This week we’ve seen the recently finished Palvan shunted into the van train, and the team have continued working on the two Catfish wagons at Quorn.
The vacuum brake cylinder that was removed from Catfish DB993560 and dismantled last week was scraped, wire brushed and cleaned out.
One of the studs from the dome needed a little heat to remove a stuck nut, then cleaning up and re-fitting. The threads on the remaining studs were also run down with a die to clean up any thread corrosion.
The ball valve was removed, cleaned out & checked, and the piston rod nut was also cleaned and refitted.
The cylinder outer casing was then painted.
The north west corner of Catfish DB983393 was showing signs that the spring was not seated centrally in the axlebox pad; after some investigation some jack-rust was noted behind the spring which was pushing the spring forwards.
The underkeeps were removed, the bolts cleaned up and split pin holes cleared. The weight was then lifted off the spring and the offending rust and debris removed from the axlebox pad. An opportunity was also taken to check the bearing and journal which were found to be in good condition.
The wagon was lowered back onto it’s springs and the alignment appeared much better. We’d check again after the wagon had been shunted to settle down.
DB983393 had at some point had some oversize gas valve wheels fitted to it’s handbrake; these needed a little heat applying to release them so they could be replaced with a couple we had in stock.
A shunt move had been arranged and 78019 arrived to marshal the Palvan B781908 onto the south end of the van train and position the van train in sections to set out the yard ready for upcoming events.
The two Catfish wagons were moved to settle the suspension. DB983393 was checked again and all was good with the spring seating.
The remaining brake rigging safety loops that we’d finished making last week were fitted and the underkeeps were re-fitted to DB983393.
Back on the other Catfish DB993560, and it’s vacuum cylinder was re-assembled.
The hopper panel and framework that is behind & under the vacuum cylinder fitted position was scraped and treated to a coat of primer.
The refurbished vacuum cylinder was then refitted.
Thanks for reading, join us again next week for some more progress with the two Catfish wagons; all the best, Dave
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