Bob Tiller reports that the loco has now been re-bogied at Brush and the traction motors re-connected. Brush have fabricated a new set of cab steps to replace the No.2 end secondman's side ones which were found to be beyond repair.
It is expected that work will be completed at Loughborough around the middle of the coming week.
Thanks again to Brush Traction and to Bob for arranging things with them.
At Williton, the new brush tensioning springs arrived this week so work has re-commenced on refurbishing the fire damaged No.1 exhauster.
Each brush box was removed from the brush ring in turn, cleaned, and the old tensioning springs removed. The insulators were coated with anti-tracking paint and re-fitted to the brush ring. The new brush tensioning springs were fitted but the correct brush pressure still needs to be set up. Further anti-tracking painting was then applied to the assembly as can be seen in the picture.
D3462 did the haulage with D9526 on the rear.
If there's a part of a Class 33 for which I have nothing but the greatest contempt, it has to be the Metcalfe Automatic Brake Slack Adjusters. I have been engaged in bitter conflict with these cantankerous things for a number of years!
One of them was robbed from 33 057 a year ago for 33 048 after one of its own was deemed a failure during brake block changing. This one was added to the other two previously removed from 48 which had so far defeated all attempts at repair.
So to make 57 complete again before departure I spent most of Saturday and Sunday trying to rebuild a replacement adjuster using what appeared to be the best of the three units.
Despite my efforts, all I ended up with was one that will be suitable for initial test purposes but will need to be changed again prior to re-entering service.
Richard and Leroy helped me fit the adjuster to the brake rigging and the three of us then escorted the whole lot to Bishops Lydeard by Steam Train and stowed it in the engine room.
Leroy is seen preparing a cup of tea whilst guarding the assembly in the brake van!
Some very nice people removed the frost damaged heat exchanger during the week and it will be sent away for repair in due course.
On Saturday, we welcomed back young volunteer Richard Hiscox and he assisted Paul B to fit the plywood blanks over the holes in No.1 cab where the shattered or missing windscreens used to be.
All unnecessary bits and pieces were removed from the engine room and this and the control cubicle were thoroughly vacuum cleaned. Need to give a good first impression when it goes away!
The bedplate drain tank was also emptied.
On Sunday, I did not arrive at Williton until early afternoon. But Richard and Leroy helped to clear out the cabs and apply some extra lengths of rope to hold on the roof tarpaulins.
Next weekend it is hoped to complete assembly of the replacement automatic brake slack adjuster and stow it on the loco prior to departure from the WSR.
Went under the loco and tied up the No.1 hand brake pull-rod so it is not lying on top of the No.2 traction motor.
Attached the TM bellows retaining strips to the bottom of the plate using the remaining good bolt.
Looked into manufacturing a new Perspex window for the No.2 axle brush but the old brass screws sheared when I tried to undo them so have just wrapped some tape around the assembly for now.
Also went around and oiled up both bogies ahead of the move to BL.
On Sunday Leroy helped me to try and get the cables back into the LT duct. Even though all of the exhauster cables are currently missing and many of the cables are of the new thinner variety we failed dismally and some of the cables have been routed in the HT duct for the time being just so we could get the floor plates back down. There must be a knack to doing this so will try again once the loco returns!
I have also continued rebuilding a replacement slack adjuster and Leroy has cleaned up the brake rigging. Hope to get it re-assembled next weekend.
Potentially only one weekend left before it departs on it's travels so lets hope we get it all done in time!
Three of them being original cylinders from the loco following overhaul and the fourth an overhauled spare from stock. See picture. This means that the loco now has a full complement of good brake cylinders.
Darren and Leroy took the removed floor plates out of the loco and cleaned them using the steam cleaner. Much local pollution resulted as can be seen in the main article!
On Sunday Paul and Leroy continued cleaning the floor plate support panels either side of the cable ducts ahead of painting and hopefully re-fitting the cleaned floor panels next weekend.
I decided to see if an Automatic Brake Slack Adjuster could be made up to replace the missing one "borrowed" by 33 048 a year ago. These items can be very difficult to dismantle for repair but luckily one of them relented and was split down and cleaned in the wash tank. It has been loose assembled as can be seen in the picture. A replacement 0.8" external circlip will be obtained to enable final assembly.
Could really have done with someone younger and thinner!
Once I got the cover off, there was evidence of there having been water inside the connection box at some point.
The centre bolt holding the retaining strip was so badly corroded that I could not undo it so was unable to withdraw the four cables from the box. Will need the attention of an angle grinder sometime. However, I managed to disconnect them at the terminals and do comparative insulation resistance measurements between each cable and ground on the motor and feeder cables. The motor was actually quite good considering the damp conditions it has been in but the cables were not quite as good. Will have to see how it goes with them.
I also managed to free the seized No.1 axle L/H brake cylinder crank and the isolating cock from the proportional system to No.1 bogie.
On Sunday, I removed the old exhauster cables complete right back to the cubicle.
As there will be welding performed adjacent to the connections in the cubicle and under where they are planned to pass near the triple pump, replacement of the exhauster cables will now be left until after this has been completed.
Also did a bit more cleaning and painting as seen in the picture as I am moving towards replacement of the floor ASAP. The fire bottle holders just seen on the right will need some welding attention as they are both missing their bottoms!
On Sunday, with help from Paul and Leroy I managed to resolder the WPA connection on the Triple Pump motor and complete connection of the new cables.
Then using an angle grinder, the large hole (resulting from the fire) where the exhauster cables originally emerged was tidied up and painted as can be seen in the picture.
This gave safer access to view the underfloor area where the fire was most intense due to the resin in the fibreglass cable ducts burning. The camera was passed below the hole and pictures taken, a bit like the cameras lowered into the damaged reactors at Chernobyl!
However, the resulting photos are deemed to be "classified" so not published here!
But there will be a fair amount of repair work to be done to the No.2 TM blower duct box and its support structure when the bogie is run out.
The GZ and GZ1 Main Generator Self-Field Resistance cables run in the HT duct with the Traction Motor and ETH cables and were found to have been damaged. Therefore, with Dave's help, the old cables were removed and replaced throughout from the cubicle to the resistor bank at the other end of the engine room. Proved to be just enough Polyrad 37/0.3 left on the reel to do this!
We also made some 25mm holes through the structure in the vicinity of the Triple Pump using a hole cutting saw for the revised cable routing.
On Sunday I was alone again and decided to run in the Triple Pump wiring properly as it has only been "temporarily" laid in for the past two years!
As has been mentioned previously, the original cable route is no longer available due to the fire damage. The metal work in the area was first cleaned up with an angle grinder and painted with red oxide.
Then Kopex flexible conduit was installed to the Triple Pump Motor using the holes cut on Saturday for the fittings at one end and new holes cut in the connection box at the other. This is shown in the pictures. The type of conduit used is oil and heat resistant, very necessary in view of the local environment!
The 25mm feeder cables were then fed through the conduit and the new lugs crimped on. The cables will be connected once some repairs to one of the studs has been performed.
On Saturday, main task was to reconnect the repaired No.1 traction motor cables. I had to use plated steel fasteners in the end as 14mm brass ones proved impossible to obtain.
Once coupled up, a smear of vaseline was first applied to the area to keep any damp out. Then 3M Self Fusing Sillicon Electrical Tape was bound around the joint. First time I've used it but marvellous stuff! Several layers of the tape were built up to ensure a suitably thick covering. Then finally, the whole lot was covered with some wide duct tape to give extra protection. Would have preferred black but had to use what was available!
Matt C then assisted me to lay the truncated No.2 traction motor cables into the duct on top of the No.1 cables.
These had been draped out of the way on top of the engine. The No.2 cables were then trimmed to stagger the eventual joints with the new cabling away from the joints in the No.1 cables. These will be idented accordingly as it is likely that the new cables will be joined in by a third party away from Williton!
On Sunday, attention turned to the leaking right-hand brake cylinder on No.4 axle.
Leroy assisted me to remove the leaking cylinder and replace it with a good spare one from store.
A compressor was then coupled to the main res and left to charge it whilst we had lunch.
Once sufficient pressure was attained, the straight air brake was applied and released several times and correct operation of the new brake cylinder was confirmed. This means that No.2 bogie now has four good brake cylinders fitted.
However, I could hear a slight air leak from somewhere and whilst investigating that found something far more interesting!
I noticed oil dripping from one of the coolant filling pipes. Not good news and a feeling of "deja vu" set in!
Removal of one of the end water connections to the engine oil heat exchanger revealed a quantity of oil in the bottom of the casting and an oily trace on the tubeplate led up to a tube which was leaking.
Despite the cooling system having been drained, it is likely that some water had become trapped in one of the tubes and froze during the recent very cold weather splitting the pipe. A point worth noting by other loco owners.
But luckily the engine has not been run since this occurred so damage is confined to the heat exchanger unlike when the same item failed on 33 048 three years ago resulting in about twenty gallons of water getting into the engine lubricating system. That made a real mess and the entire lubricating system including the sump and cylinder heads had to be thoroughly cleaned and I think I still bear the scars!
Leroy and me then set to and disconnected all fixed pipe work from the heat exchanger so apart from the flexible filling hose and retaining clamps, the unit is ready for removal from the loco.
Just like the one in 33 048 three years ago, it is likely that the heat exchanger will shortly be going on a journey to Hampshire for repair!
Following painting of the HT cable duct and repairs to the damaged insulation last weekend, Paul B assisted me in laying the No.1 Traction Motor cables back into the duct. The amount of damage to the cable insulation varies somewhat with wire 1A having to be repaired over some 4m of its length as can be seen in the picture. The cables were cleaned as far as was practical but some discoloration has remained.
The cables were cut to correct length, lugs were crimped on and the cables loosely rejoined to the remainder of the cable runs to check all was ok. Some 14mm brass bolts will be obtained for the final installation and the joints will be covered with heat shrink sleeving.
Paul B has been busy sorting out many of the items that have been removed from the loco for storage and restoration.
The new cable for the exhausters was delivered during the week and will be installed in due course.
An alternative route is to be used for the new exhauster, triple pump and cooker wiring to avoid the previous tortuous route that passed under one of the radiator drop tanks and used a fibreglass duct that was destroyed by the fire under the loco.
The coolant high temperature switch was also turned around to its correct alignment having previously been installed upside down!
On Saturday, the HT cable duct was examined and deemed to have dried out sufficiently. The TM cables had been temporarily laid in to allow the loco to be sent away first thing in the New Year. But as this move has been postponed, John Cooke assisted in pulling the cables from the duct and stowing them out of the way around the power unit.
The HT duct was then thoroughly cleaned and given a coat of red oxide paint.
On Sunday, Leroy gave the duct a second coat of paint and assisted me to repair the No.1 TM cables using lengths of heat-shrink sleeving. The original outer protective rubber layer of each of the four cables concerned having been damaged over varying lengths initially by the fire and then more substantially by water ingestion. The damaged outer layer of each was cut back to where it became sound again and was then replaced by the heat-shrink.
It is hoped to place the repaired cables back in the duct next weekend, weather permitting!
With help from Leroy, Paul B removed the cab steps from No.2 end secondmans side which are badly corroded. They turned out to be worse than expected and have partly fallen apart!
They may be able to be rebuilt but Paul believes that another group have some spares so will be making enquiries.
With help from John Cooke, a new tarpaulin was fitted over the roof of the loco from the rear of No.2 cab to half way along the loco. It reaches down far enough to cover the grilles and should help keep things a bit dryer inside so hopefully we will not be defeated by the weather quite so often!
It has been tied down in a way that should resist damage from the wind (fingers crossed!).
A second tarpaulin may be acquired to also cover the other half of the loco.
The departure of the loco to an outside contractor for attention planned for the first week in January has been postponed, probably until early March.
However, the delay may actually prove to be a bonus as it is now hoped to get a number of tasks done prior to departure including running in the new exhauster wiring and finish the work started on the traction motor cables.
The last three clamps securing the No.1 and No.2 traction motor feeder cables were removed and the cables pulled from the duct to permit cleaning. About a quarter of an inch of sludge was scraped out and some small holes were drilled to let out water. Following cleaning, the cables are being laid back into the duct to allow the floor plates to be re-fitted.
Paul B with help from Graham has been stripping out the ceiling and damaged glazing in No.1 cab to assist the forthcoming repairs. A temporary tarpaulin has been fitted to that end (in the dark and pouring rain!) to keep the rain out and some plywood "plugs" will be made next weekend to fit into the openings.
Graham and Paul also managed to get the (empty) fire bottles out and the batteries have been removed for safe storage.
With all this work going on, anyone would think we are working to a deadline!
On Saturday I managed to finish grinding out the remains of the old cable duct in No.2 cab and painted the applicable areas with Ferricon rust converter. It is a bit reluctant to dry in the current conditions!
But I hope that the new duct will be cut to length and fitted next weekend. Daniel started to take out the screws retaining the ceiling in No.1 cab. The ceiling has to be removed to enable any welding repairs in the window frames and cab structure to be performed.
A few of us managed to get a tarpaulin over the top of the loco from No.2 cab back to about half way. Due to the condition of the internal rain guttering it is nearly as wet inside as outside the loco when it rains! So with the tarpaulin fitted, it is hope that the ducting will dry out enough to allow the cable runs to be sorted out properly.
On Sunday Paul B and Leroy continued the ceiling removal and managed to remove the rear section complete. The metalwork behind is much better than in the other cab!
This will continue next weekend.
I ran a cable from the engine room roof break connector back into No.1 cab. This is the POS cable for the two way engine room lights and is the last one missing from the cant rail and vertical trunking so the covers can now be re-fitted.
Lots still to do but the loco should be moved back into the DEPG yard next Saturday which will help things considerably.
I also drained the coolant today in view of the forecast colder conditions.
Would be nice to be young and agile again!
The bits have been taken into the shed for cleaning and painting. A primer called Ferricon is being used to treat the rustier items. This neutralises the rust and can be painted over once dry. The picture shows one of the outer pull rods in the primer whilst drying and the other one having received a coat of black gloss. The two traction motor bellows retaining strips have been similarly treated. But even Leroy could not manage to release the coupling of the overhead pull rod. It is hoped that this will be removed in due course with the aid of a pit.
