Of BGs, bell codes and bearings

3rd November 2024

We all adore alliteration.

I've sat for a while wondering how to start tonight's blog. Getting over that initial hurdle - not writer's block but more akin to standing on the edge of the swimming pool in a dilemma as to whether to jump, dive or descend gently down the steps - often besets me. Usually I start with the truncated title 'Of' and leave it at that, what follows the 'of' typically presents itself to me when I spot what recurring theme has emerged without any conscious plan. Tonight it is the other way around. The title was obvious - though I did consider shrinking it to 'Of BGs, BCs and Brgs' to make it more intriguing - and then starting the text has been the difficult bit.

Monday, aside from delivering a pallet load of parts for a customer, was of little interest. Though shamed by Andrew's strenuous decoration efforts at his new abode, I did get around to purchasing a couple of LED light fittings, one to replace a hideous chandelier in the Country Pile living room which, after more than a decade of living here, we (ok I) had repeatedy said we would get rid of but still not replaced - and no, while I've bought it, for now it is still in its box and not yet fixed to the ceiling. One mustn't be too hasty in these undertakings.

Anyway on Tuesday Andrew was overseeing the movement of a BG out of Etches Park. This was a second attempt after the haulier refused to load it from its then location a few weeks ago and Andrew had had to arrange to get it re-positioned. Originally, the plan was that I would move it on the Doll trailer (which if you work it out means that it was due to be transported over 12 months ago, before Heanors stopped transport and we lost access to the Doll) and go to another preservation group. But in the interim that group had to drop out and for the moment the BG had to come to Peak Rail, though I was silently hoping it could find an inconspicuous niche at Rowsley. No such luck, Mark Sealey insisted it had to come down to Darley Dale. The haulier dropped the vehicle off Tuesday afternoon, and I fired up 873 (aka Bagnall the Barclay but I'll call it 873 today for brevity) to do some more observation of its pneumatic issues and get the BG away from the loading area.

The driver's brake valve behaved a bit better than it had on Saturday, but the gearchange was as bad and I manually pulled the box into reverse every time. Anyway, Mark himself came out with his Baguley to reform the train ready for Hallowen trips and between us we put the BG on the other end of 873 and parked them in the yard overnight.

Wednesday. Andrew had a meeting in Derby but came in at crack of sparrows to help me shunt things round ready for the Hatramm to run up to Rowsley and collect the BG. That gave me enough time to drive up to Rowsley, fire up 873 and as soon as Cathryn had cleared the loading dock road (which is the usual access route to the front of the train) I drew the Barclay and BG to the loading bank, parked them up and drove back to Darley Dale. Collecting the token from the Blockman, I had time to set the crossover, bring the Hatramm out and be waiting at the home signal by the time Cathryn came into Darley platform.

Over the level crossing I had the starter immediately so carried on up to Rowsley. Here it was only a matter of unlocking the ground frame, setting the crossover and going straight on to the BG with the Hatramm, couple up, uncouple 873, add a tail lamp and set off back. I was anxious to be in position so as not to delay the passenger service, which in practice was not difficult and gave me time to photo the ensemble in the platform, as well as getting Cathryn coming past heading north.

With the BG stabled on Track 1 and almost filling it, Louise had shunted over to the Track 3 stabling area and the Hatramm ended up on top of that, and yes, it is getting a trifle crowded. Out of curiousity I asked the blockman how I'd been belled. The Hatramm running north would have been straightforward, but was there, I mused, an esoteric bell code for 'track repair machine masquerading as a loco pulling an empty parcels van'? The answer was more prosaic. I had been a light loco heading out and an unfitted freight on my return.

After lunch I returned to Rowsley, put 873 on to the ashpit road where it wouldn't be in anyone's way and set about removing firstly the drivers brake valve on the right hand side which hasn't worked since the loco arrived. Andrew is adamant that the brake valves are not original - certainly they are Westinghouse type Ws whereas most of the loco is set up with Knorr-Bremse valves since these would be easier to maintain in Germany. The direction-change valve too is Westinghouse, and has a lever on the operating shaft which encounters a bank of three limit switches, ganged together, which are wired to a couple of automotive cube relays tie-wrapped to the central column of the desk. On a philsophical note I dislike wiring direction change switches from the control lever - it presumes that the gearbox will move when the control is operated. That, as is the case wth 873 right now, isn't guaranteed, and anyway, so far as I can see, there are no indicator lights in the desk to signify 'forwards' or 'reverse', or if there are, they are not labelled and don't work.

Andrew meanwhile had decided that we would substitute a Westinghouse SA1 brake valve in place of the working Type W as he had one 'in stock' (though earmarked for the Brush) and later we'd change it for a SA-one-and-a-quarter (yes there is such a thing) which has provision for a dummy linkage. I disagreed, saying that if we were going to go to that length now, let's do it right first time and put in the SA 1.25 and work out a dummy lever and linkage to get both sides functioning. The biggest obstruction to the cross desk linkage is, would you believe, those 3 limit switches and Andrew has agreed that they come out and we set up a gearbox detection arrangement in due course. (There's the remains of a limit switch attached to the gearbox but clearly defunct).

Back on Wednesday I didn't get too far - the non-working Type W came out but I didn't get on so well with the direction change, so I returned to that on Thursday, fighting to undo it and extract it thanks to the (a) rigid steel pipes with Ermeto fittings that give no quarter when you are trying to unwind a tight nut or disengage a valve and (b) those 3 limit switches and the operating handle sticking up through the slot in the desk which thwarted every twist and turn I tried. (It was later we decided that the limit switches could go!) Anyway it eventually came out and later on Andrew popped in to the workshop to take a look, finding the valve gummed up with oily dirt.

A trace back of some of the pipework revealed that the right hand Type W would not work because its air supply was capped off, though when (or why) this happened is unclear. Clearly some flex hoses substituted for steel pipes must be during its steelworks service back in the UK, but the standard of installation of the two Type Ws is above what I expect the quality of steelworks mods to be - maybe this was carried out under contract by someone more familiar with their installation. Why then substitute two Type W brake valves in place of the Knorr Bremse originals rather than a single valve and a dummy? Maybe, when I attempt to install a cross linkage over to the dummy, the reason may become woefully obvious.

Friday, and I was on the road to Chasewater to collect Phil C's Bagnall Myfanwy and take it to Foxfield for a holiday. A straightforward task save that as I had neglected to plan my route from Brownhillls to Blythe Bridge Jeff got there ahead of me. We unloaded and Myfanwy was posed next to Matt H's recently repainted Bagnall 0-4-0DH (Myfanwy is a Bagnall design but assembled by RSH).

Saturday. I had both Matt H and Jordan for the day and as the weather was a little iffy and the Hatramm far away from the area where Matt has been cutting up the EE, I set him on the minilok by the shed (and shelter) removing and repairing the rear guide wheel that was damaged. The pivot bar had been bent and I had a replacement which had been consignment stock from mnilok in YEC days (so 30 years back) at last coming in useful. The machined toggle parts had to be borrowed from the smaller minilok and the broken parts conveyed back home for me to draw and get made. The throttle electronics have dried out and I had been hoping to refit the unit and start testing, but first I had said I would recover an old SA1.25 from a control desk up the yard.

When I got to it I realised that working on it was neither convenient nor safe where it was, so fired up the Hatramm, lifted the desk over to it, moved the desk base on top of the RRA and once the valve had been extracted returned the desk itself and stood it by its base. At some point after this Matt came over to say the Blockman was having trouble with the crossing gates so we trooped out to see what the issue was. New gates were manufactured by (or for) Peak Rail many years ago and they are heavy - 2 tons has been suggested - and rely on two bearings at the posts. But the bearings are flanged radial ones, mounted horizontally and the weight of the gates is being taken by the bearings in a direction they are not intended to do. They sorely need a thrust bearing to take the weight, or as observed on Saturday, dolly wheels at the other end. Either way the bearings periodically fail, and Rob Sanders when he was Outdoor Foreman, reckoned he could change one in an hour.

But now Blockman Haden was struggling with the gate dragging on the road and cars impatiently waited to cross. Even a passing lady jogger lent a hand (or a shoulder) to get it back into place. For the rest of the afternoon we were on standby. There were five of us, two with sacktrucks, and three with crowbars, getting this gate open and closed as each train crossed. Normally this would have been done twice each time - the northbound train coming in to the platform and the gates being closed again to clear traffic until the southbound train was ready, but for this day the northbounds were held at the home and both moves carried out in one opening. As soon as the train service was finished an orange working party arrived and set about swapping the defective bearing and had completed it about the time I was heading home.

Today I went down at lunchtime to meet up with a visitor. Some months ago, I think I mentioned, Andrew acquired some railwayana through a reputable auction house but it transpired they were in fact part of a haul of stolen property from an enthusiast in North Yorkshire. He had finally arranged to collect them today on his way to Toton (he drives main line) but Andrew would be late. So I showed him around, finding a common ground in his n.g. interest (he has his own 2ft gauge line) before sending him on his way. Andrew finally appeared as I was setting up to test an SA1.25 (not the one from outside, that requires a full overhaul) so we did that together and I showed him a dummy handle and linkage I'd come across on Saturday (which he immediately identified as being from a Yorkshire cut up at Long Marston 20 years ago). He had welded up the alternator bracket for Davis' loco and I had assembled the pulley to it on Saturday, so I was trialling this and finding a slight snag which requires another adjustment slide to get sufficient movement. Andrew attended to 873's direction change valve, cleaning the internal components and finding a broken spring (this makes perfect sense; when I cracked the gearbox air lines earlier in the week that feeding the reverse cylinder had been much less energetic with escaping air) as well as old, hard rubber seals. A problem to be addressed this week, no doubt. But that aside it was a short day of which the most productive was probably having a bonfire (it's that time of year) to reduce the rubbish.

There's been a few technical issues with the website this week - nothing untoward but the archives have had to be switched off so if you want to look at something from years ago right now you won't be able to, but all being well they'll be back on soon. With that, and with no clear idea of exactly what is happening this week, I'll do my usual invitation that you return to find out and I'll - See ya then.