D182 news
Updated 2/4/11
D182 was also involved in the East Midlands Railway Photographic Society photo shoot at Swanwick on Saturday 19th February. No work has occurred on the loco over the winter. The earth fault is to be looked into now that the weather is warming up by an electrical engineer with the necessary test equipment to establish the exact nature of the earth fault. A plan of action can then be formulated to repair the popular loco and accept an invitation to the East Lancashire Railway July diesel gala this summer. It is planned to repair and reseal the locos leaking engine room roof and the locos batteries are being regularly charged.
Updated 3/3/11
D182 has an earth fault in the battery circuit and as the MRB did not require the loco to work Santa Special services the loco was drained of coolant and the heat exchanger was filled with anti-freeze. The earth fault will be looked at soon as well as the engine room roof which needs to be removed and resealed since the loco is not weather proof which contributes to its electrical problems.
Updated 7/10/10
D182 was pressed into service at the MRC on Monday 9th August through lack of available steam locos and hauled all of the day’s services. The loco has been a little reluctant to start recently but an overnight session on the battery charger saw the loco start without a problem. D182 was allocated to work the day’s services on Saturday 25th September, again due to a lack of available steam locos, but on this occasion the loco failed to start and was replaced by 47401. Due to restricted working and available steam engines D182 is not likely to operate over the winter season as in previous seasons but is available as a stand by loco with operational boiler if required.
Updated 8/8/10
D182 was pressed into service at the MRC over the weekend of 12th and 13th June because there were no steam locos available. The loco was a little reluctant to start on both mornings, but a quick session on the battery charger saw the loco cover the days 4 return services from Butterley without a problem. The following weekend saw D182 called into service again on Saturday 19th June covering 5 return services from Butterley covering for unavailable steam locos.
Updated 3/6/10
D182 was requested to haul services at the MRC on Easter Monday 5th April, but when tested the previous day the loco was found to be suffering from faults with its Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) so the loco was replaced by 20048. The AVR was removed from the loco and sent away for repair by a nice man who used to work at Newtons of Derby who originally manufactured this device. He diagnosed that one of the carbon piles in it was damaged and in need of replacement which he coincidentally had in his possession. The AVR was tested and returned to the loco on Sunday 23rd May. The loco was started successfully and other than the voltage of the AVR needing adjustment (from 114v to 110v) all seemed well. The spare AVR from D182 has now gone for repair and adjustment into the format necessary for Class 46 use rather than Class 47. As a consequence of the loco being out of service, booked workings at the MRC 1960’s event over the weekend of 8th/9th May as well as at the diesel gala (22nd/23rd May) were sacrificed but d182 has enjoyed a busy winter so enjoyed a well earned rest whilst other MRT diesels operated.
Updated 7/4/10
D182 had been suffering from problems with its automatic voltage regulator (no battery charge current) so a spare Class 47 AVR from 47125 was fitted in February. Problems with slow brake release were cured by a replacement electro pneumatic valve which allows the brakes to be released more quickly. D182 hauled MRT passenger services over the weekend of 20th/21st February with Saturday 20th to have been one train running. D182 was used to haul all of the public services from lunchtime onwards as the 3F steam loco had been booked to haul a wedding charter. The following day was to have been two train running with D182 hauling one of the services and the 3F steam loco the other. In the event due to heavy snowfall early on Sunday morning, the service was changed to one train running with D182 working in top and tail formation with the 3F steam loco, D182 at the Hammersmith end and the 3F on the Riddings end. D182 was called into action on Thursday 25th February to complete a commercial testing contract for wheel flat detection when 47401, the loco booked for the testing, suffered damage to number 1 radiator fan motor and retired to Swanwick shed.
On Thursday 4th March D182 and 20048 were to be collected and towed to the Nene Valley Railway in company with 31128 and 20142 from Barrow Hill by a West Coast Railway loco. In the event 47826 collected 31128 from Barrow Hill (20142 had last minute problems that meant it could not make the journey) and arrived at Ironville to pick-up D182 and 20048. As 20048 was not ready for collection when 47826 arrived, D182 ran light engine to Ironville and hauled 47826 and 31128 to Swanwick. After some shunting at Swanwick, 47826 hauled 31128+D182+20048 from Ironville to Fletton (on the Nene Valley Railway) as 0Z30 the 10:54 Barrow Hill – Fletton via the MRC. The convoy left the MRC on time and ran via Loughborough, Oakham and
D182 hauled several services at the March 6/7th Nene Valley Railway diesel gala, hauling both the mark 1 coaching set as well as several trips hauling the railways foreign coaches. The loco provided steam heating for some of the services and made an interesting sight steam heating foreign air braked coaches. On Saturday evening, D182 was called to haul an additional trip when problems were experienced with 20048 when it was running off the shed at Wansford to take up its next duty.
47826 hauled 0Z30 10:30 Fletton to Barrow Hill via the MRC on Monday 8th March, the day after the diesel gala, but not before the 47 needed a session on the battery charger at Wansford because it would not start! Eventually 47826 hauled 31128+D182+20048 back to Ironville where D182 and 20048 were dropped off before delivering 31128 back to Barrow Hill. The return journey ran via
Thursday 11th March saw D182 and 45133 inspected at Swanwick by a West Coast Railways examiner for their proposed move to the Mid Norfolk Diesel gala. Both locos passed their fitness to run exams (an exam schedule that must be passed to allow a loco to be hauled over Network Rail).
Due to the radiator fan flashover suffered by 47401, D182 stepped in to haul the 47’s booked workings on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th March. Saturday 13th saw D182 haul two trips of the line from Swanwick Junction alternately with the 3F steam loco, so steam heating was not required. Sunday saw two train running with D182 hauling services from Butterley at 10:20, 11:40, 13:20, 14:50 and 16:15 complete with steam heating. Following arrival back at Swanwick Junction after its last service, D182 and 45133 were coupled together in readiness for their move to Dereham on the Mid Norfolk Railway.
On Wednesday 17th March 47580 arrived at the MRC with 26007 in tow (which had been collected from Barrow Hill) hauling 0Z47 09:06 Tyseley – Mid
The Mid Norfolk Railway is just over 10 miles long, with Wymondham station at the South end (where the mainline connection is situated) and has several closed stations on the line. The line currently has no passing loops and as a consequence only features one train running at the moment. The coaching set was made up of air braked pressure ventilated mark 2 coaches as well as two air conditioned coaches all in BR Blue/Grey livery. Most services over the 3 day gala were hauled in top and tail mode and Friday 17th and Sunday 19th were diagrammed to feature only Sulzer locos. Several of the services ran beyond Wymondham station to the run round loop and one or two had permission to run all the way down to the railways’ boundary with Network Rail. D182 worked well over the three day event alongside 45133, 26007, 47580, D8069, 50019 and 73210.
The return convoy departed Wymondham on Tuesday 23rd March on time as 0Z47 10:10 Wymondham to Tyseley via the MRC and Barrow Hill with 47580 hauling D182+45133+26007. March was passed 6 minutes late and a further 3 minutes were dropped by Peterborough. The return convoy then ran a different route than on the outward, running via Grantham, Nottingham and Trowell Junction before arrival at the MRC was reached 35 minutes early.
D182 should haul Easter Monday services at the MRB and is booked to haul services at the MRB 1960’s event over the weekend of 8th/9th May as well as at the diesel gala which is been held over the weekend of 22nd/23rd May.
Updated 6/2/10
D182 had anti-freeze added to the locos coolant December 9th in readiness for the loco to take up its Santa Special duties in the run up to Christmas. The loco completed a successful test run on Friday 4th December hauling and steam heating a set of coaches to prove the boiler worked satisfactorily. On Saturday 5th December D182 hauled the 13:00 Super Santa departure from Butterley and the following day hauled a Christmas lunch train for two trips of the railway.
The following weekend saw D182 haul the 13:00 Super Santa departure on Saturday 12th and the two trip dining train the following day as well as an additional trip at 16:00. On Saturday 19th D182 hauled the 13:00 and 16:00 Santa Specials and the following day the loco was booked to haul 3 services. Unfortunately severe freezing weather caused signalling and pointwork problems on the morning of Sunday 20th December so the first trip D182 was to have hauled was cancelled. The loco did complete its booked trips at 13:00 and 14:35 departures from Butterley.
From 21st December D182 was to act as a standby loco for the remainder of the Santa Specials and was called into use On Tuesday 22nd December. The 3F steam loco was unable to be prepared on Monday 21st December due to frozen water pipes on site at Swanwick so D182 was booked to haul the days 4 trips of the line. D182 was started and filled with water for the boiler and ran to the departure road on the morning of 22nd December but problems with frozen points meant that the loco waited at the departure road signal for some 30 minutes. The locos boiler was heating up the water in readiness for providing steam heating to the day’s services, but it appears that the boiler water pump gearbox seized. As a consequence of this, the boiler water pump motor burnt out. The fire was quickly put out with the hand-held fire extinguishers but the result was a no-heat loco on one of the coldest days of the year.
Fortunately portable heaters were available to be placed at strategic places on the train to keep the passengers warm and whilst D182 worked the services a successful attempt to prepare the 3F for service was made. As a consequence D182 hauled 3 of the days 4 services and was replaced by the 3F steam loco for the final trip. The brakes on D182 had been playing up for a few days, taking a considerable time, and sometimes several attempts to completely release. Tuesday 22nd December was no different and in fact was probably the worst the loco had behaved for the whole of the Santa Specials.
The distributor fitted to D182 was from 47224, an air braked loco that Freightliner re-instated the vacuum brakes on just before the locos withdrawal. The OV2 distributor from D182 was swapped on January 17th with an OV6 type last fitted to 47478 kindly donated by the team restoring 45149.
Subsequent testing on January 31st found that the brakes worked far better in both air and in vacuum modes, although some adjustment is still required.
Replacement wiper blades have been fitted to the loco at number 1 end and menthylated spirit has been added to each compressor to attempt to stop the winter weather affecting the locos air system. The menthylated spirit is added through a special filling point specifically for this role in the locos air compressors. The boiler water pump complete has been removed from the loco, the motor and gearbox changed and fitted back into the loco on 31/1/10. The defective gearbox has been taken away for repairs.
A night photography event raised a useful £200 donation for our locos where d182 was positioned next to the Swanwick Junction signal box for the night shots. D182 has been invited to operate at the Nene Valley Railway on March 6 – 7th and the Mid Norfolk Railway on March 19 – 21st for which the loco is currently being prepared.
Updated 5/12/09
D182 required a boiler inspection for the loco to gain an insurance certificate to allow it to provide steam heating to services over the winter period. Normally a visual inspection of the boiler as well as a steam pressure test is sufficient to gain the paperwork for the loco to operate for a further 14 months.
Unfortunately as it is coming up to 10 years since the boiler was retubed by Northern Arc of Leicester, the boiler insurance inspector required the boiler to be removed for the loco and dismantled to allow a thorough examination including ultrasonic testing of the welds. The Spanner boiler was craned out of the loco in early November, stripped down and passed the ultrasonic test. It has subsequently been re-lagged and re-clad and is to be refitted to the loco at the end of November. The loco was moved into the workshop at Swanwick at the beginning of November for the work on the boiler to progress.
While the boiler was out of the loco, the opportunity was taken to repaint the boiler room as well as complete some welding repairs to the boiler room roof. The roof has also been repainted and new sealing foam fitted around the edges to stop water ingress. It was discovered that water had been getting under the roof quite causing corrosion above the electrical control cubicle. The boiler room floor was found to still be damp because the drain holes were blocked. The drain holes have been unblocked and additional holes have been drilled to allow any spillage to drain onto the track. The boiler room floor plates were removed and the floor underneath found to be corroded so the floor has been cleaned, primed and painted gloss black. The floor plates were bolted down on Monday 16th November.
New rubber has been purchased for the headcode surrounds (£58) at both ends as it was found that the rubber around the headcode glass had perished and had started to let in water. At number 2 end the headcode glass has been removed ready for the new rubber.
The problem with the cab speedometers reading low has been traced to a defective speedometer in number one cab and dirt in the speedometer electrical drive unit. Both problems have been repaired. Now that the boiler has passed its inspection and exam, anti-freeze will be added to the locos coolant for the loco to take up its Santa Special duties in the run up to Christmas. The loco has been requested to be available on the following dates, working two trips per day; 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th December and then act as stand by loco until Spring time.
Updated 3/10/09
D182 hauled services over the August Bank Holiday weekend as part of the Works Open Day event on both Sunday 30th and Bank Holiday Monday 31st August. On Sunday 30th D182 piloted steam loco 6233 on one service and the following day it was piloted by 45041 on one of its two trips.
On Sunday 6th September it was found that number 2 compressor was not working which was discovered to be due to a burnt cable and this was repaired on Thursday 10th September. The loco has also had two radiator elements replaced as a small water leak was noticed in one of the elements and when this was removed, the one next to it was also noted to be leaking. The check valve and several other brake valves were cleaned and checked in readiness for the locos visit to the Nene Valley Railway Diesel Gala. D182 worked services at the D4 50th Anniversary event held over the weekend of 26th/27th September alongside D4, 45041 and 45133.
After the event D182 was tested using 45041 to ensure that it was okay to be hauled to the Nene Valley Railway for their diesel gala. Unfortunately when the brakes were released on 45041 it was found that D182 was very slow releasing its brakes. With no time to resolve the fault on the Sunday evening and the loco move from the MR-B to the Nene Valley booked for Tuesday 29th September, the decision had to be made that D182 would unfortunately not be able to attend the event. The loco is to have its boiler examined by the insurance inspector on Monday October 5th in readiness for operating the railways Santa Special trains.
Updated 4/8/09
D182 is serviceable and hauled the 11:10, 12:20, 13:50, 15:05 and 16:15 departures from Butterley top and tailed with steam loco 6233 on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July. D182 was at the east end of the train, working from Hammersmith to Riddings. D182 has been invited to the Nene Valley Railway diesel gala which is being held from Friday 2nd until Sunday 4th October and will be moved as part of a convoy of locos from the Midland Railway Centre to the event.
Updated 3/6/09
D182 replaced 45041 on Bank Holiday Monday 13th April after 45041 suffered and air leak from the drivers brake valve. D182 was next in action over the MRC diesel gala weekend (25th/26th April) as well as taking part at the 1960’s event over the weekend of 9th/10th May. At the 1960’s weekend D182 hauled both passenger and freight trains alongside D212 and a couple of steam locos. On Sunday 3rd May D182 hauled the 11:10, 12:20, 13:50, 15:05 and 16:15 departures from Butterley.
Updated 4/4/09
D182 has had a replacement water pump relay coil fitted as the one fitted had burnt out. This may have been the cause of the loco shutting down on the last occasion it was required for traffic. The loco had a replacement set of batteries fitted on Sunday 29th March and was started up and successfully tested. The loco has been pencilled in to take part in the diesel gala as well as the 1960's event which is being held over the weekend of 9th/10th May as well as the April 25/26th diesel gala.
Updated 1/2/09
D182 was booked to haul Santa Specials at the Midland Railway Centre and worked the 13:00 service from Butterley on Saturday 6th December. The following day, D182 worked the 13:00 and 14:35 services from Butterley but due to excessive steam leaks on the coaches, the boiler struggled to keep the train heated. D182 put away the empty coaches into the North siding at Butterley at the end of the day but when it was about to run light engine back to Swanwick shed, it would not take power.
The loco stubbornly refused to move when driving was attempted from either end so, following some quick fault finding which did not reveal the problem, D182 was hauled back to the shed at Swanwick by steam loco 73129. The fault proved tricky to locate and as a consequence other dates that the loco had been booked to work Santa Specials had to be worked by steam traction. On Sunday 28th December the power relay was found to be open circuit and when this was replaced the loco was run up and successfully tested for power. The boiler was also successfully tested. As the loco does not currently have anti-freeze in its coolant, it was drained down to protect it from the cold winter temperatures. The loco had its AVR (automatic voltage regulator) swapped with one off 47125.
The MRC asked about the availability of D182 for hauling a lunch train on Sunday 18th January, so the day before the loco was filled with water. 3 battery cells were also changed and D182 was successfully run up and the boiler tested in readiness for hauling services the following day. D182’s diagram for Sunday 18th January was altered by the MRC and the loco was booked to haul all of the services on the day. Unfortunately after running for a few hours on Saturday afternoon without problems, the loco shutdown when the train crew was changing ends. At such short notice, the MRC had to provide a steam loco to haul the services the following day. The loco was found to have burnt out its water coil relay which was replaced. All in all a bad winter for this loco which has been an reliable performer since returning to service fourteen years ago.
Updated 5/12/09
Some fault finding work by our electrician Adrian Ford revealed D182 to have a faulty coil in the vacuum relay which prevented the vacuum exhauster from running unless switched to the emergency position. The loco was subsequently discovered to have a fault with compressor number 2 which would not run which was traced to a defective connection in the control cabinet. This was located and fixed on Sunday 23rd November making the loco dual braked once again. The MRB loco department then used D182 to move steamer 46233 down and then back up the incline at Swanwick Junction from the steam locos normal base for boiler attention.
The MRB has requested use of the loco on the following dates in December as part of the Santa Special program; 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st. It is expected that as in previous years the loco will haul the ‘extra’ services on the above dates which is generally the Super Santa services on Saturday’s and the Yuletider dining only train on Sundays. Availability currently depends on repairs needed to the boiler water pump which has a fracture.