Restoration diary

In the morning we had our annual AGM at the Whitworth Institute in Darley Dale, and as usual we were graced with a large turnout from the membership. We then went to site and various work was undertaken during the afternoon, before we retired to the Shalimar Indian restaurant for our annual pre-Christmas curry.

Dave played with his new toy today, a 4-ton forklift truck, to help Ian & Pete remove one of the turbos and the intercoolers from the power unit in readiness for removing the camshafts. Chris Thorn continued sorting out airpipe runs and cleaning debris from the clean air room, and removing air pipes to allow the removal of the exhauster by the brake frame for overhaul, while his brother Tom continued working in No.1 cab. Mark Burrows covered the spare bogies with tarpaulins, Chris Bodell started cleaning the air pipes Chris was removing, while I finished wiring the auxiliary contacts on the no.3 field divert contactor.

While they are waiting for the next delivery of parts for the next four pistons, Ian, Pete & Dave removed the steel bars (stays) that provide extra support for the intercoolers and turbos at the free end of the power unit & started loosening bolts, hoses & connections on the one remaining turbo (the other already having been removed before we got the power unit from Crewe) and the intercoolers, as Ian has taken advice on the inlet/exhaust cams and has now decided it would be wise to change them for 'newer' ones. To allow the camshafts to be removed, the turbos & intercoolers require removal. Only the intercoolers are actually in the way, but they provide part of the support for the turbos, so both need removing. Chris continued working on fabricating various sections of pipework for the air & braking system, while I finished assembling, fitted and began wiring the aux contact block on the no.3 field divert contactor.

Chris T, his brother Tom & Dave R all spent the weekend on site again. Chris appears to have turned into our resident pipe fitter, with three more air pipes for the brake frame fabricated in the clean air room. He fabricated a new section of conduit for the fire bottle activation cable in the thin man's passage, making all four runs complete. Six internal doors had replacement locks and handles fitted making all these complete. In No.2 cab all exposed conduits were cleaned up & painted in primer. The window quarterlights were removed & the steelwork behind cleaned up. His brother Tom continued work in No.1 cab, which looks pretty good now, with most of the interior surfaces cleaned & painted, and all the rear bulkhead equipment & the roof lights refitted. Chris B examined the four brake cylinders Mark B brought with him, finding two good ones, one that may be usable & one scrap one. He then cut & drilled pieces of steel which Mark, after tidying up the sales stock, fitted on the inside of the opening doors we are not using in the BG to make it more secure. Ian & Pete freed off & lubricated the cam followers on 'B' bank. The four suspect inlet/exhaust cams cleaned up okay, so hopefully the camshafts will not now have to be removed. The tarp was removed from the power unit so Mark B could phot progress & more oil was smeared round the inside of the liners. I cleaned & fitted the contact tips to no.s 2 & 3 field divert contactors, likewise the copper braids to the no.3 contactor & started reassembling the no.3 auxiliary contact block.

As some of you will have heard, in the last game of the season, seven weeks ago, I blew my left knee out again, and today was my first time back on the railway. A new consignment of engine parts had arrived with Ian, but the supplier was apparently out of stock of oil rings, so he, Pete & Dave decided to look at the camshafts. Generally they are in good condition but some cams are rusty and will need replacing from our stock of spares. They replaced one of the four defective fuel pump cams, but have not yet decided on some suspect inlet/exhaust cams which are pressed onto the shaft, therefore necessitating removal/dismantling of camshafts. After re-acquainting myself with where I had left the cubicle wiring, Dave helped me re-fit the third main Field Divert contactor, which I had stripped & overhauled whilst recovering from my knee injury at home. These contactors are heavy and notoriously difficult to fit, due to the usual space constraints, so we were both surprised when it mounted first time with no trouble. I then fitted the copper braids that I had cleaned to the no.2 contactor & got a spare contact section for the auxiliary contact block for the no.3 contactor, as one was heavily corroded & broke when I stripped it for cleaning.