and there was the same handwriting, and ebay refrence on its packaging. The valve's solenoid already had a plug, but for whatever reason the vendor had decided to mail me another - or had he meant it for someone else? Steph's view is to leave it alone and not complain that he just cost me £3.50!

This week I have another job in plan and perhaps a return visit to the dentists first to see if all is well (which it isn't). It is also nearly month end so the round of people to pay and invoices to issue looms large. It doesn't sound exciting but maybe there'll be something else. Come back and find out next week. See ya then.