47401's next outing will be at the MRB Diesel gala this coming weekend. The loco is booked to work the following two turns on both days:-
Swanwick dep 11.20 for Hammersmith.
Hammersmith dep 11.42 for Pye Bridge
Pye Bridge dep 12.08 for Swanwick
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Swanwick dep 13.00 for Hammersmith.
Hammersmith dep 13.22 for Pye Bridge
Pye Bridge dep 13.48 for Swanwick
BRIEF UPDATE APRIL 2009
47401's first outing of the season was on
Easter Sunday 12th April 2009, a successful day in terms of the loco's
performance but unfortunately some mileage was lost due to some random
and unnecessary on the day meddling with the timetable, very disappointing.
A more detailed
update on both 47401 and D1516 will follow soon! In the meantime some
recent pictures of 47401 can be seen on the 47401 Gallery page and some photos of the work taking place on D1516 may be found on the 47417 Gallery page.
FLEET UPDATE OCTOBER 2008
47401's recent workings have included several round trips during the MRB Autumn Diesel Gala on 6th/7th September 2008. This was followed by a Railway Experience Day on 20th September 2008, at which members of the public who had pre-booked, were able to drive, under strict supervision, a diesel loco (401), a steam loco, a shunter, a narrow gauge loco and a road roller, as well as operate a signal box. The occasion was blessed with some rare good weather and was an enjoyable and successful day with many compliments on the loco being received by participants. Photos of both events have been added to the 47401 Gallery Page.
On the 47417 front, it has been a little quiet over the summer with attention concentrated on 401's repaint, however things are now moving again! Inside the loco work has focused on completing the reassembly of the exhaust system, including the application of new heat-proof lagging to the exhaust pipes and removal and refitting of the four exhaust bellows from where they had wrongly been placed during a previous overhaul! Away from the loco the 17 removed air tanks have been given an initial inspection by a qualified inspector and 13 out of the 17 were deemed fit for further use. Of the four failures, not all are easily accessible or even present on spares loco 47761. Various options are being investigated including fabrication of complete new tanks, repair of the ones we already have, and/or recovery of partial or complete tanks from 761. Moving into October work has started on the oil system including cleaning the oil filter housings and replacing the filters and seals with brand new ones. Next job will be to drain the sump of the old oil.
The loco's two compressors have had their motors overhauled off-site, and new sets of brushes fitted, plus the compressors themselves cleaned up and painted. The next machines to go away for overhaul will be the TM blower motors.
47761 remains intact for the time being though will be giving up its turbocharger and some bearing shells to 417 before too long. We are also attempting to make up a viable set of batteries on 761 and use it as a "battery incubator", keeping them charged for eventual transfer to 417.
47401 RUNNING DAY 24th AUGUST
The first run of our loco in standard blue livery since 1985 took place on Sunday 24th August, as part of the Midland Railway, Butterley's Works Open Day event. The team was able to apply most of the finishing touches to the loco in time (numbers, arrows, data panels, Gateshead crests) and it is looking great! As it was such a busy event with five steam locos and many diesels running over the three days (23rd-25th August), plus a visiting charter from Woking with two Class 67s (gave our shopkeeper the chance to sell a lot more Southern stuff than usual!), there was only chance for one trip with 47401 but the loco performed admirably, showing off its fresh coat of paint to the crowds!
FLEET UPDATE JUNE/JULY 2008
47401 successfully worked three turns at the MRC on Saturday 14th June, part of a Diesel & Steam Weekend and 401 was rostered on the 1115, 1400 and 1615 ex-Butterley. The loco was not booked to work on the Sunday. We commented in our previous update that this may well have been 401's last run in large logo livery and indeed this would have been the case, however the loco was requested by the MRT at short notice to work again on Sunday 29th June, initially planned to undertake four round trips of the line but on the day a fifth trip (starting with the 1546 from Riddings ex-Swanwick) was added after a steam engine ran out of coal. 401 worked as follows:- 1030 Butterley-Riddings/1052 Riddings-Hammersmith; 1140 Hammersmith-Riddings/1201 Riddings-Hammersmith; 1250 Hammersmith-Riddings/1311 Riddings-Hammersmith; 1435 Hammersmith-Riddings/1456 Riddings-Hammersmith/1543 Hammersmith-Butterley/light to Swanwick Jct; 1546 Riddings-Hammersmith (from Swanwick Jct after steam failure); 1625 Hammersmith-Riddings/1646 Riddings-Hammersmith/1713 Hammersmith-Butterley.
On 5th July 47401 was moved into "C Bay" in the main shed building at Swanwick for work to commence on the long awaited repaint into standard blue as voted for by shareholders some time ago. This mammoth task involves far more than just sticking a brush in a tin of blue paint and slapping it on, as a great deal of preparation work has to be undertaken, sanding, de-rusting, replacement of corroded metal (including an entire cab door pillar) and removal of old numbers, logos, stickers, returning white painted handrails to chrome etc. Thanks should go particularly to three volunteers, Rich ("Ricky") Ward, Martyn Catlin and Paul Parker who had all booked two weeks off work to tackle this job, also to Ernie, Malc, Rob, the two Daves, John, Pete and Mark who all chipped in at various times.
By 20th of July preparation work was pretty much complete and 401 began to look less like a patchwork quilt and more like a proper loco again, with the application of a coat of green primer, and then blue undercoat. The underframe will be done later as a separate job, in addition the engine room roof section will at some point in the future need to be removed for substantial repair work, but it was decided that a coat of paint will suffice for the time being, not wishing to start dismantling 47401 again until 47417 is up and running! Photos of the repaint can be seen on the 47401 Gallery page and we will update this page again when the job is complete.
The main job on D1516 during June/July was the preparation of the loco's 17 air tanks for inspection by a qualified pressure vessel inspector. This involved sanding them all down to bare metal. They will all be checked for corrosion, safety of welds etc and if failed will have to be repaired/replaced as required (some but not all would be available in 761). The inspection is due in September and the tanks which pass this test will then be painted and hydraulic tested. Assuming they do not fail this second test they can then be returned to the loco.
The two compressors have been sent away to Bowers Electricals Ltd in Heanor for overhaul. When they return the vacuum exhausters and blower motors will also be sent away, the blower motor at No. 2 end having been extracted from the boiler room in July to join the one from No. 1 end which was already in store.
On the power unit front, work has centred on replacing the rocker gear, rocker covers, water pipes and exhaust pipes and applying new lagging to the latter. The power unit is now pretty much complete.
Spares loco 47761 remains stabled next to D1516 at Swanwick. We have not been able to start the loco up owing to the poor state of the batteries. No parts have yet been removed from 761 however expressions of interest have been received from several other Class 47 owners in various components. Our own initial requirements from 761 are likely to be six main bearing shells for D1516 (the alternative being a minimum order of 20 at £100 each with a lead time of six months) and also the turbocharger (the one from D1516 will go into store as a spare).
No potential operators or preservationists have come forward or shown any interest in taking 761 in any form of exchange or cash plus spares deal so it seems likely that it will be sold to the highest bidder once we have taken what we need from it. This doesn't necessarily mean that it will be broken up, you just have to put in a higher bid than the scrappies if you think it should be preserved!
D1516 AUXILIARY COMPARTMENT LIFT 26th APRIL 2008
Another big step forward in the restoration of 47417 was taken on Saturday 25th April with the removal of the auxiliary compartment roof section and the craning out of the loco's compressors, vacuum exhausters, a motor blower, the triple pump and four large air tanks. A great deal of work had been put into preparing for this event as the removal of the roof section involves a great deal of disconnecting work of the fuel, water, air and electrical systems as well as the actual securings of the roof section itself, all in very cramped and inaccessible conditions.
The plan now is to have all 17 of the loco's air tanks given an initial safety check. Those which pass this test will in due course receive a full hydraulic test before being returned to the loco. Any tanks which fail will need to be repaired or replaced.
The compressors and the motor blower (and probably the exhausters too) will be sent away for overhaul. After 17 years out of traffic in cold and damp storage conditions and 24 years on from their previous overhaul, we are taking no chances especially with the 800 volt 'Generator specific' electrical machines!
In the meantime the compartment itself will be cleaned out and painted, and attention given to the severed electrical cabling as well as the repair/replacement of the two automatic voltage regulators.
The roof section has been temporarily returned to the loco but when covered accomodation is available it will need to be removed again for some structural repairs to take place plus removal of the two fan motors which will also be sent away for overhaul.
A selection of photos of the weekend's operation can be viewed on the 47417 Gallery page.
DIESEL GALA 19th & 20th APRIL 2008
47401 was brought out of winter storage on Saturday 12th April and completed two light engine test runs from Swanwick to Ironville and back without incident.
The 2008 running season proper kicked off on 19th & 20th April, with four trips per day rostered for 47401. Some trips were paired with other locos 25321, 45041 and 08590 and D182 also put in brief appearances at the gala.
Unfortunately 401 missed its first couple of trips on the Saturday due to starting problems in other words it wouldn't. This was thought to be caused by issues relating to the water pressure switch and is subject to further investigation. Once this problem had been overcome the loco completed the remainder of its booked turns on the Saturday and all of its rostered duties on the Sunday without incident.
47761 ARRIVES 11th FEBRUARY 2008
We are pleased to report the arrival at the MRB of 47761, which was purchased in 2007 by the 47401 Project for spare parts. The 47/7 was brought from Margam depot in two stages. On Wednesday 6th February, Cotswold Rail's 57005, working 0Z80 14:30 Fishguard Harbour-Gloucester, called in at Margam to collect 47761. The 57 arrived at Margam at 16:30, and was booked away at 17:59. 47761 arrived at Gloucester at 20:01 where it remained stabled until Monday morning 11th February when 57005 (again) hauled it as 0Z76 09:00 Gloucester-Butterley, arriving at Codnor Park Junction at 12:50 from where MRB resident 08590 tripped it the final leg of its journey to the Swanwick museum site. The significance of 57005 being used to deliver 47761 has not been lost on Project members - this loco, as 47350 "Scorpion", starred in our Summer '96 Diesel Gala alongside 47401.
As previously mentioned on this site, it must again be pointed out that 47761 should not be regarded as a preserved loco. It will donate its bogies to D1516 as well as providing a host of other useful spare parts for 47401 and D1516 and other preserved 47s. After stripping the bodyshell will be scrapped. It is possible that prior to stripping the loco could make a few farewell runs at the MRB if not too much work is involved in making it fit to haul passenger trains. No promises, but watch this space!
47401 & D1516 UPDATE JANUARY 2008
While out of traffic for its winter repose, 47401 is receiving attention to the internal roof around the generator end to remove old paint, and perform the now familiar rust stabiliser/prime/gloss process to brighten the area up and improve cleanliness around the vulnerable generator.The rust stabiliser (SRC02 by Granville, see www.granville-oilchem.co.uk) has proved an excellent product which prevents rust regenerating without the need to fully remove surface corrosion.It is well worth the investment, both in terms of quality of restoration and man hours saved.
The former boiler compartment in 401, now in need of its second repaint in preservation, is currently having the floor stripped of extraneous metal and rust to reveal a bare surface for painting.The normal prep and finishing approach will be used to restore this area to its former glory.As with all these deep clean projects, the biggest job is removing the rust without creating a cloud which can settle on the electrical machines.
To progress D1516 in the New Year, the coolant pipes are being prepared for installation.These have had their faces honed, and following a thorough clean will be finished in the appropriate shade of blue before refitting.
DECEMBER 2007 PROGRESS REPORT
D1516's rocker gear has been removed from storage, and is being deep-cleaned prior to being checked for wear.Assuming wear is within tolerance these will be reunited with the power unit shortly.
The other good news is that the Project can now muster a passed loco driver once again, which will allow much more operational flexibility and will hopefully lead to greater use of 401 in 2008. Congratulations to Project Engineer Richard Ward on being officially passed out as a driver at the MRB.
D1516 PROGRESS - OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007
As the number of useful days (those without biblical rain/flooding and more than three hours light) becomes less, the final push has been made to get the power unit reassembly of 417 completed.The cylinder heads have been refitted, and once reunited with the block, the heads were aligned using the air manifolds as a jig, and were torqued down.Sadly one of the manifolds was found to be cracked around a weld.
Dye penetrant was used to identify the course and root of the crack, then the damaged material was gouged out.Though the weld had started the crack, it had then propagated into the material of the main tube, the crack itself running at 30 degrees relative to the cross section of the material.As the manifold had already been used to align the heads, a substantial jig was made to retain the face alignment of the manifold before MIG welding it up.Shimming material was used to take up fine misalignments.Following welding the manifold was re-checked for cracks and has now been returned to the stores for cleaning and repainting.
The following weekend was spent torqueing the heads down to the final figure, damned hard work which produced some imaginative uses of the English language (we thought BR Blue was a livery not a dialect).The double ended torque multiplier was used (one ratchet plus attendant body per end), necessary to pull the head down evenly, this process proved taxing but again, was quite rapidly completed.
The roof section ex-47756 that has been sitting on the ground absorbing space has had some attention to the north side, having had the welding on the other side completed. New drains have been installed and re-plating undertaken where necessary. Following welding, rust stabiliser will be injected into the cavities followed by chassis wax.This will then melt and roll down the loco in the summer heat.Still, it wont rot.
Elsewhere, as the operating season for this year has finally come to an end, 401 has been drained and ‘tarped up.The close of a less high profile operating season than 2006, but still successful, a particular highlight being the three day stint vice-steam in August where she just got on with the job – as it should be.
SEPTEMBER 2007 UPDATE
First we must report the sad news that our good friend, Peter Wood has passed away after losing his battle with cancer.Always prepared to go out his way for anyone, Peter and his ever present Alsatians will be greatly missed around the site.
Peter assisted the Project in countless craning operations and many road movements (such as the transfer of 417’s main generator to and from D&M for overhaul) behind his immaculate ERF B series or beloved Scammel Highwayman.All of this was done without Peter accepting a penny in return. A superb engineer, he was always prepared to offer friendly and useful advice.His professionalism, dry sense of humour, and general attitude as a gentleman earned much respect from all who knew him.Thanks for everything Peter.
Back to the locomotives, and still determined to have a complete power unit by the close of 2007, an investigation was made of the main bearings, with appropriate rectification work being done as we progressed.
For those of you unfamiliar with this process, much arm aching and expletive inducing work is required on each of the seven main bearings (per crank) to extract the shells and replace them.Firstly, the counter weight must be removed to gain access to the bearing cap securing squares and wedges.The bolts retaining said weight have been glued to their respective holes by twenty odd years of oily sludge, which has been injected into every available gap through the centrifuge action of the rotating crank.Extraction is made using an impact wrench borrowed from the MRB’s workshops which is more used to extracting bits of steam loco, and as such proved to be slightly overkill for our needs!The main bearings must be extracted one at a time to prevent the crank settling and hindering replacement of the shells.Each bearing has two shells, the lower retained in the power unit's frame and the upper in a cap – which is removed vertically and then slid over and out above the position normally absorbed by the balance weight.The retention of the bearing caps is achieved by wedges which act against the power unit frame and are tapped home using a well judged hammer blow.The wedges feature serrations and the locking squares (which are bolted to the bearing cap) have teeth which correspond with these serrations and prevent the wedge from sliding out.The bearing cap retains its shell with two dowels which are screwed into a rebate in the mating edges of the bearings, primarily done to prevent the bearings spinning.Extraction and replacement of the bearing shells is achieved by turning out each one using a specially machined “mushroom”.The mushroom’s “stalk” (for want of a better word) sits in the oilway of the crank, and the head pushes the shell out as the crank rotates.
On examination, we found that A Bank was largely fine, with all six “plain” main bearings requiring no more than “topping and tailing” (exchanging the shell which receives the thrust of the combustion stroke with its opposite number in the cap to even out wear), and the thrust bearing requiring similar.However, B Bank was a different story, the thrust bearing lacked both of its dowels, which aside from meaning it was only the “nip” of the shells that was keeping them in position would also reduce oil pressure, as oil would flow straight out of the bearing into the sump.Also water ingress had started to corrode the crank journal, though thankfully this was recovered with lapping paper.Two newly machined dowels were provided by Ian Crampton of the MRB, and with two new thrust shells the bearing was reassembled.The remaining bearings on this bank offered similar tales of woe, two further missing dowels were discovered (only one per bearing in these cases) and three of the bearing caps were found to have worryingly loose wedges.Four further bearing shells were exchanged for new ones to finish off 417's main bearings.
47401 MORE RUNNING DAYS AUGUST 2007
August 25th-27th was the Midland Railway's 26th Anniversary Gala Weekend featuring a whole host of steam and diesel locos, DMUs and narrow gauge locos, the target was to have 30 different locos running over the course of the bank holiday weekend. 47401 successfully worked the 1215 and 1435 departures ex-Hammersmith straight through to Riddings and return to Swanwick on the Monday, 27th August.
Three running days vice-steam on the 1115, 1230, 1400 and 1515 departures ex-Butterley on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 13-15th August also went off as planned with no problems encountered.
47401/D1516 UPDATE 8/07
Work on the two locos over the summer period has included a start on replacing the air filters and air filter housings on 47401 after one of the housings fell to pieces during the loco's last running day on 16th June 2007 (the running day otherwise passed without incident). Also, several old contactors in the cubicle have been pre-emptively replaced with nice new ones salvaged from the Class 455 refurbishment program!
Prior to the running day 47401 worked several light engine test runs on 13th June and also engaged in a bit of shunting of some of the Freightliner flats that were at Swanwick Junction for overhaul. The first 'Generator' to work a Freightliner for quite some time....
A selection of new piston rings were purchased for D1516 and have been fitted to replace several worn and/or broken examples on the loco's pistons. The overhauled pistons from 'B' bank were craned back in on 14th July 2007, followed by those for 'A' bank on 4th August 2007.
47401 CUBICLE REPAIR AUTUMN 2006
Following 401's failure on the Sunday afternoon of the last Diesel Gala, repairs to the control cubicle have take place, including replacement of life-expired components and also a general cleaning, fettling up and repainting of the surrounding area. We are happy to report that 401 has been successfully run up and tested and all being OK has now been drained, sheeted over and put to bed for the winter.
PROGRESS REPORT SEPTEMBER 2006
47401's most recent workings took place at the Midland Railway's Diesel Gala on September 16/17th when the loco was booked to work two round trips on each day. While the first three trips were completed successfully, the loco unexpectedly shut down in Swanwick platform prior to relieving 50007 for its final trip, the Class 50 then having to continue working the train in place of 47401 which was retired to the shed.
Subsequent investigation has revealed that a cable from the auxiliary generator had parted company from its respective crimp in the lower relay cubicle (it had overheated and de-soldered itself due to heavy degradation of the paxolin resin caused by age and vibration leading to an increase in resistance and subsequent heat dissipation). This will take a bit of repair work to get back in traffic, and we will be taking the opportunity to undertake some general refurbishment work in the cubicle. Fortunately, early indications suggest that the generator and associated equipment are unharmed.
A slightly disappointing end to what has been quite an active and reliable year for 47401, however it is likely that 17/9 would have been our last running day of the year anyway so we have probably not missed any opportunities to clock up further mileage!
47401 & D1516 UPDATE 28th AUGUST 2006
47401 has put in an appearance working at the Midland Railway Trust's 25th Anniversary event, working two round trips on Monday 28th August (one of which was an unplanned extra vice 20001). Unfortunately we were unable to advertise this in advance as we were not told which day we were expected to run, the loco rosters for this event being planned at very short notice. The loco then next appeared in traffic on 9/10th September during a "Diesel & Steam Weekend" and once again performed admirably.
Meanwhile, work on D1516 has concentrated on fettling up the replacement roof section and silencer.
47401 RECENT WORKINGS - JULY 2006
47401 had a very active few days during late July. On 21st July the loco was hired for a private charter for Class 47 bashers and worked nine round trips at the Midland Railway. It was hoped that a repaint into standard blue would be completed in time for this occasion however it was not possible to complete this in time. As a lot of preparation work for the repaint had already taken place, including re-metalling and needle gunning on the bodysides, it was decided to arrange a hasty touching up job of the existing large logo livery on one side only. Platforms at all three stations on the Midland Railway are fortunately all on the south side of the line so the north side of the loco is rarely on public display! Nevertheless, the team did not complete the repainting until one 'o clock in the morning on the day of the charter! Two days later the 47 was rostered to top and tail with steam loco 6233 "Duchess of Sutherland" owing to problems with the MRT's Class 25. The final trip included 401 piloting the Duchess which then returned to its depot leaving 401 to complete the last leg of the journey alone. Six round trips in total were undertaken this day. The following Saturday (29th July) saw 401 at rest on Swanwick depot with a Thomas the Tank Engine style face applied to both ends, though not booked to work at the "Day Out with Thomas" event. However, steam loco 73129 developed a fault during the afternoon and was taken off the train, resulting in our machine leaping into action again and adding a few more miles to the tally, working one more round trip, Swanwick-Ironville-Hammersmith-Butterley then light diesel back to Swanwick. We are pleased to report that the loco performed faultlessly during all three running days.
D1516 "A" BANK CYLINDER LINERS REMOVED JUNE 2006
Six down, six to go! On one of the hottest days of the summer, the team undertook the strenuous task of pulling cylinder liners from D1516's "A" bank. One liner has subsequently been condemned, to be replaced with one from our spares stock.
The photos dated June 2006 on the 47417 Gallery page show the liner pulling operation in detail, together with our newly acquired roof section ex-47756 which has been purchased to replace the crumbling wreckage currently sitting atop D1516.
47401 UPDATE JUNE 2006
Recent activity on 47401 has centred on preparations for the repaint, several badly corroded areas on the locomotive's bodysides having been replated. In addition the roof has been patched with fibreglass filler until a replacement or more extensive repair (with roof removed) can be undertaken.
Several running days have taken place recently, including three days of hire in May to a commercial concern for testing purposes, for which the loco was renumbered to 97401 following in the long tradition of test train locos.
Then came an evening's hire to model railway manufacturer Bachmann Europe plc, who are planning a Class 47 model fitted with digital sound and required a real 47 to record from. Recordings were made by their sound engineer both internally and externally, of the locomotive starting up, idling, running under power (we took out Class 25 No. 7671 as a dead load), shutting down etc. We look forward to hearing the result on the forthcoming model of 47404 (which we will be selling of course)! See the 47401 Gallery page for pics of the test train working and body repairs.
EXTRACTING THE PISTONS - JUNE 2006
The dismantling of D1516's power unit for overhaul took another step forward in May/June 2006 with the removal of "A" bank pistons, con rods and bearings. Photos (dated May and June 2006) are on the 47417 Gallery Page.
47401 UPDATE - 12th APRIL 2006
The first major operating commitment of the 2006 season has been met admirably by the former D1500, putting in (almost) faultless performance on both days of the event (8th and 9th April 2006).
Apart from the previously reported activities surrounding 401 (preparing for repaint etc.) much effort has been made to make the locomotive coolant system more watertight.Performance at the gala proved the worth of this work as the torrent of water that had manifested itself below the auxiliary room towards the end of last year’s operating season had all but disappeared.I know Brush 4s aren’t ever going to be dry as a bone but it does give a better account of the locomotive to not see it spreading its coolant liberally around the four-foot!The work itself proved lengthier than anticipated as the increasingly watertight system found more inventive places to leak as the operating pressure increased due to lower losses.In addition the broken and heavily corroded stumps (allegedly the radiator fixing studs) required drilling, extraction and replacement.Always fun!
Inside and beneath the locomotive the electrical machines have been given their annual deep clean and check.The TMs have had the accumulated Motak removed from their pinion ends, which is leaking from the gearcase seals.This area of the locomotive will be coming under attention in due course but for the meantime the aim is to manage the leaks and prevent them from creating problems.
The engine room is the scene of ongoing activity to remove scale and deep corrosion.When painted up again it also makes a much more pleasant working environment.
Those of you who attended the recent MR/B gala will have noted the patch repainting on B Bank side – No. 2 end.This is the result of early activity to establish the extent of corrosion in this area.It is evident that an area of the lower bodyside adjacent to the cab will require replacement as will the area surrounding one handrail.While the plate surrounding this area is removed the opportunity will be taken to trial rust stabilising paints to protect the enclosed superstructure of the loco body.Interestingly the area where the steel of the cab side meets the aluminium of the cab front shows little sign of the galvanic corrosion you would expect at a joint of dissimilar metals.
Similarly, anybody who was around over the weekend of the 8th and 9th of April will have no doubt noted the red buffer beam and black headcode box at No. 2 end.If nothing else it caused a reaction!The main purpose of the exercise was to properly remove scale and corrosion on the buffer beam using a needle scaler, again as part of body preparation.
The upper half of the relay cabinet has been treated to a deep clean and light lubricate to increase reliability.This has involved removal and dismantling of the switch units prior to cleaning with detergent liquid to remove grease and oil, which contributes to the mechanisms sticking.Attention will (sometime) turn to exclusion of dirty exhaust/engine room air from the cabinets by augmenting the now tired rubber seals on the cabinet doors and improvement of the positive venting in this area.
Work will now concentrate on sister locomotive 417 as 401 is in satisfactory fettle for this running season, and during the diesel gala on 9th April following a clean and showing its repainted buffer beam and marker light panel at (L to R) Riddings, Butterley and Swanwick.
The photos dated April 2006 on the 47401 Gallery page show the loco inside "C Bay" of the Matthew Kirtley building at Swanwick Junction, undergoing repairs to the cooling system, and during the Diesel Gala on 8/9 April 2006.
47401 UPDATE - MARCH 2006
Recent efforts on 47401 have focused on preparing the loco for the 2006 running season, including work on the cooler group where a number of leaking radiator elements have been replaced, checking and cleaning the generators, auxiliary machines and contactors plus the initial preparation work for the repaint.
The photos on the 47401 Gallery page show the dragbox and valance at No. 2 end after needle gunning, corrosion visible on the cab/bodyside which will require replacement with new metal, and one of the scrapped radiator elements.
D1516 UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2006
A big step forward in the restoration of D1516 was taken on Sunday 8th January when the overhauled generator set was craned back into the locomotive and a start made on connecting it up to the diesel engine.
Other jobs undertaken in the engine room have included welding in new sections on the engine room floor/walkways to replace parts that had corroded right through and repainting of the engine room walls and associated air pipes and electrical conduits.
Prior to removing the pistons, con rods and cylinder liners a start was made on releasing a series of locking nuts. Once work on reconnecting the generator has been completed and we are able to bar over the engine again the pistons and liners can be removed for inspection.
Elsewhere on the locomotive, various air tanks and electrical machines have been disconnected prior to removal from the auxiliary room and subsequent inspection and overhaul or replacement as required. Photographs of the generator being collected from overhaul plus further progress in the engine room, can be seen on our 47417 Gallery Page (dated 7th January 2006).
D1516 UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2005
D1516's No.1 Cab overhaul is progressing steadily. Much of the wiring is complete now and requires final testing. The push buttons on the desk have been replaced wholesale with examples extracted from scrap Class 56s which were in exemplary condition compared to those in D1516, with little dirt and much better contact faces. After a light clean and check, the "new" switches have been attached behind the bezels which themselves have been fully dismantled and stripped prior to repainting in matt grey. The wires which the switches control have been re-terminated and the cable (the only original as-built cable in the locomotive) has been checked for insulation integrity. Much time has been absorbed in the re-painting of the desk and panels, which have now been fully finished with a coat of matt varnish to preserve the finish (we hope!). The instrument bezels have been refinished in satin black. The steam gauge bezel will require re-working to accommodate it in the desk as will the screenwash cover at the side of the desk. The reason for this being that these items do not belong to 1516, and were sourced to replace items lost during her period of storage before moving to the MR-B. The air tight (allegedly!) seals between all panels have been replaced with new self adhesive foam which meets full RGS (Railway Group Standards) standards for fire etc. this is being used in place of the original felt which was removed to repaint the base metal of the desk. Also the rubber kick strip at the base of the removable cab panels is being replaced where the original material has worn through.
The rest of the locomotive is being worked on simultaneously. Much of the team's attention is now focused on the generator bay of the engine room, cleaning back the old paint and applying anti-corrosive primer prior to it being glossed. Some re-panelling will be necessary in the floor area to repair the thinner areas of the loco's floor which have fallen victim to forty odd years of exposure. This activity is in anticipation of the overhauled generator's return which will allow the continuation of the stripping of the power unit. Thus far the locking nuts and gears have been removed from the majority of big ends, the big ends themselves following when we can bar the power unit over again (which requires the generator).
Meanwhile a full complement of overhauled cylinder heads awaits refitting to the locomotive. These are presently in storage where they continue to demolish our shins as we try to stagger past them in the dark!
The auxiliary machines are being prepared for dispatch to Messrs. Dowding and Mills for attention to their respective electrical machines. Thus far the compressors have been mechanically disconnected and require de-wiring to complete the job. Photos of the ongoing work on the cab desk can be seen on our 47417 Gallery Page.
47401 SEPTEMBER 2005 UPDATE
The final gala of 2005 presented a scenario that the team had started to become strangers to.The former D1500 was seeing out the year in her inimitable manner and wouldn’t start.This was a bit odd since most of the normal suspects that could prevent her from starting had been steadily rectified through our ongoing program to increase electrical reliability, and ultimately the ERV (Engine Run Valve) was energised so the last line of defence/irritation in the power units electrical control equipment was operating.The ERV, which sits in the governor assembly is energised when the various protective interlocks in the loco are satisfied that the power unit can be safely started.When ERV is energised it allows oil pressurised by the “triple pump” to open the fuel pump racks via a hydraulic actuator, in much the same manner as you would depress the throttle of a car to start it.Thus all things being equal it should have started – if there was sufficient oil pressure.Out of the top five of Brush 4 failure modes, an expired triple pump nylon gearwheel ranks high.Sure enough the oil pump drive gearwheel resembled a pulley.The pump was removed and a spare gear (removed from the pump in stores) grafted onto the known good pump.This was necessary as the pump in store was found to have an erratic action, which felt like a damaged bearing race and could have resulted in the spare pump gearwheel being stripped of its teeth instantly. The Thursday evening before the gala saw the pre-filled pump fitted and whipped up – and predictably she didn’t start – what a surprise.
Bleeding of the oil system upwards from the triple pump was carried out on Friday.When the start button was depressed the racks opened wide, as they should before pressure diminished and the governor returned the racks to the rest position.This still looked like an air lock (but looked curable) hence the comment on the website “she may run” - sorry we were so vague!Come the Saturday we were quietly confident (read “excessively optimistic”).There were two feasible approaches.Firstly try the union at the back of the governor for one last bleed.Secondly it was realised that the batteries may need a big dose of charge as the pump would run ok until the engine started cranking and the battery volts (and therefore amps) would drop significantly, reducing the speed of the electrically driven triple pump and allowing the racks to close down again as oil pressure faltered.
Any of you around on Saturday will know the answer – one and a half hours of charge, one last bleed up and we hit the button – and it worked.She took power at both ends without fault and all with half an hour to spare before being due off shed – result!
JUNE 2005 UPDATE - D1516's CYLINDER HEADS BEFORE AND AFTER!
Three of the overhauled cylinder heads have been returned to Butterley. The photos (dated 24th June 2005) can be seen here showing the second batch of heads at Fragonset, Derby, prior to work being carried out and on the right are the three completed heads. Pistons and cylinder liners were due to be the next items to be removed from D1516.
Work has begun on rewiring the No. 1 end cab desk where a number of cables to one of the switch panels had been severed, refurbishing the switch panel itself and replacing the wiring to the cab foot warmers.
47401 PROGRESS REPORT - JULY 2005
47401's most recent running day was on Sunday 19th June, the loco completing five round trips without incident. A further run was to have taken place on Saturday 2nd July on a vice steam turn but the loco had to be stood down owing to no trained driver being available.
Recent work has included attention to a leaking gauge on the header tank. We have also replaced the STR relay after it failed several weeks ago meaning that the engine can once again be shut down without resort to the fuel rack.
D1516 CYLINDER HEADS REMOVED 7th MAY 2005
The restoration of D1516 took a further step forward with the removal of the loco's cylinder heads which will be sent away to Derby for overhaul. The photos, here, show one of the heads being craned off the power unit plus a collection of six of the heads (half way there!) on the ground, and also the power unit following removal of the heads and awaiting removal of pistons and cylinder liners.
47401 OIL CHANGE & RUNNING DAY 10th APRIL 2005
An oil change was carried out on 47401 over the weekend of 2nd/3rd April, the first time this has been carried out in preservation. Approx. 150 gallons of waste oil had to be drained out into 5 gallon drums while the loco stood over the pit at Swanwick, then £400 worth of new oil was slowly pumped in - this should see us through for another few years operation. Thanks to everyone who turned out this weekend to assist!
47401 was running on 10th April at the MRB's Diesel Gala. A minor fault kept the loco on shed on the Saturday, 9th April, however the booked diagram was successfully completed on the Sunday without major incident!
This was probably the last diesel gala that 47401 ran in large-logo blue livery as the repaint to standard blue is planned for August 2005.
MARCH 2005 - D1516 UPDATE
Since the previous report on 47417 the interiror of the engine room has been cleaned and painted prior to receiving the overhauled generator. Elsewhere on the loco the battery isolating switch has been reinstalled in the boiler room and the surrounding area repainted. A selection of photographs taken on 12th March 2005 showing the work done and some of the jobs still to be tackled including severe corrosion in the roof and silencer section as well as cab desk rewiring can be found here (scroll down to the photos dated 12th March 2005).
SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD - FEBRUARY 2005
A visit to inspect the work carried out on D1516's generator at the premises of Messrs Dowding & Mills, Sutton in Ashfield, was made during February 2005. Photos can be seen on the 47417 Gallery Page
D1516 GENERATOR LIFT - 31st OCTOBER 2004
D1516's generator and turbocharger were lifted out for overhaul at Swanwick Junction on October 31st 2004. Photos of the operation cab be seen on the 47417 Gallery Page (scroll down to the appropriate date).
30th SEPTEMBER 2004 - STANDARD BLUE WINS 47401 LIVERY BALLOT
Voting closed today in the 47401 Project shareholders livery ballot. Much like the last time we had 401 painted it was a two horse race between standard blue and large logo blue with a mere sprinkling of votes for green livery. The full results were as follows (one vote per share):-
1st - Standard Blue - 1721 votes (28 members)
2nd - Large Logo Blue - 1521 votes (11 members)
3rd - Green Full Yellow - 261 votes (2 members)
4th - Green Small Yellow - 5 votes (1 member)
So, after ten years in preservation carrying large logo livery (twice as long as it carried it in BR service) 47401 will be returning to the livery which it carried for the longest time. We don't intend to carry out a repaint immediately so there is still chance to photograph the loco in its present livery, most likely we will advertise a "large logo farewell" running day in due course, so watch this space!
18th & 19th SEPTEMBER 2004 - MIDLAND RAILWAY DIESEL GALA
47401 performed well, working three round trips per day with the 1145, 1330 and 1515 departures from Butterley. Other locos working during the weekend were 20227, 7671, 45041, 73119 and 73138. Photos are on the 47401 Gallery Page
KEIGHLEY & WORTH VALLEY DIESEL GALA - 19th & 20th June 2004
See our 47401 Gallery Page for photos of 47401's successful visit to this event.
