Author: rloades109

  • 13/10/24 – Ticking things off the list

    13/10/24 – Ticking things off the list

    Hello everyone, and thanks for joining us for another update from Quorn. The autumn weather is definitely settling in, so we’ve been ticking jobs off the back burner list. During the week, Dan finished the signwriting on the LMS brakevan, which now leaves some underframe painting to finish.

    With rain predicted on Saturday, I started looking at re-assembling the genset in the Test Car. Naturally, I started by taking it apart more… To re-attach the fuel pump, I wanted to check the timing on the geartrain, so ended up draining the coolant from the system and removed the radiator and water pump to gain access to the timing case. As I was removing components, Charlie took them outside and cleaned them with the pressure washer.

    Nick and Ernie took a look at the drawer in the kitchen on the coach, which has been broken for a few months. The drawer was re-assembled with additional L brackets to re-attach the front of the drawer. Back in the generator room, I found broken wires on the magnetic pickup and the dynamo, which may have contributed to the issues with the generator.

    On Sunday,we started by moving the barrels from E281882 back into B765272 to put them back into covered storage after Railways At Work.

    We then moved onto some light landscaping, to clear an access ramp to get Danny up onto the dock to help in clearing that up.

    I went back into the Test Car and finished piping up the fuel system, which leaves just the control actuators and the cooling system left to re-assemble. I also repaired the intermediate cover which had some loose rivets.

    The light landscaping turned into heavy landscaping to fill in some of the ramp way to make it less steep for Danny, who eventually made it onto the dock.

    Dan and I went to test the air brakes on the TEA tank, however part way through the test, it was found that one bow girder was not moving when the brakes were applied. We stopped the test and sent Dan under to lubricate and tap the linkages to free them. This didn’t remedy the seizing this weekend, so we’ll look at it again another time.

    Thanks for reading! we should be back on the Catfish next weekend, weather permitting, to apply the black paint. Joins us then!

  • 06/10/24 – Catfish, the steps and a Steam Gala

    06/10/24 – Catfish, the steps and a Steam Gala

    Good evening all, this week the gang have applied more paint to DB993560, the steps into the tool van have been repaired, and being the Autumn Steam Gala some train spotting may have taken place.

    During the week, Dan has been down at Rothley making a good go at the sign writing on the LMS brakevan. He only has the number, region and tare weight left to apply on the east side.

    At the weekend the gang applied red oxide to the W irons, the north end headstock and platform. This also extended to the insides of the frames and the underside of the wagon.

    Mark and Dan applied white undercoat to the hand rails and hand wheels, getting them ready for gloss.

    Last week, somebody (at the moment remaining nameless..) managed to crack one of the steps on the main steps up to the tool van. The rotten boards were removed with replacements cut and strengthening battens added to other steps. The team also secured the loose handrail.

    Lastly, being the Autumn Steam Gala the vans and the tanks have been out on the line which is always a pleasant sight to see.

    Thank you for reading and see you next week where we might even get to applying some gloss to the Catfish(es?).

  • 29/09/24 – A second Catfish coated

    29/09/24 – A second Catfish coated

    Hello everyone and thanks for joining us for this week’s update from Quorn. The Catfish have been the sole focus of attentions, with DB983393 having is priming finished and DB993560 getting primer applied.

    Ernie started grinding back the welding I’d done on the outside of the hopper while I continued doing the last bit of welding on the big panel, up each side of the patch and a small amount on the inside of the hopper.

    The platform that was cleaned down last week had primer applied by Nick, who then moved onto the other hopper. The dock side of the hopper bar the w-irons got a coat of primer. He then started to scrape the more restrictive areas of the hopper that haven’t been finished, joined by Oliver who used the needle gun to clean down the south end walkway.

    Dan and Oliver made a start on cleaning the inside of the hopper with the pressure washer, more on this in future weeks.

    Mark joined Ernie on the grinder, and tidied up the welds on the big panel, lastly Ernie got to applying paint to the panels the have been ground back

    Nick continued applying paint around the hopper, moving round the West side. Charlie continued his mission to keep the dock tidy by cutting the grass.

    Thanks for joining us for this week’s update. Join us next week where is will likely be the last bit of cleaning and priming on the hopper.

  • 22/09/24 – Wagon and water works

    22/09/24 – Wagon and water works

    Hello everyone and welcome to another update from Quorn. This week we’ve carried on painting the LMS Brake van and done the last bit of paint removal on the Catfish. During the week Nick and Tom got the LMS brake van into its bauxite gloss coat, this now awaits signwriting.

    Using the Hydrovane last time, I noticed the the starter motor was loose so Oliver, Dan and I disassembled the side panel and removed the starter motor to tighten up its mount adapter.

    Oliver set to work needle-gunning the the operating platform on DB983393, which is the last bit of this wagon that needs to be primed.

    Dan and I investigated a new acquisition, a petrol pressure washer. It was bought as a non-runner with no spark. Dan fitted a new spark plug and we borrowed an ignition coil from a generator, which got the little Honda engine running. There are some leaks in the water side on the hose, so we’ll see how this ends up working.

    Thanks for reading, and join us next week!

  • 08/09/24 – More Catfish Cleaning

    Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for another update from Quorn. After last week’s working on B954268, we’ve moved back onto the 2 Catfish; getting DB983393 to get this ready for paint.

    Initially it was out with the scrapers to make a start on the solebar.

    We quickly got bored with that, so moved onto striking up the Hydrovane and using the needle gun and the sanders to clean down the solebar and hopper respectively.

    Dave took a short trip on the Brake van in the Parcels set to monitor Palvan’s riding. He was pleased to report that there were no surprises and that it rode quite well.

    Dave and I took a brief interlude from the sanding/de-scaling to check a R Y Pickering builders plate for the TEA that Dave had drew up and 3D printed. I also brought in a piece of BR history, a Metallurgical Defect Meter.

    Sunday was more of the same, but on the other side of the Catfish, so instead of repeating darker pictures of the same activity, I’ll leave you with a picture of the cleaned down article. Both Catfish are rapidly reaching the same point, so we’ll soon be breaking out the primer. Thanks for reading!

  • 26/08/24 – Welcome, 4099!

    26/08/24 – Welcome, 4099!

    Hello everyone, and thanks for joining us. This week, we’ve had a new arrival, and it is a big one!

    4099 (currently showing 87483) is a 100t gross bogie tank wagon, built by R Y Pickering in 1967 for Shell Mex BP. The tank was initially a Class B, but was later converted to Class A. Latter it was owned by VTG who made us aware of it following a review of their stored stock. After a conversation with the Railway’s General Manager, consent was given to bring the tank from Long Marston for three reasons: it provides more capacity for locomotive water at steam galas (once lined); it can operated at 60mph and is air braked so can be used for testing work; and lastly with a vacuum through pipe, it could run in the tank train for photo charters.

    Before looking at the tank and after bit of English summer weather (rain), Tom and Mark cleaning out the gutters on the Test Car (on footed ladder), and the BRUTEs were removed from the station platform and put back into the Palvan after Railways at Work.

    We then got into cleaning the tank off. After soaking, a bit of scrubbing and then rinsing with the pressure washer, the barrel of the tank came up fairly well.

    The ends were a slightly different ball game, with the cast iron brake deposits being quite stubborn. We tried some iron fall out remover, but that didn’t really shift it. It became a job for scrapers and wire brushes to bring off the worst of the brown discolouration all around the tank.

    Focus will be back on the Catfish next week, although a cheeky brake test may take place on the tank. We’ll also be thinking of ways to remove the rest of the baked on brake dust, so if anyone has any suggestions, please do let us know! Thanks for reading.

  • 11/08/24 – Railways At Work 2024

    Hello all, and welcome to the Railways At Work update. Its been a busy, hot but thoroughly enjoyable weekend showing what the railways used to do. First order of business though is to wish Oliver a Happy Birthday for the 9th, for which he baked and duly shared cakes with us.

    On Monday the fish van body from Rothley was moved to Quorn and lifted into position by the C&W team with their 15t crane.

    On Friday I was on site to move the five BRUTEs to Leicester North, ready for the gala. Thanks to Harry for the assistance there. I’d also assisted Nick in fitting a door to the fish van body.

    The team members that prefer not to dress up, go stuck into the Fish Van body, finishing off the door fitment, changing the damaged ship-lap panel for a piece of ply and then giving it a coat of undercoat.

    On Sunday similar again, though the door and panel got a coat of olive green paint leftover from the tool van.

    I’ll use the rest of the update as a gallery of photos from the Gala. Charlie, Dan and Oliver all playing the role of unruly trainspotting school boys, with Dave and I joining in the army of porters. I think all enjoyed themselves and we’ve had lots of positive feedback.

    Thanks for reading and for anyone who came to the gala, next week should hopefully be a little more sedate, though there is still the BRUTEs to tidy away and eventually the vans to sort out.

  • 28/07/24 – Cutting holes in the Catfish (again)

    Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s update from Quorn. The Catfish has consumed more welding rods and plate, the tanks have have some buffers changed and a we’ve prepared a base for the Fish van body that is currently in Rothley car park.

    I began by finishing the big patch from last week which hadn’t been welded across the bottom joint. While I was doing that Ernie started cutting out the last patch on the East side, on the end under the hopper door control wheel.

    Nick and Charlie looked at the tank train which is now in the Down Ly-by. Three buffers were stuck in on two of the ‘Airfix’ Esso tanks, two on 3777 and one on 3711. Having applied the appropriate protection, between them they moved the replacements into position and loosened the bolts on the existing buffers, making them ready for changing.

    Ernie had got the plate cut out for the patch, which we fettled to fit the hole and got tacked into place.

    On Sunday with Mark, Tom, Oliver and Dan, we started off with exchanging the buffers on the tanks so they are fit to run at Railways At Work. All smooth sailing however one bolt got damaged so had to be re-tapped before the buffer was fitted.

    Once this once done, I got back on with the welding on the Catfish. The plate was welded around its perimeter and into the corner of the hopper. After a fantastic barbeque lunch (and time to let the welder cool down) I welded the last twelve inches on the side of the plate and Dan opened the door and swept out the bottom of the hopper. The access boards were removed now that the welding is finished on the inside of the hopper. Just the outside of the hopper to go!

    While I was welding, Nick, Tom and Oliver went to Rothley to get some sleepers to sit underneath the Fish van body destined for the dock. This is destined to be moved on the 5th August as part of the Railways At Work pre-event shunt.

    Next week, we’ve got a bit of prep for Railways at Work to do and potentially some work at Rothley to finish off work on B954268’s re-planking. Thanks for reading, and join us next week to see what we get up to.

  • 21/07/24 – Gluing a Catfish back together

    Evening everyone, and thank you for joining us. We’ve finished off the braking system on DB993560 and have begun welding the side panels back into the hopper.

    Nick and I picked up where we left off last week by finishing the install of the refurbished vacuum cylinder. A release valve was put on from our overhauled stash and the branch pipe was reconnected. We put some temporary vacuum hoses on the wagon and performed a vacuum test.

    The vacuum test performed well, though we had some issues with the temporary vacuum hoses so only managed 19″ rather than the usual 21″. The brakes applied and released as per spec and once applied held for more than an hour which is more than adequate.

    After this point, Ernie and I started preparing the replacement plate for the hopper. Working from the pieces cut out, Ernie cut the plate using the cutting gun and ground up the edges. I welded some tabs on the back of the plate to stop it dropping back out the hopper once laid in.

    We got the smaller of the plates tacked in, and then cut out the larger plate. The larger plate took a bit more fitting, and required some manipulation of the existing hopper to get it to line up. With the plate positioned, it was tacked in to suit.

    On Sunday I continued with the welder, welding around the inside seams of each plate, well until my supply of rods ran out anyway. The smaller of the plates was welded all the way round on the inside of the hopper, and the larger plate was welded around the top and down the 2 sides. Dan very capably assisted me in the hopper, and just about managed to stay awake.

    That leaves the bottom of the large plate to weld on the inside, then just a case of doubling up and welding the outside of the hopper. We’ve identified another panel to replace, and have got some localized panel beating to do on the other panels on the East side. Then the wagon is ready for another clean down and a paint.

    Thanks for joining us and reading the update Join us next week where it could be more welding, and finishing off the work on the hopper. I think this is a first for us, where we’ve welded up a wagon at Quorn. Its rewarding to learn new things and continue to practise them. Have a good week!

  • 30/06/24 – More Flame, Better!

    Hello everyone and thank you for joining us for another update from Quorn. Work on the Catfish progresses, with more bodywork attention and new skills learned in making safety loops. First though, I’ll cover some work on B954268 by Nick and Tom. The cladding on the East side of the van has rotted, so is being removed to be replaced.

    Richard, Dave and I started by removing some safety loops from DB993560 to use as a template. Catfish have 3 safety loops per axle, and these serve as secondary retention for the brake bow girders and pull rods. In the unlikely event that a pin fails in the brake rigging, these safety loops prevent any loose components dropping down causing damage to the wagon, or event derailing it.

    DB983393 arrived on site with none of its safety loops, so we’ve had to manufacture them. Dave found some steel stock which was suitable, and between himself, Richard guided by Ernie got cracking on heating and bending.

    I worked on the Catfish. After reviewing the time taken trying to cut and close up the stretched material, we decided that it would be quicker and easier to cut out the damaged material and weld in new.

    I got the first bit cut out, and decided to cut out a section of the bigger panel. Dave managed to catch the panel mid drop.

    Richard, Dave and Ernie made good progress and got the two centre safety loops and one ‘outer’ loop made.

    Encouraged by progress on Saturday, Dave and I with various assistance continued to make the rest of the safety loops.

    Nick, Mark, Tom, Dan and Oliver processed our other lorry sheets, getting them ready for use on some of the vans. They cut the rivets hold the straps into the curtain and removed the straps. The sheet was then folded and cut in half.

    By the end of the day, we’d made all safety loops required for DB993560. The next stage on these is to weld prepare some bolts to weld to the top of each loop to mount them to the wagon.

    Thanks for reading everyone, join us next week were we should be trying to weld bits in to the Catfish and finish the safety loops. Join us then!