Hi and welcome to our weekly update from Quorn. The Lowfit has received some paint, work continues on tank 3689, and 3621’s signwriting is completed.
Mark, Tom, Oliver, Dan and Daniel did some more needle gun work on the underframe of tank 3689.
Dan did some needle gun work and red-oxide painting on a vac cylinder dome.
Charlie did some tidying up in the garage and some vac cylinders were put into storage. Ernie did some more lamp repairs.
Nick did some cleaning out of rust from under the tank supports on 3689. He also installed the new first aid equipment and notices in our Mess Coach booking-on point.
Mark, Dan, Daniel and Oliver took advantage of the warmer/dryer weather and got stuck in to applying red-oxide primer to the majority of the Lowfit wagon.
I finished off the last couple of bits of signwriting on tank 3621.
Charlie fitted a couple of the heater vents to the seat box sides in the Mess Coach.
I painted 3621’s Esso plate attachment bolts in red-oxide, and when dry applied the blue.
Ernie and myself dropped the doors and end panels on the Lowfit, wire brushed and applied undercoat the the insides of the doors.
We then raised the doors and made a start applying undercoat to the door sides and ends.
That wraps things up for this week, I’ll leave you with a pic of Standard 2 78018 steaming past our Mess Coach on her last day in service before withdrawal for overhaul.
Hello everyone and welcome to another update from Quorn. This week has been one of defect clearance, cleaning and finishing off vac cylinder repairs, including a new improved special tool! Its also been lovely to see the tank train running on Saturday for as part of the firing school. Okay, lets jump in to what we’ve done..
First job was to fit a flip down stop board in the four foot of the dock road to protect the vehicles in the siding, and the people working on them.
Ernie arrived with a new plate to use for pressure testing vacuum cylinder domes once they have been repaired. This also means we can test 18 inch domes as well. Thanks to Ernie for sorting this out. Between Ernie and myself we got the plate sorted and made two o rings to act as the seal between the plate and the dome.
Ernie also worked on another tool used to push out the guide bush in the bottom of the vacuum cylinder.
Charlie, James Oliver and Dan started tidying the area outside the coach beyond the dock as it was starting to look quite untidy and overgrown. Some equipment was re-sited and a lot of brush clearance was done.
Mark, Tom, Oliver and Dan finished off washing the vans in the yard. Mark and Tom then moved over to needle gunning in the pockets of 3689.
Nick and I cleared some of the defects noted against the vans when they have their Fitness to Run exams. A few handbrake rack bolts, underkeep bolts and a handbrake chain. With a bit of assistance we also change two buffers on B784409 on opposite corners.
I had managed to get hold of some soda media in the week and finally had the opportunity to try out the soda blaster, firstly on a vacuum cylinder, but also on 3689. It made a bit of a mess, but thankfully its water soluble! We’ll keep experimenting on this to find out what its best to use it for.
We pressure tested the latest cylinder and found a few further pin holes, however the new plate worked a treat!
Thanks for reading, and join us next week to see what we get up to! Cheers, Ross
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s update from the railways winter gala. The tank train has been up and down, with both 3606 (sans Esso plate, though more on that later…) and 1919 making their freight train debuts. Apologies to some of you as they were both facing north!
Ernie carried on with Operation Vacuum Colander, tackling the cylinder removed from 3689 with the hole in the side. Using side wall sections out of a donor cylinder, Ernie cut out the rot and replaced with the ‘new’ metal. This kept Ernie busy for most of the weekend, as more metal was put in the more holes appeared!
Daniel and Charlie started wire brushing two vacuum cylinders which have been in the garage in bits. The surface rust has been removed now ready for some primer to be applied to the appropriate areas
James helped me fix down the table top in the mess coach, finishing the preparation and spreading the glue contact adhesive on both surfaces. The Formica surface was lowered back onto the wood and then clamped and weighed down. I’m going to try and polish the Formica and the surrounding wood will get a coat of varnish too.
During the week, I collected 8 Esso plates from DEU in Derby who cut, rolled and painted them white for us. This leaves Dave and I to signwrite them. Nick and I unloaded these from my car and stored them in Madge’s box trailer out of harms way.
Dave used the good day on Saturday to get the ‘Esso Petroleum Company Limited’ wording on the west side of 3621, which finishes the lettering on that side, just details left there now.
Nick, Charlie and Oliver went to Swithland on Sunday to recover a gas box to fit to the mess coach, which was done when they got back. We’ll use the gas box to store the fuel for the new heater.
Mark and Tom gave the Conflat a wash down, and then got the needle guns out to prepare the end pockets on 3689. While they did this, Dan picked out the lettering on the Hurst Nelson builders plates.
Dave and I got set up in the Test Car, each of us tackling an Esso plate. There is some work still to do on these including a coat of varnish. Not sure if we’ll put these on 3606 or 3621 yet, but they’ll appear out in the wild soon!
Thanks for joining us, and hopefully you’ve enjoyed seeing the tanks out again at the gala. Next week, I’m sure there will be more tank related activity, but who knows! See you then.
Hello everyone and welcome to this weekend’s update. How did everyone enjoy the weather they got? There was no snow evident at Quorn at the weekend, but at home in Derby I had a good 2 to 3 inches of the stuff which was still hanging around. Both 3854 and 3689 have seen some activity this weekend, and the additional heater in the coach procedes ever closer to being fired up.
Saturday was a colder day, so I spent it inside the coach again running the feed wires from the coach’s bespoke electrical cubicle to the new DC/DC converter that I’ve fitted next to the heater.
Nick, James and Charlie went on a road trip to Foxfield to gather some more Esso tank parts, this time it was more outfeed pipes and valves to replace those that arrived missing on 3854. When they got back and after a cup of tea, the valves and outfeed pipes were fitted.
With the day being a little warmer on Sunday the pressure washer was cracked out to clean down 3689. Tom, Dan, Oliver and Tom worked on this most of the day, getting wet through in the process. Most of the unsound paint came off including most of the black sign writing resembling silver snowflakes. After this the team gave 1802 a going over, removing its layer of algae.
I carried on in the coach, getting the heater all wired up and at the end of the day I was able to get the heater powered on which leaves the plumbing for me to do. Ernie spent the morning at Loughborough using the machinery to make us a tool for punching out the bushes in the base of the vacuum cylinders. Thanks to Dave Wright of LMS for the material offcuts.
That wraps up this week, thanks for reading everyone! See you next week for more wagon antics!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the new look Quorn Wagon & Wagon website. As the website wasn’t ready last week, this update will cover two weeks of work. The website took a liittle more work than initially expected but we’re really happy with how it came out.
Last weekend, we removed the holed vacuum cylinder from 3689 and took a look at the brake rigging as the handbrake was difficult to operate and the brakes did not release cleanly. Charlie and Oliver took charge on the wagon, oiling and working the brakes. Eventually as with the other Esso tanks we split apart the system and found the sticky link. Usually with these its a bolted link right up in the top of the underframe that usually misses lubrication. We got the bolt undone (a surprise in itself!) and manage to get the link down to take it back up the yard for cleaning.
While this was done, a 21 inch vacuum cylinder from stock was prepared to be fitted, with Ernie and James dressing the studs from the cylinder while Harry and Charlie cleaned the cylinder, piston and dome cover. All surfaces applicable got a coat of red oxide primer.
Speaking of red oxide primer, Mark, Oliver, Tom and Ernie coated the last sections of 3854’s barrel in red oxide, after first preparing the surface. Hopefully we can get undercoat on it, however I suspect we have lost painting weather for the year now.
Towards the end of Sunday we got the overhauled cylinder fitted to 3689, but lost the light before getting it connected up. I also measured up the tyre profiles for 3689, which mostly measured up as new.
On to this week then, Saturday was pretty much a wash out, with the yard under 3689 a pond meaning we couldn’t get working to reconnect the vacuum cylinder. In a gap in the rain, we got the cylinder from 3689 stripped apart, using the Volvo to press the piston out of the bore. Harry and Charlie started to clean down the cylinder in the shelter of the garage. This one is definitely a case of looking worse than it is, but there is still some distance to go on that cylinder, maybe might be an opportunity to crack out the soda blaster.
In the afternoon we looked in the van train for any spare 21″ domes as we have 2 in need of repair. we found a further one, so its possible that we can make 2 good ones out of 3 holey ones!
Sunday was a much better day, we started by shunting out the Lowfit, taking the opportunity of a clear middle road to use the Volvo to lift the cylinder out of the wagon. The cylinder in the Lowfit had been damaged by a load in the wagon, filled with water and had subsequently holed through.
To ease rebuilding an 18″ I took the opportunity to take a rolling ring piston rod to make it into a guide rod to use when lowering a piston back into a cylinder. I cut the eye off the end and then drilled a cross hole for a bar to tighten/loosen the rod. We used it, to great effect, on the replacement 18″ cylinder for the Lowfit. The piston behaved exactly as described in the overhaul spec which is encouraging!
Using the Volvo again to lower the overhauled cylinder into the wagon, it was bolted back into the wagon and reconnected ot he brake system. Unfortunately, when we tried to test the system we found a the north end of the train pipe under the headstock is a little more akin to brandy snap and was letting the vacuum out. Another winter job for the list.
Nick and Tom walked back down the yard and got 3689 ready to test after which the team went up to test the brakes, after they were knocked back a half hole on the adjuster as the block gap was too tight to spec.
Charlie looked at the release valve removed from 3689, which to be honest I thought was more use as an anchor for a dingy! Mark and Oliver also got stuck in selecting a valve to look at..
The test went well, and the system passed with flying colours. After which we put everything away and had a celebratory cup of tea!
Thanks for joining us, and do let me know what you think of the new website. Cheers, Ross!
Hello everyone, and welcome to another Quorn update. We start off wishing Mark a happy birthday. To celebrate, Alison with help from Dan made a Test Car 2 cake for us to share, which was very tasty!
Charlie and I began by looking at the two welders collected last week, starting with an inspection. Firstly we noticed that the input cable on both sets were perished so these were removed. A new cable was made for the smaller set, and a bit more research is required for the larger set so these won’t be used for a little while
Dave continued the push on 3606, signwriting the “Esso Petroleum Company Limited” wording on the West side.
Nick and Ernie manufactured some more Esso plate brackets for 3689, bending then marking and drilling the holes and matching the bracket up into sets for each side of the tank.
Charlie was able to use the smaller of the two new welding sets to practise welding on a very rotten spark guard from 3689. While we aren’t focusing on that tank, the opportunity to try out the welder was valuable
Once the 3854 had been dried off, Mark, Oliver, Tom and I started the final sanding of the barrel aiming to get some red oxide primer applied.
Dave and Dan continued with the signwriting on 3606 with Dan taking care of the OLE warning flashes, and Dave the lettering on the west side solebar.
The signwriting on 3606 is pretty much complete aside from part of the west side OLE flash, picking out the SKF on the bearing end caps and of course the big Esso plates.
Most of the team ended up with a brush of primer in their hand for 3854, getting the west side of the barrel and the two ends into red oxide, prepared for the next stage.
We also noticed that the OLE flash mounting plate on the east side of 3854 was also positioned over the Esso Petroleum text, so Nick removed it. As we are before paint, this will likely be welded back to the tank on the other side of the ladder.
That’s where we wrap up this update. Thanks for reading, and join us again next weekend! Cheers, Ross
Hello and welcome to this weeks news from the team at Quorn; one wagon has departed to pasture new, and we welcome a new arrival.
Grampus DB984713 has departed, heading to a new home at the Northampton Ironstone Railway Trust.
Esso tank 3689 built by Hurst Nelson in 1959 has arrived from Shillingstone; it’s currently sporting a fictitious number (6069), however we plan to restore it to its original Esso Petroleum Company condition.
This tank had been used by British Rail (numbered DB999083) at Bournemouth EMU depot as a waste oil tanker before it was saved for preservation at the Swanage Railway; moving to Shillingstone in 2010.
Initial inspection confirms that tank is in good order, the handbrake works well and the buffers / drawgear are serviceable. It however seems to have a little issue with its identity, and when it comes to the vacuum brakes we are faced with some challenges.
The current plan is to complete the restoration work on tanks 3606, 3621 and 3854 before we start in earnest on the new arrival.
Concentrating on 3606 on Saturday, the stars were marked out and painted on both sides of the barrel.
The Commuted Carriage Charge markings on both sides of 3606 were then applied.
Followed by the Tare and Wheelbase solebar lettering.
The new ladders that have been made for us by Lauda Fabrications were collected.
Two welding plants have been kindly loaded to us by Roger Hibbert; these will be commissioned and no doubt help greatly with future repairs work.
On Sunday the signwriting continued on 3606, with the east side wheelbase text and the west side builders plate being completed. The vacuum release designation stars were also applied to both sides.
The last of the repaired spark guards for 3854 had its mounting holes drilled and was painted in red oxide.
The new ladders were fitted to both sides of 3606, and the original ladder from 3621, that had been loaned to Lauda as a template, was also re-fitted. A little adjustment was required to 3606’s bracket holes to accept the lower bolts.
The ladders for 3606 had been painted by Lauda, however the one re-fitted to 3621 needed a coat of black.
Looking ahead, a start was made on producing another set of Esso plate brackets that will be required for tank 3689. Plate was cut for 16 brackets and a few were heated an bent to a right angle.
Thanks for reading, join us again next week for more tank wagon news.
