Tag: ADB975397

  • 24/11/24 – Hiding from the weather

    24/11/24 – Hiding from the weather

    Good evening all, and welcome to another update. With the Catfish finished, and the weather taken a turn for the worst we’ve looked at inside work, though the GUV did get a bit more attention.

    I concentrated on re-assembling the genset in the Test Car, bleeding the fuel system, replacing the coolant and of course trying to start it. Sadly, still no joy with getting it running so still more work to do on this.

    In a gap in the weather on Sunday, the Baldwins managed to get some more of the west side of the GUV stripped back and prepared.

    Thanks for reading! Fingers crossed for better weather next week, join us there and see what we get up to.

  • 20/10/24 – Keeping ourselves busy

    20/10/24 – Keeping ourselves busy

    Hi everyone, welcome to this weeks update from the team at Quorn. The weather has hampered our plans to get some paint on the Catfish; however we’ve kept ourselves busy.
    Some stock positioning shunting too place whilst we continued with progress on the LMS brake van, some more items on the to-do-list and Test Car 2s generator.

    During the week Tom, Dan and Nick continued with painting on the LMS Brake Van M730562 at Rothley, handrails, lamp brackets, swan necks and underframe were progressed. A new step board was also made and fitted.

    The new paint arrived ready for the two Catfish wagons, however the inclement Saturday morning weather meant that wagons were too wet for us to apply any paint, so Oliver made sure it was stored away safe.

    The old crank pulley oil seal was removed from the timing cover from Test Car 2s generator; the cover was then de-greased and pressure washed.

    A new seal was then fitted using a suitably sized drift and our makeshift press with a final knock-into position with a hammer.

    Hector’s cab parts were loaded onto one of the box vans for safe keeping and we sorted out some spare bolts in readiness for box van repairs before the Class 37, 37714 arrived to manage various shunt moves at Quorn for stock positioning.

    Ross and myself continued with cleaning up the timing cover mating surfaces on Test Car 2s generator, and repairs to some of the generator wiring.

    Richard resurrected some old skills in repairing and servicing two of Nick’s 1970s record players.

    Ernie and Nick installed a lighting power supply cable across to the Fish Van on the dock; this will help us as the nights draw-in.

    Mark, Tom, Oliver Dan and Nick managed to a bit of house keeping in the short spell between the Sunday morning rain and the lunchtime rain. The rotten sleepers were moved from the dock to the wood pile for the bonfire.

    A general tidy up of the area on the dock and some gardening will help improve the access for vehicles to the dock.

    Thanks for reading, join us again next week.

  • 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!

  • 6/5/24 – Bank Holiday Bauxite

    Hello everyone and thanks for joining us in this bank holiday update. Unusually for a Bank Holiday the weather has been glorious so we’ve applied some paint to the Palvan. During the week, Tom and Oliver sanded and primed the ends of the van.

    Dave and Barry took a look at the Test Car’s generator. Barry and Dave undertook a compression check on each cylinder, then re-fitted the injectors and tried to start the generator. Sadly no joy due to a failed start battery so this was removed and charged to try another day. From what we could do, the generator doesn’t seem any more likely to start, so now suspect the fuel injection pump has failed.

    While Ernie undercoated the wood work on each end of the Palvan, Nick and I finished off work on A1610B. The last corner was looking rather frilly so had a piece of steel cut and sandwiched over the top. This was drilled and the corner bolted back together. Having lost the battle with the generator, Dave took to scraping the container, Charlie also having a go at this.

    On Sunday, Tom, Oliver, Dan and I applied some gloss to both set of doors on the Palvan as a first coat. Oliver and Tom also applied gloss over the undercoat applied by Ernie on each end. Some of the lads carried on with the needle gun on the Palvan chassis which quickly ran out, so they moved onto one of the Catfish. Nick concentrated on patching the container with Mark.

    Nick and I concentrated on the south end metal work, myself with the needle gun, being very careful not to catch the wood work while Nick followed me with a scraper to catch the edges. We each got a bit of primer and primed our handiwork, which completed the work this week.

    Next week, we’ll tackle the north end of the van and get the into primer, and maybe the other end into undercoat. Join us then to see how we get on!

  • 26/01/20 – Winter Gala

    This weekend has of course been the GCRs winter gala, we stepped away from Rothley and ADB977107. To open the doors at Quorn and allow you to see what we do, see Test Car 2 and Madge.  It was great to see so many of our followers and supports and thank you for taking the time to come and see us.20200126_121242

    Work, however, did not stop.  Nick, Ross, and Jake re-floored E280364 and changed the few rotten planks on E281882.

    Dave and I along with Eddie and Harry played hosts for our visitors.  Dave explaining the Test Cars past and I demonstrating some signwriting, namely the W.H.Smith & Son wording for the kiosk at Loughborough83421767_1095605867498752_7962423583538413568_n

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    Once the floors had been completed Nick, Ross and Jake then moved on to the overhaul of the 15″ vacuum cylinder from B385782.20200125_141559 Sunday and an unscheduled visitor into the yard, namely 46521 deputising for 4953 which had failed that morning. We took advantage of the vist and had the Iron Ore tippler moved to the centre road so we could fit the 15″ cylinder before we opened the doors.

    Once the loco had left the cylinder was placed back under the Tippler and the doors of the test car opened.

    A vacuum test was carried out after a hose change and the vehicle deemed to be fit, just awaiting better weather to complete the vehicle.

    Madge was on display and had the opportunity to make some friends on the few trips around the yard.

    The sign painted Saturday was cleaned of chalk and will be collected next weekend to be fitted to the Kiosk at Loughborough20200126_193937

    Jakes final task was to clear the build-up of moss from inside the tippler and in due course extra drain holes will be being added to the wagons floor.20200126_152036

    Finally, for this update a few views from the gala the visiting NER petrol although Diesel-powered rail car and our van train “plus” including Shochood B and Loaded Conflat.image5

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  • 19/01/20 – Charters, Coaches and Cylinders

    This week has seen the GCR host a number of photo charters with the visiting K1.  4 days in total with a mixture of stock – Minerals, Crimson & Cream, and Maroon Coaches, but of relevance to us the Van Train.  Matt was in attendance for 3 of the days with Wednesday being the depute of the loaded Conflat and ‘Madge‘.

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    Friday and Matt visited the Mountsorrel And Rothley Community Heritage Centre to begin the task of signwriting their Tar Tank. The Eastside was completed and a return visit will be required to finish the vehicle.

    A now seemingly rare day at Quorn on Saturday, with us preparing for the gala next week. With the TPOs unable to run due a Temporary Speed Restriction just on the approach to Quorn, we shall be opening up the Test Car and having our own little open day. We are planned to show what we do on a weekend-ly basis to visitors to the gala, and are planning to show a vacuum cylinder overhaul, re-flooring a wagon and a release valve overhaul. To preapre for the above, we swapped the cylinder from under the ‘regular’ LNER Steel High E281882 fitting a new branch-pipe and overhauled release valve, and removed the 15″ cylinder from the Iron Ore Tippler B385782 ready for overhaul (this is awaiting an overhaul kit). Some attention was paid to the Test Car, with Harry, Eddie and James cleaning and tidying up in preparation to open it again.  This trio also tidied some of the yard area too.

    Sunday saw more work on the Yellow Coach. Dave worked on re-panelling the last area where there was a gas heater, in front of the guard’s office. Matt began by painting the boards he’d fitted last week. He then assisted me in cutting and fitting the conduit to the sockets. Eddie started cleaning the mess area, and has made a huge difference to the state of the walls. Nick concentrated on fitting the last window that had been welded up on Saturday (Thanks Jamie!). Dave finished off by painting the areas of bare metal welded in, and then fitting a bit of wood above the guards door, with its fire exit sign.

  • 12/01/20 – The living van saga continues

    12/01/20 – The living van saga continues

    Even though ADB977107 is our priority at Rothley, time was taken to pop into Quorn to continue investigating the contactor fault on the test car a way forward is being planned.IMG-20200111-WA0002.jpg

    The main reason for the stop at Quorn was to prepare the van train for next week’s photo charters and of course the winter gala.  Trade Posters, wagon labels and chalked destinations being applied.

    Back to Rothley and the Southernmost Mess room and Kitchen windows corridor side were removed to allow more body repairs.

    Another task we have begun is to make the vehicle a little more user-friendly specifically for those of us who stay over on occasion.  During the vehicles’ original conversion there were no provisions for modern electrical devices, as these have become a part of everyday life and to increase versatility we have started fitting sockets around the vehicle. Included in this scheme is a shelf in the bunk room to store such modern devices.

    During the week I purchased some paint colour matched to the Formica, the first coat was applied to the areas of ply applied last week.

    The final task for Saturday was the removal of paint that had been applied to the glass of the guards’ compartment.

    On to Sunday and we were joined by Jamie from the GC C&W department.  His focus was the window bottoms of the two removed above.  New steelwork was cut and welded.

    As welding was complete the windows were refitted. As well as new lower panels under the southernmost mess room window which had its first coat of Formica orange applied.  As the paint was out second coats were applied to the bunk room and northernmost mess room window as well as chips, cracks and bare bolt heads in the Toilet, Mess room, and Kitchen

    Further sockets were fitted under the messroom table and Jamie’s final task was the removal of rivets to allow access to the northern luggage area corridor window, his next area for welding.

    Still a fair way to go but things are starting to piece together and the end is beginning to come into sight.

  • 17/11/19 – Loaded and Secured

    17/11/19 – Loaded and Secured

    Unusually this update begins on Thursday with a trip to Medstead & Four Marks.  The reason for the visit, to pick up some Conflat chains.  Our thanks go to the Mid-Hants Railway Wagon group for offering them to us, they were in far better condition than our own. 

    Friday saw the December issue of Rail Express hit the shelves with an article looking ant our work on Test Car 2IMG-20191115-WA0000

    On to Saturday and I continued with the signwriting started last weekend.

    Nick drilled and attached the chains to the Conflat whilst Ross and Dave drilled and secured the additional rails placed on the vehicle last week.

    Then the main event, before the light failed and after I had completed the high-level signwriting we lifted BD4303B on to B505313. With the subframe missing we had to first lower the container on to a set of sleepers.

    The Container was then lifted from each end and the sleepers removed.

    Once sat on the rails the Container was secured to the Conflat.  Earlier before the lift Nick and Ross also applied the identification plate above the door.

    To allow the lift I left off the branding and applied it Sunday as well as a few other signwriting finishing touches.

    Nick, Ross, Jake and Dave applied Bauxite to the Conflat. adding heat to cure the paint as they went along.  Sufficiently drying the vehicle before the rain started.

    All of the conflat chains had reached the end of there threads although reasonably tight we took some steps to resolve. We couldn’t move inwards by a ring as the chains were not long enough so our next option was to shorten them.  We did this using an old BR trick, one of the links was heated in each chain and bent.

    With the shortened chains we resecured the container. Jubilee clips were also added to prevent inadvertent loosening.

    With it also being the Last Hurrah we saw a few of our vehicles in operation.  Notably the Vans.

    The van train is now stabled in the yard at Quorn in preparation for the Winter Brake overhaul and to finish Ross and Dave serviced the Test Cars Generator.20191117_144934

  • 03/11/19 – Quorn Wetter & Wetter

    Once again the weather has conspired against us. So a trip to Rothley to progress ADB977107. The C&W team has been carrying out body repairs when the time has allowed. Progress has been such that we are able to reassemble interior fixtures.

    Before we began, Jake applied bitumastic paint to all the bare metal areas on the inside of the vehicle’s skin

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    Jake and I then focused on the main saloon.

    Nick with assistance from Jake also, rebuilt the toilet window

    Ross with a little assistance from new recruit Will as well as Nick made progress with the Kitchen.

    Ross also checked the batteries output, unfortunately, these are life expired

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    We can also show the progress of B954546 currently a volunteer project at Rothley. The cladding has been replaced, new duckets manufactured and glass windows fitted all round.

    Sunday with the threat of rain, Ross and Dave cut down some plates to use as load distribution plates for Nicks container once lifted on to the Conflat. It transpires that we decided later that additional sections of rail shall be used to support the weight of the container.

    The main task for Sunday was the rectification of Test Car 2’s incorrectly assembled buckeye draw gear. The buckeye was removed, supported by the loading shovel the draw hook and bar removed and the offending article lowered rotated and fitted correctly.

    Whilst the majority of the gang worked on the Test Car, I looked at the chain boxes on B505313 these had fallen foul of the water trap that they are. With the bottom of each removed at an earlier date and the lack of suitable welding facilities, I riveted steel plates to the back of each in areas that had been eaten away.

    As a none structural skin, this gives a solid backing for filler to be applied. In the future, the skin of the chain box will have to be replaced but at this time we have gone for this option.

    As the rain that was forecast did not materialise and what ended up as a day of sunshine we sheeted BD4303B whilst it was dry. This will keep the wet out until the weather gives us the opportunity to apply the gloss crimson.

    Also on site Eddie, Harry, and James who took the opportunity to tidy our surrounds and a good job they did in removing the many items of waste that wagon restoration inevitably generates.

  • 08/09/19 – Test Car on display

    08/09/19 – Test Car on display

    Here we are, Diesel Gala and Test Car 2 is on display for the public. Dave and I were in attendance for all 3 days with Nick and Jake poping in between TPO duties.

     

    We are humbled by the number of people who came to see us,  especially those of you that regularly read this website. Thank you all for your generous donations and finally thank you to those former BR and Serco staff that came to see your Test Car.
    Specifically, Paul Mosley, Ray Smith, Chris O’Donnell and Dave Moore.

     

    A few more images from over the gala:

     

    Back on to wagons next weekend, something a little flatter we feel.