The Restoration of 37254 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/ 63 rows en-gb 60 The New Website Has Arrived! http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1598956.html This website has now been replaced by our new and much improved website which can be found at : www.37254.co.uk Thanks for visiting this website over the years - i hope we have been keeping you up to date with how the restoration has been progressing. If you have bookmarked this website, please change the address to www.37254.co.uk Wednesday 1 October 2008: This website has now been replaced by our new and much improved website which can be found at : www.37254.co.uk Thanks for visiting this website over the years - i hope we have been keeping you up to date with how the restoration has been progressing. If you have bookmarked this website, please change the address to www.37254.co.uk

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]]> Wed Oct 1 2008 August 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1551014.html Friday 1st was the first day of the Spa Valley's diesel gala. After behaving itself during the previous day, the loco decided to suffer a brake fault and missed its first journey. The fault was diagnosed as a defective relay valve which was attended to immediately the loco got on shed. After testing on shed, 37254 joined 33063 for a trip to Groombridge and back (the train was booked for 33063 only but it got the 37 into the right place for the next trip). 254 performed perfectly for the rest of the day and the three evening runs were a good example of how noisy a 37 can be! Throughout the day, Meridian TV were filming the news programmes from the railway and the railway gained a massive amount of publicity through this. Three of the presenters visited the loco during the day and seemed to enjoy blowing the horn as well as touring the locomotive. Saturday 2nd saw 254 work two return trips before failing not far from Tunbridge Wells West with what turned out to be a load regulator fault! Rescue came in the form of 33063 with "AA" on the blinds... 254 was parked on shed and work was commenced on rectifying the defect. After a couple of hours working on the loco, 254 was up and running and was tested in the yard. 33063 and 37254 went out for a short test run in between the 17:26 arrival and the 17:40 departure and the loco was fit for traffic yet again! The loco picked up its booked workings from the 19:40 service that evening (with 73140 accompanying the loco in case of any problems - not needed though)! 37254 decided that two off-days in a row were enough and performed superbly all day on Sunday 3rd (the last day of the Summer Diesel Gala)! In the afternoon, the loco was tested in multiple with 33065 around the yard and then they went out paired up on the 15:00 departure from Tunbridge Wells West. Once 254 had arrived back at The Wells with its train, it was tested in multiple with 33063 and these two locos worked the 17:00 departure together. We had been wanting to test the multiple working equipment for quite some time and it was proved to be working! A big thank you to all the visitors to the Spa Valley Railway's gala - we hope to see you in October for the next diesel gala. Workings for the month: 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+37254+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+5 x MK1+37254 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33063 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33063+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+33063+5 x MK1 Friday 1 August 2008: Friday 1st was the first day of the Spa Valley's diesel gala. After behaving itself during the previous day, the loco decided to suffer a brake fault and missed its first journey. The fault was diagnosed as a defective relay valve which was attended to immediately the loco got on shed. After testing on shed, 37254 joined 33063 for a trip to Groombridge and back (the train was booked for 33063 only but it got the 37 into the right place for the next trip). 254 performed perfectly for the rest of the day and the three evening runs were a good example of how noisy a 37 can be! Throughout the day, Meridian TV were filming the news programmes from the railway and the railway gained a massive amount of publicity through this. Three of the presenters visited the loco during the day and seemed to enjoy blowing the horn as well as touring the locomotive. Saturday 2nd saw 254 work two return trips before failing not far from Tunbridge Wells West with what turned out to be a load regulator fault! Rescue came in the form of 33063 with "AA" on the blinds... 254 was parked on shed and work was commenced on rectifying the defect. After a couple of hours working on the loco, 254 was up and running and was tested in the yard. 33063 and 37254 went out for a short test run in between the 17:26 arrival and the 17:40 departure and the loco was fit for traffic yet again! The loco picked up its booked workings from the 19:40 service that evening (with 73140 accompanying the loco in case of any problems - not needed though)! 37254 decided that two off-days in a row were enough and performed superbly all day on Sunday 3rd (the last day of the Summer Diesel Gala)! In the afternoon, the loco was tested in multiple with 33065 around the yard and then they went out paired up on the 15:00 departure from Tunbridge Wells West. Once 254 had arrived back at The Wells with its train, it was tested in multiple with 33063 and these two locos worked the 17:00 departure together. We had been wanting to test the multiple working equipment for quite some time and it was proved to be working! A big thank you to all the visitors to the Spa Valley Railway's gala - we hope to see you in October for the next diesel gala. Workings for the month: 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+37254+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+5 x MK1+37254 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33063 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33063+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+33063+5 x MK1

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]]> Fri Aug 1 2008 July 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1551013.html The brake valves finally returned from overhaul in mid July and were refitted on Sunday 13th and Sunday 20th. Sunday 20th saw the loco over a pit at Tunbridge Wells West having various work performed in advance of the August diesel gala which was fast approaching. During the day, an air leak was found underneath the body at Number 1 End - we ran out of time in whcih to cure the fault but it will be dealt with before the gala. Friday 25th saw the loco on shed having attention to the newly-found air leak. The pipework involved was removed from underneath the body and repaired in the loco shed before being reattached to the loco with success as no leaks were present after reinstalment. Rectification work to a defective windscreen wiper on the secondman's side in number 1 cab was done at the same time. After the work had been completed, two light engine test runs were performed to prove that the reinstalled components were functioning correctly. Thursday 31st (the day before the Summer Diesel Gala), 37254 took 3 coaches to Groombridge on a test run to check the vacuum brake side of the loco after the recent overhauls of the brake valves and the distributor by a contractor. Unfortunately the overhauled distributor did not work as it should so the old distributor was refitted to the loco before the test run departed. The "overhauled" distributor will be going back for more work to be done on it! Once at Groombridge, the 37 was used for shunting the sidings to retrieve a class 101 DMMU driving trailer and to put into store one of the mark 1 vehicles that we had brought from Tunbridge Wells West earlier in the evening. The loco made its way back to Tunbridge Wells West in the pitch black towing the three coaches and arrived rather late into the evening! The loco was stabled ready for the gala to commence. Workings for the month: 25/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 0Z37 Light Loco test run 31/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5Z37 3 x MK1 31/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5Z38 Class 101 + 2 x MK1 Tuesday 1 July 2008: The brake valves finally returned from overhaul in mid July and were refitted on Sunday 13th and Sunday 20th. Sunday 20th saw the loco over a pit at Tunbridge Wells West having various work performed in advance of the August diesel gala which was fast approaching. During the day, an air leak was found underneath the body at Number 1 End - we ran out of time in whcih to cure the fault but it will be dealt with before the gala. Friday 25th saw the loco on shed having attention to the newly-found air leak. The pipework involved was removed from underneath the body and repaired in the loco shed before being reattached to the loco with success as no leaks were present after reinstalment. Rectification work to a defective windscreen wiper on the secondman's side in number 1 cab was done at the same time. After the work had been completed, two light engine test runs were performed to prove that the reinstalled components were functioning correctly. Thursday 31st (the day before the Summer Diesel Gala), 37254 took 3 coaches to Groombridge on a test run to check the vacuum brake side of the loco after the recent overhauls of the brake valves and the distributor by a contractor. Unfortunately the overhauled distributor did not work as it should so the old distributor was refitted to the loco before the test run departed. The "overhauled" distributor will be going back for more work to be done on it! Once at Groombridge, the 37 was used for shunting the sidings to retrieve a class 101 DMMU driving trailer and to put into store one of the mark 1 vehicles that we had brought from Tunbridge Wells West earlier in the evening. The loco made its way back to Tunbridge Wells West in the pitch black towing the three coaches and arrived rather late into the evening! The loco was stabled ready for the gala to commence. Workings for the month: 25/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 0Z37 Light Loco test run 25/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 0Z37 Light Loco test run 31/07/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5Z37 3 x MK1 31/07/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5Z38 Class 101 + 2 x MK1

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Tue Jul 1 2008 June 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1551012.html June saw the loco having a few electrical jobs performed on it as well as routine maintenance. Workings for the month: None Sunday 1 June 2008: June saw the loco having a few electrical jobs performed on it as well as routine maintenance. Workings for the month: None

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]]> Sun Jun 1 2008 May 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1551011.html The locomotive's straight air brake valves, train brake valves and distributor have been removed from the locomotive. The straight air brake valves and one of the train brake valves have been sent away for overhaul and calibrating. A small amount of work has been performed on the loco's automatic voltage regulator (AVR). Workings for the month: None Thursday 1 May 2008: The locomotive's straight air brake valves, train brake valves and distributor have been removed from the locomotive. The straight air brake valves and one of the train brake valves have been sent away for overhaul and calibrating. A small amount of work has been performed on the loco's automatic voltage regulator (AVR). Workings for the month: None

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu May 1 2008 April 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1551010.html 37254 worked its first vacuum braked train in preservation on the 8th April. Doug, Alan, Adrian, John and Chris were there to witness the event. The load consisted of 3 bogie carriages and 33065 (for insurance - but not needed). Three round trips were undertaken in between cups of tea. 16th April saw 254 out on light loco runs as part of the mileage accumulation programme to iron out any potential problems and also for route learning/crew training purposes. 26th April saw 254 work its first passenger train in preservation. The loco seemed to attract a lot of positve comments from the visitors to the diesel gala with many people telling stories of 254's former life on BR. A wedding party that was taking place at The High Rocks took a journey on the train - the loco hauled its first wedding special on the same day as its first passenger runs in preservation! 254 was rostered out on the fish and chip special and the passengers enjoyed the two booked runs, a non-stop additional return trip was quickly organised much to the surprise of some of the people present. The noise 254 produced that evening was superb with the loco thrashing away in the dark bringing back memories of runs on the mainline from years gone by. The Organisers of the diesel gala had very kindly reserved the seating in the bar car for our restoration team to have their fish and chips in - a most welcome gesture! 27th April saw the loco perform faultlessly for a second day of the diesel gala. At the end of the day, a freight was worked to Birchden Junction top and tail with 33065 on its last run before a long overhaul. The light loco run back with 33065 brough many people out of the pub at High Rocks when we went past. Workings for the month: 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Tea Garden Lane Light Loco 08/04/2008 Tea Grden Lane Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G01 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T02 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B03 73140+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T04 37254+5 x Mk1+73140 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B07 37254+5 x MK1+33063 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T08 33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B11 33065+37254+5 x MK1 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T12 33065+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G13 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T14 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B15 33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T16 37254+5 x MK1+33063 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B19 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T20 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B21 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T22 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction SPL 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 (additional beerex) 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West SPL 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 (additional beerex) 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G05 37254+73140+5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T06 37254+5 x Mk1+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B07 33063+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T08 37254+5 x MK1+33063 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B11 33065+37254+5 x MK1 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T12 33065+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G13 5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T14 5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B15 73140+33063+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T16 37254+5 x MK1+33063+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B17 73140+33063+5 x MK1+37254+33065 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T18 33065+37254+5 x MK1+33063+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction SPL 33065+3 wagons+37254 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West SPL 33065+37254 Tuesday 1 April 2008: 37254 worked its first vacuum braked train in preservation on the 8th April. Doug, Alan, Adrian, John and Chris were there to witness the event. The load consisted of 3 bogie carriages and 33065 (for insurance - but not needed). Three round trips were undertaken in between cups of tea. 16th April saw 254 out on light loco runs as part of the mileage accumulation programme to iron out any potential problems and also for route learning/crew training purposes. 26th April saw 254 work its first passenger train in preservation. The loco seemed to attract a lot of positve comments from the visitors to the diesel gala with many people telling stories of 254's former life on BR. A wedding party that was taking place at The High Rocks took a journey on the train - the loco hauled its first wedding special on the same day as its first passenger runs in preservation! 254 was rostered out on the fish and chip special and the passengers enjoyed the two booked runs, a non-stop additional return trip was quickly organised much to the surprise of some of the people present. The noise 254 produced that evening was superb with the loco thrashing away in the dark bringing back memories of runs on the mainline from years gone by. The Organisers of the diesel gala had very kindly reserved the seating in the bar car for our restoration team to have their fish and chips in - a most welcome gesture! 27th April saw the loco perform faultlessly for a second day of the diesel gala. At the end of the day, a freight was worked to Birchden Junction top and tail with 33065 on its last run before a long overhaul. The light loco run back with 33065 brough many people out of the pub at High Rocks when we went past. Workings for the month: 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Tea Garden Lane Light Loco 08/04/2008 Tea Grden Lane Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test train 3 coaches + 33065 08/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test train 3 coaches + 33065 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Light Loco test run 16/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Light Loco test run 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G01 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T02 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B03 73140+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T04 37254+5 x Mk1+73140 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B07 37254+5 x MK1+33063 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T08 33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B11 33065+37254+5 x MK1 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T12 33065+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G13 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T14 5 x MK1 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B15 33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T16 37254+5 x MK1+33063 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B19 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T20 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B21 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T22 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 26/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction SPL 33065+33063+5 x MK1+37254 (additional beerex) 26/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West SPL 37254+5 x MK1+33063+33065 (additional beerex) 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G05 37254+73140+5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T06 37254+5 x Mk1+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B07 33063+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T08 37254+5 x MK1+33063 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B11 33065+37254+5 x MK1 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T12 33065+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 2G13 5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 2T14 5 x MK1 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B15 73140+33063+5 x MK1+37254 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T16 37254+5 x MK1+33063+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction 2B17 73140+33063+5 x MK1+37254+33065 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West 2T18 33065+37254+5 x MK1+33063+73140 27/04/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction SPL 33065+3 wagons+37254 (33065 R/R @ Groombridge) 27/04/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West SPL 33065+37254

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]]> Tue Apr 1 2008 March 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1483427.html The planned move from Sellindge to Tunbridge Wells did not happen on Wednesday 26th as the low-loader broke down one mile away and didn't arrive on site until it was dark! Thursday 27th saw the loco leave Sellindge hauled by the same tractor unit that delivered it five years ago! The loco was moved direct to Tunbridge Wells and was unloaded the same evening. The loco made its first moves at The Spa Valley Railway the same evening (shunting itself into the platform for commisioning work to be performed on Friday 28th). On the morning of Friday 28th, the overhauled and refilled fire bottles were delivered to us from a company in Birmingham and the old ones were taken away. It is surprising how heavy the new fire bottles were when we installed them in the loco's nose compartments. The loco then moved over a pit so various checks and topping up of lubricants could be completed. After the outstanding tasks had been completed (and we had had a cup of tea), 37254 took some 33063 and some wagons for a run to Birchden Junction and back (stopping for photographs and shunting at Groombridge on the way). The test run threw up a couple of minor faults which will be rectified as soon as possible. It was an extremely proud moment after all of our hard work over the past five years. Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th were spent on shed with '254 working on the minor faults thrown up on the test run. Workings for the month: 28/03/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test Run 28/03/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test Run Saturday 1 March 2008: The planned move from Sellindge to Tunbridge Wells did not happen on Wednesday 26th as the low-loader broke down one mile away and didn't arrive on site until it was dark! Thursday 27th saw the loco leave Sellindge hauled by the same tractor unit that delivered it five years ago! The loco was moved direct to Tunbridge Wells and was unloaded the same evening. The loco made its first moves at The Spa Valley Railway the same evening (shunting itself into the platform for commisioning work to be performed on Friday 28th). On the morning of Friday 28th, the overhauled and refilled fire bottles were delivered to us from a company in Birmingham and the old ones were taken away. It is surprising how heavy the new fire bottles were when we installed them in the loco's nose compartments. The loco then moved over a pit so various checks and topping up of lubricants could be completed. After the outstanding tasks had been completed (and we had had a cup of tea), 37254 took some 33063 and some wagons for a run to Birchden Junction and back (stopping for photographs and shunting at Groombridge on the way). The test run threw up a couple of minor faults which will be rectified as soon as possible. It was an extremely proud moment after all of our hard work over the past five years. Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th were spent on shed with '254 working on the minor faults thrown up on the test run. Workings for the month: 28/03/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Birchden Junction Test Run 28/03/2008 Birchden Junction Tunbridge Wells West Test Run

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Mar 1 2008 February 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1483422.html 2 Friday 1 February 2008: 2

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]]> Fri Feb 1 2008 January 2008 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1483421.html 1 Tuesday 1 January 2008: 1

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]]> Tue Jan 1 2008 December 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1422823.html December started with the first two weekends being complete washouts preventing any work being done on the loco itself. Progress was steadily made with the technical reference library that we are gathering for the loco. A CD of scanned manuals and diagrams was taken to one of the local printers by Doug and after several hours we now had 2824 pages to file away! Having the library both on CD and on hard copy will make life easier when trying to find answers to faults and other such tasks that take up valuable time. Thanks to Tony for his assistance with this part of the project. Saturday 1 December 2007: December started with the first two weekends being complete washouts preventing any work being done on the loco itself. Progress was steadily made with the technical reference library that we are gathering for the loco. A CD of scanned manuals and diagrams was taken to one of the local printers by Doug and after several hours we now had 2824 pages to file away! Having the library both on CD and on hard copy will make life easier when trying to find answers to faults and other such tasks that take up valuable time. Thanks to Tony for his assistance with this part of the project.

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]]> Sat Dec 1 2007 November 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1422821.html Sunday 4th was yet another cold day out in the field and the short days beginning to hinder progress slightly. Alan and Chris drew up a design for a tool for removing injectors from the cylinder heads, found the parts needed and left them with Moff to construct the tool. Guidance was sought regarding the hole in the traction motor cooling ducting and it was decided to try to use a fibreglass patch to fully enclose the ducting once more. Joan cooked the lunch again and kept the other team members supplied with tea as well as cleaning off the pipes removed from the rear bulkhead of Number 2 Cab and gave them a first coat of paint with Doug’s assistance. Doug continued his painting expedition of the locomotive’s various pipe work systems with both the engine room and Number 2 nose receiving his attention. The fitting of heaters into Number 2 Cab was commenced and by the end of the day, 2 had been persuaded to sit properly on the Secondman’s side. A survey of the remaining heaters available led to two heaters being cannibalised to provide sufficient heaters to complete the task. Alan continued with painting Number 2 Cab into top coat and the result is very good so far. Adrian and Chris commenced refitting varios parts that had been removed for painting. It was discovered that there were two holes missing in the cab floor and so the original holes were re-drilled removing the sheared-off old bolts in the process. All bolts are now present on the higher part of the cab floor and await the arrival of the crew seats when they are purchased. Sunday 11th saw just Alan on site working in Number 2 Cab. After cleaning up the area surrounding the hole in the traction motor cooling ducting, Alan fibre-glassed the hole as welding would be a nightmare due to having to remove numerous bits of floor crossmembers in order to access the area. The fibreglass patch will be monitored when the loco is in service and if there is a problem, then another solution will be found. Friday 16th saw an impromptu working party formed of Doug, John, Alan and Chris. John commenced wiring the heaters in Number 1 Cab as well as carrying out checks on the engine. Doug completed painting the control air valve situated just inside the engine room at Number 2 End, finishing the painting with highlighting the details in Western Region brown! Alan and Chris worked in Number 2 Cab fitting all but one of the remaining heaters – the heater under the Driver’s desk remains to be completed after being built from parts recovered from other heaters. John started the task of refitting the equipment that is mounted on the bulkhead of Number 2 Cab by refitting the repainted change-end switch with a little bit of help from Chris. Sunday 18th had the usual suspects in attendance. Joan cooked the extremely popular bacon and sausage sarnies and received lots of approval from the steam lads as the smell of Joan’s cooking drifted across the site! Doug continued the never-ending task of painting pipe work this time working in Number 2 nose from the outside – rumours of Doug’s next job painting the Forth Bridge are currently being investigated! Adrian and Chris fitted the overhauled DSD pedal assembly after fitting the last heater in Number 2 Cab – the heater under the Driver’s desk needed a bit of fettling to make it sit square but we got there in the end! Joan completed sanding down the grab rails from Number 2 Cab and then painted them with anti-corrosive primer as well as giving the container a bit of a tidy up and finding several long lost tools in the process! During the following week, Joan painted the door from Number 2 Cab that leads to the nose–end compartment as well as the grab rails that are mounted in the ceiling above the doorway in Number 2 Cab. Joan painted the items over several days in the kitchen and did a magnificent job (see photo). A cold Sunday 25th saw just Adrian and Chris working in Number 2 Cab. The repainted nose-end door was refitted in the cab and now awaits glass and a top coat of paint on the nose side of the door together with refitting the handle on the nose side. With the door completed as far as was practical, reassembly of the rear bulkhead equipment was continued. The AWS timing reservoir was refitted as well as part of the Baldwin Valve. Once those components had been fitted, the next exercise was to fit the air pipe work that connects the various components – easier said than done. Each piece of pipe work goes on in a set order and this led to the rear half of the Baldwin valve being slackened off and manoeuvred no less than three times until the pipe work was almost completed before the sun went down. One pipe remains to be fitted and this will be done at the next working party. Thursday 1 November 2007: Sunday 4th was yet another cold day out in the field and the short days beginning to hinder progress slightly. Alan and Chris drew up a design for a tool for removing injectors from the cylinder heads, found the parts needed and left them with Moff to construct the tool. Guidance was sought regarding the hole in the traction motor cooling ducting and it was decided to try to use a fibreglass patch to fully enclose the ducting once more. Joan cooked the lunch again and kept the other team members supplied with tea as well as cleaning off the pipes removed from the rear bulkhead of Number 2 Cab and gave them a first coat of paint with Doug_s assistance. Doug continued his painting expedition of the locomotive_s various pipe work systems with both the engine room and Number 2 nose receiving his attention. The fitting of heaters into Number 2 Cab was commenced and by the end of the day, 2 had been persuaded to sit properly on the Secondman_s side. A survey of the remaining heaters available led to two heaters being cannibalised to provide sufficient heaters to complete the task. Alan continued with painting Number 2 Cab into top coat and the result is very good so far. Adrian and Chris commenced refitting varios parts that had been removed for painting. It was discovered that there were two holes missing in the cab floor and so the original holes were re-drilled removing the sheared-off old bolts in the process. All bolts are now present on the higher part of the cab floor and await the arrival of the crew seats when they are purchased. Sunday 11th saw just Alan on site working in Number 2 Cab. After cleaning up the area surrounding the hole in the traction motor cooling ducting, Alan fibre-glassed the hole as welding would be a nightmare due to having to remove numerous bits of floor crossmembers in order to access the area. The fibreglass patch will be monitored when the loco is in service and if there is a problem, then another solution will be found. Friday 16th saw an impromptu working party formed of Doug, John, Alan and Chris. John commenced wiring the heaters in Number 1 Cab as well as carrying out checks on the engine. Doug completed painting the control air valve situated just inside the engine room at Number 2 End, finishing the painting with highlighting the details in Western Region brown! Alan and Chris worked in Number 2 Cab fitting all but one of the remaining heaters _ the heater under the Driver_s desk remains to be completed after being built from parts recovered from other heaters. John started the task of refitting the equipment that is mounted on the bulkhead of Number 2 Cab by refitting the repainted change-end switch with a little bit of help from Chris. Sunday 18th had the usual suspects in attendance. Joan cooked the extremely popular bacon and sausage sarnies and received lots of approval from the steam lads as the smell of Joan_s cooking drifted across the site! Doug continued the never-ending task of painting pipe work this time working in Number 2 nose from the outside _ rumours of Doug_s next job painting the Forth Bridge are currently being investigated! Adrian and Chris fitted the overhauled DSD pedal assembly after fitting the last heater in Number 2 Cab _ the heater under the Driver_s desk needed a bit of fettling to make it sit square but we got there in the end! Joan completed sanding down the grab rails from Number 2 Cab and then painted them with anti-corrosive primer as well as giving the container a bit of a tidy up and finding several long lost tools in the process! During the following week, Joan painted the door from Number 2 Cab that leads to the nose_end compartment as well as the grab rails that are mounted in the ceiling above the doorway in Number 2 Cab. Joan painted the items over several days in the kitchen and did a magnificent job (see photo). A cold Sunday 25th saw just Adrian and Chris working in Number 2 Cab. The repainted nose-end door was refitted in the cab and now awaits glass and a top coat of paint on the nose side of the door together with refitting the handle on the nose side. With the door completed as far as was practical, reassembly of the rear bulkhead equipment was continued. The AWS timing reservoir was refitted as well as part of the Baldwin Valve. Once those components had been fitted, the next exercise was to fit the air pipe work that connects the various components _ easier said than done. Each piece of pipe work goes on in a set order and this led to the rear half of the Baldwin valve being slackened off and manoeuvred no less than three times until the pipe work was almost completed before the sun went down. One pipe remains to be fitted and this will be done at the next working party.

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]]> Thu Nov 1 2007 October 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1422819.html October 2007 Monday 1 October 2007: October 2007

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]]> Mon Oct 1 2007 September 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1376031.html Coming soon Saturday 1 September 2007: Coming soon

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]]> Sat Sep 1 2007 August 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1376030.html Coming soon Wednesday 1 August 2007: Coming soon

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]]> Wed Aug 1 2007 July 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1376029.html Coming soon Sunday 1 July 2007: Coming soon

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]]> Sun Jul 1 2007 June 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1376025.html Coming soon Friday 1 June 2007: Coming soon

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]]> Fri Jun 1 2007 May 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1376023.html Coming soon! Tuesday 1 May 2007: Coming soon!

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]]> Tue May 1 2007 April 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1249372.html April has been a busy month for the Restoration Team's Members (and likewise the last few months have also been busy!), but Working Parties have been taking place and more progress has been achieved. On Sunday 22nd April Adrian, Alan, Chris, Dave, Emily, Joan and Doug were on site and various jobs were undertaken.... including reassembling and then testing the first of the two Air Intake Assemblies (this Assembly has been coated in primer pending a decision on the locomotive's livery - will it be BR Green, BR Blue, "Dutch", or something else? Watch this space!). The experience we gained in dismantling, overhauling and reassembling this unit was very welcome and will help us when we start work on the locomotive's other such unit; some photographs of the work should be appearing on this website in the next few days. Sunday 1 April 2007: April has been a busy month for the Restoration Team's Members (and likewise the last few months have also been busy!), but Working Parties have been taking place and more progress has been achieved. On Sunday 22nd April Adrian, Alan, Chris, Dave, Emily, Joan and Doug were on site and various jobs were undertaken.... including reassembling and then testing the first of the two Air Intake Assemblies (this Assembly has been coated in primer pending a decision on the locomotive's livery - will it be BR Green, BR Blue, "Dutch", or something else? Watch this space!). The experience we gained in dismantling, overhauling and reassembling this unit was very welcome and will help us when we start work on the locomotive's other such unit; some photographs of the work should be appearing on this website in the next few days.

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]]> Sun Apr 1 2007 March 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1249370.html March 2007 Thursday 1 March 2007: March 2007

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]]> Thu Mar 1 2007 February 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1207678.html John and a friend worked on site on Thursday 1st February working mainly on the vacuum system. The vacuum chamber pipework was traced around the loco and it was found to be more intact than was previously thought. Under both cabs, some cowboy (before the loco was preserved) had disconnected the pipework for the small diameter vacuum chamber pipework and then burnt off the connections from under the cab floors but leaving the pipework connected to the rest of the pipework! John fitted the 2 inch diameter vacuum train pipe between the brake valve and the connection under the floor in Number 1 Cab. There are three more pipes to connect in Number 1 Cab - two of these need to be made specially due to the situation described before. Enough components are in store to complete the task together with the new pipework required. Sunday 4th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. Adrian continued working on the area vacated by the louvres painting the area with undercoat at the end of the day. Alan dismantled the radiator louvres as around half of them had seized in position and wouldn't budge regardless of how much pressure was applied. By the end of the day, all of the louvres were freed and moving easily. Chris continued the work on the vacuum pipework in Number 1 Cab managing to fit one pipe between the vacuum gauge and the 2 inch vacuum pipe fitted by John on the previous Thursday. Sunday 11th was a miserable day weather wise and this impacted on the amount of work that was possible. Regular heavy downpours accompanied by hail at times disrupted the plans but such is the fun of working outdoors - the sun appeared at various times during the day. Adrian and Chris worked on the vacuum pipework at Number 1 end. Where the connection had been burnt off under the cab, the area had to be cleaned of slag and then the hole was gradually reamed out to enable a new pipe to be run through the hole in the floor to connect the vacuum chamber side of the vacuum gauge to the vacuum chamber pipework underneath the loco. Alan removed the necessary connections from spare pipework in the store and prepared them for fitting onto the new pipework when it is in situ. Joan continued stripping the paint from the aluminium strips that surrounded the frost grille as well as cooking a lovely lunch for the troops! Doug started cleaning the louvres of the dirt that wouldn't shift with the power washer. In the evening, Chris McNaughton kindly soldered some components into one piece to make one of the pieces of pipework that is missing in Number 1 Cab. Sunday 18th was a strange day weather wise. It was overcast all day and we occasionally suffered from drizzling rain. Adrian, Alan and Chris were present for the day's events. All three volunteers worked together on getting some more vacuum pipework in Number 1 Cab. The pipe that Chris McNaughton had kindly soldered last Sunday evening was fitted and was a perfect match. The new pipe that had been run through the floor at Number 1 end last weekend had the fittings and nuts attached and then the pipe was plumbed in to the gauge and other pipework. We are unable to test the vacuum system until all the remaining missing parts are replaced. Alan then started reinstating the vacuum pipework at Number 2 end. The 2 inch diameter pipework was fitted in Number 2 Cab but there are some alterations required before it will fit correctly. A route for the vacuum chamber pipework was planned and the components required will be obtained during the next week. Adrian refitted the floor and one of the seats in Number 1 Cab as well as assisting Alan with removing a pipework fitting in Number 2 Cab. Chris cleaned up the frost grille of any remaining paint on the inside surface and then removed all of the rivets that had sheared off over the years. Chris then painted one side of the grille in primer. Thursday 1 February 2007: John and a friend worked on site on Thursday 1st February working mainly on the vacuum system. The vacuum chamber pipework was traced around the loco and it was found to be more intact than was previously thought. Under both cabs, some cowboy (before the loco was preserved) had disconnected the pipework for the small diameter vacuum chamber pipework and then burnt off the connections from under the cab floors but leaving the pipework connected to the rest of the pipework! John fitted the 2 inch diameter vacuum train pipe between the brake valve and the connection under the floor in Number 1 Cab. There are three more pipes to connect in Number 1 Cab - two of these need to be made specially due to the situation described before. Enough components are in store to complete the task together with the new pipework required. Sunday 4th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. Adrian continued working on the area vacated by the louvres painting the area with undercoat at the end of the day. Alan dismantled the radiator louvres as around half of them had seized in position and wouldn't budge regardless of how much pressure was applied. By the end of the day, all of the louvres were freed and moving easily. Chris continued the work on the vacuum pipework in Number 1 Cab managing to fit one pipe between the vacuum gauge and the 2 inch vacuum pipe fitted by John on the previous Thursday. Sunday 11th was a miserable day weather wise and this impacted on the amount of work that was possible. Regular heavy downpours accompanied by hail at times disrupted the plans but such is the fun of working outdoors - the sun appeared at various times during the day. Adrian and Chris worked on the vacuum pipework at Number 1 end. Where the connection had been burnt off under the cab, the area had to be cleaned of slag and then the hole was gradually reamed out to enable a new pipe to be run through the hole in the floor to connect the vacuum chamber side of the vacuum gauge to the vacuum chamber pipework underneath the loco. Alan removed the necessary connections from spare pipework in the store and prepared them for fitting onto the new pipework when it is in situ. Joan continued stripping the paint from the aluminium strips that surrounded the frost grille as well as cooking a lovely lunch for the troops! Doug started cleaning the louvres of the dirt that wouldn't shift with the power washer. In the evening, Chris McNaughton kindly soldered some components into one piece to make one of the pieces of pipework that is missing in Number 1 Cab. Sunday 18th was a strange day weather wise. It was overcast all day and we occasionally suffered from drizzling rain. Adrian, Alan and Chris were present for the day's events. All three volunteers worked together on getting some more vacuum pipework in Number 1 Cab. The pipe that Chris McNaughton had kindly soldered last Sunday evening was fitted and was a perfect match. The new pipe that had been run through the floor at Number 1 end last weekend had the fittings and nuts attached and then the pipe was plumbed in to the gauge and other pipework. We are unable to test the vacuum system until all the remaining missing parts are replaced. Alan then started reinstating the vacuum pipework at Number 2 end. The 2 inch diameter pipework was fitted in Number 2 Cab but there are some alterations required before it will fit correctly. A route for the vacuum chamber pipework was planned and the components required will be obtained during the next week. Adrian refitted the floor and one of the seats in Number 1 Cab as well as assisting Alan with removing a pipework fitting in Number 2 Cab. Chris cleaned up the frost grille of any remaining paint on the inside surface and then removed all of the rivets that had sheared off over the years. Chris then painted one side of the grille in primer.

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]]> Thu Feb 1 2007 January 2007 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1172972.html HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF OUR VISITORS AND SUPPORTERS! Sunday 7th saw the first working party of the year with Alan, Adrian, Chris, John, Chris Stuchbury and even a very rare appearance by Dan! Dave Downer came down specially to work on the electrical cubicle sorting out the few remaining gremlins as well as removing redundant wire and generally tidying up the electrical cubicle. Dave brought with him a new relay to replace one of the old relays that had given up the ghost after all these years. John, Alan and Adrian removed the frost grille and radiator louvres from A-Bank side of the loco so that the area hidden behind the grille and louvres could be cleaned of any debris that had collected and then repainted with anti-corrosive paint. This work is all part of minimising corrosion where possible as Class 37s tend to rust in this area quite badly. Most of the nuts and bolts came apart quite easily when you consider how long they must have been in there without moving. The steam loco lads on site seemed very keen to lend us their gas axe for us to work on our loco - ulterior motive perhaps? Dan and Chris S assisted Dave with the electrical cubicle. Chris finished off a few outstanding small tasks on the loco such as removing the remaining glass cover for the fire pull handle at Number 2 End so that replacement glass can be cut to size. Sunday 14th saw Joan, Doug, Adrian and Alan on site continuing with cleaning the area that had been revealed since the radiator louvres and frost grille had been removed the previous weekend. All of the debris and dirt has now been removed and the area is almost ready for painting. The louvres are in the process of being cleaned of the accumulated dirt and the louvres have been found to be BR Blue! Obviously this area wasn't touched when the loco was painted into "Dutch" livery by BR! Thanks to Joan, the troops were kept fed yet again! Sunday 21st saw just Alan on site due to other members having prior commitments or sickness. Alan continued working on the radiator louvres preparing them for dismantling. Sunday 28th saw Adrian, Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris on site. Alan and Adrian continued with overhauling the radiator louvres and surrounding area that had been exposed when the louvres were removed revealing blue and green paint in the process. Joan commenced stripping the paint off the aluminium strips that surrounded the frost grille whilst Doug blasted as much dirt off the louvres as possible. Chris commenced removing all of the dirt and brake dust that had accumulated on the frost grille over the years. The grime was caked on really thick and took a lot of effort to get it all off. Alan and Adrian ended the day with priming the area that they had been cleaning. Thanks to Joan and Doug for providing the food to keep the volunteers working! Monday 1 January 2007: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF OUR VISITORS AND SUPPORTERS! Sunday 7th saw the first working party of the year with Alan, Adrian, Chris, John, Chris Stuchbury and even a very rare appearance by Dan! Dave Downer came down specially to work on the electrical cubicle sorting out the few remaining gremlins as well as removing redundant wire and generally tidying up the electrical cubicle. Dave brought with him a new relay to replace one of the old relays that had given up the ghost after all these years. John, Alan and Adrian removed the frost grille and radiator louvres from A-Bank side of the loco so that the area hidden behind the grille and louvres could be cleaned of any debris that had collected and then repainted with anti-corrosive paint. This work is all part of minimising corrosion where possible as Class 37s tend to rust in this area quite badly. Most of the nuts and bolts came apart quite easily when you consider how long they must have been in there without moving. The steam loco lads on site seemed very keen to lend us their gas axe for us to work on our loco - ulterior motive perhaps? Dan and Chris S assisted Dave with the electrical cubicle. Chris finished off a few outstanding small tasks on the loco such as removing the remaining glass cover for the fire pull handle at Number 2 End so that replacement glass can be cut to size. Sunday 14th saw Joan, Doug, Adrian and Alan on site continuing with cleaning the area that had been revealed since the radiator louvres and frost grille had been removed the previous weekend. All of the debris and dirt has now been removed and the area is almost ready for painting. The louvres are in the process of being cleaned of the accumulated dirt and the louvres have been found to be BR Blue! Obviously this area wasn't touched when the loco was painted into "Dutch" livery by BR! Thanks to Joan, the troops were kept fed yet again! Sunday 21st saw just Alan on site due to other members having prior commitments or sickness. Alan continued working on the radiator louvres preparing them for dismantling. Sunday 28th saw Adrian, Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris on site. Alan and Adrian continued with overhauling the radiator louvres and surrounding area that had been exposed when the louvres were removed revealing blue and green paint in the process. Joan commenced stripping the paint off the aluminium strips that surrounded the frost grille whilst Doug blasted as much dirt off the louvres as possible. Chris commenced removing all of the dirt and brake dust that had accumulated on the frost grille over the years. The grime was caked on really thick and took a lot of effort to get it all off. Alan and Adrian ended the day with priming the area that they had been cleaning. Thanks to Joan and Doug for providing the food to keep the volunteers working!

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]]> Mon Jan 1 2007 December 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1152176.html There was no working party on Sunday 3rd December. Instead of the usual working party, Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris ran a fundraising stall at the Ashford toy fair. We were ably assisted by Adrian who just happened to be running the next door stall to us! We had a large amount of model railway items to sell as well as a few bits of signalling railwayana. The signalling items sold very quickly once they were put on display (we’ll take more next time!). Around one quarter of the model railway items were sold during the event with well over £400 being raised – the money goes into the account set up to fund the restoration and continued preservation of the loco. A huge amount of interest in our quest was shown by many of the visitors attending the toy fair. We had taken our display boards along for the show and many people stopped to discuss our achievements so far and even a couple of people showed interest in becoming volunteers. This is the last event that we will be attending this year and so the normal working parties will resume next weekend. As planned, normal working parties resumed on Sunday 10th with Joan, Doug, Alan, Adrian and Chris being in attendance. The main focus of the day was to complete the refurbishment of the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 end which entailed greasing the chain that drives the handbrake mechanism together with lubricating the spindle on which the handbrake wheel fits. Alan achieved this very early on in the day and then moved onto Number 1 end to start the process all over again! Joan and Doug took charge in Number 2 cab and re-fitted the cab floor that had to be removed for access to the handbrake mechanism. Alan and Adrian commenced dismantling the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end after first removing the cab floor. Alan and Adrian dealt with the mechanism in the cab area whilst Chris concentrated on the exterior components. Both swing arms on the exterior of the loco were reluctant to move freely and so they were “persuaded” to do their job using liberal quantities of oil and brute force. After around an hours attention, both swing arms were moving extremely freely. Chris took apart the shackles that attach the swing arms to the brake cylinders on the bogie. All of the pins and related equipment were thoroughly cleaned and then reassembled. Whilst the mechanism was apart, Chris took the opportunity to clean part of the brake cylinders and then lubricate the brake cylinders. Alan and Adrian managed to remove most of the components apart from one ninety degree crank on which the pin refused to come out- this crank has been cleaned up as best as possible in situ and well lubricated (it is now moving just as freely as the mechanism in Number 2 cab. The two universal type joints in Number 1 cab were removed and dismantled. One joint came apart surprisingly easy, but the other was just like those encountered at Number 2 end (seized solid). One the universal joints had been dismantled, they were thoroughly cleaned, lubricated and then reassembled. New split pins have been used during the refurbishment – a local source we found was a John Deere dealer – wrong type of “Tractor” but the pins were just the job! Joan and Doug continued stripping the cab at Number 2 end of as many fittings as possible to prepare for the rubbing down and painting of Number 2 cab, but leaving the loco movable (all the bulkhead equipment have been left in place). Our thanks to Joan for the usual lunch! Sunday 17th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. Work continued with the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end with most of the components being reassembled during the day inside the cab. The dismantled equipment outside was greased up (including the chain) and then reconnected – one universal joint remains to be reinstated. Chris replaced one of the cylinder head drain plugs with a brand new one. The old plug had suffered damage to its thread sometime in the past and was becoming difficult to screw back in to the head. The new plug is slightly smaller in size than the original but is a much easier fit – a look at the photo comparing new and old plugs shows the differences. The new plug is made of brass with a silver protective coating. Sunday 24th saw the usual crowd of Alan, Adrian, Doug, Joan and Chris on site completing the reassembling of the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end. Alan and Adrian completed the mechanism and then Doug, Alan and Adrian commenced refitting the cab floor. Doug, Joan and Chris continued stripping components out of Number 2 cab – one of the light fittings was very reluctant to come out due to one of the cover securing bolts being seized. Once the light fittings were removed, the disconnected wiring was made safe. The cab was cleared out of all the tools that had gathered during the handbrake mechanism overhaul. Chris changed the two vacuum gauges on the loco for proper class 37 gauges that had been purchased recently after a long search (the ones previously installed were Class 47 gauges where the pipe connections were mounted at the rear of the gauges), just the pipework to complete now and the loco will be fully dual-braked. We wish to send Christmas wishes to all of our supporters and thank them for their help and support over the past year, the end is getting closer (hopefully)! Carlisle Pete came down to give a hand on the loco on the last weekend of the month which was a welcome surprise! On Saturday 30th, Pete, Moff and Chris were on site with the intention of getting some welding done on the loco. Whilst Pete was working in the container making tea and sorting out some of the newly-purchased tools, Chris and Moff were welding two new plates onto the area below the cab doors and above the steps at Number 2 end. The areas were prepared by Chris and then Moff welded the plates on. This makes Number 2 Cab weatherproof after being exposed to the elements for a while. There are still two plates to be welded on next to the door and this will be done shortly once the plates have been specially shaped to fit in the area. Work was curtailed due to the high winds and torrential rain that decided to arrive in the late afternoon. Sunday 31st was obviously the last working party of the year with Alan, Adrian, Pete and Chris on site. Alan replaced a spring on the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end after the original spring had lost its tension and wouldn’t move the handbrake indicator correctly. Adrian and Alan then relaid the floor in Number 1 Cab after the handbrake mechanism had been fully refitted. During the period of time that the floor had been removed, a couple of the boards have warped very slightly and some of the bolt holes needed opening out a bit before they could be refitted. Pete and Chris set about adjusting the chequerplate to make it fit next to the doors at Number 2 end. Once Chris had completed his piece of chequerplate, he sheeted over the electrical cubicle in Number 2 Cab to protect the electrical equipment when removing the paintwork recommences in the new year. A temporary fluorescent light was fitted into Number 2 Cab to assist when working after dark. As it was too late to commence any sanding in Number 2 Cab, Chris dismantled a vacuum chamber release valve and commenced stripping it of paint and cleaning it – the overhauled valve will be placed into one of the cabs as soon as some of the vacuum pipework has been manufactured and put in place. Friday 1 December 2006: There was no working party on Sunday 3rd December. Instead of the usual working party, Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris ran a fundraising stall at the Ashford toy fair. We were ably assisted by Adrian who just happened to be running the next door stall to us! We had a large amount of model railway items to sell as well as a few bits of signalling railwayana. The signalling items sold very quickly once they were put on display (we_ll take more next time!). Around one quarter of the model railway items were sold during the event with well over _400 being raised _ the money goes into the account set up to fund the restoration and continued preservation of the loco. A huge amount of interest in our quest was shown by many of the visitors attending the toy fair. We had taken our display boards along for the show and many people stopped to discuss our achievements so far and even a couple of people showed interest in becoming volunteers. This is the last event that we will be attending this year and so the normal working parties will resume next weekend. As planned, normal working parties resumed on Sunday 10th with Joan, Doug, Alan, Adrian and Chris being in attendance. The main focus of the day was to complete the refurbishment of the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 end which entailed greasing the chain that drives the handbrake mechanism together with lubricating the spindle on which the handbrake wheel fits. Alan achieved this very early on in the day and then moved onto Number 1 end to start the process all over again! Joan and Doug took charge in Number 2 cab and re-fitted the cab floor that had to be removed for access to the handbrake mechanism. Alan and Adrian commenced dismantling the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end after first removing the cab floor. Alan and Adrian dealt with the mechanism in the cab area whilst Chris concentrated on the exterior components. Both swing arms on the exterior of the loco were reluctant to move freely and so they were _persuaded_ to do their job using liberal quantities of oil and brute force. After around an hours attention, both swing arms were moving extremely freely. Chris took apart the shackles that attach the swing arms to the brake cylinders on the bogie. All of the pins and related equipment were thoroughly cleaned and then reassembled. Whilst the mechanism was apart, Chris took the opportunity to clean part of the brake cylinders and then lubricate the brake cylinders. Alan and Adrian managed to remove most of the components apart from one ninety degree crank on which the pin refused to come out- this crank has been cleaned up as best as possible in situ and well lubricated (it is now moving just as freely as the mechanism in Number 2 cab. The two universal type joints in Number 1 cab were removed and dismantled. One joint came apart surprisingly easy, but the other was just like those encountered at Number 2 end (seized solid). One the universal joints had been dismantled, they were thoroughly cleaned, lubricated and then reassembled. New split pins have been used during the refurbishment _ a local source we found was a John Deere dealer _ wrong type of _Tractor_ but the pins were just the job! Joan and Doug continued stripping the cab at Number 2 end of as many fittings as possible to prepare for the rubbing down and painting of Number 2 cab, but leaving the loco movable (all the bulkhead equipment have been left in place). Our thanks to Joan for the usual lunch! Sunday 17th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. Work continued with the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end with most of the components being reassembled during the day inside the cab. The dismantled equipment outside was greased up (including the chain) and then reconnected _ one universal joint remains to be reinstated. Chris replaced one of the cylinder head drain plugs with a brand new one. The old plug had suffered damage to its thread sometime in the past and was becoming difficult to screw back in to the head. The new plug is slightly smaller in size than the original but is a much easier fit _ a look at the photo comparing new and old plugs shows the differences. The new plug is made of brass with a silver protective coating. Sunday 24th saw the usual crowd of Alan, Adrian, Doug, Joan and Chris on site completing the reassembling of the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end. Alan and Adrian completed the mechanism and then Doug, Alan and Adrian commenced refitting the cab floor. Doug, Joan and Chris continued stripping components out of Number 2 cab _ one of the light fittings was very reluctant to come out due to one of the cover securing bolts being seized. Once the light fittings were removed, the disconnected wiring was made safe. The cab was cleared out of all the tools that had gathered during the handbrake mechanism overhaul. Chris changed the two vacuum gauges on the loco for proper class 37 gauges that had been purchased recently after a long search (the ones previously installed were Class 47 gauges where the pipe connections were mounted at the rear of the gauges), just the pipework to complete now and the loco will be fully dual-braked. We wish to send Christmas wishes to all of our supporters and thank them for their help and support over the past year, the end is getting closer (hopefully)! Carlisle Pete came down to give a hand on the loco on the last weekend of the month which was a welcome surprise! On Saturday 30th, Pete, Moff and Chris were on site with the intention of getting some welding done on the loco. Whilst Pete was working in the container making tea and sorting out some of the newly-purchased tools, Chris and Moff were welding two new plates onto the area below the cab doors and above the steps at Number 2 end. The areas were prepared by Chris and then Moff welded the plates on. This makes Number 2 Cab weatherproof after being exposed to the elements for a while. There are still two plates to be welded on next to the door and this will be done shortly once the plates have been specially shaped to fit in the area. Work was curtailed due to the high winds and torrential rain that decided to arrive in the late afternoon. Sunday 31st was obviously the last working party of the year with Alan, Adrian, Pete and Chris on site. Alan replaced a spring on the handbrake mechanism at Number 1 end after the original spring had lost its tension and wouldn_t move the handbrake indicator correctly. Adrian and Alan then relaid the floor in Number 1 Cab after the handbrake mechanism had been fully refitted. During the period of time that the floor had been removed, a couple of the boards have warped very slightly and some of the bolt holes needed opening out a bit before they could be refitted. Pete and Chris set about adjusting the chequerplate to make it fit next to the doors at Number 2 end. Once Chris had completed his piece of chequerplate, he sheeted over the electrical cubicle in Number 2 Cab to protect the electrical equipment when removing the paintwork recommences in the new year. A temporary fluorescent light was fitted into Number 2 Cab to assist when working after dark. As it was too late to commence any sanding in Number 2 Cab, Chris dismantled a vacuum chamber release valve and commenced stripping it of paint and cleaning it _ the overhauled valve will be placed into one of the cabs as soon as some of the vacuum pipework has been manufactured and put in place.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Fri Dec 1 2006 November 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1139868.html The first working party of the month was on Sunday 5th with Alan and Chris on site for the majority of the day with Adrian arriving in the afternoon. The dismantling, cleaning and refitting of the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 end commenced with Alan and Chris managing to partially dismantle one of the parts that had become seized. Chris dismantled, cleaned and then refitted some of the moving parts that are on the outside of the loco. The old grease certainly builds up over the years and gets rather solid so all the old grease was removed, all the components were fully cleaned, re-greased and then refitted. Chris also performed the same process on one of the parts normally situated under the cab floor. Sunday 12th saw just Joan and Doug on site. The main purpose of the day for Joan and Doug was to continue with cleaning and painting the backs of the electrical cubicle covers that are in Number 2 cab. Doug also painted part of the fire circuit pipe work in the engine room. Sunday 19th saw just Alan and Chris on site on a sunny but cold day. Both Chris and Alan worked on the handbrake mechanism in Number 2 cab. One part of the mechanism had seized completely and Alan had managed to get part of it apart on a previous working party, but today he suceeded in dismantling the complete mechanism by using carefully applied heat from a blow lamp recently purchased. It is assumed that the handbrake mechanism hadn't received any treatment for years and had suffered badly from water ingress. Chris managed to dismantle some of the mechanism on the Secondman's side of the cab, clean the parts up and then refit them after plenty of grease was applied in the right places. In the afternoon, Chris managed to dismantle part of the Secondman's side linkage that had seized sometime in the past. The part that Chris removed was the matching half of the part that Alan removed earlier in the day. After much heating with the new blow torch and clobbering with a hammer, the pins finally seperated from the holes joining the different components together. The swing arm that is attached to the handbrake chain outside the loco is the next part to attempt. Both sides of the cab have seized swing arms and we are investigating how best to tackle the situation on the next working party. Sunday 26th saw Joan, Doug and Chris on site. Joan cleaned up part of the handbrake mechanism that had been dismantled during the last working party, removing all of the grime, rust and old grease from the components. Doug and Chris dismantled yet more of the handbrake rigging in Number 2 Cab, cleaning the appropriate components and then reassembling them. Joan and Chris reassembled one of the universal joints that connects the brake rigging under the cab floor to the swing arm which operates the handbrake chain on the exterior of the loco. One more working party should finish the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 End. Wednesday 29th saw John and Chris on site. John and Chris continued the seemingly never-ending task of overhauling the hand brake rigging at Number 2 end. By the end of the day (after a lot of persuasion from John), all of the seized mechanism had been freed and was moving with ease. The hand brake rigging at Number 2 end has been completely reassembled and is now functioning fully. All that remains is to oil and grease the chain which drives the handbrake mechanism which is located in the nose at Number 2 end. A very productive day indeed. A few minutes were spent getting a few time exposures of the loco once night had fallen. Wednesday 1 November 2006: The first working party of the month was on Sunday 5th with Alan and Chris on site for the majority of the day with Adrian arriving in the afternoon. The dismantling, cleaning and refitting of the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 end commenced with Alan and Chris managing to partially dismantle one of the parts that had become seized. Chris dismantled, cleaned and then refitted some of the moving parts that are on the outside of the loco. The old grease certainly builds up over the years and gets rather solid so all the old grease was removed, all the components were fully cleaned, re-greased and then refitted. Chris also performed the same process on one of the parts normally situated under the cab floor. Sunday 12th saw just Joan and Doug on site. The main purpose of the day for Joan and Doug was to continue with cleaning and painting the backs of the electrical cubicle covers that are in Number 2 cab. Doug also painted part of the fire circuit pipe work in the engine room. Sunday 19th saw just Alan and Chris on site on a sunny but cold day. Both Chris and Alan worked on the handbrake mechanism in Number 2 cab. One part of the mechanism had seized completely and Alan had managed to get part of it apart on a previous working party, but today he suceeded in dismantling the complete mechanism by using carefully applied heat from a blow lamp recently purchased. It is assumed that the handbrake mechanism hadn't received any treatment for years and had suffered badly from water ingress. Chris managed to dismantle some of the mechanism on the Secondman's side of the cab, clean the parts up and then refit them after plenty of grease was applied in the right places. In the afternoon, Chris managed to dismantle part of the Secondman's side linkage that had seized sometime in the past. The part that Chris removed was the matching half of the part that Alan removed earlier in the day. After much heating with the new blow torch and clobbering with a hammer, the pins finally seperated from the holes joining the different components together. The swing arm that is attached to the handbrake chain outside the loco is the next part to attempt. Both sides of the cab have seized swing arms and we are investigating how best to tackle the situation on the next working party. Sunday 26th saw Joan, Doug and Chris on site. Joan cleaned up part of the handbrake mechanism that had been dismantled during the last working party, removing all of the grime, rust and old grease from the components. Doug and Chris dismantled yet more of the handbrake rigging in Number 2 Cab, cleaning the appropriate components and then reassembling them. Joan and Chris reassembled one of the universal joints that connects the brake rigging under the cab floor to the swing arm which operates the handbrake chain on the exterior of the loco. One more working party should finish the handbrake mechanism at Number 2 End. Wednesday 29th saw John and Chris on site. John and Chris continued the seemingly never-ending task of overhauling the hand brake rigging at Number 2 end. By the end of the day (after a lot of persuasion from John), all of the seized mechanism had been freed and was moving with ease. The hand brake rigging at Number 2 end has been completely reassembled and is now functioning fully. All that remains is to oil and grease the chain which drives the handbrake mechanism which is located in the nose at Number 2 end. A very productive day indeed. A few minutes were spent getting a few time exposures of the loco once night had fallen.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Wed Nov 1 2006 October 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1112166.html Sunday 1st saw Adrian, Alan and Chris form the working party. Various tasks were undertaken mainly concentrating with the painting of the engine room ceiling whilst the weather was still mild. Sunday 8th saw the final coat of topcoat applied to the engine room side of the roof hatches by Chris. Alan cleaned up and freed the handbrake indicator at Number 1 end – this is the first time we have had this part of the loco working! Sunday 15th saw Alan, Joan, Doug, Adrian and Chris on site. It was a welcome return for Joan and Doug after a month's break. The volunteers have sorely missed Joan’s dinners! Alan continued with the overhauling of the handbrake indicators, this time turning his attention to the indicator in Number 2 Cab. Adrian assisted Alan with freeing up the mechanism and removing some of the components for overhaul. Upon inspection of the spring that ensures the indicator moves upwards when the mechanism requires it to, it was discovered that the spring was life expired and requires replacing. The spring was shortened and re-hardened in an attempt to make a temporary repair but it wasn't successful. Alan and Chris continued with repairing a fault with the horns at Number 2 end. One pipe remains to be blanked off before the system is tested again. Adrian, Doug and Chris continued with the repainting of the engine room with 95 percent of the engine room ceiling now in final topcoat. A few small sections require the second topcoat to be applied. Joan commenced painting the back of the electrical cubicle doors from Number 2 Cab with heatproof paint after cleaning them down first. Now that the engine room ceiling is almost completed, the next major project will be the overhaul of Number 2 Cab. Chris re-wired the headlight invertor at Number 2 end after one of the wires had become defective. Doug and Chris then bolted the invertor onto the nose end. The loco had a peaceful weekend on the 21st and 22nd with almost all of the volunteers working at the Maidstone model railway exhibition organised by the Maidstone area of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Sunday 29th saw Doug performing the role of Master Chef vice Joan who had another commitment. Alan, Adrian and Chris were also on site. Chris refitted the protective covers that had been removed from the brake frame sometime ago and reconnected some of the air pipe work in Number 2 end. Chris drained the engine of cooling water to prepare the loco for the approaching winter. Alan and Adrian shortened a new spring so that it could be used to complete the handbrake indicator mechanism – the indicator was cleaned up of all the accumulated dirt and now works perfectly. Whilst testing the handbrake indicator it was suspected that part of the handbrake linkage beneath the cab floor at Number 2 end had become seized. The floor was taken up and all of the Driver’s side of the handbrake mechanism had indeed partially seized. The mechanism was moving partway and then stopping. Because the Driver’s side of the mechanism was partially working and the Secondman’s side was working fully, the metal bar linking the two sides together had become bent. When the handbrake was being released, the Secondman’s side was releasing fully whilst the bar to the Driver’s side was bent into a banana shape! The offending bar was removed by Alan and Adrian and then straightened by Moff. The bar was refitted in its rightful place. The main job for the next few weeks will be to dismantle the complete handbrake mechanism below the cab floor at Number 2 end, clean and inspect all the bushes, pins etc. replacing components where required. Before reassembly, all the components will be greased up to prevent seizing in the future. Sunday 1 October 2006: Sunday 1st saw Adrian, Alan and Chris form the working party. Various tasks were undertaken mainly concentrating with the painting of the engine room ceiling whilst the weather was still mild. Sunday 8th saw the final coat of topcoat applied to the engine room side of the roof hatches by Chris. Alan cleaned up and freed the handbrake indicator at Number 1 end _ this is the first time we have had this part of the loco working! Sunday 15th saw Alan, Joan, Doug, Adrian and Chris on site. It was a welcome return for Joan and Doug after a month's break. The volunteers have sorely missed Joan_s dinners! Alan continued with the overhauling of the handbrake indicators, this time turning his attention to the indicator in Number 2 Cab. Adrian assisted Alan with freeing up the mechanism and removing some of the components for overhaul. Upon inspection of the spring that ensures the indicator moves upwards when the mechanism requires it to, it was discovered that the spring was life expired and requires replacing. The spring was shortened and re-hardened in an attempt to make a temporary repair but it wasn't successful. Alan and Chris continued with repairing a fault with the horns at Number 2 end. One pipe remains to be blanked off before the system is tested again. Adrian, Doug and Chris continued with the repainting of the engine room with 95 percent of the engine room ceiling now in final topcoat. A few small sections require the second topcoat to be applied. Joan commenced painting the back of the electrical cubicle doors from Number 2 Cab with heatproof paint after cleaning them down first. Now that the engine room ceiling is almost completed, the next major project will be the overhaul of Number 2 Cab. Chris re-wired the headlight invertor at Number 2 end after one of the wires had become defective. Doug and Chris then bolted the invertor onto the nose end. The loco had a peaceful weekend on the 21st and 22nd with almost all of the volunteers working at the Maidstone model railway exhibition organised by the Maidstone area of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Sunday 29th saw Doug performing the role of Master Chef vice Joan who had another commitment. Alan, Adrian and Chris were also on site. Chris refitted the protective covers that had been removed from the brake frame sometime ago and reconnected some of the air pipe work in Number 2 end. Chris drained the engine of cooling water to prepare the loco for the approaching winter. Alan and Adrian shortened a new spring so that it could be used to complete the handbrake indicator mechanism _ the indicator was cleaned up of all the accumulated dirt and now works perfectly. Whilst testing the handbrake indicator it was suspected that part of the handbrake linkage beneath the cab floor at Number 2 end had become seized. The floor was taken up and all of the Driver_s side of the handbrake mechanism had indeed partially seized. The mechanism was moving partway and then stopping. Because the Driver_s side of the mechanism was partially working and the Secondman_s side was working fully, the metal bar linking the two sides together had become bent. When the handbrake was being released, the Secondman_s side was releasing fully whilst the bar to the Driver_s side was bent into a banana shape! The offending bar was removed by Alan and Adrian and then straightened by Moff. The bar was refitted in its rightful place. The main job for the next few weeks will be to dismantle the complete handbrake mechanism below the cab floor at Number 2 end, clean and inspect all the bushes, pins etc. replacing components where required. Before reassembly, all the components will be greased up to prevent seizing in the future.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sun Oct 1 2006 September 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1089566.html Sunday 3rd saw Alan, Joan, Doug, Chris and Adrian on site. Work continued with the repainting of the engine room with quite a large area receiving a first coat of primer. Alan and Doug performed a check of the sanding gear and discovered that a few corks and blanking plugs were missing. Alan produced the corks by turning-down some corks that we already had on site. In the workshop, Alan produced the required number of blanking plugs and then fitted them to the sanding valves. Joan, Doug and Chris carried out some modifications to the container roof after it had suffered slightly in the heavy winds during the last week. Joan continued the tradition of providing a superb lunch for the volunteers - Joan's meals have now become something of a legend on site! Sunday 10th saw the loco have a quiet relaxing time as all of the restoration team were either on holiday or engaged on domestic duties!! Alan was the sole worker on Sunday 17th and he refitted the brake cylinder that we are trialling. Yet another brake cylinder was removed from the loco and partially dismantled in the workshop. Monday 18th saw Carlisle Pete and Chris continuing the painting of the engine room. More of the ceiling received a second coat of primer. Chris found an area on the roof that was starting to rust so the area was rubbed down and then primed with anti-corrosive primer. Tuesday 19th saw the completion of the second coat of primer on the engine room roof. Whilst Pete was touching up the paintwork where required, Chris cleaned some of the electrical conduit in the area where the painting of the ceiling had been completed. The electrical conduit was then painted and it certainly stands out against the grey that we have painted the ceiling with. Chris fitted the DSD holdover switch to the Secondman's side in Number 1 Cab. Chris fitted the wiper control valve and two bits of pipework to the Secondman's wiper motor. The air supply pipe to the wiper control valve needs replacing and this should hopefully be done over the next few working parties. Esmond Lewis Evans (owner of the O1 Class steam loco at the Bluebell Railway) even gave a hand cleaning some of Number 1 Cab - a turn around for a steam man?! The section of the roof painted yesterday received another coat of paint today. On Wednesday 20th, Pete continued with the cleaning and painting of the engine room ceiling. Chris unbolted both seats from Number 1 Cab and then removed a couple of floor panels in order to cut holes for conduit to pass through en route to the heaters which are mounted on the cab sides. Mission accomplished, the floors were refitted together with the Driver's seat, but the Secondman's seat was left unfitted in the cab in order to create access to the heater that is mounted under the footrest on the Secondman's side. The heater was removed for repair as one of the heater's feet had come away from the rest of the heater body. Soon the pipework for the vacuum chamber release valve will need to be fitted so the Secondman's seat will be left loose in the cab for a while longer. The roof hatches received their first coat of undercoat today. Chris worked in the engine room on Saturday 23rd continuing the repainting of the ceiling. Around 75 percent of the ceiling is now in undercoat awaiting the top coats. Painting the engine room isn't exactly easy when the power unit is in place! Adrian, Alan and Chris staffed a sales stand at a toyfair in Ashford on Sunday 24th. Various items were on sale including 1970's BR uniforms, videos, books and model railway equipment. The day was successful with over £300 being taken - a very useful contribution to the locomotive's future. Friday 1 September 2006: Sunday 3rd saw Alan, Joan, Doug, Chris and Adrian on site. Work continued with the repainting of the engine room with quite a large area receiving a first coat of primer. Alan and Doug performed a check of the sanding gear and discovered that a few corks and blanking plugs were missing. Alan produced the corks by turning-down some corks that we already had on site. In the workshop, Alan produced the required number of blanking plugs and then fitted them to the sanding valves. Joan, Doug and Chris carried out some modifications to the container roof after it had suffered slightly in the heavy winds during the last week. Joan continued the tradition of providing a superb lunch for the volunteers - Joan's meals have now become something of a legend on site! Sunday 10th saw the loco have a quiet relaxing time as all of the restoration team were either on holiday or engaged on domestic duties!! Alan was the sole worker on Sunday 17th and he refitted the brake cylinder that we are trialling. Yet another brake cylinder was removed from the loco and partially dismantled in the workshop. Monday 18th saw Carlisle Pete and Chris continuing the painting of the engine room. More of the ceiling received a second coat of primer. Chris found an area on the roof that was starting to rust so the area was rubbed down and then primed with anti-corrosive primer. Tuesday 19th saw the completion of the second coat of primer on the engine room roof. Whilst Pete was touching up the paintwork where required, Chris cleaned some of the electrical conduit in the area where the painting of the ceiling had been completed. The electrical conduit was then painted and it certainly stands out against the grey that we have painted the ceiling with. Chris fitted the DSD holdover switch to the Secondman's side in Number 1 Cab. Chris fitted the wiper control valve and two bits of pipework to the Secondman's wiper motor. The air supply pipe to the wiper control valve needs replacing and this should hopefully be done over the next few working parties. Esmond Lewis Evans (owner of the O1 Class steam loco at the Bluebell Railway) even gave a hand cleaning some of Number 1 Cab - a turn around for a steam man?! The section of the roof painted yesterday received another coat of paint today. On Wednesday 20th, Pete continued with the cleaning and painting of the engine room ceiling. Chris unbolted both seats from Number 1 Cab and then removed a couple of floor panels in order to cut holes for conduit to pass through en route to the heaters which are mounted on the cab sides. Mission accomplished, the floors were refitted together with the Driver's seat, but the Secondman's seat was left unfitted in the cab in order to create access to the heater that is mounted under the footrest on the Secondman's side. The heater was removed for repair as one of the heater's feet had come away from the rest of the heater body. Soon the pipework for the vacuum chamber release valve will need to be fitted so the Secondman's seat will be left loose in the cab for a while longer. The roof hatches received their first coat of undercoat today. Chris worked in the engine room on Saturday 23rd continuing the repainting of the ceiling. Around 75 percent of the ceiling is now in undercoat awaiting the top coats. Painting the engine room isn't exactly easy when the power unit is in place! Adrian, Alan and Chris staffed a sales stand at a toyfair in Ashford on Sunday 24th. Various items were on sale including 1970's BR uniforms, videos, books and model railway equipment. The day was successful with over _300 being taken - a very useful contribution to the locomotive's future.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Fri Sep 1 2006 August 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1065410.html Sunday 6th saw Doug, Joan, Adrian and Chris on site. Work continued on the repainting of the engine room with the first top coat of paint being completed on the ceiling in the first area tackled. Doug made a floor for the new trolley and also assisted Adrian and Chris with the engine room painting. Joan provided the lunch as usual and also mucked in with the painting operation. Chris commenced preparing the roof hatches for painting on the engine room side. Over the years the amount of dirt and soot that had been accumulated was unbelievable - a sign of an exhaust leak at one time perhaps? About half of the paint on the inside of the roof hatches peeled off in Chris' hand - no doubt loosened by the hot temperatures experienced by this part of the loco. Wednesday 9th saw John, Dan and Dave Downer on site working in the electrical cubicle. Dave examined around half of the wiring in the cubicle and then removed some of the redundant cables that were still installed in the cubicle. It is a sound idea to removed redundant cabling as this reduces the chances of damage occuring should a short circuit occur - the old cabling could pass the electricity to another part of the cubicle and cause serious damage. There is more redundant cable to be removed on Dave's next visit to the loco. The loco was moved up and down the test track to ensure that the remaining electrical components worked without any problems occuring. On Friday 12th, Peter from Carlisle arrived on site with Chris to begin 4 days of work on the loco. As a treat for Peter, the loco was run up and down the test track quite a few times as Peter had never seen the loco with the engine running let alone moving under its own power! A proud day for our longest-distance volunteer. Preparation for painting in the engine room continued with more ceiling panels cleaned up ready for the first coat of primer. Saturday 12th saw the area of engine room ceiling that had received the first top coat previously given a second top coat. This area of ceiling is now completed and all that remains is to paint the electrical conduit and fire circuit pipework when the rest of the engine room ceiling has been completed. Sunday 13th saw Peter, Chris, Adrian and Alan on site. Alan continued with the brake cylinder overhaul programme with the stripping-down of another cylinder. The previously overhauled cylinder being fitted on to the loco on one day earlier in the week. Pete and Chris continued cleaning the engine room ceiling. Chris also spent some time working on the roof hatches in between the heavy rain showers that came and went during the day. Sunday 20th saw Alan cleaning up the latest brake cylinder and then began building up the inside of the cylinder using a liquid metal product. This brake cylinder had become badly pitted over the years where water had laid at the bottom whilst the loco was in store, so we decided to use it as a test bed to see if we could bring the inside back to a fully cylindrical smooth surface once more. If we are successful we will treat any other brake cylinders that we find with similar defects. Chris continued beavering away in the engine room assisted by Joan and Doug. Sunday 27th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris continuing the rebuilding process of 37254. Chris and Adrian completed the cleaning of all the dirt on the roof hatches and prepared the surfaces for painting. All four roof hatches received their first coat of primer and certainly look quite different compared with how dull and dirty they looked before. Alan continued with the overhaul of one of the brake cylinders. The cylinder interior was honed down to the correct diameter and the components painted on the outside. The other parts of the engine room ceiling that had been cleaned received their first coat of primer. Tuesday 1 August 2006: Sunday 6th saw Doug, Joan, Adrian and Chris on site. Work continued on the repainting of the engine room with the first top coat of paint being completed on the ceiling in the first area tackled. Doug made a floor for the new trolley and also assisted Adrian and Chris with the engine room painting. Joan provided the lunch as usual and also mucked in with the painting operation. Chris commenced preparing the roof hatches for painting on the engine room side. Over the years the amount of dirt and soot that had been accumulated was unbelievable - a sign of an exhaust leak at one time perhaps? About half of the paint on the inside of the roof hatches peeled off in Chris' hand - no doubt loosened by the hot temperatures experienced by this part of the loco. Wednesday 9th saw John, Dan and Dave Downer on site working in the electrical cubicle. Dave examined around half of the wiring in the cubicle and then removed some of the redundant cables that were still installed in the cubicle. It is a sound idea to removed redundant cabling as this reduces the chances of damage occuring should a short circuit occur - the old cabling could pass the electricity to another part of the cubicle and cause serious damage. There is more redundant cable to be removed on Dave's next visit to the loco. The loco was moved up and down the test track to ensure that the remaining electrical components worked without any problems occuring. On Friday 12th, Peter from Carlisle arrived on site with Chris to begin 4 days of work on the loco. As a treat for Peter, the loco was run up and down the test track quite a few times as Peter had never seen the loco with the engine running let alone moving under its own power! A proud day for our longest-distance volunteer. Preparation for painting in the engine room continued with more ceiling panels cleaned up ready for the first coat of primer. Saturday 12th saw the area of engine room ceiling that had received the first top coat previously given a second top coat. This area of ceiling is now completed and all that remains is to paint the electrical conduit and fire circuit pipework when the rest of the engine room ceiling has been completed. Sunday 13th saw Peter, Chris, Adrian and Alan on site. Alan continued with the brake cylinder overhaul programme with the stripping-down of another cylinder. The previously overhauled cylinder being fitted on to the loco on one day earlier in the week. Pete and Chris continued cleaning the engine room ceiling. Chris also spent some time working on the roof hatches in between the heavy rain showers that came and went during the day. Sunday 20th saw Alan cleaning up the latest brake cylinder and then began building up the inside of the cylinder using a liquid metal product. This brake cylinder had become badly pitted over the years where water had laid at the bottom whilst the loco was in store, so we decided to use it as a test bed to see if we could bring the inside back to a fully cylindrical smooth surface once more. If we are successful we will treat any other brake cylinders that we find with similar defects. Chris continued beavering away in the engine room assisted by Joan and Doug. Sunday 27th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris continuing the rebuilding process of 37254. Chris and Adrian completed the cleaning of all the dirt on the roof hatches and prepared the surfaces for painting. All four roof hatches received their first coat of primer and certainly look quite different compared with how dull and dirty they looked before. Alan continued with the overhaul of one of the brake cylinders. The cylinder interior was honed down to the correct diameter and the components painted on the outside. The other parts of the engine room ceiling that had been cleaned received their first coat of primer.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Tue Aug 1 2006 July 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c1029406.html Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but a problem with the anti-virus software that is meant to help your computer stopped mine from working properly! It should be business as usual again now! Sunday 2nd had Alan and Chris on site for the majority of the day. Alan continued overhauling the latest brake cylinder whilst Chris worked on the electrics. At the end of the day, we had both headlights working on the loco - something we hadn't achieved up until now! Sunday 9th saw Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris on site. Alan refitted the latest overhauled brake cylinder back together and this will be installed on the loco during this month, replacing the worst condition brake cylinder on the loco. Once Alan had dealt with the brake cylinder, he continued working in the fan room getting more area ready for painting. Joan continued with the painting of the engine room ceiling assisted by Chris. At the end of the day the area we have been working on was fully painted in undercoat and just awaited a top coat of paint. Doug cleaned out the inside of the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab and then painted the area with anti corrosive paint. After Chris had finished the ceiling in the engine room with Joan, Chris took a seized DSD holdover switch apart, freed the mechanism and then found new bolts for the switch. New mounting holes were drilled in the back of the switchbox and the hole switchbox was then rubbed down and painted into primer. A plate off the bottom of the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab was removed by Chris and straightened out as it had becone rather out of shape over the years. Saturday 15th saw Chris on site on another scorching hot day. Some remedial work was carried out on the headlights before the loco was started up and moved to the normal location on the test track. Movements of some of the steam loco bits stored alongside us mean that the loco keeps having to be moved as wherever it is parked one day it is in the wrong place the next day. At least it gives us a reason to have a play! The Secondman's seat in Number 1 Cab had been bolted down temporarily using the same crews that bolt the floor panels down. Doug managed to obtain the correct type of bolts from a local hardware shop and so Chris took the opportunity to install the correct bolts. The bolts were a straight swap for the screws used previously so it wasn't to long a task. Next on the list was a top coat of paint for the ceiling that we have been working on in the engine room. Due to the high temperatures it was decided to commence rubbing down Number 2 Cab as at least there was a draft in the cab not like the sauna of the engine room. One section of the front of Number 2 Cab was rubbed down and then painted with a coat of primer. Rather than stripping all of the paint off in one go, each surface will be rubbed down one at a time and then painted with primer. This will save a lot of time having to re-rub down parts that would go rusty if all the cab was rubbed down at once. A couple of redundant brackets from the windscreen washer system were removed from inside the Cab and put into store incase we need them again one day in the future. Sunday 16th saw Alan on site continuing with the painting of the fan room. The weather is definitely helping the painting of various places this time of the year. Sunday 23rd saw the annual barbeque for the restoration team. The majority of the team were able to make it with only a couple of exceptions. After a morning working on the loco, we had a barbeque in glorious sunshine followed by golf and football afterwards. Doug and Joan started top-coating the engine room ceiling and got about half-way through before the heat got too much in the engine room. Alan and John adjusted the tappets on the engine and it certainly sounds a lot better afterwards. Chris jacked and packed the track before the running session in the afternoon as the track had sunk slightly in a couple of locations. After the barbecue, the loco performed many runs along the test track much to the surprise of a couple of visitors. Thanks to Pat Seale for the action shot of the loco. Saturday 1 July 2006: Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but a problem with the anti-virus software that is meant to help your computer stopped mine from working properly! It should be business as usual again now! Sunday 2nd had Alan and Chris on site for the majority of the day. Alan continued overhauling the latest brake cylinder whilst Chris worked on the electrics. At the end of the day, we had both headlights working on the loco - something we hadn't achieved up until now! Sunday 9th saw Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris on site. Alan refitted the latest overhauled brake cylinder back together and this will be installed on the loco during this month, replacing the worst condition brake cylinder on the loco. Once Alan had dealt with the brake cylinder, he continued working in the fan room getting more area ready for painting. Joan continued with the painting of the engine room ceiling assisted by Chris. At the end of the day the area we have been working on was fully painted in undercoat and just awaited a top coat of paint. Doug cleaned out the inside of the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab and then painted the area with anti corrosive paint. After Chris had finished the ceiling in the engine room with Joan, Chris took a seized DSD holdover switch apart, freed the mechanism and then found new bolts for the switch. New mounting holes were drilled in the back of the switchbox and the hole switchbox was then rubbed down and painted into primer. A plate off the bottom of the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab was removed by Chris and straightened out as it had becone rather out of shape over the years. Saturday 15th saw Chris on site on another scorching hot day. Some remedial work was carried out on the headlights before the loco was started up and moved to the normal location on the test track. Movements of some of the steam loco bits stored alongside us mean that the loco keeps having to be moved as wherever it is parked one day it is in the wrong place the next day. At least it gives us a reason to have a play! The Secondman's seat in Number 1 Cab had been bolted down temporarily using the same crews that bolt the floor panels down. Doug managed to obtain the correct type of bolts from a local hardware shop and so Chris took the opportunity to install the correct bolts. The bolts were a straight swap for the screws used previously so it wasn't to long a task. Next on the list was a top coat of paint for the ceiling that we have been working on in the engine room. Due to the high temperatures it was decided to commence rubbing down Number 2 Cab as at least there was a draft in the cab not like the sauna of the engine room. One section of the front of Number 2 Cab was rubbed down and then painted with a coat of primer. Rather than stripping all of the paint off in one go, each surface will be rubbed down one at a time and then painted with primer. This will save a lot of time having to re-rub down parts that would go rusty if all the cab was rubbed down at once. A couple of redundant brackets from the windscreen washer system were removed from inside the Cab and put into store incase we need them again one day in the future. Sunday 16th saw Alan on site continuing with the painting of the fan room. The weather is definitely helping the painting of various places this time of the year. Sunday 23rd saw the annual barbeque for the restoration team. The majority of the team were able to make it with only a couple of exceptions. After a morning working on the loco, we had a barbeque in glorious sunshine followed by golf and football afterwards. Doug and Joan started top-coating the engine room ceiling and got about half-way through before the heat got too much in the engine room. Alan and John adjusted the tappets on the engine and it certainly sounds a lot better afterwards. Chris jacked and packed the track before the running session in the afternoon as the track had sunk slightly in a couple of locations. After the barbecue, the loco performed many runs along the test track much to the surprise of a couple of visitors. Thanks to Pat Seale for the action shot of the loco.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Jul 1 2006 June 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c984519.html June started with the Volunteers trying to recover after the three day steam fair over the bank holiday. Sunday 4th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site in gorgeous weather - if only it could have been like this all over the previous weekend! As the heavens had opened when we were trying to pack up the sales stand and display area on the final day of the steam rally, we had hastily placed everything into the workshop. Sunday 4th was spent tidying the mess up and then the rest of the day was devoted to improving the workshop container. It had been identified that more plug sockets were required and Adrian installed these with the help of Alan and Chris. The microwave now has its own socket rather than having to use an extension lead all of the time! Adrian installed two new lights ready for the new workbench to be built below them. Alan and Chris sorted through the stores container and quite a few parts were found that are of no use for us any longer - if anyone is after any Class 47 ammeters, slow speed speedometers and other 47 components don't hesitate to get in touch! The smaller components in the store are being transferred into their own boxes so to make finding something easier, quicker and less dirty! The tools and supplies required for tackling the next area for painting inside the locomotive have been gathered and wok will commence shortly. Sunday 11th saw Adrian, Doug, Joan and Chris on site. Adrian continued fettling the electrics in the container whilst Doug was painting the various bits of pipework and conduit in the nose at Number 2 end. Chris and Joan prepared the ceiling in the engine room next to the battery box ready for a repaint. By the end of the very hot day, the are planned for painting had received its first coat of primer - what a difference just one coat of paint makes! Sunday 18th was yet another scorching day. Alan stripped down two brake cylinders to assess their condition prior to any overhauls taking place. One of the brake cylinder's seals and dome cap had worn so badly they will need to be replaced. Adrian added a floodlight to our workshop container ready for the Winter time working parties so that we can continue in the dark (Winter is a long way away but it is always good to be prepared). Adrian also performed other tasks on the container while the weather was dry. Chris commenced applying the second coat of primer to the engine room roof. Chris McNaughton popped down to the loco for a few hours to try and rectify a couple of minor electrical faults that were present. Chris B assisted Chris McNaughton and by the end of the day two electrical faults had been completely cured and another was diagnosed and partly corrected and all we need now is to obtain a few components and another fault will be cured. One of the faults was a circuit breaker kept tripping out. Chris McNaughton thoroughly examined the circuit the breaker appied to and he found a small piece of conduit had come into contact with two terminals of the headlight switch causing a short circuit. Chris modified the conduit and the fault disappeared! Doug was present in Number 2 nose continuing the painting of the pipework and conduit into the proper colours (everything in the nose had been sprayed grey before the loco was preserved). Thanks to Doug for the pictures. Sunday 25th saw Joan, John, Doug, Alan and Chris on site. Alan has assessed the two brake cyliders that he stripped down last weekend and he commenced working on the better condition cylinder of the two. Alan removed all traces of oil, grease and dirt from inside the cylinder and then carefully blended the cylinder bore where slight pitting has occured. The next stage was to rub down the outside of the cylinder and prepare it for painting. Alan intends to make one good brake cylinder out of the two he has stripped whilst we obtain new parts for the second brake cylinder. Joan cooked her usual superb lunch and then joined Doug in completing the second coat of primer on the ceiling in the engine room. John and Chris worked on replacing the headlight at Number 1 end with a much better condition example from the store. New headlight bulbs are being sourced in the coming week and hopefully both headlights will be working at the next Sunday working party. The fire bottles were removed from the loco today ready for being tested and refilled shortly before the loco leaves for a preserved railway. The bottles put on quite a display when they were set off to make transportation of them a lot safer! Chris and John offered up the 2 inch diameter vacuum pipework from the bottom of the train brake valve in both cabs. Both bits of pipe need slight adjustments made to them and one of the engineering specialists on site will be annealing them for us during the coming week so that the pipes can be fitted next Sunday. When these two bits of pipework are fitted to the loco, all that remains for fitting vacuum pipework wise is a couple of small diameter pipes to the vacuum chamber release valves and one pipe to the vacuum chamber itself. Thursday 1 June 2006: June started with the Volunteers trying to recover after the three day steam fair over the bank holiday. Sunday 4th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site in gorgeous weather - if only it could have been like this all over the previous weekend! As the heavens had opened when we were trying to pack up the sales stand and display area on the final day of the steam rally, we had hastily placed everything into the workshop. Sunday 4th was spent tidying the mess up and then the rest of the day was devoted to improving the workshop container. It had been identified that more plug sockets were required and Adrian installed these with the help of Alan and Chris. The microwave now has its own socket rather than having to use an extension lead all of the time! Adrian installed two new lights ready for the new workbench to be built below them. Alan and Chris sorted through the stores container and quite a few parts were found that are of no use for us any longer - if anyone is after any Class 47 ammeters, slow speed speedometers and other 47 components don't hesitate to get in touch! The smaller components in the store are being transferred into their own boxes so to make finding something easier, quicker and less dirty! The tools and supplies required for tackling the next area for painting inside the locomotive have been gathered and wok will commence shortly. Sunday 11th saw Adrian, Doug, Joan and Chris on site. Adrian continued fettling the electrics in the container whilst Doug was painting the various bits of pipework and conduit in the nose at Number 2 end. Chris and Joan prepared the ceiling in the engine room next to the battery box ready for a repaint. By the end of the very hot day, the are planned for painting had received its first coat of primer - what a difference just one coat of paint makes! Sunday 18th was yet another scorching day. Alan stripped down two brake cylinders to assess their condition prior to any overhauls taking place. One of the brake cylinder's seals and dome cap had worn so badly they will need to be replaced. Adrian added a floodlight to our workshop container ready for the Winter time working parties so that we can continue in the dark (Winter is a long way away but it is always good to be prepared). Adrian also performed other tasks on the container while the weather was dry. Chris commenced applying the second coat of primer to the engine room roof. Chris McNaughton popped down to the loco for a few hours to try and rectify a couple of minor electrical faults that were present. Chris B assisted Chris McNaughton and by the end of the day two electrical faults had been completely cured and another was diagnosed and partly corrected and all we need now is to obtain a few components and another fault will be cured. One of the faults was a circuit breaker kept tripping out. Chris McNaughton thoroughly examined the circuit the breaker appied to and he found a small piece of conduit had come into contact with two terminals of the headlight switch causing a short circuit. Chris modified the conduit and the fault disappeared! Doug was present in Number 2 nose continuing the painting of the pipework and conduit into the proper colours (everything in the nose had been sprayed grey before the loco was preserved). Thanks to Doug for the pictures. Sunday 25th saw Joan, John, Doug, Alan and Chris on site. Alan has assessed the two brake cyliders that he stripped down last weekend and he commenced working on the better condition cylinder of the two. Alan removed all traces of oil, grease and dirt from inside the cylinder and then carefully blended the cylinder bore where slight pitting has occured. The next stage was to rub down the outside of the cylinder and prepare it for painting. Alan intends to make one good brake cylinder out of the two he has stripped whilst we obtain new parts for the second brake cylinder. Joan cooked her usual superb lunch and then joined Doug in completing the second coat of primer on the ceiling in the engine room. John and Chris worked on replacing the headlight at Number 1 end with a much better condition example from the store. New headlight bulbs are being sourced in the coming week and hopefully both headlights will be working at the next Sunday working party. The fire bottles were removed from the loco today ready for being tested and refilled shortly before the loco leaves for a preserved railway. The bottles put on quite a display when they were set off to make transportation of them a lot safer! Chris and John offered up the 2 inch diameter vacuum pipework from the bottom of the train brake valve in both cabs. Both bits of pipe need slight adjustments made to them and one of the engineering specialists on site will be annealing them for us during the coming week so that the pipes can be fitted next Sunday. When these two bits of pipework are fitted to the loco, all that remains for fitting vacuum pipework wise is a couple of small diameter pipes to the vacuum chamber release valves and one pipe to the vacuum chamber itself.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu Jun 1 2006 May 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c959395.html 7th May saw the first working part of the month. Chris and Alan were on site. Alan continued with the brake cylinder overhaul, re-assembling it today. Alan and Chris removed the worst condition brake cylinder from the loco and then replaced it with the overhauled brake cylinder. The improvement has to be seen to be believed with the brake cylinder actually doing what it is supposed to be doing and without any air leaks either! The brake cylinder that has been removed is in need of a more comprehensive overhaul with replacement of more parts than the first brake cylinder required. The most significant part being the plastic collar needs replacing as it has worn away completely at the bottom. Chris and Alan then commenced permenantly attaching the headcode box outer panel to Number 1 nose. Many holes required drilling to secure the panel with the top and sides of the headcode box surround being the easiest to drill. The bottom of the surround is made of a much thicker metal and so consumed a few drillbits in the process! The top, both sides and some of the bottom of the panel were riveted to the surround by the end of the day. We had to use longer rivets for the bottom section due to the thickness of the metal surround, these longer rivets took quite some time to use compared with the short rivets used at the top and sides. Wednesday 10th had Dan and John on site for the morning. In both cabs there is a switch that will sound one of the horns at the opposite end of the loco. Ever since the loco was purchased, the switches in both cabs had not been operating the horns as they should be. John refurbished one of the defective solenoids (Number 1 end) and replaced the defective solenoid at Number 2 end with a solenoid bought from C.F. Booth last month. Sunday 14th saw Doug, Joan, Alan, Chris and Dan working on the loco. Joan commenced making two display boards ready for the steam fair at the end of the month. Chris completed riveting the headcode box outer panel to Number 1 nose shortly before a super lunch cooked by Joan. After lunch, Joan gave the newly-secure headcode panel a new coat of black paint. Joan then painted the bufferbeam and buffers. The loco will definitely look a lot better for the steam fair. Doug continued painting under the engine room floor and assisted Chris and Dan when they were checking the battery levels. Alan disconnected and removed one of the horn valves from Number 2 Cab. Alan dismantled the valve completely, cleaned it up, reassembled it and finally re-installed it in Number 2 Cab. Dan changed the oil in both turbochargers with Doug's help. Dan also changed the oil in the top compressor at the end of the day. Chris cleaned both bogies ready for greasing and oiling during the next week. Joan and Doug tidied up the area around the loco removing any weeds that they could find. Chris and Doug moved 6 Class 31 wheelsets along the track to the end of the track furthest from the loco. The wheelsets are stored temporarily on our test track while delivery of another steam loco takes place. Three of the wheelsets are destined for use under a steam loco tender on another railway while the other three wheelsets will be scrapped. At the end of the day, Dan and Chris tested the air system for the horns at Number 2 end. A couple of faults were found and another horn valve will be needed to rectify one of the faults. Tuesday 16th saw John working on the loco assisted by a couple of mates. One of the bogies was fully greased and oiled after Chris had prepared the bogies at the weekend. The other bogie was also oiled but still awaits greasing. John put the headcode box back together inside Number 1 Nose and then reconnected the electrics. John installed lightbulbs into all of the bulb holders and then we had a working set of marker lights at Number 1 end for the first time since preservation. The re-chromed power handle and reversing handle were finally fitted today after the holes' threads had been fettled. Sunday 21st saw Alan and Chris on site cleaning the loco ready for the steam fair over the bank holiday weekend. Tuesday 23rd saw John and Alan working on the loco. Alan assisted John with attaching the double arrows BR badge and also the Cardiff Canton replica depot plaque. The loco really does look the part now! Chris worked on the loco on Thursday 25th and gave Number two nose a coat of paint and also did other jobs to smarten the loco's appearance. The engine room floor was laid back down and then secured. Chris worked on the compressors in Number 1 nose to ensure that they would be ready for the coming weekend's fun. Chris was busy on the loco again on Friday 26th. Number 2 cab was cleaned out ready for use as a bedroom for Adrian to use over the steam fair - not everybody gets a room with this much character! John joined Chris in the afternoon and helped arrange the access arrangements so that visitors could visit Number 1 cab to see how things have progressed since the last steam fair. Chris touched up the paintwork in a few places to make sure the loc looked its best. The big steam fair happened on the bank holiday weekend with the event being on all three days and we all felt a bit worn out afterwards! Number 1 cab was open for visitors throughout all three days and certainly stretched our volunteer resources to the limit! We lost count of the number of people who visited the loco. It was very pleasing to be congratulated by people who had visited the loco over the past couple of years and were seeing it running for the first time. We received visits from people who had never been in a loco before to a man who had built engine components for English Electric's 12CSVT engines - perhaps he even worked on our engine? We had a former driver of Class 37s visit and it had been at least 20 years since he had sat in the Driver's seat of a Class 37 and it made his day. As well as having Number 1 cab open for viewing, we also had a sales stand nearby and a display stand showing various components that we have restored or were under restoration. Many people appreciated the time we took to talk to them about the differing aspects of the restoration and the fact that they could view the components that we are restoring. The sales stand did well with the model railways selling out completely as usual. The weekend saw the release of a booklet giving the history of our loco, the restoration story so far and the booklet also contained numerous pictures of the loco. The booklets sold very well and many people now have souvenir to remember us by. Copies of the booklet are still available for a modest £1.75 including postage and packing - contact us using the email address on the main page if you would like a copy. Thanks go to Doug and Joan for working very long hours to get the booklet finished (and this year's new edition key-rings). Thanks to the following people without whom the event wouldn't have been such a success: Adrian, Alan, Chris B, Chris McN, Dan, Dave B, Doug, Edward, Emily, Joan, John, Kirsty, Moff and Natalie. Monday 1 May 2006: 7th May saw the first working part of the month. Chris and Alan were on site. Alan continued with the brake cylinder overhaul, re-assembling it today. Alan and Chris removed the worst condition brake cylinder from the loco and then replaced it with the overhauled brake cylinder. The improvement has to be seen to be believed with the brake cylinder actually doing what it is supposed to be doing and without any air leaks either! The brake cylinder that has been removed is in need of a more comprehensive overhaul with replacement of more parts than the first brake cylinder required. The most significant part being the plastic collar needs replacing as it has worn away completely at the bottom. Chris and Alan then commenced permenantly attaching the headcode box outer panel to Number 1 nose. Many holes required drilling to secure the panel with the top and sides of the headcode box surround being the easiest to drill. The bottom of the surround is made of a much thicker metal and so consumed a few drillbits in the process! The top, both sides and some of the bottom of the panel were riveted to the surround by the end of the day. We had to use longer rivets for the bottom section due to the thickness of the metal surround, these longer rivets took quite some time to use compared with the short rivets used at the top and sides. Wednesday 10th had Dan and John on site for the morning. In both cabs there is a switch that will sound one of the horns at the opposite end of the loco. Ever since the loco was purchased, the switches in both cabs had not been operating the horns as they should be. John refurbished one of the defective solenoids (Number 1 end) and replaced the defective solenoid at Number 2 end with a solenoid bought from C.F. Booth last month. Sunday 14th saw Doug, Joan, Alan, Chris and Dan working on the loco. Joan commenced making two display boards ready for the steam fair at the end of the month. Chris completed riveting the headcode box outer panel to Number 1 nose shortly before a super lunch cooked by Joan. After lunch, Joan gave the newly-secure headcode panel a new coat of black paint. Joan then painted the bufferbeam and buffers. The loco will definitely look a lot better for the steam fair. Doug continued painting under the engine room floor and assisted Chris and Dan when they were checking the battery levels. Alan disconnected and removed one of the horn valves from Number 2 Cab. Alan dismantled the valve completely, cleaned it up, reassembled it and finally re-installed it in Number 2 Cab. Dan changed the oil in both turbochargers with Doug's help. Dan also changed the oil in the top compressor at the end of the day. Chris cleaned both bogies ready for greasing and oiling during the next week. Joan and Doug tidied up the area around the loco removing any weeds that they could find. Chris and Doug moved 6 Class 31 wheelsets along the track to the end of the track furthest from the loco. The wheelsets are stored temporarily on our test track while delivery of another steam loco takes place. Three of the wheelsets are destined for use under a steam loco tender on another railway while the other three wheelsets will be scrapped. At the end of the day, Dan and Chris tested the air system for the horns at Number 2 end. A couple of faults were found and another horn valve will be needed to rectify one of the faults. Tuesday 16th saw John working on the loco assisted by a couple of mates. One of the bogies was fully greased and oiled after Chris had prepared the bogies at the weekend. The other bogie was also oiled but still awaits greasing. John put the headcode box back together inside Number 1 Nose and then reconnected the electrics. John installed lightbulbs into all of the bulb holders and then we had a working set of marker lights at Number 1 end for the first time since preservation. The re-chromed power handle and reversing handle were finally fitted today after the holes' threads had been fettled. Sunday 21st saw Alan and Chris on site cleaning the loco ready for the steam fair over the bank holiday weekend. Tuesday 23rd saw John and Alan working on the loco. Alan assisted John with attaching the double arrows BR badge and also the Cardiff Canton replica depot plaque. The loco really does look the part now! Chris worked on the loco on Thursday 25th and gave Number two nose a coat of paint and also did other jobs to smarten the loco's appearance. The engine room floor was laid back down and then secured. Chris worked on the compressors in Number 1 nose to ensure that they would be ready for the coming weekend's fun. Chris was busy on the loco again on Friday 26th. Number 2 cab was cleaned out ready for use as a bedroom for Adrian to use over the steam fair - not everybody gets a room with this much character! John joined Chris in the afternoon and helped arrange the access arrangements so that visitors could visit Number 1 cab to see how things have progressed since the last steam fair. Chris touched up the paintwork in a few places to make sure the loc looked its best. The big steam fair happened on the bank holiday weekend with the event being on all three days and we all felt a bit worn out afterwards! Number 1 cab was open for visitors throughout all three days and certainly stretched our volunteer resources to the limit! We lost count of the number of people who visited the loco. It was very pleasing to be congratulated by people who had visited the loco over the past couple of years and were seeing it running for the first time. We received visits from people who had never been in a loco before to a man who had built engine components for English Electric's 12CSVT engines - perhaps he even worked on our engine? We had a former driver of Class 37s visit and it had been at least 20 years since he had sat in the Driver's seat of a Class 37 and it made his day. As well as having Number 1 cab open for viewing, we also had a sales stand nearby and a display stand showing various components that we have restored or were under restoration. Many people appreciated the time we took to talk to them about the differing aspects of the restoration and the fact that they could view the components that we are restoring. The sales stand did well with the model railways selling out completely as usual. The weekend saw the release of a booklet giving the history of our loco, the restoration story so far and the booklet also contained numerous pictures of the loco. The booklets sold very well and many people now have souvenir to remember us by. Copies of the booklet are still available for a modest _1.75 including postage and packing - contact us using the email address on the main page if you would like a copy. Thanks go to Doug and Joan for working very long hours to get the booklet finished (and this year's new edition key-rings). Thanks to the following people without whom the event wouldn't have been such a success: Adrian, Alan, Chris B, Chris McN, Dan, Dave B, Doug, Edward, Emily, Joan, John, Kirsty, Moff and Natalie.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Mon May 1 2006 April 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c917895.html April 2nd was the first working day of the month. Chris, Doug, Joan and alan were on site. Chris continued working on the cab floor in Number 2 Cab with a few more of the floorboards secured. Chris also cut the last-but-one piece of engine room floor out of a recently-purchased sheet of aluminium chequerplate. Alan worked on the faulty compressor trying to rectify the fault that is reducing the compressor's output. Doug continued painting in the engine room. Joan commenced organising the nuts and bolts that we have been accumulating over the years. Chris got some storage bins as a birthday present so these were pressed into use straight away. John worked on the loco on Thursday 6th sorting out a couple of air supply faults. A defective valve was removed and replaced with a valve that was removed from 37054 at Motherwell back in September 2003. The engine was then run up and the fault was proved to have been cured. The sanders now had air to them and also the air supply to the turbochargers was reinstated. Sunday 9th saw Alan and Adrian on site. Alan repaired one of the tools that had given up the ghost since its last use. Once the tool was repaired, Alan cracked on with the cleaning of the fan room readying it for a repaint. Adrian continued in Number 2 cab tapping-out numerous holes for the floor panels to be secured with. Thursday 13th saw Dan, John and Dave Downer on site to try and rectify the power problem we are currently suffering. Dave tested most of the equipment over the course of the day and has traced the fault down to a circuit that will need further investigation at a later date. Yet again the loco used the test track during the testing process - John is definitely getting some mileage in now! The bank holiday Easter weekend was a golden opportunity for some serious amounts of work to be undertaken on the loco. Chris and Adrian started the weekend on Friday 14th with a full days work performed. Adrian continued working in Number 2 Cab securing the floorboards as well as helping Chris with reconditioning the first brake cylinder that was dismantled a few weeks ago. A surprise visit from Moff occured in the afternoon brought some sunny weather! All three workers mucked in to get the access tower built in front of Number 1 end's nose so that Moff could complete the welding on the headcode box!! The one remaining corner to be treated was prepared for Moff to commence welding. Moff cut out the worst of the metal and then welded replacement bits in. Once he had finished, the equipment was hurriedly packed away as it was now almost 9 o'clock in the evening - how time flies! Chris had spent part of the afternoon working on the track at the far end of the test track preparing it for the final connection to be made (hopefully on Sunday). Saturday 15 saw just Chris on site. Chris continued with the cab floor in Number 2 cab, grinding off bolts that had sheared off in the past, drilling the remains of the bolts out and then re-tapping the holes ready for the new bolts to be put in. One more floorboard was secured and the final floorboard was measured up and drawn out ready for Sunday. Chris also worked on the set of points on the test track adding a couple of stretcher bars that were missing previously. In the afternoon, Chris continued preparing the far end of the test track ready for the final connection on Sunday. One of the rails had the end trimmed off using the newly-overhauled disc cutter. This needed doing because someone had cut the rail using a gas axe sometime in the past (not guilty)! The one piece of flatbottom rail that remained to be installed was cut to length and the placed back on the sleepers. Around a third of the rail was clipped-up by Chris but the remaining two thirds had to wait until Sunday. The rain came down for most of the day and Chris decided to call it a day at 8 o'clock in the evening. Sunday 16th saw a large working party raring to go. On site was Joan, Doug, Chris McNaughton, Adrian, Alan and Chris Barrow. The two Chris' and Doug continued working on the test track. The work involved clipping-up the remaining sleepers to the rail that Chris couldn't manage yesterday followed by moving the entire panel the bufferstop is on a couple of inches towards the rest of the track. This was accomplished surprisingly easily bearing in mind only three people were working on it at the time. Joan installed another batch of storage boxes onto the racking in the container and then proceeded to fill them up from our temporary store of nuts and bolts. Adrian and Alan continued working inside the loco. Adrian cut out the last floorboard and secured another couple of panels - 4 left to go! Alan had progressed to a stage where painting of the fan room could begin. Alan painted one wall in undercoat and left it to dry when Joan announced that lunch was being served. After lunch, everyone mucked in with the trackwork. Some fishplates were replaced and the test track had the final connection made mid afternoon. A sleeper was then produced and drilled ready for use on the bufferstop. The bufferstop was straightened up slightly and the sleeper offered up and fitted perfectly - superb job by the track Foreman Chris McNaughton. Alan made a lamp bracket ready for the bufferstop and this was duly fitted and tested. Chris McNaughton cut some wood to length and then added the pieces to the sleeper where the buffers of a vehicle would make contact with the bufferstop. Joan performed the ceremony of painting the bufferstop's wooden parts and this completed the test track. The addition and subsequent painting of the bufferstop has vastly improved the look of the railway area of the site. At the end of the day, a quick tidying up session was performed with all the spare track equipment (not a lot left!) being stacked away ready for when it is needed in the future... There will be the annual steam festival held on site at the end of May, so if anyone wants to come along and see how we are doing please drop us a line and we'll send you some details. Last year around 20,000 people attended the event. We look forward to seeing you there! Chris worked for half a day on the loco on Monday 17th. Chris removed the cover from the headcode box at Number 1 end. The inside of the headcode box was cleaned out and then the bottom of the headcode box was painted. Once the paint had dried, the cover was re-attached to the headcode box. While the paint tin was open, Chris painted some of the conduit in the engine room and the conduit now requires only the top coat applying before another section of floor is completed. The bufferstop was given another coat of paint while the weather was fine. If only we could have four day weekends all of the time! John and the two Chris' were on site in the evening of Tuesday 18th. John followed someone's suggestion on how the power fault may be being caused. After about ten minutes of work, John fired the engine up and tea was drunk whilst air was made. After tea the loco was tested and it worked perfectly! After all this time, ten minutes of work cured the fault. Doh! Numerous test runs were made up and down the test track with no problems being encountered. A few minutes were spent jacking and packing one of the track panels that had been connected on the Sunday before. Sunday 23rd saw Alan and Chris on site. Alan performed some remedial work on the track whilst Chris worked mainly in Number 2 nose. Numerous fittings were attended to a missing bolts replaced. Chris installed the SSF box that had been missing since the loco was purchased. Alan continued with the first brake cylinder overhaul mainly working on smoothing out the inside of the cylinder. John and Alan were on site on Tuesday 25th. After an hour or so working on the defective compressor, a fault was found and rectified. Alan found a defective plug part-way along one of the delivery pipes. John made a new plug and the compressor works perfectly now! Alan commenced painting the exterior of the first brake cylinder that is being overhauled. John continued working on the loco on Wednesday 26th and another milestone was reached. John has come to the conclusion that the loco sucks! Don't panic, he isn't jacking it in! John managed to get both vacuum exhausters working (hence the "suck" comment!). The last time the exhausters ran must have been in the mid 1990s so John's work today was quite an achievement and another big step towards the loco being fit for service again. All that remains to be done on the vacuum system is to fit two large diameter pipes (already in stock) and manufacture three small diameter pipes. A small amount of work is outstanding on the vacuum exhausters, namely work on the brush gear. Saturday 29th saw Chris McNaughton, Dan Jenner and Chris Barrow on the road up to C.F. Booth's scrapyard at Rotherham to collect the remaining spares that James Hawley of C.F. Booth was kindly minding for us. The only remains of a Class 37 on site were the underframe of 37686 on the cutting line and 37686's engine which was being smashed up by a crane dropping a giant metal ball on top of it! Luckily, when the scrapmen had cut the body off 37686, they had not affected the underfame so were were able to salvage a few valves. When we had finished removing parts off 37686, James loaded our two vacuum exhausters onto our lorry and we set off south again. Thanks must go to James Hawley of C.F Booth for his very pro-active attitude towards railway preservationists, without him we would have struggled to get the spares that we have at a price that wasn't out of our reach. Thanks also to Mike Whittingstall for unloading the lorry when we got back to base. Sunday 30th saw a late start for Chris (still recovering from the day before), however Alan and Adrian were already on site when Chris arrived. Adrian worked in both cabs installing metal edging stripes to the floorboards - the difference this simple addition makes turns what looked like a collection of floorboards into a proper floor. All that remains to be done is to add the lino to the floorboards - this will be one shortly before the loco is ready to leave the restoration base on the way to its new home. Adrian installed a seat for the Driver in Number 1 Cab and we now have a matching pair of crew seats in this cab. Number 2 Cab still awaits the two seats, we have three in the store and should be able to make two good seats out of the three. Alan tidied up the remaining track spares, completed painting the bufferstop and then undercoated the brake cylinder that is being overhauled. Chris tidied the exterior of the nose of Number 1 end in preparation for the steam fair which is now only four weeks away. The nose had a cosmetic paint job and the various bufferbeam pipes were also painted. Number 1 end is the end that most of the visitors will see and it is also the end that has suffered most from the welding of the headcode box so a quick paint job improved the look of the loco considerably. Chris also installed a couple of dummies for a couple of pipes at Number 2 end. The dummies had been removed from the remains of 37686 the day previously. Saturday 1 April 2006: April 2nd was the first working day of the month. Chris, Doug, Joan and alan were on site. Chris continued working on the cab floor in Number 2 Cab with a few more of the floorboards secured. Chris also cut the last-but-one piece of engine room floor out of a recently-purchased sheet of aluminium chequerplate. Alan worked on the faulty compressor trying to rectify the fault that is reducing the compressor's output. Doug continued painting in the engine room. Joan commenced organising the nuts and bolts that we have been accumulating over the years. Chris got some storage bins as a birthday present so these were pressed into use straight away. John worked on the loco on Thursday 6th sorting out a couple of air supply faults. A defective valve was removed and replaced with a valve that was removed from 37054 at Motherwell back in September 2003. The engine was then run up and the fault was proved to have been cured. The sanders now had air to them and also the air supply to the turbochargers was reinstated. Sunday 9th saw Alan and Adrian on site. Alan repaired one of the tools that had given up the ghost since its last use. Once the tool was repaired, Alan cracked on with the cleaning of the fan room readying it for a repaint. Adrian continued in Number 2 cab tapping-out numerous holes for the floor panels to be secured with. Thursday 13th saw Dan, John and Dave Downer on site to try and rectify the power problem we are currently suffering. Dave tested most of the equipment over the course of the day and has traced the fault down to a circuit that will need further investigation at a later date. Yet again the loco used the test track during the testing process - John is definitely getting some mileage in now! The bank holiday Easter weekend was a golden opportunity for some serious amounts of work to be undertaken on the loco. Chris and Adrian started the weekend on Friday 14th with a full days work performed. Adrian continued working in Number 2 Cab securing the floorboards as well as helping Chris with reconditioning the first brake cylinder that was dismantled a few weeks ago. A surprise visit from Moff occured in the afternoon brought some sunny weather! All three workers mucked in to get the access tower built in front of Number 1 end's nose so that Moff could complete the welding on the headcode box!! The one remaining corner to be treated was prepared for Moff to commence welding. Moff cut out the worst of the metal and then welded replacement bits in. Once he had finished, the equipment was hurriedly packed away as it was now almost 9 o'clock in the evening - how time flies! Chris had spent part of the afternoon working on the track at the far end of the test track preparing it for the final connection to be made (hopefully on Sunday). Saturday 15 saw just Chris on site. Chris continued with the cab floor in Number 2 cab, grinding off bolts that had sheared off in the past, drilling the remains of the bolts out and then re-tapping the holes ready for the new bolts to be put in. One more floorboard was secured and the final floorboard was measured up and drawn out ready for Sunday. Chris also worked on the set of points on the test track adding a couple of stretcher bars that were missing previously. In the afternoon, Chris continued preparing the far end of the test track ready for the final connection on Sunday. One of the rails had the end trimmed off using the newly-overhauled disc cutter. This needed doing because someone had cut the rail using a gas axe sometime in the past (not guilty)! The one piece of flatbottom rail that remained to be installed was cut to length and the placed back on the sleepers. Around a third of the rail was clipped-up by Chris but the remaining two thirds had to wait until Sunday. The rain came down for most of the day and Chris decided to call it a day at 8 o'clock in the evening. Sunday 16th saw a large working party raring to go. On site was Joan, Doug, Chris McNaughton, Adrian, Alan and Chris Barrow. The two Chris' and Doug continued working on the test track. The work involved clipping-up the remaining sleepers to the rail that Chris couldn't manage yesterday followed by moving the entire panel the bufferstop is on a couple of inches towards the rest of the track. This was accomplished surprisingly easily bearing in mind only three people were working on it at the time. Joan installed another batch of storage boxes onto the racking in the container and then proceeded to fill them up from our temporary store of nuts and bolts. Adrian and Alan continued working inside the loco. Adrian cut out the last floorboard and secured another couple of panels - 4 left to go! Alan had progressed to a stage where painting of the fan room could begin. Alan painted one wall in undercoat and left it to dry when Joan announced that lunch was being served. After lunch, everyone mucked in with the trackwork. Some fishplates were replaced and the test track had the final connection made mid afternoon. A sleeper was then produced and drilled ready for use on the bufferstop. The bufferstop was straightened up slightly and the sleeper offered up and fitted perfectly - superb job by the track Foreman Chris McNaughton. Alan made a lamp bracket ready for the bufferstop and this was duly fitted and tested. Chris McNaughton cut some wood to length and then added the pieces to the sleeper where the buffers of a vehicle would make contact with the bufferstop. Joan performed the ceremony of painting the bufferstop's wooden parts and this completed the test track. The addition and subsequent painting of the bufferstop has vastly improved the look of the railway area of the site. At the end of the day, a quick tidying up session was performed with all the spare track equipment (not a lot left!) being stacked away ready for when it is needed in the future... There will be the annual steam festival held on site at the end of May, so if anyone wants to come along and see how we are doing please drop us a line and we'll send you some details. Last year around 20,000 people attended the event. We look forward to seeing you there! Chris worked for half a day on the loco on Monday 17th. Chris removed the cover from the headcode box at Number 1 end. The inside of the headcode box was cleaned out and then the bottom of the headcode box was painted. Once the paint had dried, the cover was re-attached to the headcode box. While the paint tin was open, Chris painted some of the conduit in the engine room and the conduit now requires only the top coat applying before another section of floor is completed. The bufferstop was given another coat of paint while the weather was fine. If only we could have four day weekends all of the time! John and the two Chris' were on site in the evening of Tuesday 18th. John followed someone's suggestion on how the power fault may be being caused. After about ten minutes of work, John fired the engine up and tea was drunk whilst air was made. After tea the loco was tested and it worked perfectly! After all this time, ten minutes of work cured the fault. Doh! Numerous test runs were made up and down the test track with no problems being encountered. A few minutes were spent jacking and packing one of the track panels that had been connected on the Sunday before. Sunday 23rd saw Alan and Chris on site. Alan performed some remedial work on the track whilst Chris worked mainly in Number 2 nose. Numerous fittings were attended to a missing bolts replaced. Chris installed the SSF box that had been missing since the loco was purchased. Alan continued with the first brake cylinder overhaul mainly working on smoothing out the inside of the cylinder. John and Alan were on site on Tuesday 25th. After an hour or so working on the defective compressor, a fault was found and rectified. Alan found a defective plug part-way along one of the delivery pipes. John made a new plug and the compressor works perfectly now! Alan commenced painting the exterior of the first brake cylinder that is being overhauled. John continued working on the loco on Wednesday 26th and another milestone was reached. John has come to the conclusion that the loco sucks! Don't panic, he isn't jacking it in! John managed to get both vacuum exhausters working (hence the "suck" comment!). The last time the exhausters ran must have been in the mid 1990s so John's work today was quite an achievement and another big step towards the loco being fit for service again. All that remains to be done on the vacuum system is to fit two large diameter pipes (already in stock) and manufacture three small diameter pipes. A small amount of work is outstanding on the vacuum exhausters, namely work on the brush gear. Saturday 29th saw Chris McNaughton, Dan Jenner and Chris Barrow on the road up to C.F. Booth's scrapyard at Rotherham to collect the remaining spares that James Hawley of C.F. Booth was kindly minding for us. The only remains of a Class 37 on site were the underframe of 37686 on the cutting line and 37686's engine which was being smashed up by a crane dropping a giant metal ball on top of it! Luckily, when the scrapmen had cut the body off 37686, they had not affected the underfame so were were able to salvage a few valves. When we had finished removing parts off 37686, James loaded our two vacuum exhausters onto our lorry and we set off south again. Thanks must go to James Hawley of C.F Booth for his very pro-active attitude towards railway preservationists, without him we would have struggled to get the spares that we have at a price that wasn't out of our reach. Thanks also to Mike Whittingstall for unloading the lorry when we got back to base. Sunday 30th saw a late start for Chris (still recovering from the day before), however Alan and Adrian were already on site when Chris arrived. Adrian worked in both cabs installing metal edging stripes to the floorboards - the difference this simple addition makes turns what looked like a collection of floorboards into a proper floor. All that remains to be done is to add the lino to the floorboards - this will be one shortly before the loco is ready to leave the restoration base on the way to its new home. Adrian installed a seat for the Driver in Number 1 Cab and we now have a matching pair of crew seats in this cab. Number 2 Cab still awaits the two seats, we have three in the store and should be able to make two good seats out of the three. Alan tidied up the remaining track spares, completed painting the bufferstop and then undercoated the brake cylinder that is being overhauled. Chris tidied the exterior of the nose of Number 1 end in preparation for the steam fair which is now only four weeks away. The nose had a cosmetic paint job and the various bufferbeam pipes were also painted. Number 1 end is the end that most of the visitors will see and it is also the end that has suffered most from the welding of the headcode box so a quick paint job improved the look of the loco considerably. Chris also installed a couple of dummies for a couple of pipes at Number 2 end. The dummies had been removed from the remains of 37686 the day previously.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Apr 1 2006 March 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c883655.html Sunday 5th was the first working party of the month. Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris were on site engaged in various tasks. Alan completed the building of the cover over the lubricating oil priming pump - this time the newly-constructed backets were fitted to the cover and fully assembled. All the parts of the cover fitted together perfectly and all that remains to be done is for the cover to be painted. Alan also continued with the cleaning of the fanroom to bring it up to a standard so that it can be painted. Doug worked in the engine room cleaning yet more of the area under the floor. Joan cooked the usual super lunch and after lunch, Joan helped Chris with building the new floor for Number 2 Cab. By the end of the day, the first piece of floor had been laid down and the second piece was partly cut out. Saturday 11th saw Chris on site for the afternoon. Chris continued with the new floor for Number 2 Cab. 5 more floor panels were cut out and laid down during the afternoon (in between the odd snow shower). Only 5 more floor panels to go! Sunday 12th saw almost all of the floor completed in Number 2 Cab by Chris and Adrian. There are only two small pieces left to make. Adrian cleaned-out and re-tapped the holes in the floor's crossmembers when he wasn't helping Chris with cutting the floorboards. Alan continued cleaning the fan room ready for its repaint. Dan and Chris McNaughton arrived at the end of the day and helped Alan and Chris dismantle one of the spare brake cylinders so that the seals can be replaced. On Friday 17th. Alan and Doug travelled up to Rotherham in a hired lorry to collect the majority of the spares that C.F. Booth had removed from locomotives for us. Dan met up with Alan and Doug to finalise the details. Doug and Alan brought the spares back South ready for unloading on Saturday. Saturday 18th was the first day of a busy weekend. Alan brought the lorry down to the site for unloading which was achieved with a telescopic forklift hired from a local company. The lorry was unloaded and the stores re-palletised and then stuck into store. Adrian was on hand to assist Chris and Alan with the unloading. Once the lorry had been unloaded, Chris and Adrian commenced preparing the ground ready for the bufferstop to be put in place on the Sunday. Sunday 19th was even more hectic than the Saturday. Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris were kept very busy on site until about 7 o'clock in the evening - we'll be doing night shifts next! Alan removed the head from the newly delivered spare compressor to get it ready for exchanging with one off of one of the compressors currently on the loco. Joan cooked the usual superb lunch which was very important as everybody was working flat out all day. In the morning, Alan and Chris re-aligned the track to take out a couple of kinks where a couple of panels have been lifted out and then dropped back in by a crane. One panel was then lifted and packed with ballast. One rail was removed from the trackpanel at the current end of the track. This rail is longer than the partner rail on the same trackpanel. When we can borrow the railsaw again, we'll cut this rail to length and then re-install it on the sleepers. In the afternoon, everyone was involved in building the bufferstop. Chris graded the trackbed with the forklift's bucket attachment. Once the trackbed had been smoothed-out, sleepers were laid down and the first part of the bufferstop was craned into place and then secured. After the first part had been secured, everyone went for tea whilst Chris did a couple of forklifting jobs for two of the other preservationists on the site. After tea, the second part of the bufferstop was dropped into place on the sleepers. The second part was trickier than the first as the rail had a slight bend in it. The bufferstop was completed shortly before it started to get dark. All that remains to complete the bufferstop is the wooden block to go between the two uprights and also fit some new double chairs to secure the rails. The test track is now 95% complete and looks like a real railway. Friday 24th saw John and Alan working on the loco. John had changed the distributor and he and Alan tested the brake system to see if it had improved matters. The brake system is greatly improved over what it used to be like. John and Alan took the loco on a test run down the test track to a position about 20 yards short of the newly installed bufferstop. Sunday 26th had just Alan and Chris on site for a rather wet working party. Chris secured two floor panels in Number 2 Cab and re-tapped numerous holes in the floor supports. Alan commenced removing the head of one of the compressors on the loco to try and cure a fault that had occured recently. Chris and Alan removed the head and then swapped various parts with parts on the spare compressor head to make an exact replica of the setup which was previously installed. Putting the bits back in the nose of the loco took quite a while and of course the heavens opened and both workers got drenched! Wednesday 1 March 2006: Sunday 5th was the first working party of the month. Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris were on site engaged in various tasks. Alan completed the building of the cover over the lubricating oil priming pump - this time the newly-constructed backets were fitted to the cover and fully assembled. All the parts of the cover fitted together perfectly and all that remains to be done is for the cover to be painted. Alan also continued with the cleaning of the fanroom to bring it up to a standard so that it can be painted. Doug worked in the engine room cleaning yet more of the area under the floor. Joan cooked the usual super lunch and after lunch, Joan helped Chris with building the new floor for Number 2 Cab. By the end of the day, the first piece of floor had been laid down and the second piece was partly cut out. Saturday 11th saw Chris on site for the afternoon. Chris continued with the new floor for Number 2 Cab. 5 more floor panels were cut out and laid down during the afternoon (in between the odd snow shower). Only 5 more floor panels to go! Sunday 12th saw almost all of the floor completed in Number 2 Cab by Chris and Adrian. There are only two small pieces left to make. Adrian cleaned-out and re-tapped the holes in the floor's crossmembers when he wasn't helping Chris with cutting the floorboards. Alan continued cleaning the fan room ready for its repaint. Dan and Chris McNaughton arrived at the end of the day and helped Alan and Chris dismantle one of the spare brake cylinders so that the seals can be replaced. On Friday 17th. Alan and Doug travelled up to Rotherham in a hired lorry to collect the majority of the spares that C.F. Booth had removed from locomotives for us. Dan met up with Alan and Doug to finalise the details. Doug and Alan brought the spares back South ready for unloading on Saturday. Saturday 18th was the first day of a busy weekend. Alan brought the lorry down to the site for unloading which was achieved with a telescopic forklift hired from a local company. The lorry was unloaded and the stores re-palletised and then stuck into store. Adrian was on hand to assist Chris and Alan with the unloading. Once the lorry had been unloaded, Chris and Adrian commenced preparing the ground ready for the bufferstop to be put in place on the Sunday. Sunday 19th was even more hectic than the Saturday. Alan, Doug, Joan and Chris were kept very busy on site until about 7 o'clock in the evening - we'll be doing night shifts next! Alan removed the head from the newly delivered spare compressor to get it ready for exchanging with one off of one of the compressors currently on the loco. Joan cooked the usual superb lunch which was very important as everybody was working flat out all day. In the morning, Alan and Chris re-aligned the track to take out a couple of kinks where a couple of panels have been lifted out and then dropped back in by a crane. One panel was then lifted and packed with ballast. One rail was removed from the trackpanel at the current end of the track. This rail is longer than the partner rail on the same trackpanel. When we can borrow the railsaw again, we'll cut this rail to length and then re-install it on the sleepers. In the afternoon, everyone was involved in building the bufferstop. Chris graded the trackbed with the forklift's bucket attachment. Once the trackbed had been smoothed-out, sleepers were laid down and the first part of the bufferstop was craned into place and then secured. After the first part had been secured, everyone went for tea whilst Chris did a couple of forklifting jobs for two of the other preservationists on the site. After tea, the second part of the bufferstop was dropped into place on the sleepers. The second part was trickier than the first as the rail had a slight bend in it. The bufferstop was completed shortly before it started to get dark. All that remains to complete the bufferstop is the wooden block to go between the two uprights and also fit some new double chairs to secure the rails. The test track is now 95% complete and looks like a real railway. Friday 24th saw John and Alan working on the loco. John had changed the distributor and he and Alan tested the brake system to see if it had improved matters. The brake system is greatly improved over what it used to be like. John and Alan took the loco on a test run down the test track to a position about 20 yards short of the newly installed bufferstop. Sunday 26th had just Alan and Chris on site for a rather wet working party. Chris secured two floor panels in Number 2 Cab and re-tapped numerous holes in the floor supports. Alan commenced removing the head of one of the compressors on the loco to try and cure a fault that had occured recently. Chris and Alan removed the head and then swapped various parts with parts on the spare compressor head to make an exact replica of the setup which was previously installed. Putting the bits back in the nose of the loco took quite a while and of course the heavens opened and both workers got drenched!

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Wed Mar 1 2006 February 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c851729.html Friday 3nd saw Alan, John and Dan present whilst the loco had its axles ultrasonically tested by an outside contractor. All axles passed the examinations without any problems being recorded. This is another hurdle cleared in the path of returning the locomotive to service. Sunday 5th had been set aside for a start-up attempt. Chris and John arrived at the site early to prepare the locomotive. All of the clutter was removed from the engineroom and the cabs and the cooling system was filled with water. John charged the batteries for a short while whilst Chris carried out various checks. Around midday there were many members of the Restoration Team present. At just after 12 o'clock, the engine fired into life after over 12 months since the last running session. Numerous tests were conducted and a few problems were found. One of the compressors needs attention because it is not working as it should do. After being left running for a while whilst testing was continuing, it was decided to see if the locomotive would move under its own power. At 17:10, 37254 moved under its own power for the first time since 1998! The locomotive was driven by John up and down the part of the test track that is currently usable. It was a very proud and exciting day for everyone involved and we received many favourable comments from friends across the country. We have entered a new era in our project and it would not have been possible without the support of so many people. Thank you whoever you are. We have still got a long way to go but we now have a really big insentive to carry on with our work. Now to complete the test track... On the morning of Monday 6th, Alan, Chris and John worked on the loco. Alan and Chris drained all of the water out of the cooling system to prevent any frost damage as some of the nights are still cold. John worked on the compressor that developed a fault the previous day. John also worked on the locomotive's electrical system servicing some of the governors. In the late afternoon of Friday 10th, Chris McNaughton and John started fault-finding for a couple of faults on the locomotive's electrical system. Dan turned up in the evening to assist and one fault was diagnosed and the defective component was identified. Hopefully the replacement component will be purchased during the next couple of weeks or so. Sunday 12th saw Adrian, Alan, Chris, Dan and John on site. John and Dan worked on the electrical systems at Number 1 end. At the start of the day, no lights were working in Number 1 cab and various other items did not have power to them. At the end of the day, all the lights in Number 1 Cab were working together with most of the other equipment. Only the headlight and NRN need a bit of work on them to complete this end. Alan continued removing the grime and cleaning the surfaces in the fan room. Adrian and Chris spent half a day working on the test track with the aid of a petrol-powered drill kindly lent by a supporter. By the end of the day, all of the missing sleepers in one of the track panels had been inserted and 50 % of the chairs had been screwed down then keyed up. A start was made on chairing up some sleepers for the final track panel which will have a bufferstop mounted on it. One more day (or two) and all of the trackwork will be complete bar the installation of the bufferstop. A very successful day all round! Thursday 16th saw John,Chris and Dave Pond (a visitor from The Bodmin and Wenford Railway and 37142) working on site. Dave sanded down numerous bits of aluminium edging strip that had been stripped out of Number 2 Cab and worked on the brake cylinders. John continued working on the compressor that developed a fault a fortnight ago as well as trying to locate a couple of minor air leaks with Dave assisting with the fault finding. Chris cleaned up one of the lights from inside the nose in Number 1 end that John had removed. Chris also continued working on the remaining few parts of the track that needs finishing off. Dave and John also helped with the trackwork in the afternoon. All of the sleepers are now drilled complete with chairs screwed down and only a few chairs need their screws finally tightening down. We started the engine and conducted numerous tests on the systems. A fault has developed on the reverser and this will be attended to over the weekend. The next day saw Chris and Dan on site for a few hours. More sleepers have been sourced for yet another track panel - this panel will be for a bufferstop as someone has a storage container in the way of any more track extensions for the time being. The sleepers were chaired up with half of the chairs needed, the others are to be chaired-up on Sunday. There are two bufferstops on site and one of these will be lifted into place as soon as the last lot of sleepers are laid down. Chris tidied the store after it had got dark whilst Dan continued working on the tail light project. The engine was started and run for a while. Sunday 19th saw Alan, John and Chris on site on a very wet day. John and Alan worked on rectifying the couple of faults that had been identified in the last couple of weeks. The faulty diodes were changed and now the brake selector switch is fully functional. One of the reverser cylinders and accompanying solenoids were found to be in need of repair and so John and Alan swapped the defective components with one of the spares in the store. The engine was started up several times to test the repairs as we went. Chris commenced cleaning all the greasing and lubrication points on the locomotive's bogies. One side of one bogie was completed before the rain stopped play. Alan assisted Chris with drilling the holes in the sleepers for the rest of the chairs for the bufferstop panel. Chris assisted John with the test running of the locomotive. The last remaining heater was removed from Number 2 Cab and as it was a bit worse for wear, a replacement heater has been brought out of the stores and work has commenced on reconditioning the replacement item. Sunday 26th saw Alan begin constructing a cover to protect the lubricating oil priming pump in the fan room. The pump is open to the elements so we decided to protect the pump as much as we could. Chris rubbed-down a steel sheet whilst Alan surveyed the area where the cover would go. Alan drilled two more holes in the bulkhead so that the cover can be secured satisfactorily. Chris continued removing rust and debris from Number 2 cab. Tuesday 28th saw Alan on site all day with Chris and John joining him in the afternoon. Alan completed the new cover for the lubricating oil priming pump and with Chris' assistance, fitted it to the bulkhead. Alan is now manufacturing a couple of stays to ensure that the cover stays in the correct position and also to reduce vibration. Chris spent a few happy hours needle-gunning the cab floor in Number 2 Cab until the compressor gave up! If anyone has a compressor they don't want we could gladly find a good home for it! John worked on the brake frame repairing and replacing a couple of suspect valves. Wednesday 1 February 2006: Friday 3nd saw Alan, John and Dan present whilst the loco had its axles ultrasonically tested by an outside contractor. All axles passed the examinations without any problems being recorded. This is another hurdle cleared in the path of returning the locomotive to service. Sunday 5th had been set aside for a start-up attempt. Chris and John arrived at the site early to prepare the locomotive. All of the clutter was removed from the engineroom and the cabs and the cooling system was filled with water. John charged the batteries for a short while whilst Chris carried out various checks. Around midday there were many members of the Restoration Team present. At just after 12 o'clock, the engine fired into life after over 12 months since the last running session. Numerous tests were conducted and a few problems were found. One of the compressors needs attention because it is not working as it should do. After being left running for a while whilst testing was continuing, it was decided to see if the locomotive would move under its own power. At 17:10, 37254 moved under its own power for the first time since 1998! The locomotive was driven by John up and down the part of the test track that is currently usable. It was a very proud and exciting day for everyone involved and we received many favourable comments from friends across the country. We have entered a new era in our project and it would not have been possible without the support of so many people. Thank you whoever you are. We have still got a long way to go but we now have a really big insentive to carry on with our work. Now to complete the test track... On the morning of Monday 6th, Alan, Chris and John worked on the loco. Alan and Chris drained all of the water out of the cooling system to prevent any frost damage as some of the nights are still cold. John worked on the compressor that developed a fault the previous day. John also worked on the locomotive's electrical system servicing some of the governors. In the late afternoon of Friday 10th, Chris McNaughton and John started fault-finding for a couple of faults on the locomotive's electrical system. Dan turned up in the evening to assist and one fault was diagnosed and the defective component was identified. Hopefully the replacement component will be purchased during the next couple of weeks or so. Sunday 12th saw Adrian, Alan, Chris, Dan and John on site. John and Dan worked on the electrical systems at Number 1 end. At the start of the day, no lights were working in Number 1 cab and various other items did not have power to them. At the end of the day, all the lights in Number 1 Cab were working together with most of the other equipment. Only the headlight and NRN need a bit of work on them to complete this end. Alan continued removing the grime and cleaning the surfaces in the fan room. Adrian and Chris spent half a day working on the test track with the aid of a petrol-powered drill kindly lent by a supporter. By the end of the day, all of the missing sleepers in one of the track panels had been inserted and 50 % of the chairs had been screwed down then keyed up. A start was made on chairing up some sleepers for the final track panel which will have a bufferstop mounted on it. One more day (or two) and all of the trackwork will be complete bar the installation of the bufferstop. A very successful day all round! Thursday 16th saw John,Chris and Dave Pond (a visitor from The Bodmin and Wenford Railway and 37142) working on site. Dave sanded down numerous bits of aluminium edging strip that had been stripped out of Number 2 Cab and worked on the brake cylinders. John continued working on the compressor that developed a fault a fortnight ago as well as trying to locate a couple of minor air leaks with Dave assisting with the fault finding. Chris cleaned up one of the lights from inside the nose in Number 1 end that John had removed. Chris also continued working on the remaining few parts of the track that needs finishing off. Dave and John also helped with the trackwork in the afternoon. All of the sleepers are now drilled complete with chairs screwed down and only a few chairs need their screws finally tightening down. We started the engine and conducted numerous tests on the systems. A fault has developed on the reverser and this will be attended to over the weekend. The next day saw Chris and Dan on site for a few hours. More sleepers have been sourced for yet another track panel - this panel will be for a bufferstop as someone has a storage container in the way of any more track extensions for the time being. The sleepers were chaired up with half of the chairs needed, the others are to be chaired-up on Sunday. There are two bufferstops on site and one of these will be lifted into place as soon as the last lot of sleepers are laid down. Chris tidied the store after it had got dark whilst Dan continued working on the tail light project. The engine was started and run for a while. Sunday 19th saw Alan, John and Chris on site on a very wet day. John and Alan worked on rectifying the couple of faults that had been identified in the last couple of weeks. The faulty diodes were changed and now the brake selector switch is fully functional. One of the reverser cylinders and accompanying solenoids were found to be in need of repair and so John and Alan swapped the defective components with one of the spares in the store. The engine was started up several times to test the repairs as we went. Chris commenced cleaning all the greasing and lubrication points on the locomotive's bogies. One side of one bogie was completed before the rain stopped play. Alan assisted Chris with drilling the holes in the sleepers for the rest of the chairs for the bufferstop panel. Chris assisted John with the test running of the locomotive. The last remaining heater was removed from Number 2 Cab and as it was a bit worse for wear, a replacement heater has been brought out of the stores and work has commenced on reconditioning the replacement item. Sunday 26th saw Alan begin constructing a cover to protect the lubricating oil priming pump in the fan room. The pump is open to the elements so we decided to protect the pump as much as we could. Chris rubbed-down a steel sheet whilst Alan surveyed the area where the cover would go. Alan drilled two more holes in the bulkhead so that the cover can be secured satisfactorily. Chris continued removing rust and debris from Number 2 cab. Tuesday 28th saw Alan on site all day with Chris and John joining him in the afternoon. Alan completed the new cover for the lubricating oil priming pump and with Chris' assistance, fitted it to the bulkhead. Alan is now manufacturing a couple of stays to ensure that the cover stays in the correct position and also to reduce vibration. Chris spent a few happy hours needle-gunning the cab floor in Number 2 Cab until the compressor gave up! If anyone has a compressor they don't want we could gladly find a good home for it! John worked on the brake frame repairing and replacing a couple of suspect valves.

Now confirmed as an EE Man! Some of the Restoration Team: Alan Harris, Chris McNaughton and Edward, Adrian Newman, Chris Barrow, Joan Barrow, John Waddington, Doug Barrow, Dan Jenner

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Wed Feb 1 2006 January 2006 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c814016.html Happy New Year to all of our Visitors and Supporters. The first working party was on the 1st day of the new year. Doug, Joan, Chris, Alan and John were on site on a rather cold and damp day. Before the new year, it had been decided that the first working party of the new year would be mainly a tidying up session to free up some space for the next shipment of spares which should hopefully be arriving within the next month or so. John commenced building a new cover for the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab. Doug disposed of some of the waste on a bonfire which kept him nice and warm! Monday 2nd saw just Chris and Adrian on site completing the clearing up and installing more storage racks in the container. Saturday 7th had Adrian, John and Chris working on site. John built a new cabside sheet for Number 2 Cab, Secondman's side and then fitted the control panel for the Secondman's side at Number 2 Cab that he was constructing last weekend. Chris and Adrian performed general jobs trying to keep warm in the freezing weather! Yet more storage facilities were installed in the container. Sunday 8th saw Doug, Joan, John, Alan, Dave, Kirsty, Emily and Chris on site - surely a record? Joan fitted out the newly-installed storage trays in the container and then cooked the usual superb lunch that makes the steam workers jealous! Doug continued tidying the old storage container and removing accumulated sandite from under the engine room floor. Alan worked in the fan room for most of the day and assisted John with some minor engine work. Chris worked on the battery charger, temporary loco lighting and the headcode box . Dave worked in the container with Kirsty and Emily providing the Quality Assurance. John made the second panel for the Secondman's side in Number 2 Cab and also the Driver's side panel is 80% completed. John and Chris collected the water pumps from the repairers on Wednesday 11th and then worked in the container reassembling various components for the rest of the evening. Thursday 12th saw Alan on site working on the engine and also in the fan room. Saturday 14th saw Chris and John working mainly in Number 1 Cab. The DSD, power handle and reverser handle holder, footrest on the Secondman's side, the power handle, the reverser handle were reinstalled in the cab. Work continued in Number 2 Cab with Chris removing more debris from under the floor. On Sunday 15th, John and Chris were back on site. John welded chequerplate onto the outsides of Number 1 Cab and installed yet more components in Number 1 Cab. Chris continued the cleaning work in Number 2 Cab as well as assisting John with the welding. Chris also removed the windscreen washer pipework in Number 2 Cab and installed in Number 1 Cab, the seat back that Joan had re-covered. Thursday 19th saw John and Alan working in the engine room performing various maintenance tasks on the engine and also preparing the engine to have the water pumps fitted back on at a later date. Saturday 21st saw John and Chris refitting yet more equipment into No. 1 Cab. The hotplate surround, Secondman's footrest, straight air brake valve, pipework brackets, windscreen wiper motors, windscreen wipers and various small bits of platework were installed. Sunday 22nd was a busy day for the team. On site today were a gang of 6 and numerous tasks were tackled - Doug continuing with removing sandite from beneath the engine room floor then subsequently repainting the area, Adrian and Alan working on the engine, John putting yet more bits back in No. 1 Cab as well as stripping the throttle valve from No. 1 Cab and after unseizing it, he reassembled it and reinstalled the valve, Joan sorting out a lot of newly purchased consumables and Chris installing the cab lights in No. 1 Cab and then starting to strip No. 2 Cab with the help of Adrian. Number 1 Cab really is starting to look like a proper loco cab again. The cab has not been this complete for years. On Wednesday 25th, Alan replaced the defective oil pressure gauge from alongside the turbo with another gauge that has just been donated to us from one of the local enthusiasts. Alan then continued his work in the fan room. During this week, John finally found a use for all the beer cans that seem to be hanging around Diesel Gricers Rest - they make good supports for things that are being painted and need to be kept off the ground. Rumour has it that when the paint has dried, the beer must then be drunk! Saturday 28th saw John and Chris on site. Chris traced some of the air pipework for the turbochargers that we have been having problems with, stripped, cleaned and then re-fitted one of the valves that is connected to this system. Chris also performed some tasks in the engine room. John worked in Number 1 Cab wiring up the Driver's side heater that is located on the floor as well as making some minor alterations to the cab floor near the brake pipework. John also installed the hotplate, cut some aluminium strip to finish off part of the cab side sheets. Dan turned up to make tea. Sunday 29th had John, Dan, Alan and Chris busy on site. John worked with Alan for most of the day re-installing the water pumps and checking that all was well after installation. Dan surveyed the loco's tail ights to see what was required to get them all to work (currently, only one tail light works with the others needing bulb holders installing and subsequent rewiring as well as quite a bit of remedial works to the reflectors and lenses). It was decided that Dan will fully overhaul our spare tail light assembly and then replace one of the loco's current tail light assemblies with the overhauled one. The assembly that has been replaced will then be fully overhauled and used to replace one of the other assemblies requiring overhaul. Chris continued working on the turbocharger pipework, cleaned the engine breather and also started to remove more components from Number 2 Cab in readiness for the complete renovation of Number 2 Cab. Sunday 1 January 2006: Happy New Year to all of our Visitors and Supporters. The first working party was on the 1st day of the new year. Doug, Joan, Chris, Alan and John were on site on a rather cold and damp day. Before the new year, it had been decided that the first working party of the new year would be mainly a tidying up session to free up some space for the next shipment of spares which should hopefully be arriving within the next month or so. John commenced building a new cover for the Secondman's control panel in Number 2 Cab. Doug disposed of some of the waste on a bonfire which kept him nice and warm! Monday 2nd saw just Chris and Adrian on site completing the clearing up and installing more storage racks in the container. Saturday 7th had Adrian, John and Chris working on site. John built a new cabside sheet for Number 2 Cab, Secondman's side and then fitted the control panel for the Secondman's side at Number 2 Cab that he was constructing last weekend. Chris and Adrian performed general jobs trying to keep warm in the freezing weather! Yet more storage facilities were installed in the container. Sunday 8th saw Doug, Joan, John, Alan, Dave, Kirsty, Emily and Chris on site - surely a record? Joan fitted out the newly-installed storage trays in the container and then cooked the usual superb lunch that makes the steam workers jealous! Doug continued tidying the old storage container and removing accumulated sandite from under the engine room floor. Alan worked in the fan room for most of the day and assisted John with some minor engine work. Chris worked on the battery charger, temporary loco lighting and the headcode box . Dave worked in the container with Kirsty and Emily providing the Quality Assurance. John made the second panel for the Secondman's side in Number 2 Cab and also the Driver's side panel is 80% completed. John and Chris collected the water pumps from the repairers on Wednesday 11th and then worked in the container reassembling various components for the rest of the evening. Thursday 12th saw Alan on site working on the engine and also in the fan room. Saturday 14th saw Chris and John working mainly in Number 1 Cab. The DSD, power handle and reverser handle holder, footrest on the Secondman's side, the power handle, the reverser handle were reinstalled in the cab. Work continued in Number 2 Cab with Chris removing more debris from under the floor. On Sunday 15th, John and Chris were back on site. John welded chequerplate onto the outsides of Number 1 Cab and installed yet more components in Number 1 Cab. Chris continued the cleaning work in Number 2 Cab as well as assisting John with the welding. Chris also removed the windscreen washer pipework in Number 2 Cab and installed in Number 1 Cab, the seat back that Joan had re-covered. Thursday 19th saw John and Alan working in the engine room performing various maintenance tasks on the engine and also preparing the engine to have the water pumps fitted back on at a later date. Saturday 21st saw John and Chris refitting yet more equipment into No. 1 Cab. The hotplate surround, Secondman's footrest, straight air brake valve, pipework brackets, windscreen wiper motors, windscreen wipers and various small bits of platework were installed. Sunday 22nd was a busy day for the team. On site today were a gang of 6 and numerous tasks were tackled - Doug continuing with removing sandite from beneath the engine room floor then subsequently repainting the area, Adrian and Alan working on the engine, John putting yet more bits back in No. 1 Cab as well as stripping the throttle valve from No. 1 Cab and after unseizing it, he reassembled it and reinstalled the valve, Joan sorting out a lot of newly purchased consumables and Chris installing the cab lights in No. 1 Cab and then starting to strip No. 2 Cab with the help of Adrian. Number 1 Cab really is starting to look like a proper loco cab again. The cab has not been this complete for years. On Wednesday 25th, Alan replaced the defective oil pressure gauge from alongside the turbo with another gauge that has just been donated to us from one of the local enthusiasts. Alan then continued his work in the fan room. During this week, John finally found a use for all the beer cans that seem to be hanging around Diesel Gricers Rest - they make good supports for things that are being painted and need to be kept off the ground. Rumour has it that when the paint has dried, the beer must then be drunk! Saturday 28th saw John and Chris on site. Chris traced some of the air pipework for the turbochargers that we have been having problems with, stripped, cleaned and then re-fitted one of the valves that is connected to this system. Chris also performed some tasks in the engine room. John worked in Number 1 Cab wiring up the Driver's side heater that is located on the floor as well as making some minor alterations to the cab floor near the brake pipework. John also installed the hotplate, cut some aluminium strip to finish off part of the cab side sheets. Dan turned up to make tea. Sunday 29th had John, Dan, Alan and Chris busy on site. John worked with Alan for most of the day re-installing the water pumps and checking that all was well after installation. Dan surveyed the loco's tail ights to see what was required to get them all to work (currently, only one tail light works with the others needing bulb holders installing and subsequent rewiring as well as quite a bit of remedial works to the reflectors and lenses). It was decided that Dan will fully overhaul our spare tail light assembly and then replace one of the loco's current tail light assemblies with the overhauled one. The assembly that has been replaced will then be fully overhauled and used to replace one of the other assemblies requiring overhaul. Chris continued working on the turbocharger pipework, cleaned the engine breather and also started to remove more components from Number 2 Cab in readiness for the complete renovation of Number 2 Cab.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sun Jan 1 2006 December 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c783728.html Sunday 4th was the first working party of the month and featured Alan and Chris with a guest appearance from Pete of Carlisle! The day started off with constant rain which didn't stop Chris trialling the newly made pair of exhaust stack covers to ensure they fitted okay. Chris also performed some maintenance work on the turbochargers as did Alan. Chris also fixed the hoover (again) and had a good clear out of rust & rubbish from Number 2 Cab. Pete rubbed the exhaust stack covers down and painted them in primer. This time of year slows down restoration work on the locomotive itself but the number of small projects being undertaken off site increases. An example of an off site project has been provided by Joan and Doug. They have been given various parts of the crew seats to renevate and re-cover where necessary. A couple of pictures of one of the armrests before and after restoration has been sent in. Alan worked on his latest project on Tuesday 6th - the renovation of the fan room. There will be many days of scraping and cleaning ahead. Sunday 11th saw Adrian, Alan, Doug, Joan & Chris on site for a very cold working party. Adrian and Chris worked in Number 2 cab removing yet more debris from the cab floor. As can be seen in the pictures, there is a massive amount of debris needing cleaning out including BR's expanding foam and numerous lightbulbs! Chris also painted the exhaust stack covers in undercoat. Joan cooked a wonderful lunch and weatherproofed the loco in three places on the outside. Doug cleaned the two fan covers that Alan had removed from the fan room on Tuesday. Alan recommenced his latest project which is the renovation of the fan room. Initially, Alan will be stripping all of the accumulated grime from all of the surfaces and preparing the surfaces for painting. Before any painting is undertaken, the lubricating oil priming pump will be swapped with the reconditioned pump in the store. On Thursday 15th, the items from Number 1 Cab that we sent away for re-chroming arrived back with us. The items look absolutely superb and just like new (probably even better than new)! The handbrake wheel re-chroming was sponsored by Doug - thanks mate! At last on Sunday 18th at 01:00, the painting of the exhaust stack covers was completed by Chris. The covers have been painted in bright colours in case we forget to take them out when we start the engine up - the theory being that you can see what tree they have ended up in - getting them out of the tree will be a different challenge!! Later on in the day, the stack covers were duly installed on the exhaust stacks. Adrian and Chris continued beavering away in Number 2 Cab whilst Alan carried on cleaning out the fan room as well as replacing the seal on the electrical box that sits on the fan room floor. A last minute working party was convened on the afternoon and evening of Friday 23rd as Moff suddenly decided that he wanted to do some more welding on the headcode box at Number 1 end. Chris and Moff worked on the loco from 3 o'clock in the afternoon through to 10:15 that evening. New steelwork has been welded in and cut to the correct shape for the two lower corners. All that remains now is to cut out the rusted steel in the top left corner then weld new steel in its place and the sort out the metal where some of the holes that retain the plate that covers the headcode box have become deformed . Thursday 1 December 2005: Sunday 4th was the first working party of the month and featured Alan and Chris with a guest appearance from Pete of Carlisle! The day started off with constant rain which didn't stop Chris trialling the newly made pair of exhaust stack covers to ensure they fitted okay. Chris also performed some maintenance work on the turbochargers as did Alan. Chris also fixed the hoover (again) and had a good clear out of rust & rubbish from Number 2 Cab. Pete rubbed the exhaust stack covers down and painted them in primer. This time of year slows down restoration work on the locomotive itself but the number of small projects being undertaken off site increases. An example of an off site project has been provided by Joan and Doug. They have been given various parts of the crew seats to renevate and re-cover where necessary. A couple of pictures of one of the armrests before and after restoration has been sent in. Alan worked on his latest project on Tuesday 6th - the renovation of the fan room. There will be many days of scraping and cleaning ahead. Sunday 11th saw Adrian, Alan, Doug, Joan & Chris on site for a very cold working party. Adrian and Chris worked in Number 2 cab removing yet more debris from the cab floor. As can be seen in the pictures, there is a massive amount of debris needing cleaning out including BR's expanding foam and numerous lightbulbs! Chris also painted the exhaust stack covers in undercoat. Joan cooked a wonderful lunch and weatherproofed the loco in three places on the outside. Doug cleaned the two fan covers that Alan had removed from the fan room on Tuesday. Alan recommenced his latest project which is the renovation of the fan room. Initially, Alan will be stripping all of the accumulated grime from all of the surfaces and preparing the surfaces for painting. Before any painting is undertaken, the lubricating oil priming pump will be swapped with the reconditioned pump in the store. On Thursday 15th, the items from Number 1 Cab that we sent away for re-chroming arrived back with us. The items look absolutely superb and just like new (probably even better than new)! The handbrake wheel re-chroming was sponsored by Doug - thanks mate! At last on Sunday 18th at 01:00, the painting of the exhaust stack covers was completed by Chris. The covers have been painted in bright colours in case we forget to take them out when we start the engine up - the theory being that you can see what tree they have ended up in - getting them out of the tree will be a different challenge!! Later on in the day, the stack covers were duly installed on the exhaust stacks. Adrian and Chris continued beavering away in Number 2 Cab whilst Alan carried on cleaning out the fan room as well as replacing the seal on the electrical box that sits on the fan room floor. A last minute working party was convened on the afternoon and evening of Friday 23rd as Moff suddenly decided that he wanted to do some more welding on the headcode box at Number 1 end. Chris and Moff worked on the loco from 3 o'clock in the afternoon through to 10:15 that evening. New steelwork has been welded in and cut to the correct shape for the two lower corners. All that remains now is to cut out the rusted steel in the top left corner then weld new steel in its place and the sort out the metal where some of the holes that retain the plate that covers the headcode box have become deformed .

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu Dec 1 2005 November 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c753613.html During the first week of the month, Alan continued his task of completing the floor in Number 1 Cab. All that remains is for four more floorboards to be fitted to the lower part of the floor. One of the water pipes was removed to allow a drain plug to be removed with the intention of replacing the plug with a tap so that the water can be easily drained. On Thursday 3rd, Joan returned one of the seat backs that she had been renovating. The seat back had been stripped down the completely re-covered and it looks absolutely superb. This has now completed both crew seats for Number 1 Cab. Don't panic Joan, there's another 2 to do for Number 2 Cab! Cheers to Doug for the Pictures. Sunday 6th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. One of the first jobs that was undertaken was to replace the sheet covering the exhaust stacks as it had been torn to bits during the gale force weather we had during the previous week. Alan continued with the flooring in Number 1 Cab and found that one of the newly cut floor panels had warped slightly! Alan also cured a minor fault where the top of the cab door on the Driver's side caught the bottom of the cab ceiling where a new edging strip had been fitted. Adrian and Chris continued fitting the floor in the engine room and this included drilling and tapping a lot of holes and also painting the exposed pipework in primer ready for a top coat hopefully during the following week. On Thursday 10th, Alan purchased a gate valve for attaching to the coolant pipework removed earlier in the month. The gate valve was trial fitted on the same day. This required the partial removal of some coolant pipework to enable the new valve to be installed. Sunday 13th saw four people beavering away. Joan worked in Number 2 Cab removing accumulated debris to prepare for the onslaught on this cab when the time comes. Joan also provided the superb meal that we have got used to at lunchtime! Doug assisted in the engine room by painting the conduit that was primed last week and by tidying the floor of dirt and debris ready for the flooring panels to be lifted one by one for inspection and correction of any faults as and when time permits. Chris painted the fire circuit pipework that had been primed the previous weekend and also installed the flooring behind the weight in the engine room. The loco has had this bit of floor missing since it was bought two and a half years ago. Alan spent the day working in the engine room for a change! Alan drained all 12 cylinder heads of coolant to prevent any danger of frost damage over the winter. It was originally intended to have the water pumps back in by now and have the engine started again this time with a mixture of water and antifreeze, but as the water pumps are still under repair, we have drained the loco completely of water. Alan also assisted Chris with fitting the new gate valve to the coolant pipework and then helped refit the pipework itself. To refit the coolant pipework, one section of floor had to be removed to get the two parts of pipework bolted back together. The area which had the floor removed will be tackled next as it is absolutely full of dirt and oil. This area will be thoroughly cleaned and then painted with the appropriate paints. All bolt holes will also be checked to see if any of the threads need clearing out. Alan was on site on Tuesday 15th mending a fault that had never been properly rectified on the Driver's side door at Number 2 end. Another floorboard was secured in Number 1 Cab. Alan also sorted out one of the cylinder head drain plugs that had a problem with the screw threads. Chris was also on site working on parts of a Class 33 'Crompton'. Don't worry, it won't be arriving on site, Chris was just reconditioning some parts for 33052 as it is currently out of traffic for major bodywork repairs! Sunday 20th saw just Alan on site. The floor in Number 1 Cab is now completed apart from the lino which will be added just before the loco is completed so as not to wreck the floor covering with oil! There was the usual 4 members of the team on duty on Sunday 27th. Joan and Doug worked in Number 2 Cab as well as sorting out the lunches. Alan and Chris constructed a cover for one of the exhaust ports to keep the weather out as the sheets we are currently using don't seem to last very long nowadays. Alan produced another exhaust stack cover on Tuesday 29th. These will now be rubbed down and painted then installed on the loco. Tuesday 1 November 2005: During the first week of the month, Alan continued his task of completing the floor in Number 1 Cab. All that remains is for four more floorboards to be fitted to the lower part of the floor. One of the water pipes was removed to allow a drain plug to be removed with the intention of replacing the plug with a tap so that the water can be easily drained. On Thursday 3rd, Joan returned one of the seat backs that she had been renovating. The seat back had been stripped down the completely re-covered and it looks absolutely superb. This has now completed both crew seats for Number 1 Cab. Don't panic Joan, there's another 2 to do for Number 2 Cab! Cheers to Doug for the Pictures. Sunday 6th saw Adrian, Alan and Chris on site. One of the first jobs that was undertaken was to replace the sheet covering the exhaust stacks as it had been torn to bits during the gale force weather we had during the previous week. Alan continued with the flooring in Number 1 Cab and found that one of the newly cut floor panels had warped slightly! Alan also cured a minor fault where the top of the cab door on the Driver's side caught the bottom of the cab ceiling where a new edging strip had been fitted. Adrian and Chris continued fitting the floor in the engine room and this included drilling and tapping a lot of holes and also painting the exposed pipework in primer ready for a top coat hopefully during the following week. On Thursday 10th, Alan purchased a gate valve for attaching to the coolant pipework removed earlier in the month. The gate valve was trial fitted on the same day. This required the partial removal of some coolant pipework to enable the new valve to be installed. Sunday 13th saw four people beavering away. Joan worked in Number 2 Cab removing accumulated debris to prepare for the onslaught on this cab when the time comes. Joan also provided the superb meal that we have got used to at lunchtime! Doug assisted in the engine room by painting the conduit that was primed last week and by tidying the floor of dirt and debris ready for the flooring panels to be lifted one by one for inspection and correction of any faults as and when time permits. Chris painted the fire circuit pipework that had been primed the previous weekend and also installed the flooring behind the weight in the engine room. The loco has had this bit of floor missing since it was bought two and a half years ago. Alan spent the day working in the engine room for a change! Alan drained all 12 cylinder heads of coolant to prevent any danger of frost damage over the winter. It was originally intended to have the water pumps back in by now and have the engine started again this time with a mixture of water and antifreeze, but as the water pumps are still under repair, we have drained the loco completely of water. Alan also assisted Chris with fitting the new gate valve to the coolant pipework and then helped refit the pipework itself. To refit the coolant pipework, one section of floor had to be removed to get the two parts of pipework bolted back together. The area which had the floor removed will be tackled next as it is absolutely full of dirt and oil. This area will be thoroughly cleaned and then painted with the appropriate paints. All bolt holes will also be checked to see if any of the threads need clearing out. Alan was on site on Tuesday 15th mending a fault that had never been properly rectified on the Driver's side door at Number 2 end. Another floorboard was secured in Number 1 Cab. Alan also sorted out one of the cylinder head drain plugs that had a problem with the screw threads. Chris was also on site working on parts of a Class 33 'Crompton'. Don't worry, it won't be arriving on site, Chris was just reconditioning some parts for 33052 as it is currently out of traffic for major bodywork repairs! Sunday 20th saw just Alan on site. The floor in Number 1 Cab is now completed apart from the lino which will be added just before the loco is completed so as not to wreck the floor covering with oil! There was the usual 4 members of the team on duty on Sunday 27th. Joan and Doug worked in Number 2 Cab as well as sorting out the lunches. Alan and Chris constructed a cover for one of the exhaust ports to keep the weather out as the sheets we are currently using don't seem to last very long nowadays. Alan produced another exhaust stack cover on Tuesday 29th. These will now be rubbed down and painted then installed on the loco.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Tue Nov 1 2005 October 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c720349.html The 2nd of October saw Adrian, Alan, Dan, Doug, Joan, John and Chris on site - must be a record attendance? Doug worked on removing the rust from the step at Number 2 end Driver's side and then painted it with Joan's help. This is readying the step to receive the newly-arrived steelwork to finally cover up the gap and keep out the elements. As well as numerous other painting jobs, Joan cooked a superb lunch as well. Joan also did some work on the track towards the end of the day. Alan drilled then tapped-out a couple more holes for securing the cab floor and then coated the newly-installed plate on the floor with anti-corrosive primer. Adrian removed some of the life-expired platework from the step at Number 1 end, Secondman's side. John and Dan stripped and then painted numerous items in the container. Dan also completed the rebuild of the hotplate (again)! John ground a lot of the welds on Number 1 nose back to a smooth surface. Chris worked on various painting jobs and also replaced some of the turbocharger pipework with some that we had purchased from C.F. Booth at Rotherham. On Tuesday 4th, Moff and Chris put in a couple of hours work grinding some of the welds off and then covering them with anti-corrosive primer. Sunday 9th was quiet with only Alan and Chris on site. Alan commenced screwing the floor down and good it looks too! Alan straightened out one of the floor members that had become bent over the years. Chris completed the paintwork where the platework is missing on the outside of Number 2 cab's Secondman's side. Chris then removed the rust from the step area of Number 1 cab's Secondman's side and then painted the area together with a bit more work at Number 2 end Driver's side. Tuesday 11th saw the newly-primed floor crossmembers in Number 1 cab repainted with undercoat. The crossmembers painted on Tuesday 11th were painted with top coat on Thursday 13th. There were four members of the working party on Sunday 16th (Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris). Alan continued his project of flooring the cab at Number 1 end, Joan yet again provided a perfect bite to eat at lunchtime as well as preparing some of the surfaces in the engine room for painting. Doug worked in Number 2 cab clearing some of the accumulated debris from under the cab floor as well as assisting Joan in the engine room. Chris also worked in the engineroom getting new flooring ready to go behind the big ballast weight that is near the batteries - part of the chequerplate camefrom scrapped 47052! Chris also painted some pipework on the outside of the loco as well as assisting Alan with Number 1 cab. Thanks must go to Chris McNaughton for his ideas on drilling the holes in the new floorboards in the correct location - simple but very effective! Thursday 27th saw Alan beavering away in Number 1 cab fixing more floor panels to the floor crossmembers. On Sunday 30th, a new toy arrived on site - a hoover! Don't panic, it isn't a Class 50 but a plain old hoover to replace the two that failed on the last weekend working party two weeks ago. Joan and Doug removed more debris from the floor in the engine room. The area being worked on was behind the ballast weight where the boiler would have been situated. The area was cleared of rust and debris then painted with anti-corrosive paint. Chris and Adrian measured then cut some more flooring material ready to fit above the area where Joan and Doug had been working. Chris painted the ballast weight near the batteries as it had become very dirty over the years and will be the location for a workbench eventually. Alan spent another day working on the cab floor in Number 1 cab and at the end of the day, only 5 panels needed fixing. A crew seat was added in Number 1 cab to ensure that the holes in the floor were in the correct place. Joan cooked her usual splendid lunch - soon be time for soup as it is getting towards Winter. Saturday 1 October 2005: The 2nd of October saw Adrian, Alan, Dan, Doug, Joan, John and Chris on site - must be a record attendance? Doug worked on removing the rust from the step at Number 2 end Driver's side and then painted it with Joan's help. This is readying the step to receive the newly-arrived steelwork to finally cover up the gap and keep out the elements. As well as numerous other painting jobs, Joan cooked a superb lunch as well. Joan also did some work on the track towards the end of the day. Alan drilled then tapped-out a couple more holes for securing the cab floor and then coated the newly-installed plate on the floor with anti-corrosive primer. Adrian removed some of the life-expired platework from the step at Number 1 end, Secondman's side. John and Dan stripped and then painted numerous items in the container. Dan also completed the rebuild of the hotplate (again)! John ground a lot of the welds on Number 1 nose back to a smooth surface. Chris worked on various painting jobs and also replaced some of the turbocharger pipework with some that we had purchased from C.F. Booth at Rotherham. On Tuesday 4th, Moff and Chris put in a couple of hours work grinding some of the welds off and then covering them with anti-corrosive primer. Sunday 9th was quiet with only Alan and Chris on site. Alan commenced screwing the floor down and good it looks too! Alan straightened out one of the floor members that had become bent over the years. Chris completed the paintwork where the platework is missing on the outside of Number 2 cab's Secondman's side. Chris then removed the rust from the step area of Number 1 cab's Secondman's side and then painted the area together with a bit more work at Number 2 end Driver's side. Tuesday 11th saw the newly-primed floor crossmembers in Number 1 cab repainted with undercoat. The crossmembers painted on Tuesday 11th were painted with top coat on Thursday 13th. There were four members of the working party on Sunday 16th (Joan, Doug, Alan and Chris). Alan continued his project of flooring the cab at Number 1 end, Joan yet again provided a perfect bite to eat at lunchtime as well as preparing some of the surfaces in the engine room for painting. Doug worked in Number 2 cab clearing some of the accumulated debris from under the cab floor as well as assisting Joan in the engine room. Chris also worked in the engineroom getting new flooring ready to go behind the big ballast weight that is near the batteries - part of the chequerplate camefrom scrapped 47052! Chris also painted some pipework on the outside of the loco as well as assisting Alan with Number 1 cab. Thanks must go to Chris McNaughton for his ideas on drilling the holes in the new floorboards in the correct location - simple but very effective! Thursday 27th saw Alan beavering away in Number 1 cab fixing more floor panels to the floor crossmembers. On Sunday 30th, a new toy arrived on site - a hoover! Don't panic, it isn't a Class 50 but a plain old hoover to replace the two that failed on the last weekend working party two weeks ago. Joan and Doug removed more debris from the floor in the engine room. The area being worked on was behind the ballast weight where the boiler would have been situated. The area was cleared of rust and debris then painted with anti-corrosive paint. Chris and Adrian measured then cut some more flooring material ready to fit above the area where Joan and Doug had been working. Chris painted the ballast weight near the batteries as it had become very dirty over the years and will be the location for a workbench eventually. Alan spent another day working on the cab floor in Number 1 cab and at the end of the day, only 5 panels needed fixing. A crew seat was added in Number 1 cab to ensure that the holes in the floor were in the correct place. Joan cooked her usual splendid lunch - soon be time for soup as it is getting towards Winter.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Oct 1 2005 September 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c686024.html Thursday 1st saw Pete from Carlisle (yes you did indeed read Carlisle!) on site working with Chris. Pete undercoated the chair that Adrian and Chris had worked on a few days previously. Chris continued with the numerous little paint jobs that were outstanding. Monday 5th was the next working party and Pete and Chris were on site yet again. Pete top-coated the seat with black gloss and commenced dismantalling the next seat for the same treatment. Chris built a display shelf ready for a sales stand which will be at the steam festival at the end of the month. Tuesday 6th saw a vast improvement to the tea brewing facilities in our workshop with Pete building a shelf to hold the mugs and other very essential items as well as providing a big box of biscuits! A proper stereo was installed by Chris and Pete to replace the radio that has never worked very well since it fell of one of the air reservoirs in the engine room! Alan cracked on with the building of the cab floor for Number 1 Cab. Thursday 8th had Joan, Doug, Chris, Alan and Pete on site - very good attendance for a midweek party! Alan carried on the floor making after fresh supplies of timber had arrived. Pete reassembled the recently painted seat and it looks superb. Pete rubbed-down the next seat and primed it before the day was over. Chris sanded two of the replacement electrical covers for Number 2 Cab and Joan then painted them on the inside face. Chris painted one of the electrical covers with primer. Doug worked on the sanding system replacing a damaged delivery pipe with one of the spares that were acquired from C.F. Booth at Rotherham. Chris repaired two of the other sanding pipes and also painted the floor in Number 2 nose - only a small bit of floor remains to be painted. On Friday 9th, John, Pete and Chris were on site for a few hours in between fotting a Class 33 which was running nearby with an inspection saloon - John insists that he still dislikes Cromptons! Pete painted the current seat into undercoat and Chris assisted John with work on the heaters in Number 1 Cab. John rewired the AWS Change-End switch. Pete and Chris arrived on site during Saturday afternoon on the 10th after an earlier commitment. Pete top-coated the latest seat and commenced re-covering the cushions for the second seat as the originals were torn when they were supplied to us. Chris gave the inside surfaces of the electrical covers for Number 2 Cab a second coat of heatproof paint. Chris installed two heaters in Number 1 Cab (one on each side of the cab on the floor). On Sunday 11th, Chris, Alan and Pete were on site. Chris painted various items including the hotplate surround into undercoat. Chris also cleaned up a couple of glass sections from the light fittings that are away for chroming - rumours of Chris taking up a new hobby of washing up have been strongly denied!! Alan continued the task of building the jigsaw that has become the cab floor at Number 1 End. At the end of the day there remained only one more floor panel to be produced and a source of screws to secure the floor has been found. Pete carried on working on the second crew seat and completed the recovering of the seat cushion as well as doing a sterling job making tea! Chris, Dan and John were at the Great Central Railway's diesel gala on Sunday 18th riding behind Sister loco 37255 so Doug, Joan and Alan carried on without us on the loco. Alan completed the cab floor at No.1 end - what a transformation it has made! Doug and Joan worked in both cabs getting them ready for some welding to take place shortly. On Sunday 25th the Annual Harvest Festival Steam Fair took place on the site where we are based. The fair is produced to a smaller scale than the main steam fair in May although the Harvest Festival Steam Fair is much more informal. We had number 1 cab open for the public to visit and the loco proved extremely popular with at least 300 people visiting the cab over the weekend! A lot of people remarked that it was a nice change to see some people preserving a diesel locomotive rather than all the steam locomotives on site - something we kept winding the steam blokes up about all weekend!! We had a small sales stand in front of the loco selling all sorts of railway books and models. We sold almost all of the model railway stock before the end of Saturday so Chris had to go and get some more ready for the Sunday. Thanks to all that helped over the weekend: Adrian, Alan, Chris McNaughton, Dan and John. Thursday 1 September 2005: Thursday 1st saw Pete from Carlisle (yes you did indeed read Carlisle!) on site working with Chris. Pete undercoated the chair that Adrian and Chris had worked on a few days previously. Chris continued with the numerous little paint jobs that were outstanding. Monday 5th was the next working party and Pete and Chris were on site yet again. Pete top-coated the seat with black gloss and commenced dismantalling the next seat for the same treatment. Chris built a display shelf ready for a sales stand which will be at the steam festival at the end of the month. Tuesday 6th saw a vast improvement to the tea brewing facilities in our workshop with Pete building a shelf to hold the mugs and other very essential items as well as providing a big box of biscuits! A proper stereo was installed by Chris and Pete to replace the radio that has never worked very well since it fell of one of the air reservoirs in the engine room! Alan cracked on with the building of the cab floor for Number 1 Cab. Thursday 8th had Joan, Doug, Chris, Alan and Pete on site - very good attendance for a midweek party! Alan carried on the floor making after fresh supplies of timber had arrived. Pete reassembled the recently painted seat and it looks superb. Pete rubbed-down the next seat and primed it before the day was over. Chris sanded two of the replacement electrical covers for Number 2 Cab and Joan then painted them on the inside face. Chris painted one of the electrical covers with primer. Doug worked on the sanding system replacing a damaged delivery pipe with one of the spares that were acquired from C.F. Booth at Rotherham. Chris repaired two of the other sanding pipes and also painted the floor in Number 2 nose - only a small bit of floor remains to be painted. On Friday 9th, John, Pete and Chris were on site for a few hours in between fotting a Class 33 which was running nearby with an inspection saloon - John insists that he still dislikes Cromptons! Pete painted the current seat into undercoat and Chris assisted John with work on the heaters in Number 1 Cab. John rewired the AWS Change-End switch. Pete and Chris arrived on site during Saturday afternoon on the 10th after an earlier commitment. Pete top-coated the latest seat and commenced re-covering the cushions for the second seat as the originals were torn when they were supplied to us. Chris gave the inside surfaces of the electrical covers for Number 2 Cab a second coat of heatproof paint. Chris installed two heaters in Number 1 Cab (one on each side of the cab on the floor). On Sunday 11th, Chris, Alan and Pete were on site. Chris painted various items including the hotplate surround into undercoat. Chris also cleaned up a couple of glass sections from the light fittings that are away for chroming - rumours of Chris taking up a new hobby of washing up have been strongly denied!! Alan continued the task of building the jigsaw that has become the cab floor at Number 1 End. At the end of the day there remained only one more floor panel to be produced and a source of screws to secure the floor has been found. Pete carried on working on the second crew seat and completed the recovering of the seat cushion as well as doing a sterling job making tea! Chris, Dan and John were at the Great Central Railway's diesel gala on Sunday 18th riding behind Sister loco 37255 so Doug, Joan and Alan carried on without us on the loco. Alan completed the cab floor at No.1 end - what a transformation it has made! Doug and Joan worked in both cabs getting them ready for some welding to take place shortly. On Sunday 25th the Annual Harvest Festival Steam Fair took place on the site where we are based. The fair is produced to a smaller scale than the main steam fair in May although the Harvest Festival Steam Fair is much more informal. We had number 1 cab open for the public to visit and the loco proved extremely popular with at least 300 people visiting the cab over the weekend! A lot of people remarked that it was a nice change to see some people preserving a diesel locomotive rather than all the steam locomotives on site - something we kept winding the steam blokes up about all weekend!! We had a small sales stand in front of the loco selling all sorts of railway books and models. We sold almost all of the model railway stock before the end of Saturday so Chris had to go and get some more ready for the Sunday. Thanks to all that helped over the weekend: Adrian, Alan, Chris McNaughton, Dan and John.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu Sep 1 2005 August 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c644316.html August seems to be one of the busiest months for restoration work since we first started the project. John spent Monday 1st to Thursday 4th working in number 1 cab assisted on the Tuesday and Thursday by Alan. New woodwork has been made and fitted to the cab roof. John welded the brackets that hold the heater resistors onto the cabside on the Seconman's side. Alan drilled the holes out in the floor crossmembers where the old studs had sheared off. Once the holes had been drilled, Alan re-tapped the threads so that they will be ready for when the new floor is made. A lot of time was spent restoring more of the equipment so that it was ready to be refitted to the bulkhead. Wednesday 3rd saw the front windows removed from Number 1 cab, the window frames were rubbed down then painted in order to be ready for new windscreens to be fitted the next day. Thursday 4th saw the glazing contractor finally arrive and cut the glass to size. The windscreens were installed together with new rubber surrounds. All of the other windows in the cab bar the droplights and cab door windows were replaced with new glass and rubber surrounds. Whilst the glazing people were on site, the instrument panel on the Driver's side in Number 1 cab was sealed with the rubber surround that had been missing for so long. Sunday saw Alan, Dave, Doug, Joan and Chris working on the loco. Alan continued with work on Number 1 cab floor after installing a newly donated vice on the workbench - thanks for the vice Alan! Doug cut the grass surrounding our storage container and repaired the step into one of the nearby portacabins. The site now looks a lot better for being manicured by Doug. Chris and Dave spent the day working on the lubricating oil priming pump that will be installed in the loco soon. The pump had all of the paint removed and then was painted into primer at the end of the day by Joan. Chris and Dave also started dismantalling the DSD pedal and surrounding equipment ready for overhaul then repainting before it is refitted in the loco. Part of the DSD equipment was rubbed down and painted in primer by the end of the day. A mercy run to the nearest DIY store had to be made by Chris after one of the grinders decided to dismantle itself before work commenced. Joan provided the usual excellent catering service that is really appreciated by the workers. We continue to sell various items on www.ebay.co.uk to raise money for funding the continuing restoration work. Most of the items sold are railwayana and all profits go into our fund. Please use the link on the main page to view our current sales items. If anyone has any unwanted railwayana they wish to dispose of please contact us as every item sold makes the restoration project that much easier! We recently had a number of books donated by Chris McNaughton and these are being put on ebay as time permits. Thanks Chris! Doug, John, Adrian and Chris spent the whole of Friday 12th and part of Saturday 13th up at C.F. Booth's scrapyard at Rotherham purchasing yet more parts. The main purpose of the visit was to try and get hold of a complete set of guardirons as ours are all missing as has been mentioned before and this time we were successful! Numerous other parts that we were missing or needed to replace were sourced from the many 37s on site. Our thanks once more go to James and "Rocky" at C.F. Booth for their assistance in our quest. It was sad to see that one of the locomotives that donated parts on previous visits (37068) has finally made it onto the cutting line and last pictures of the remains were taken for posterity. Other locomotives that donated components over the two days were: 37040, 37162, 37298, 37334, 37344, 37376, 37686 & 37697. A last minute 'phone call on the Friday evening from another preservation group resulted in us removing and buying some of their required parts and they will be delivered to the other group as soon as possible so as to further their restoration work. This is what the preservation movement is all about, groups helping each other out so that they achieve the same goal. We just about had time to get some pictures of the locomotives that donated parts before we left the scrapyard on the Saturday morning. Sunday 14th saw Alan, John and Chris working on the loco. Alan painted the numerous air pipes that had been removed from the loco as well as dismantling the newly acquired droplight seals and reconditioning them. John continued working away in number 1 cab sanding some newly-applied filler, painting the new woodwork, installing some vacuum pipework, reconnected the gauges, rewired the NRN and many other small jobs. Chris dismantalled the DSD from number 1 end as it was completely full of dirt and oil from over the years. The DSD components were sanded back to bare metal then primed. The refurbished lubricating oil priming pump was painted into undercoat. Chris also sanded the newly acquired NRN fascia holder (ex 37162 on Friday) and Alan and John painted it. John painted the AWS change-end switch so it can be re-installed this week. The weekend of the 20th and 21st saw the DSD painted into undercoat amongst the many other jobs undertaken. During the following week, John and Alan worked on a variety of jobs and the old engine oil was drained then replaced with new oil and the filters were changed. The Bank Holiday weekend was a chance for lots of work to be done. Saturday saw Adrian, John, Dan and Chris on site. Adrian cleaned the cab heaters down to bare metal and then painted them, John continued working in Number 1 cab, Chris top coated the DSD pedal and Dan painted the air reservoir with gloss black. Sunday had Chris, Alan, John and Dan busily working away. Chris reassembled the DSD pedal, Dan painted the cab ceiling and other things, Alan fixed the sander then stripped the wiper motors and primed them (as well as a gauge surround that Chris had stripped earlier). John worked on the AWS and NRN systems as well as painting in Number 1 cab. Monday saw Dan, John, Adrian and Chris working on site. Chris dismantled one of the crew seats and then stripped it of all paint and assisted Adrian in priming it later in the day. Chris also gave the guardirons a second coat of undercoat. Adrian sanded down the fire extinguisher holder that belongs to the crew seat as well as preparing for painting a lot of small components from Number 1 cab. John continued the never-ending task of painting Number 1 cab as well as refitting more of the AWS system. Dan did various painting jobs and rebuilt a hotplate ready for it to go back into Number 1 cab. Monday 1 August 2005: August seems to be one of the busiest months for restoration work since we first started the project. John spent Monday 1st to Thursday 4th working in number 1 cab assisted on the Tuesday and Thursday by Alan. New woodwork has been made and fitted to the cab roof. John welded the brackets that hold the heater resistors onto the cabside on the Seconman's side. Alan drilled the holes out in the floor crossmembers where the old studs had sheared off. Once the holes had been drilled, Alan re-tapped the threads so that they will be ready for when the new floor is made. A lot of time was spent restoring more of the equipment so that it was ready to be refitted to the bulkhead. Wednesday 3rd saw the front windows removed from Number 1 cab, the window frames were rubbed down then painted in order to be ready for new windscreens to be fitted the next day. Thursday 4th saw the glazing contractor finally arrive and cut the glass to size. The windscreens were installed together with new rubber surrounds. All of the other windows in the cab bar the droplights and cab door windows were replaced with new glass and rubber surrounds. Whilst the glazing people were on site, the instrument panel on the Driver's side in Number 1 cab was sealed with the rubber surround that had been missing for so long. Sunday saw Alan, Dave, Doug, Joan and Chris working on the loco. Alan continued with work on Number 1 cab floor after installing a newly donated vice on the workbench - thanks for the vice Alan! Doug cut the grass surrounding our storage container and repaired the step into one of the nearby portacabins. The site now looks a lot better for being manicured by Doug. Chris and Dave spent the day working on the lubricating oil priming pump that will be installed in the loco soon. The pump had all of the paint removed and then was painted into primer at the end of the day by Joan. Chris and Dave also started dismantalling the DSD pedal and surrounding equipment ready for overhaul then repainting before it is refitted in the loco. Part of the DSD equipment was rubbed down and painted in primer by the end of the day. A mercy run to the nearest DIY store had to be made by Chris after one of the grinders decided to dismantle itself before work commenced. Joan provided the usual excellent catering service that is really appreciated by the workers. We continue to sell various items on www.ebay.co.uk to raise money for funding the continuing restoration work. Most of the items sold are railwayana and all profits go into our fund. Please use the link on the main page to view our current sales items. If anyone has any unwanted railwayana they wish to dispose of please contact us as every item sold makes the restoration project that much easier! We recently had a number of books donated by Chris McNaughton and these are being put on ebay as time permits. Thanks Chris! Doug, John, Adrian and Chris spent the whole of Friday 12th and part of Saturday 13th up at C.F. Booth's scrapyard at Rotherham purchasing yet more parts. The main purpose of the visit was to try and get hold of a complete set of guardirons as ours are all missing as has been mentioned before and this time we were successful! Numerous other parts that we were missing or needed to replace were sourced from the many 37s on site. Our thanks once more go to James and "Rocky" at C.F. Booth for their assistance in our quest. It was sad to see that one of the locomotives that donated parts on previous visits (37068) has finally made it onto the cutting line and last pictures of the remains were taken for posterity. Other locomotives that donated components over the two days were: 37040, 37162, 37298, 37334, 37344, 37376, 37686 & 37697. A last minute 'phone call on the Friday evening from another preservation group resulted in us removing and buying some of their required parts and they will be delivered to the other group as soon as possible so as to further their restoration work. This is what the preservation movement is all about, groups helping each other out so that they achieve the same goal. We just about had time to get some pictures of the locomotives that donated parts before we left the scrapyard on the Saturday morning. Sunday 14th saw Alan, John and Chris working on the loco. Alan painted the numerous air pipes that had been removed from the loco as well as dismantling the newly acquired droplight seals and reconditioning them. John continued working away in number 1 cab sanding some newly-applied filler, painting the new woodwork, installing some vacuum pipework, reconnected the gauges, rewired the NRN and many other small jobs. Chris dismantalled the DSD from number 1 end as it was completely full of dirt and oil from over the years. The DSD components were sanded back to bare metal then primed. The refurbished lubricating oil priming pump was painted into undercoat. Chris also sanded the newly acquired NRN fascia holder (ex 37162 on Friday) and Alan and John painted it. John painted the AWS change-end switch so it can be re-installed this week. The weekend of the 20th and 21st saw the DSD painted into undercoat amongst the many other jobs undertaken. During the following week, John and Alan worked on a variety of jobs and the old engine oil was drained then replaced with new oil and the filters were changed. The Bank Holiday weekend was a chance for lots of work to be done. Saturday saw Adrian, John, Dan and Chris on site. Adrian cleaned the cab heaters down to bare metal and then painted them, John continued working in Number 1 cab, Chris top coated the DSD pedal and Dan painted the air reservoir with gloss black. Sunday had Chris, Alan, John and Dan busily working away. Chris reassembled the DSD pedal, Dan painted the cab ceiling and other things, Alan fixed the sander then stripped the wiper motors and primed them (as well as a gauge surround that Chris had stripped earlier). John worked on the AWS and NRN systems as well as painting in Number 1 cab. Monday saw Dan, John, Adrian and Chris working on site. Chris dismantled one of the crew seats and then stripped it of all paint and assisted Adrian in priming it later in the day. Chris also gave the guardirons a second coat of undercoat. Adrian sanded down the fire extinguisher holder that belongs to the crew seat as well as preparing for painting a lot of small components from Number 1 cab. John continued the never-ending task of painting Number 1 cab as well as refitting more of the AWS system. Dan did various painting jobs and rebuilt a hotplate ready for it to go back into Number 1 cab.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Mon Aug 1 2005 July 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c601979.html Friday 1st July saw John still hard at work at C.F. Booth's scrapyard in Rotherham securing yet more parts. Alan travelled up to Rotherham to give John a hand on Friday 1st and together they successfully removed lots of parts that we will probably need for future times to come. On Saturday 2nd, Chris drove up to Rotherham to collect John and the newly purchased components and these were delivered the next day to our restoration site. Monday 4th saw Captain Chaos and John getting the heat exchanger back into the engine room at the end of the day. John and Alan turned out on Tuesday 5th and reconnected the repaired heat exchanger including the newly-manufactured gaskets. John worked on the loco on the Wednesday and Friday on various tasks mainly in number 1 cab. The following week saw John working on the loco for the majority of the week with the end result being that things are starting to be put back on the loco in number 1 cab and John also painted some of the cab bulkhead. Sunday 10th had 5 people working on the locomotive on a very hot day. Adrian was stripping the paintwork off a lot of airpipes so that they can be prepared to go back in no. 1 cab, Alan removed the two water pumps for examination to see if any defects could be found what would cause the water to contaminate the oil. Dan stripped the ceiling in no. 1 cab of paint and then replaced all of the screws with the proper type. John welded up a couple of holes under the loco as well as assisting Alan with the removal of the waterpumps. Chris did general tidying up and errand running to keep the job running. After examination of the water pumps, one was found to have a defective seal and so will be sent away for repairs, the other water pump might possibly be sent away at the same time to ensure that both are perfect. Sunday 17th saw just Alan and Chris working on the loco. One of our spare lubricating oil priming pumps was dragged out and cleaned up by Alan ready for examination. Stripping of paint in the nose at no.1 end was started by Chris as when the loco was at Barrow Hill, all pipework and conduit was painted the same colour and a lot of the paint hadn't fared very well. The fire extinguisher guards were taken to the workshop for rubbing down then painting. The old notices were removed from the guards and will be replaced by new ones. The next working party was on Sunday 24th when John, Joan, Doug, Chris and Alan were present on a day when the weather couldn't make its mind up - one minute it was hot then the next it was torrential rain - good job we have our container! John continued working in no.1 cab sanding the ceiling down and the pieces of wood that Dan had removed. Joan tidied the stores as it was becoming difficult to find things and as usual cooked a splendid lunch for all of the workers. The defective water pump was reassembled by Alan and Chris on our newly donated heavy duty tables - thanks to Brian McNaughton for the tables and chairs - we seem to be getting civilised after so long having to stand up or sit on the grass! Doug assisted Alan with manufacturing a wooden strut to fit in the roof so that the electricity supply can be further enhanced. Chris and Alan inspected the lubricating oil priming pump that was cleaned on the previous Sunday and it looks a damn sight better than the one that is currently in the loco! We decided to make this pump as complete as possible so various bits were robbed off other pumps to make one complete pump. The other pumps will be kept as spares donors for the future. Monday 25th saw the water pumps that had been removed from the loco collected ready for delivery to a local company that overhauls pumps and other bits of machinery. The work on the water pumps will be funded by the donations the loco has received and through selling items on ebay - see link on front page and a big thanks to all who have donated money to the loco over the past two years! Saturday 30th saw the very, very long awaited arrival of two tool cupboards. With the cupboards came some electrical trunking that Chris had also purchased the day before. On the final day of the month, Chris installed the new cupboards and began to get some much needed organisation of the tools in the container. The electrical trunking was installed pending the installation of some new wiring for power points. A dedicated painting bench was built during the day and installed in the container at the end of the day. This purpose built painting bench replaces the previous folding tables that we had been using. With the new cupboards and painting bench, the container is now looking like a proper workshop - only a purpose built workbench to be constructed is basically all that remains to be done (our current workbenches are performing sterling work but they won't last forever). Friday 1 July 2005: Friday 1st July saw John still hard at work at C.F. Booth's scrapyard in Rotherham securing yet more parts. Alan travelled up to Rotherham to give John a hand on Friday 1st and together they successfully removed lots of parts that we will probably need for future times to come. On Saturday 2nd, Chris drove up to Rotherham to collect John and the newly purchased components and these were delivered the next day to our restoration site. Monday 4th saw Captain Chaos and John getting the heat exchanger back into the engine room at the end of the day. John and Alan turned out on Tuesday 5th and reconnected the repaired heat exchanger including the newly-manufactured gaskets. John worked on the loco on the Wednesday and Friday on various tasks mainly in number 1 cab. The following week saw John working on the loco for the majority of the week with the end result being that things are starting to be put back on the loco in number 1 cab and John also painted some of the cab bulkhead. Sunday 10th had 5 people working on the locomotive on a very hot day. Adrian was stripping the paintwork off a lot of airpipes so that they can be prepared to go back in no. 1 cab, Alan removed the two water pumps for examination to see if any defects could be found what would cause the water to contaminate the oil. Dan stripped the ceiling in no. 1 cab of paint and then replaced all of the screws with the proper type. John welded up a couple of holes under the loco as well as assisting Alan with the removal of the waterpumps. Chris did general tidying up and errand running to keep the job running. After examination of the water pumps, one was found to have a defective seal and so will be sent away for repairs, the other water pump might possibly be sent away at the same time to ensure that both are perfect. Sunday 17th saw just Alan and Chris working on the loco. One of our spare lubricating oil priming pumps was dragged out and cleaned up by Alan ready for examination. Stripping of paint in the nose at no.1 end was started by Chris as when the loco was at Barrow Hill, all pipework and conduit was painted the same colour and a lot of the paint hadn't fared very well. The fire extinguisher guards were taken to the workshop for rubbing down then painting. The old notices were removed from the guards and will be replaced by new ones. The next working party was on Sunday 24th when John, Joan, Doug, Chris and Alan were present on a day when the weather couldn't make its mind up - one minute it was hot then the next it was torrential rain - good job we have our container! John continued working in no.1 cab sanding the ceiling down and the pieces of wood that Dan had removed. Joan tidied the stores as it was becoming difficult to find things and as usual cooked a splendid lunch for all of the workers. The defective water pump was reassembled by Alan and Chris on our newly donated heavy duty tables - thanks to Brian McNaughton for the tables and chairs - we seem to be getting civilised after so long having to stand up or sit on the grass! Doug assisted Alan with manufacturing a wooden strut to fit in the roof so that the electricity supply can be further enhanced. Chris and Alan inspected the lubricating oil priming pump that was cleaned on the previous Sunday and it looks a damn sight better than the one that is currently in the loco! We decided to make this pump as complete as possible so various bits were robbed off other pumps to make one complete pump. The other pumps will be kept as spares donors for the future. Monday 25th saw the water pumps that had been removed from the loco collected ready for delivery to a local company that overhauls pumps and other bits of machinery. The work on the water pumps will be funded by the donations the loco has received and through selling items on ebay - see link on front page and a big thanks to all who have donated money to the loco over the past two years! Saturday 30th saw the very, very long awaited arrival of two tool cupboards. With the cupboards came some electrical trunking that Chris had also purchased the day before. On the final day of the month, Chris installed the new cupboards and began to get some much needed organisation of the tools in the container. The electrical trunking was installed pending the installation of some new wiring for power points. A dedicated painting bench was built during the day and installed in the container at the end of the day. This purpose built painting bench replaces the previous folding tables that we had been using. With the new cupboards and painting bench, the container is now looking like a proper workshop - only a purpose built workbench to be constructed is basically all that remains to be done (our current workbenches are performing sterling work but they won't last forever).

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Fri Jul 1 2005 June 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c576857.html The first working party of June was on Saturday 11th when some work in No. 1 nose was carried out. The floor had more of the rust cleared and then the floor was painted with anti-corrosive paint. More work was carried out under the cab floor in No. 1 cab - mainly painting pipes in undercoat. A Class 47 NRN aerial was added to No. 2 nose to replace the hole that was previously there! The Class 47 aerial looks okay but not as good as a proper Class 37 vertical aerial would - any offers anyone? Sunday 12th saw four people on site working on '254 (Doug, Joan Chris and new volunteer Alan). More painting in No. 1 nose was undertaken including starting to paint some pipework in undercoat. Needle-gunning of one of the last bits of floor in No. 1 cab took place together with more painting of pipework in the same area. All but four bodyside filter trays were removed from the nose end side doors - one door refused to open and this will be dealt with at a later date. Alan assisted Doug with various tasks including maintenance of our working platform. Joan carried out the most important of jobs - that of feeding and watering the troops as well as some gardening work. Alan spent half of the day removing the sandite encrusted on the locomotive's underside. Doug commenced clearing No. 2 nose ready for work on the floor and pipework to commence. When the loco had been spray painted at Barrow Hill, the sight glasses on the exhausters had been sprayed as well so the paint was removed whilst Doug was in the nose. Monday 20th saw Doug, John and Chris up at C.F. Booth scrapyard in Rotherham, South Yorkshire obtaining parts from 37068, 37334 and 37344 which are on site waiting for scrap. We had arranged to visit on this day and were made very welcome by all of the Staff at C.F. Booth. A large number of parts were purchased and brought back to our site the next day. Saturday 25th was a very early start for Dan, John and Chris with them leaving home just after 02:00 to make a return visit to C.F. Booth scrapyard. Yet more parts were purchased including a urinal which will be refitted eventually - who gets to test that it works is still to be decided!! There was a working party on the loco on Sunday 26th with Doug, Joan, Alan, Dan, John and Chris on site - almost a record? Alan was working in Number Two nose cleaning the floor and preparing it for a coat of paint. Doug removed one of the broken sanding pipes and replaced it with one of the new sandpipes that we had just purchased from C.F. Booth. Doug also added more sanding equipment recently purchased. Joan did a superb job on keeping the site tidy and supplying excellent food and drink. John and Chris modified the storage container as well as re-aligning it slightly. John was back up at Rotherham again on the 29th and 30th removing yet more usefull parts. Thursday 30th saw the repaired heat exchanger returned from Serck - some minor work was perfomed to get it back to full health. Pictures from the scrapyard at Rotherham have been given permission to be published by C.F. Booth. Thanks to Doug for most of the shots for this month! Wednesday 1 June 2005: The first working party of June was on Saturday 11th when some work in No. 1 nose was carried out. The floor had more of the rust cleared and then the floor was painted with anti-corrosive paint. More work was carried out under the cab floor in No. 1 cab - mainly painting pipes in undercoat. A Class 47 NRN aerial was added to No. 2 nose to replace the hole that was previously there! The Class 47 aerial looks okay but not as good as a proper Class 37 vertical aerial would - any offers anyone? Sunday 12th saw four people on site working on '254 (Doug, Joan Chris and new volunteer Alan). More painting in No. 1 nose was undertaken including starting to paint some pipework in undercoat. Needle-gunning of one of the last bits of floor in No. 1 cab took place together with more painting of pipework in the same area. All but four bodyside filter trays were removed from the nose end side doors - one door refused to open and this will be dealt with at a later date. Alan assisted Doug with various tasks including maintenance of our working platform. Joan carried out the most important of jobs - that of feeding and watering the troops as well as some gardening work. Alan spent half of the day removing the sandite encrusted on the locomotive's underside. Doug commenced clearing No. 2 nose ready for work on the floor and pipework to commence. When the loco had been spray painted at Barrow Hill, the sight glasses on the exhausters had been sprayed as well so the paint was removed whilst Doug was in the nose. Monday 20th saw Doug, John and Chris up at C.F. Booth scrapyard in Rotherham, South Yorkshire obtaining parts from 37068, 37334 and 37344 which are on site waiting for scrap. We had arranged to visit on this day and were made very welcome by all of the Staff at C.F. Booth. A large number of parts were purchased and brought back to our site the next day. Saturday 25th was a very early start for Dan, John and Chris with them leaving home just after 02:00 to make a return visit to C.F. Booth scrapyard. Yet more parts were purchased including a urinal which will be refitted eventually - who gets to test that it works is still to be decided!! There was a working party on the loco on Sunday 26th with Doug, Joan, Alan, Dan, John and Chris on site - almost a record? Alan was working in Number Two nose cleaning the floor and preparing it for a coat of paint. Doug removed one of the broken sanding pipes and replaced it with one of the new sandpipes that we had just purchased from C.F. Booth. Doug also added more sanding equipment recently purchased. Joan did a superb job on keeping the site tidy and supplying excellent food and drink. John and Chris modified the storage container as well as re-aligning it slightly. John was back up at Rotherham again on the 29th and 30th removing yet more usefull parts. Thursday 30th saw the repaired heat exchanger returned from Serck - some minor work was perfomed to get it back to full health. Pictures from the scrapyard at Rotherham have been given permission to be published by C.F. Booth. Thanks to Doug for most of the shots for this month!

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]]> Wed Jun 1 2005 May 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c524231.html Sunday 1st saw the long-awaited return of Danorak to the site! Doug, Joan and Chris were also on site. Tasks tackled today were the draining of the engine oil and removal of the filters ready for an oil change. The hotplate surround was completed in undercoat, more bodyside filter trays were rubbed-down then painted by Joan. Work continued on no.1 cab's floor until the compressor completely died. Dan took a quick look at the heat exchanger and took some measurements ready to make a pair of blanking plates so that it could be pressure tested. Doug continued tidying the engine room up and finding loads of bolts, nuts and spanners in the process! A barbeque was had on Sunday evening as Joan and Doug were camping nearby. Captain Chaos and ED turned up for some grub as well. Monday 2nd dawned wet but soon the sun came out and dried the rain up. A momentous day as far as bodyside filter trays are concerned - the engine room now has a complete set of overhauled filter trays installed - only the ones in the noses to go now! One of the doors on no. 1 end's nose was opened and the rust and old paint removed then it was repainted by Doug. Joan forged on with yet more bodyside filter trays (one day we'll run out of them and will have to find something else for Joan to get on with). The nose at no.1 end was cleared of all the junk that had accumulated there and the floor was half-cleared of all the rust and other dirt. At the end of the day, Chris started painting the floor in the nose at no. 1 end until the paint tin was empty. Saturday 14th saw Joan and Doug working on the remaining bodyside filter trays and now there are only three remaining and these are in quite bad condition. Tidying of the store was also done on this day together with making sure the loco stays watertight. Sunday 22nd saw the return of John who worked on number 1 cab removing the various strips of wood for renovation or for replacements to be made. Chris continued the work on the floor in no. 1 nose end with more of the floor being painted at the end of the day. Dismantling of more parts from 37054 continued. The Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month saw the annual steam fair take place on the site. This year we were surrounded by commercial vehicles instead of the usual steam traction engines and rollers. The loco was a popular exhibit despite the engine not running during the event. A new idea for a bit of fundraising and promotion was to produce some keyrings that were given to people if they voluntarily donated money. There are a few keyrings left so if anyone would like to obtain one please use the contact option on the homepage - there will be a small charge to cover the production & postage costs. Sunday 1 May 2005: Sunday 1st saw the long-awaited return of Danorak to the site! Doug, Joan and Chris were also on site. Tasks tackled today were the draining of the engine oil and removal of the filters ready for an oil change. The hotplate surround was completed in undercoat, more bodyside filter trays were rubbed-down then painted by Joan. Work continued on no.1 cab's floor until the compressor completely died. Dan took a quick look at the heat exchanger and took some measurements ready to make a pair of blanking plates so that it could be pressure tested. Doug continued tidying the engine room up and finding loads of bolts, nuts and spanners in the process! A barbeque was had on Sunday evening as Joan and Doug were camping nearby. Captain Chaos and ED turned up for some grub as well. Monday 2nd dawned wet but soon the sun came out and dried the rain up. A momentous day as far as bodyside filter trays are concerned - the engine room now has a complete set of overhauled filter trays installed - only the ones in the noses to go now! One of the doors on no. 1 end's nose was opened and the rust and old paint removed then it was repainted by Doug. Joan forged on with yet more bodyside filter trays (one day we'll run out of them and will have to find something else for Joan to get on with). The nose at no.1 end was cleared of all the junk that had accumulated there and the floor was half-cleared of all the rust and other dirt. At the end of the day, Chris started painting the floor in the nose at no. 1 end until the paint tin was empty. Saturday 14th saw Joan and Doug working on the remaining bodyside filter trays and now there are only three remaining and these are in quite bad condition. Tidying of the store was also done on this day together with making sure the loco stays watertight. Sunday 22nd saw the return of John who worked on number 1 cab removing the various strips of wood for renovation or for replacements to be made. Chris continued the work on the floor in no. 1 nose end with more of the floor being painted at the end of the day. Dismantling of more parts from 37054 continued. The Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month saw the annual steam fair take place on the site. This year we were surrounded by commercial vehicles instead of the usual steam traction engines and rollers. The loco was a popular exhibit despite the engine not running during the event. A new idea for a bit of fundraising and promotion was to produce some keyrings that were given to people if they voluntarily donated money. There are a few keyrings left so if anyone would like to obtain one please use the contact option on the homepage - there will be a small charge to cover the production & postage costs.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sun May 1 2005 April 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c498240.html Sunday 3rd saw 3 volunteers working on various tasks. Joan was sanding down more of the bodyside air filter trays and then painting them as well as needle gunning the holder for the windscreen washer bottles. Doug assisted Chris with cleaning number one cab so that it can be finally finished off. Numerous other items were rubbed-down and painted during the day. Sales of items advertised on www.ebay.co.uk have been steady with all profits going into a bank account set up to hold funds for the locomotive. Sunday 17th saw 5 people beavering away on the loco. The heat exchanger was finally removed from the engine room. Work recommenced on number 1 cab with the floor being needle-gunned then painted with anti corrosion paint. More bodyside filter trays were rubbed down and painted and the hotplate was also tackled. We are still missing a hotplate so if anyone knows where we can get hold of one please get in touch! Thanks to Adrian & Captain Chaos for assisting the usual team of Doug, Joan & Chris. Sunday 24th was very quiet at the loco. Work continued with the cab floor at No. 1 end and the hotplate was finished in primer. Various tasks to keep the loco watertight were also done - good job really because it started pouring down about half five! Friday 29th saw one of the Driver's seat armrests covered in new material - something to do when you can't get to sleep near midnight! The Bank Holiday was a good chance for some serious work to be undertaken. Saturday 30th saw Moff turn up yet again to carry on with the welding of the headcode box at Number 1 end. More of the cab floor in no. 1 cab was needle-gunned then painted as were a few of the pipes that hide under the floor. The hotplate was undercoated as was two new sheets of metal for the cab side interior and numerous other small items. A bit of trackwork was done at the end of the day to use all of the daylight. Friday 1 April 2005: Sunday 3rd saw 3 volunteers working on various tasks. Joan was sanding down more of the bodyside air filter trays and then painting them as well as needle gunning the holder for the windscreen washer bottles. Doug assisted Chris with cleaning number one cab so that it can be finally finished off. Numerous other items were rubbed-down and painted during the day. Sales of items advertised on www.ebay.co.uk have been steady with all profits going into a bank account set up to hold funds for the locomotive. Sunday 17th saw 5 people beavering away on the loco. The heat exchanger was finally removed from the engine room. Work recommenced on number 1 cab with the floor being needle-gunned then painted with anti corrosion paint. More bodyside filter trays were rubbed down and painted and the hotplate was also tackled. We are still missing a hotplate so if anyone knows where we can get hold of one please get in touch! Thanks to Adrian & Captain Chaos for assisting the usual team of Doug, Joan & Chris. Sunday 24th was very quiet at the loco. Work continued with the cab floor at No. 1 end and the hotplate was finished in primer. Various tasks to keep the loco watertight were also done - good job really because it started pouring down about half five! Friday 29th saw one of the Driver's seat armrests covered in new material - something to do when you can't get to sleep near midnight! The Bank Holiday was a good chance for some serious work to be undertaken. Saturday 30th saw Moff turn up yet again to carry on with the welding of the headcode box at Number 1 end. More of the cab floor in no. 1 cab was needle-gunned then painted as were a few of the pipes that hide under the floor. The hotplate was undercoated as was two new sheets of metal for the cab side interior and numerous other small items. A bit of trackwork was done at the end of the day to use all of the daylight.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Fri Apr 1 2005 March 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c460481.html Well, it is now over two years since the loco was purchased and in some respects we have done well and in others progress has been slow. March saw the arrival of quite heavy snow and the thought of working in the very cold temperatures stopped some of us from working whilst the snow was present. The interior of the fan drive shaft covers were cleaned up and painted in undercoat on the 6th - what else is there to do on Mothers Day? Alterations to the electrical system in the store were also carried out on the same day. Sunday 12th saw the exterior of the fan shaft covers undercoated. Some of the spares that we have accumulated over time were dismantled today - a damaged headlight from a Class 47 was stripped of any usable parts and the rest disposed of. Some heaters that we purchased from the scrapman when 37054 was scrapped were removed from the panels they were mounted on (we were unable to remove the heaters from the panels at Glasgow and so we had to get the complete panels cut out of 37054)! A couple of hours were spent on Monday 14th top-coating the fan shaft covers on the inside. The two small covers were painted on both sides. Wednesday saw the painting of the fan shaft covers completed. A start was made on overhauling one of the heater resistors. Thursday 18th saw preparation work for the long-awaited welding of the headcode box at No. 1 end. The Bank Holiday saw Moff putting in a long-awaited appearance to commence the welding of the bottom of the headcode box at Number 1 end. Moff managed about two thirds of the welding during the long weekend. Tuesday 1 March 2005: Well, it is now over two years since the loco was purchased and in some respects we have done well and in others progress has been slow. March saw the arrival of quite heavy snow and the thought of working in the very cold temperatures stopped some of us from working whilst the snow was present. The interior of the fan drive shaft covers were cleaned up and painted in undercoat on the 6th - what else is there to do on Mothers Day? Alterations to the electrical system in the store were also carried out on the same day. Sunday 12th saw the exterior of the fan shaft covers undercoated. Some of the spares that we have accumulated over time were dismantled today - a damaged headlight from a Class 47 was stripped of any usable parts and the rest disposed of. Some heaters that we purchased from the scrapman when 37054 was scrapped were removed from the panels they were mounted on (we were unable to remove the heaters from the panels at Glasgow and so we had to get the complete panels cut out of 37054)! A couple of hours were spent on Monday 14th top-coating the fan shaft covers on the inside. The two small covers were painted on both sides. Wednesday saw the painting of the fan shaft covers completed. A start was made on overhauling one of the heater resistors. Thursday 18th saw preparation work for the long-awaited welding of the headcode box at No. 1 end. The Bank Holiday saw Moff putting in a long-awaited appearance to commence the welding of the bottom of the headcode box at Number 1 end. Moff managed about two thirds of the welding during the long weekend.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Tue Mar 1 2005 37254 In Earlier Times http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c438991.html This is a collection of pictures which people have kindly allowed us to publish. All of the pictures feature 37254 before the loco was purchased. Please take some time to look at the websites where the pictures have come from. Any more contributions will be greatly welcomed. Some background information for the picture of 37254 towing failed 33013 courtesy of Bryn Thomas: '254 towing 33013 at Newport with a service for Cardiff on 6th May 1988. 33013 having been fine until reaching Pilning when it developed an earth fault (it transpired). It took something like 40 mins to get through the Severn Tunnel, whereupon at the welsh side, 37254 was attached in the cutting just before Benacre bridge, Caldicot. 254 then put in a sterling performance to rush the ailing train to Newport where it was terminated. A soundtrack of this journey is available via the SELG website (link on front page of our website). Sunday 20 February 2005: This is a collection of pictures which people have kindly allowed us to publish. All of the pictures feature 37254 before the loco was purchased. Please take some time to look at the websites where the pictures have come from. Any more contributions will be greatly welcomed. Some background information for the picture of 37254 towing failed 33013 courtesy of Bryn Thomas: '254 towing 33013 at Newport with a service for Cardiff on 6th May 1988. 33013 having been fine until reaching Pilning when it developed an earth fault (it transpired). It took something like 40 mins to get through the Severn Tunnel, whereupon at the welsh side, 37254 was attached in the cutting just before Benacre bridge, Caldicot. 254 then put in a sterling performance to rush the ailing train to Newport where it was terminated. A soundtrack of this journey is available via the SELG website (link on front page of our website).

37254 at Buxton on 18/11/89. Picture courtesy of David Burrell - see his website at http://dwb-rail.fotopic.net The loco sitting at Warrington on 20th January 1998. Picture supplied by David Burrell from http://dwb-rail.fotopic.net 37254 passing through Dawlish Warren with an Exeter Riverside to Tavistock Junction engineers train on 3rd July 1996. Picture courtesy of Jason Cross athttp://jasoncross.fotopic.net 37254 towing failed 47715 on 1E43 Plymouth to Low Fell mail train on 03/07/96. Picture kindly supplied by Jason Cross at http://jasoncross.fotopic.net 37254, 37073 & 37298 at Gloucester. Picture supplied by Roger Perkin at http://rogerperkin.fotopic.net 37254 & 37298 at Gloucester. Picture supplied by Roger Perkin at http://rogerperkin.fotopic.net '254 towing 33013 at Newport with a service for Cardiff on 6th May 1988. Picture courtesy of Alan Lea at http://alan-lea.fotopic.net 37254 on a steel train passing through cardiff on 11th November 1988. Pictured by Ian Hardy at http://37264.fotopic.net/ 37254 passing through Castle Cary on a passenger train in 1992. Picture kindly supplied by Steve Marshall of Globe Video Films - please visit their website at: http://www.rail-video.com/cgi-local/builder/display.cgi?c=d '254 stabled at Bescot on 26th December 1990. Picture supplied by Andrew Hadley - see more of his pictures at http://andrew-hadley.fotopic.net 37254 stabled at Newport Godfrey Road on 16th September 1997. The other locomotives are 59004, 60093 &56135. Picture kindly supplied by David Burrell - see his website at http://dwb-rail.fotopic.net 37254 at Barrow Hill Roundhouse on 15th March 2003. Picture courtesy of David Dudley athttp://daviddudley.fotopic.net 37254 in the yard at Barrow Hill on 21/06/01. Picture by David Dudley: http://daviddudley.fotopic.net 37254 minus engine at Barrow Hill on 7th July 2002. Pictured by David Dudley at http://daviddudley.fotopic.net 37254, 37087, 37194 in the roundhouse at Barrow Hill courtesy of David Dudley http://daviddudley.fotopic.net 37254 stabled alongside 37098 at Newport Godfrey Road. Picture supplied by Kevin Smith http://networksouthwest.fotopic.net 37254 near Dorsley Barton during 1996 with an early evening ballast train. Picture courtesy of Kevin Smith at http://www.railphotos.dsl.pipex.com/index.htm Picture courtesy of Ian Storr C/O Rail Blue Website 37254 at Newport. Picture supplied by Phil Wright. 37254 at the Barry Festival of Transport on 2nd July 1996. Picture from Mark Thomas http://swalesrail.fotopic.net/ 37254 at the Barry Festival of Transport on 2nd July 1996. Picture from Mark Thomas http://swalesrail.fotopic.net/ 37254 at the Barry Festival of Transport on 2nd July 1996. Picture from Mark Thomas http://swalesrail.fotopic.net/ Picture Courtesy of John Wilson Picture courtesy of John Wilson

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]]> Sun Feb 20 2005 February 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c423800.html Saturday 5th saw the heat exchanger disconnected from the locomotive and readied for removal as this is thought to be the source of the water contaminating the lubricating oil. Thanks go to Vicky for working on a "big ugly diesel". On Sunday 6th, some of the spares were moved from our old container to our new container now that it is fully racked-out and fitted with lighting. The kettle was tested regularly to ensure that it still worked! Cheers to Doug, Joan & Dave for helping move the spares - an unenviable task indeed. One of the Driver's seats was stripped down and the metalwork repainted. The seat cushion and back are going to be recovered with a new material similar to the old one used previously. Tuesday 1 February 2005: Saturday 5th saw the heat exchanger disconnected from the locomotive and readied for removal as this is thought to be the source of the water contaminating the lubricating oil. Thanks go to Vicky for working on a "big ugly diesel". On Sunday 6th, some of the spares were moved from our old container to our new container now that it is fully racked-out and fitted with lighting. The kettle was tested regularly to ensure that it still worked! Cheers to Doug, Joan & Dave for helping move the spares - an unenviable task indeed. One of the Driver's seats was stripped down and the metalwork repainted. The seat cushion and back are going to be recovered with a new material similar to the old one used previously.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Tue Feb 1 2005 November & December 2004 / January 2005 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c390917.html Work continued on refurbishing Number 1 cab. The team have spent the last couple of weeks trying to trace the source of a minor contamination of the engine oil with some cooling water. Sunday 2nd January saw the engine running and also the fault with the control air was fixed. Work on the track has also continued over the last three months and the 30 foot of track needed to link the panels where the 37 is standing and the rest of the test track was installed on Sunday 2nd January. Fitting out of the newly purchased container has taken some time but it is almost completed. A cooker will be installed for the all important tea breaks! Monday 1 November 2004: Work continued on refurbishing Number 1 cab. The team have spent the last couple of weeks trying to trace the source of a minor contamination of the engine oil with some cooling water. Sunday 2nd January saw the engine running and also the fault with the control air was fixed. Work on the track has also continued over the last three months and the 30 foot of track needed to link the panels where the 37 is standing and the rest of the test track was installed on Sunday 2nd January. Fitting out of the newly purchased container has taken some time but it is almost completed. A cooker will be installed for the all important tea breaks!

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]]> Mon Nov 1 2004 September / October 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c315831.html Work has been going on in the background to form a Supporters Fund to raise money to restore the loco and keep it in traffic when restoration is completed. Money will be raised by selling items that have been donated to the Fund on Ebay and at events. All profits will go into a fund to further the loco's future. Work on the locomotive itself has unfortunately been slowed down for all of the Team by proffesional work commitments. Sunday 17th October was spent working on weather-proofing the loco ready for the winter and also running the engine to check everything was still okay. Life-expired seals on the crankcase doors were replaced to try and stop a couple of minor oil leaks that have occured recently. A visit to the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway spurred the team back into action when that Railway's two immaculate locomotives were seen - excellent Diesel Gala lads! Trackwork and sorting-out of the track components have continued. The base for the newly-purchased container has been prepared and hopefully it will arrive soon. One of the workers during October came all the way down from Carlisle to work on the loco! Wednesday 1 September 2004: Work has been going on in the background to form a Supporters Fund to raise money to restore the loco and keep it in traffic when restoration is completed. Money will be raised by selling items that have been donated to the Fund on Ebay and at events. All profits will go into a fund to further the loco's future. Work on the locomotive itself has unfortunately been slowed down for all of the Team by proffesional work commitments. Sunday 17th October was spent working on weather-proofing the loco ready for the winter and also running the engine to check everything was still okay. Life-expired seals on the crankcase doors were replaced to try and stop a couple of minor oil leaks that have occured recently. A visit to the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway spurred the team back into action when that Railway's two immaculate locomotives were seen - excellent Diesel Gala lads! Trackwork and sorting-out of the track components have continued. The base for the newly-purchased container has been prepared and hopefully it will arrive soon. One of the workers during October came all the way down from Carlisle to work on the loco!

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Wed Sep 1 2004 August 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c247347.html A start has been made on restoring the Crew's seats from inside the cab. The first seat has been sanded down to bare metal and then primed. The seat will then be undercoated then top-coated. Once all of the metalwork has been completed, the seat cushions will be re-upholstered. Seven more bodyside filters have been returned from off site and installed in the engine room. Some of the Restoration Team have spent two weekends working on the trackwork on the site replacing trackwork removed when one of the steam locomotives left for repairs at another site. One track panel has been laid and lots of sleepers have been prepared for chairs to be fixed to them to enable laying of another two panels of track which should almost complete the running line. The loco has suffered contamination of the lubricating oil by the coolant water. Many days have been spent investigating the source of the contamination and gradually the problem is being sorted. On Bank Holiday Monday 30th, John re-wired the low fuel level float switch wiring after one of the wires had been broken before the loco was bought for preservation. When one of the bodyside panels that form the tumblehome on the loco's sides was removed, original BR Blue paint was found and discussions turned to what the loco would look like back in BR Blue. Removal of the sandite that had accumulted underneath the loco body has started and it appears that it has rotted at least one pipe. Congratulations go to the Restoration Team that look after 37142 at Bodmin - the loco moved under its own power recently for the first time in preservation - well done lads!! Cheers to Doug for some of the pictures. Sunday 1 August 2004: A start has been made on restoring the Crew's seats from inside the cab. The first seat has been sanded down to bare metal and then primed. The seat will then be undercoated then top-coated. Once all of the metalwork has been completed, the seat cushions will be re-upholstered. Seven more bodyside filters have been returned from off site and installed in the engine room. Some of the Restoration Team have spent two weekends working on the trackwork on the site replacing trackwork removed when one of the steam locomotives left for repairs at another site. One track panel has been laid and lots of sleepers have been prepared for chairs to be fixed to them to enable laying of another two panels of track which should almost complete the running line. The loco has suffered contamination of the lubricating oil by the coolant water. Many days have been spent investigating the source of the contamination and gradually the problem is being sorted. On Bank Holiday Monday 30th, John re-wired the low fuel level float switch wiring after one of the wires had been broken before the loco was bought for preservation. When one of the bodyside panels that form the tumblehome on the loco's sides was removed, original BR Blue paint was found and discussions turned to what the loco would look like back in BR Blue. Removal of the sandite that had accumulted underneath the loco body has started and it appears that it has rotted at least one pipe. Congratulations go to the Restoration Team that look after 37142 at Bodmin - the loco moved under its own power recently for the first time in preservation - well done lads!! Cheers to Doug for some of the pictures.

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]]> Sun Aug 1 2004 July 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c222087.html Thursday 1st July - The newly purchased batteries were delivered then installed and the loco was ready for a start-up when the opportunity came. Sunday 4th July - We decided to try and start the engine as we were suffering power supply problems preventing us from using power tools in number 1 cab. All of the fluid levels were checked and the engine was barred over to ensure that all was ready for a start attempt. The engine hadn't been started in over a year and when the 'Start' button was pressed, the engine burst into life with a roar and settled down to a steady idle immediately. SUCCESS!! We tested both traction motor blowers and both compressors during the day and they all worked much to our delight. The exhausters were not tested as there is a lot of pipework missing that still needs to be replaced. A couple of minor faults were identified and these will be rectified during the next couple of weeks. Thanks to Doug for his pictures and to all concerned that helped on the day. Tracklaying has been undertaken during the last couple of weeks and there is now a point installed on the test track. Thursday 1 July 2004: Thursday 1st July - The newly purchased batteries were delivered then installed and the loco was ready for a start-up when the opportunity came. Sunday 4th July - We decided to try and start the engine as we were suffering power supply problems preventing us from using power tools in number 1 cab. All of the fluid levels were checked and the engine was barred over to ensure that all was ready for a start attempt. The engine hadn't been started in over a year and when the 'Start' button was pressed, the engine burst into life with a roar and settled down to a steady idle immediately. SUCCESS!! We tested both traction motor blowers and both compressors during the day and they all worked much to our delight. The exhausters were not tested as there is a lot of pipework missing that still needs to be replaced. A couple of minor faults were identified and these will be rectified during the next couple of weeks. Thanks to Doug for his pictures and to all concerned that helped on the day. Tracklaying has been undertaken during the last couple of weeks and there is now a point installed on the test track.

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]]> Thu Jul 1 2004 June 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c205141.html After the Steam Special at the end of May, we borrowed a compressor to test the loco's air system. A couple of faults were found - the more serious problem being a pipe which has a hole in it caused by the sandite rotting the pipe away. One of the brake cylinders has had to be changed and the throttle valve in no. 2 cab has been overhauled as part of it had seized. The old batteries were removed and the battery box repainted pending installation of the new batteries recently purchased. One of the auto-drain valves on the air system has been replaced. No. 1 cab's rear wall, doors and window frames have had their top coat applied and the cab is now looking quite complete again. Two of the cab side panels from no. 1 cab have been coated with primer. Tuesday 1 June 2004: After the Steam Special at the end of May, we borrowed a compressor to test the loco's air system. A couple of faults were found - the more serious problem being a pipe which has a hole in it caused by the sandite rotting the pipe away. One of the brake cylinders has had to be changed and the throttle valve in no. 2 cab has been overhauled as part of it had seized. The old batteries were removed and the battery box repainted pending installation of the new batteries recently purchased. One of the auto-drain valves on the air system has been replaced. No. 1 cab's rear wall, doors and window frames have had their top coat applied and the cab is now looking quite complete again. Two of the cab side panels from no. 1 cab have been coated with primer.

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]]> Tue Jun 1 2004 May 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c188816.html Work on the loco was suspended until the 23rd of the month due to the impending demise of the Thumpers on the Ashford to Hastings line - English Electric machines on the mainline are getting rarer and rarer! Attempts were made to get the engine started on the 23rd but the loco didn't want to play ball! The engine turned over several times but there wasn't enough oomph in the batteries to get the engine firing. Thanks to Clive and Boris for their help on the 23rd. The 2004 Steam Special was yet another success with over 18000 attending the event - the most viewed Tractor in the country that weekend? The engine refused to start during the Steam Special so the decision was made to purchase a new set of batteries. The visiting public donated £82 towards a new set of batteries - thanks to all who donated their cash especially Glenn Roofthooft, Dave and Walter. We temporarily plumbed in the air horns at no.2 end and this proved popular with the public as we gave them a toot! Apologies to the exhibitors next to us if you got fed up with the horn combos all weekend! There was a superb variety of vehicles on display and a wide selection of trade stands including tool wholesalers (we have now got a special new hammer and John can be seen using it in one of the pictures trying to smooth the dents in the cab roof). Running and moving at next year's Steam Special? Thanks to Doug Barrow for the Steam Special pictures. Saturday 1 May 2004: Work on the loco was suspended until the 23rd of the month due to the impending demise of the Thumpers on the Ashford to Hastings line - English Electric machines on the mainline are getting rarer and rarer! Attempts were made to get the engine started on the 23rd but the loco didn't want to play ball! The engine turned over several times but there wasn't enough oomph in the batteries to get the engine firing. Thanks to Clive and Boris for their help on the 23rd. The 2004 Steam Special was yet another success with over 18000 attending the event - the most viewed Tractor in the country that weekend? The engine refused to start during the Steam Special so the decision was made to purchase a new set of batteries. The visiting public donated _82 towards a new set of batteries - thanks to all who donated their cash especially Glenn Roofthooft, Dave and Walter. We temporarily plumbed in the air horns at no.2 end and this proved popular with the public as we gave them a toot! Apologies to the exhibitors next to us if you got fed up with the horn combos all weekend! There was a superb variety of vehicles on display and a wide selection of trade stands including tool wholesalers (we have now got a special new hammer and John can be seen using it in one of the pictures trying to smooth the dents in the cab roof). Running and moving at next year's Steam Special? Thanks to Doug Barrow for the Steam Special pictures.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat May 1 2004 April 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c151874.html Painting of the fire circuits was completed this month and a massive effort was made to complete No. 1 cab in time for the annual steam fair on Saturday 29th - Monday 31st of May. The annual steam fair is well worth a visit - there's so much to see during the day (apart from 37254 of course!) Various shades of grey paint were tried in No. 1 cab to try and get the best match to the colour the cab was painted. The air pipework in the engine room has been 90% glossed as well. The loco now sports a Welsh dragon sticker on the nose at number 2 end. Work has been slow this month due to having to catch 37s on the mainline while we can before it's too late! Overhaul and repainting of the numerous bodyside filters has commenced with the first seven being completed by the 18th of the month. The cooling system was filled up on Friday 23rd after having to be drained out for the turbo overhauls. Repainting of no. 1 cab was recommenced with the correct shade of grey paint after all the trial shades. The batteries were charged up to enable a possible start up during the next few days. The fuel pump and lubricating oil priming pump were test run and no problems were encountered. Sunday 25th April - Engine refused to start after all the effort that had been put in. Some of the battery cells have died and need replacing before another attempt at starting can be made. An impromtu barbeque was held in the field next to the loco. The obligatory seminar shots just had to be taken! Thursday 1 April 2004: Painting of the fire circuits was completed this month and a massive effort was made to complete No. 1 cab in time for the annual steam fair on Saturday 29th - Monday 31st of May. The annual steam fair is well worth a visit - there's so much to see during the day (apart from 37254 of course!) Various shades of grey paint were tried in No. 1 cab to try and get the best match to the colour the cab was painted. The air pipework in the engine room has been 90% glossed as well. The loco now sports a Welsh dragon sticker on the nose at number 2 end. Work has been slow this month due to having to catch 37s on the mainline while we can before it's too late! Overhaul and repainting of the numerous bodyside filters has commenced with the first seven being completed by the 18th of the month. The cooling system was filled up on Friday 23rd after having to be drained out for the turbo overhauls. Repainting of no. 1 cab was recommenced with the correct shade of grey paint after all the trial shades. The batteries were charged up to enable a possible start up during the next few days. The fuel pump and lubricating oil priming pump were test run and no problems were encountered. Sunday 25th April - Engine refused to start after all the effort that had been put in. Some of the battery cells have died and need replacing before another attempt at starting can be made. An impromtu barbeque was held in the field next to the loco. The obligatory seminar shots just had to be taken!

Welsh Flag - My Lords!

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]]> Thu Apr 1 2004 March 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c139634.html The turbos were finally connected together with all the other pipes that are required to run the engine. The oil priming pump was run and the engine barred over to ensure that there weren't any problems. Painting of the fire-circuit conduit continued and a new shade of grey paint was trialled in Number one cab. Once everything had been connected, the exhaust manifolds and the exhaust stacks from the turbos were resprayed silver to add a little touch of class! Monday 1 March 2004: The turbos were finally connected together with all the other pipes that are required to run the engine. The oil priming pump was run and the engine barred over to ensure that there weren't any problems. Painting of the fire-circuit conduit continued and a new shade of grey paint was trialled in Number one cab. Once everything had been connected, the exhaust manifolds and the exhaust stacks from the turbos were resprayed silver to add a little touch of class!

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Mon Mar 1 2004 February 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c113770.html Sunday 8th February was spent connecting 'B' bank's turbo back to the loco again. A couple of hours were spent working on the loco on Sunday 22nd February. Various pipework / conduit were primed on this day. Work has eased off a bit this month due to work commitments and a railtour on the 14th of the month. Sunday 1 February 2004: Sunday 8th February was spent connecting 'B' bank's turbo back to the loco again. A couple of hours were spent working on the loco on Sunday 22nd February. Various pipework / conduit were primed on this day. Work has eased off a bit this month due to work commitments and a railtour on the 14th of the month.

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]]> Sun Feb 1 2004 January 2004 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c103365.html Work continues in number one cab with the first of the top coats of paint being applied and all the pipework/conduit being picked out in the appropriate colours. The repaint of the generator was completed by Adrian Newman on Sunday 4th - thanks mate! The turbos arrived back on site on the 9th and were craned into the loco at around 2:30pm. The loco now has a lot less space in the engine room! Work has begun on connecting the turbos back up to the relevant pipework. Once everything is connected a final top coat of paint will be applied to the turbos area to ensure that everything matches. Pictures of the turbos courtesy of David and Doug Barrow. Thursday 1 January 2004: Work continues in number one cab with the first of the top coats of paint being applied and all the pipework/conduit being picked out in the appropriate colours. The repaint of the generator was completed by Adrian Newman on Sunday 4th - thanks mate! The turbos arrived back on site on the 9th and were craned into the loco at around 2:30pm. The loco now has a lot less space in the engine room! Work has begun on connecting the turbos back up to the relevant pipework. Once everything is connected a final top coat of paint will be applied to the turbos area to ensure that everything matches. Pictures of the turbos courtesy of David and Doug Barrow.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu Jan 1 2004 December 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c102008.html Painting in number one cab continued with the walls being painted into undercoat. The turbo area was completed and i'll think you'll agree that it looks a lot better than when we first started. The coolant and air pipes around the turbo were painted with the correct colour identification paint to complete the paint job. The end of the generator was painted and the lights in number one cab were made to work for the first time since we bought the loco. All of the light fittings for the Driver's control panel were reconditioned and then reinstated in their proper places. Re-wiring of some of the electrical supply to the control panel was also done during this time. Monday 1 December 2003: Painting in number one cab continued with the walls being painted into undercoat. The turbo area was completed and i'll think you'll agree that it looks a lot better than when we first started. The coolant and air pipes around the turbo were painted with the correct colour identification paint to complete the paint job. The end of the generator was painted and the lights in number one cab were made to work for the first time since we bought the loco. All of the light fittings for the Driver's control panel were reconditioned and then reinstated in their proper places. Re-wiring of some of the electrical supply to the control panel was also done during this time.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Mon Dec 1 2003 November 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c101347.html November arrived and we were still cleaning the turbos' area. Another panel of track was laid using a forklift which we hired for a week. We tidied up the field where our loco resides after one of the steam locomotives left for good. The track was laid in two days which wasn't bad seeing the appaling weather that we had to work in. The loco was moved yet again to ensure that it doesn't damage the wheel bearings whilst standing still in the same place for so long. Progress on number one cab was going in leaps and bounds with the cab stripped of paint and then primed. The sandite switch operated by the Driver was removed and the hole filled. It is now almost impossible to tell that a switch was once there. Saturday 1 November 2003: November arrived and we were still cleaning the turbos' area. Another panel of track was laid using a forklift which we hired for a week. We tidied up the field where our loco resides after one of the steam locomotives left for good. The track was laid in two days which wasn't bad seeing the appaling weather that we had to work in. The loco was moved yet again to ensure that it doesn't damage the wheel bearings whilst standing still in the same place for so long. Progress on number one cab was going in leaps and bounds with the cab stripped of paint and then primed. The sandite switch operated by the Driver was removed and the hole filled. It is now almost impossible to tell that a switch was once there.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Nov 1 2003 September / October 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c101332.html In the middle of September a 'phone call was received from a scrap merchant who was about to scrap 37054 and would we like to purchase some parts from it. Obviously we said yes even though the loco was at Motherwell Depot near Glasgow. A van was quickly hired and we set off for Scotland. We spent a day and a half stripping parts off 37054 before we headed back home again. During Octorber both turbos were craned out of the loco and despatched to a specialist repairer. While the turbos were away, the area the turbos occupy was cleaned up and repainted. There was many years of oil and dirt accumulation and it took a long time to get it to a paint-able standard. Monday 1 September 2003: In the middle of September a 'phone call was received from a scrap merchant who was about to scrap 37054 and would we like to purchase some parts from it. Obviously we said yes even though the loco was at Motherwell Depot near Glasgow. A van was quickly hired and we set off for Scotland. We spent a day and a half stripping parts off 37054 before we headed back home again. During Octorber both turbos were craned out of the loco and despatched to a specialist repairer. While the turbos were away, the area the turbos occupy was cleaned up and repainted. There was many years of oil and dirt accumulation and it took a long time to get it to a paint-able standard.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Mon Sep 1 2003 August 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c100951.html August was a really hot month so we took the opportunity to paint over the undercoat that we had applied during May. We got a bit carried away and repainted the whole loco! As i'm sure you'll agree, the loco looks a lot better now compared to when it first arrived. It was only a quick cosmetic paintjob to look after what we'd got by minimising the amount of corrosion. We received many favourable comments from the other members of the working group as we hadn't told them how far we had gone with the 'quick spot repaint'! Friday 1 August 2003: August was a really hot month so we took the opportunity to paint over the undercoat that we had applied during May. We got a bit carried away and repainted the whole loco! As i'm sure you'll agree, the loco looks a lot better now compared to when it first arrived. It was only a quick cosmetic paintjob to look after what we'd got by minimising the amount of corrosion. We received many favourable comments from the other members of the working group as we hadn't told them how far we had gone with the 'quick spot repaint'!

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Fri Aug 1 2003 June / July 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c100943.html The track the loco was standing on was extended during June and July. This was the start of a scheme to lay around 200 yards of track so that eventually when the loco was ready it could perform low-speed test runs to check that everything works okay. After the steam fair had finished, an inspection of the two turbos revealed what we had suspected - the turbos were in a very bad condition and would have to be removed and then either repaired or replaced. Quotes were sought for the repair of the units as although we could have purchased other turbos, we couldn't be sure of the condition of the turbos that were for sale. This was obviously a setback, but it gave us time to work on other bits of the locowhilst the engine was not runable. Work continued in No.1 cab's floor and control desk. Sunday 1 June 2003: The track the loco was standing on was extended during June and July. This was the start of a scheme to lay around 200 yards of track so that eventually when the loco was ready it could perform low-speed test runs to check that everything works okay. After the steam fair had finished, an inspection of the two turbos revealed what we had suspected - the turbos were in a very bad condition and would have to be removed and then either repaired or replaced. Quotes were sought for the repair of the units as although we could have purchased other turbos, we couldn't be sure of the condition of the turbos that were for sale. This was obviously a setback, but it gave us time to work on other bits of the locowhilst the engine was not runable. Work continued in No.1 cab's floor and control desk.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sun Jun 1 2003 May 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c100935.html May 2003 was a very busy month! At the end of the month, the annual steam fair was held on the land where 37254 lives. In all there were about 200 historic vehicles on show. In the field where we are, there was a log sawing demonstration powered by traction engines. Progress on the loco was very good culminating in a start up of the engine on the last day of the steam fair. The loco drew large crowds each time we started it up and many people stopped for a chat to ask about the acquisition and future of the loco. Thursday 1 May 2003: May 2003 was a very busy month! At the end of the month, the annual steam fair was held on the land where 37254 lives. In all there were about 200 historic vehicles on show. In the field where we are, there was a log sawing demonstration powered by traction engines. Progress on the loco was very good culminating in a start up of the engine on the last day of the steam fair. The loco drew large crowds each time we started it up and many people stopped for a chat to ask about the acquisition and future of the loco.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Thu May 1 2003 March / April 2003 http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c100920.html Restoration work during March and April 2003 consisted of detailed inspections of the various parts of the loco and priorities being made as to what jobs were to be completed first. The loco was sheeted-up over the exhausts and the fan room to try and keep out as much water as possible. Thanks to Doug Barrow for the pictures of the loco being unloaded. Saturday 1 March 2003: Restoration work during March and April 2003 consisted of detailed inspections of the various parts of the loco and priorities being made as to what jobs were to be completed first. The loco was sheeted-up over the exhausts and the fan room to try and keep out as much water as possible. Thanks to Doug Barrow for the pictures of the loco being unloaded.

Published in The Restoration of 37254

]]> Sat Mar 1 2003 Inspection of 37254 at Barrow Hill Roundhouse http://37254-Restoration-diary.fotopic.net/c100891.html 37254 was inspected at Barrow Hill before and after purchase from the Harry Needle Railroad Company. There was a lot of work to do. HNRC had already commenced getting the loco ready for work and they kindly got the engine to a run-able state ready for our inspection on the 14th March 2003. Sunday 16 February 2003: 37254 was inspected at Barrow Hill before and after purchase from the Harry Needle Railroad Company. There was a lot of work to do. HNRC had already commenced getting the loco ready for work and they kindly got the engine to a run-able state ready for our inspection on the 14th March 2003.

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]]> Sun Feb 16 2003