Restoration diary

​Mark Burrows, his son Robert and I were on site today. Mark and Robert carried on scraping, bashing, fibreglassing, filling, sanding and priming around the no.1 cab of 50030, while I had a good tidy up on the shelves opposite the electrical cubicle, then Mark helped me fit the three rad resistor backplates along one side of the rads. Apart from th...

Mark Burrows and his Robert plus myself were on site today. Mark and Robert carried on where my partner Mae had got to on the no.1 end cabsides of 50030, removing rusty paint bubbles, grinding and sanding smooth where possible, then adding filler, sanding again and priming, then painting with grey undercoat. When purchased in 2002, both 50029 and 5...

When we originally reported on the installation of the overhauled radiators into 50030, we promised some more pictures showing what we did on the day. I took a lot of pictures during the lift day and we hope these will give an idea of everything that was done on the day, and why it was such a long day! ...

​My fiancee Mae joined me on site today, along with Carl and Sofi Looker. While Mae was hammering, poking and scraping at rust spots around the lower parts of the no.1 cab on Repulse (a recent target area we had decided to tackle), Sofie was top-coating one side of the six radiator fan resistor backplates, while Carl and I lifted and bolted tw...

We have previously reported on the work done in the radiator compartment of 50030 once the radiators were originally lifted out to allow the compartment to be refurbished. We had hoped that we would be able to lift the radiators back into 50030 following their refurbishment somewhat sooner than now but a combination of bad weather and oth...

Dave Rolfe and I were on site today. It was more of a sorting stuff out day than doing much actual work as it was my first day back since December. I did manage to clean off the sixth radiator fan resistor backplate and undercoat the second side of two that weren't done last time, and I grabbed a picture of the completed fan roof underside now it's...

For those who have increased their shareholding since November 2016 (either through outright share purchase, attending the workparty in Rowsley or through standing order mandate) new share certificates are going to be in the mail on Monday December 11th. The share certificate will represent the actual number of full shares (£100 each) held on December 1st of this year. A big thank you to all those shareholders who make it possible to continue the vital restoration work as done by both our volunteers and outside contractors!

The 2017 Renown Repulse Restoration Group Annual General Meeting will be held at The Alexandra Hotel, 203 Siddals Road, Derby DE1 2QE at 11:15AM on 9th December 2017. The meeting will be held in the lounge with the usual selection of hot and cold drinks plus bar food such as filled cobs, pork pies and crisps available.If travelling by public transp...

​Carl Looker and his daughter Sofia put a third coat of black on the radiator room floor, than cleaned four of the rear mounting plates for the rad fan resistors which go above the walkways alongside the rads. There are three each side. The plates were only very lightly corroded as they get covered in dust and debris drawn in through the rad grille...

​Dave Rolfe and I were at Rowsley on Sunday 8th October: it was not the most successful of days but we got a bit done.We tried to take the radiator breather pipes off 50029, but she absolutely refused to help her sister and wouldn't relinquish said breather pipes. The bolts were just too rusted and tight, and the access to the bolts very restr...

On Sunday I went to Rowsley to see Dave Rolfe and catch up on what's been happening, unfortunately no pictures as my car was so full of stock after a sales event that day that the camera wouldn't fit in it!I'm pleased to say the radiator room is very close to being finished, the only tasks that need doing before the radiators can go back in in are:...

​19/6/2017 Deborah Stokes and I completed the rail grey topcoating in the radiator compartment, Dave Rolfe refitted another part of the radiator shutter actuating mechanism, while Wes Needle carried on in no 1 cab, refitting panelling to the driver's desk, though not without some effort as the panels were warped from storage and previous rushed fit...

This post is to continue from the previous article rounding up the progress RRRG has made in the first half of 2017.As we had lifted the radiator fan and its motor out of 50030 in order to remove the radiators themselves for overhaul, it seemed a good idea to get this sent off for overhaul at the same time as the radiators were being d...

As we approach the halfway point of 2017, it seems like a good time to to look back at what RRRG has been doing this year and our progress to date.The major work (and expense!) this year has been on the overhaul of the radiators for use in 50030 as we progress towards at least being able to fire up the engine in this locomotive. Along ...

Whilst we have the radiators removed from 50030, attention has turned to the radiator compartment inside the bodyshell with the aim being to refurbish it as quickly as possible. The reason for this is that we have the refurbished radiators back in our care, but we quickly decided that the best place to store them was where they came out from - name...

Most of our efforts since Christmas have concentrated on preparing the radiator compartment for the return of the radiators now they have been repaired. It's been all hands on deck to clean up years of accumulated debris, attend to lots of corrosion, especially around the blower duct on the floor and the electrical trunking that runs either side ju...

We are grateful to a number of railway publications for publishing our press release at the start of 2017 describing the radiator lift from 50030.  We've deliberately held off putting anything on the Group website about this event in order to give the magazines some time to have exclusivity on the story. Now the story is well and ...

RRRG has acquired a good condition, overhauled automatic voltage regulator (AVR) for use in 50029.  This continues our policy of obtaining spare parts whenever they appear on the market.  In this case the AVR was spotted as being for sale by RRRG volunteer Wes Needle, who informed Electrical Officer Andy Rowlands who in turn alerted me.&n...

On 22nd August Dave Rolfe and I were on site. Dave was having a good sort out of our storage as it had got a bit untidy, which was preventing us from finding items we need for the actual restoration project, and disposing of offcuts of some wood that we don't need. I carried on undercoating in the Thin Man's and a bit round the front of the cu...

The 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Renown Repulse Restoration Group will be held at the Whitworth Centre Darley Dale at 10:00 on Sunday 25th September.  All members and shareholders are welcome.  Tea and coffee will be available for all attendees.  Following the conclusion of the AGM we will hold another open afternoon at our res...

​A major step in the restoration of 50030 is to lift the existing radiators out of the locomotive so that they can be sent for professional overhaul.  Whilst we do have some spares, our assessment of them - backed up by professional judgement - is that the radiators inside the locomotive are in far better condition.  Whilst 50029 and 5003...

​We are pleased to announce that a number of new models are available for you to purchase in order to support our project.​RRRG is able to supply brand new Hornby models at very competitive prices as well as some pre-owned models.  Our stock of pre-owned models tends to change quite rapidly and so we tend not to list them in our shop.  If...

​The first of what will hopefully be a few website updates over the coming days.  The most recent issues of the RRRG newsletter, issues 30 and 31, are now available to view.  Issue 31 is currently restricted to viewing by RRRG members until the next issue is released.Issue 29:Issue 30:Issue 31:

​Dave Rolfe and I were on site today. Dave was freeing up one of the cab doors on Repulse while I carried on undercoating in the Thin Man's and over the cubicle inside the same locomotive.  Ian Kemp was on site the previous Saturday and they unbolted the remaining pipes and connections to the radiator fan currently inside 50030,...

​29th May 2016Dave Rolfe was helping remove usable parts from an old coach which is to be sent for cutting, and he asked for any electrical items he could salvage. He got two small steel cabinets and several lengths of conduit plus various elbows and tees. The smaller of the two cabinets could be useful as a connection box for the severed conduit o...