I went up again today as welder Ian needed access inside Repulse. Ian Kemp and Peter Carter were also there barring the ex-50008 power unit round and pumping oil through it. We do this as a mattter of course at each work party just to ensure this power unit remains in good internal condition ready for insertion into 50030 later this year. Welder Ian finished the big cabside repair to No.2 cab. Once the primer he put on had dried, I painted those areas with grey undercoat to add another layer of weather protection. He's done three of the four footsteps now as well, removing the old anti-slip strips and replacing them with new. The fourth one needs more work so that will be done at a later date, as will the gutterings under the headcode boxes. While he was clearing up I top-coated the orange electrical conduits I'd undercoated last time in the gen compartment. My next task will be to paint the insides of some of the newly-welded steel to give it some rust proofing from the inside, although welder Ian is making new drain holes for the no 2 end cab and Wes Needle has already done this for the no 1 end. Blocked drain holes are one of the reasons Class 50 cabsides rot as water gets trapped inside the outer skin. We are so far very pleased with Ian's work and intend to commission him to tackle some of the tricky areas under the headcode boxes which we made a temporary repair on using fibreglass a number of years ago, but which really need a permanent repair now.
