On Sunday afternoon at about 3:30 pm, the team lifted the cover off the spare transmission to find the visible interior in very good condition. One cog had rust spots over about three teeth, apart from that it looked in very good condition. (Steve Hodgson)
The dedicated team working on the spare Hymek transmission, made a surprising discovery when the cover was gently craned off of the unit. It is intended to use this transmission in D7018.
A parallel can be drawn between this event and those of Howard Carter when his team opened up the tomb of Tutankhamen. A hush fell upon the shed as very gently the cover was moved upwards by the gantry crane and checks were made to ensure the lift was going correctly. As the cover moved upwards for the first half inch, one could peer inside at all the gearwheels and shafts. Once the cover was completely removed and clear of the main body, all the internal parts were revealed for the first time in over thirty years. It is remarkable that these components are in such an n excellent condition, being all bright and shiny with no signs of wear at all, although there are some very minor traces of rust spotting-even the oil looked like it had been recently poured in! Not only were the machined parts in tip top condition, but the painted surfaces of the castings were in the same condition as they were when the transmission unit was produced. This is all certainly good news for the group, and let’s hopes that the rest of the internal mechanical parts are in the same excellent condition. In one of the pictures, a tape measure was placed down inside to show just how deep you can see inside. ( text courtesy Jon Tooke).