Dear Members,

Welcome to issue 167. The cover view this month is 46010 inside Stratford Works in 1983 amongst other locomotives and their components, a typical scene for a first generation diesel repair depots. A recent visit to this location got me thinking about how much has changed here – everything!

44004 Great Gable can be found in the museum at Swanwick Junction and has had all outstanding electrical repairs completed. The PB control circuit breaker has been replaced and electrical testing is underway before the loco will return to traffic where attention is now focusing on various control switches to make them operate reliably. To date the drivers sanding pedals the engine start switches have been repaired with others identified as needing attention. The batteries are also regularly charged.

45041 Royal Tank Regiment continues to have significant bodywork repairs undertaken in the diesel shed at Swanwick. Two cab sides have been replaced (no.1 end secondman side and no.2 end drivers’ side) and many patches have seen new sheet metal welded in on the bodyside and nose ends to repair years of corrosion damage. The tail light at number one end on the secondman side has been replaced with a spare reclaimed from 45035. Both nose crowns have been stripped of their inner insulation and have been needle-gunned to remove all old paint. This has revealed quite a few places in the nose crowns that are thin and will need patches welding in. There are also a couple of places on the boiler room roof that metalwork will need to be cut out and replaced.

The cab guttering will be refitted at number 1 end once the various weld repairs have been dressed and the rain strips on the secondman side at both ends are still to be refitted. A buffer change is also required as the one fitted on the secondman side at no.1 end has seen better days. Fortunately class 08 buffers are the same and we have a replacement buffer in stock. Following bodywork repairs a repaint into BR Blue will be completed. The bodywork repairs have cost about £400 and the quality of work improved by doing all of the work ourselves.

The air tank reservoirs have been examined internally by the insurance inspector after the last 10 year insurance certificate expired. The associated pipework removed to allow inspection has been put back and the safety valves from the air system have been removed for testing by the insurance inspector, returned and refitted. It is hoped that all of the planned work will be completed on 45041 by August and the loco has an invitation to visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for the diesel gala (17th – 19th September).

45108 is still sheeted over in the yard at Swanwick Junction whilst working parties attend to work on the groups other locos. Further testing will begin once 45041 runs again since this is needed to jump start 45108 whose batteries are not yet healthy enough to start the loco alone. It is hoped that 45108 will return to traffic later this year, but this is dependant upon work being completed on D4, 45041 and D182. The air leak on one bogie pipe will prove very challenging to repair.

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.

44008 Penyghent worked services at the Peak Rail diesel gala held over the weekend of 8th and 9th May and the loco is expected to also feature at the railways Anything Goes event which is being held over the weekend of 10th and 11th July.

45015 is expected to be leaving Shackerstone, its home since 23rd October 2002 during June.

45060 Sherwood Forester and 45105 have seen little work recently as the restoration team are engaged in the ongoing overhaul of 33035. Work will be required on 45060 soon to ensure that the loco is ready for its visit to the East Lancs Railway Diesel Gala (Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th July). 45112 The Royal Army Ordinance Corps is drained of coolant and can be found in the yard at Barrow Hill.

45118 The Royal Artilleryman has had little work completed recently and rests in the yard at RVEL Derby. The locos generator is still in Liverpool under repair and repairs to some of the damage caused by the theft of copper cable have been completed inside the loco. Some work has been completed on the corroded bodywork with more work required.

D123 hauled services at the Great Central Railways 1960’s event on Sunday 28th March working both parcels and passenger services. On Tuesday 13th April D123 was used for high speed running with two new bitumen tankers. All new rolling stock on the national network must pass various tests, one of which is a noise test. Noise testing checks the noise level as a wagon is hauled past a set point at different speeds. Last year the Great Central’s permanent way department welded up the track on some 10 track panels and installed expansion joints at each end giving a section of continuously welded track. The noise site is just south of Quorn and Woodhouse station on the Down running line and the noise site has been used to test several wagon types to date. Two petroleum tankers were also delivered with the bitumen tankers to act as barrier wagons to block out the noise of the diesel loco hauling the test trains. The formation was diesel loco at the north end, barrier wagon, two test wagons, and barrier wagon.

Test runs at different speeds are recorded and if the wagons are below the required noise levels (in decibels) then they are returned to the yard at Quorn and turned using a hauliers lorry so that they can be noise tested again, this time on the other side. This procedure is required at the Great Central as it is not possible to record the noise level of the other side of the wagon as the recording equipment would pick up noise levels from the track of the Up line. The turning of the wagons will be far quicker and easier when the turntable at Quorn has been installed.

The plan on Tuesday 13th was to conduct a minimum of three test runs at 50 and 60mph which if below the prescribed noise level (83 dB at 50mph) would have allowed the wagons to be turned and the procedure repeated. Unfortunately, with an almost perfect day weather-wise for testing (virtually no wind and dry) the bitumen wagons were recorded at 86 dB at 50mph. The difference may seem slight, but a rise of 10 dB in the sound level corresponds roughly to a doubling of loudness. Therefore a sound of 80 dB is twice as loud as a sound of 70 dB which is twice as loud as a sound of 60 dB. Investigation found that the barrier wagons, which were running on new wheelsets were within the stipulated noise limit (although these wagons were not being noise tested), but the bitumen wagons on quite old wheelsets. Following discussions between Network Rail (who were conducting the tests) and Axiom Rail (the manufacturers of the bitumen wagons) it was thought that the reason that the wagons were too noisy could be due to the age of the bitumen tankers wheels.

It was decided that the Bitumen wagons would be returned to Axiom Rail at Stoke and new wheels would be fitted to both of the wagons. Changing the wheels of the wagons further complicates the testing process because the noise test must only be completed when the wheels have completed a minimum of 1000 Km (622 miles) of running in. As a consequence when the bitumen tankers returned to the Great Central many hours of running between Loughborough and Rothley clocking up the required mileage was required before the noise tests could be repeated.

D123 was used to collect 26007, the visitor for the GCR diesel gala (17th/18th April) from Quorn on Wednesday 14th April and hauled services over both days of the event. D123 replaced D1705 on the first service of the diesel gala after D1705 suffered a brake fault when coupled to its train it. On Sunday 18th April D123 worked its booked services in the morning and then replaced D1705 in the afternoon on its services as D1705 would not start. D123 and 37255 were used in top and tail formation from Monday 19th until Wednesday 21st April to clock up the required mileage on the two bitumen wagons. Fortunately 37255 had been passed fit to be used at speeds of up to 60mph so that the mileage accumulation was able to run between Loughborough and Rothley in both directions at 60mph. The mileage accumulation on Monday did not go to plan with 37255 failing at Swithland early on when it lost coolant. D123 hauled the 37 back to Quorn while carrying on with the mileage accumulation using D8098 in place of 37255. Unfortunately D8098 is only passed to run at 25mph so progress building up the required 622 miles was slow.

The problem with 37255 was found to be the locos radiator cooling fan was not working, so once re-filled with coolant the radiator fan was switched so that the fan ran all of the time. 37255 then replaced D8098 and 60mph running continued without further incident. Tuesday 20th went to plan with a few noise tests undertaken in the afternoon to see if the running in of the wagons was working. The results were very good from a noise perspective and Wednesday 21st started with less than 170 miles needing to be covered. Good progress was made on Wednesday until stray sparks from one of D123’s brake blocks ignited an oil deposit on the underside of the loco.

This was quickly put out by the crew but it occurred again on a further run. The brake block causing the stray sparks was manually wound off the wheel so it would not be used when the loco was braking and no further problems were encountered. Thursday 22nd saw D123 working noise testing trains at 50 and 60mph with measurements taken during each of the 4 trips at each speed. The wagons were then taken into Quorn yard to enable them to be turned so that noise testing could be taken on the ‘other’ side of the wagons. 4 more noise testing trips were completed during the afternoon at both 50 and 60mph and while the results were accurately worked out by Network Rail staff back in the office. Over the weekend of 24th/25th April D123 had a more leisurely time hauling the diesel services on both days. D123 covered Saturday 24th as D6535 was unavailable, with Sunday being the locos booked turn. D123 also hauled the diesel turn on Sunday 2nd May as no driver was available to cover the booked locomotive.

An oil sample was taken on D123 on Sunday 25th April and when analysed, the loco was found to have fuel in its oil. The oil sample had been taken as a precaution as the exhaust had been noted to be a more while/grey colour towards the end of the noise testing. Investigation revealed that the locos injectors needed an overhaul and were the likely cause of the fuel in the oil, so these were sent away for refurbishment as well as a set of oil filters being ordered. An oil change on the loco had been planned for the loco during 2010 so this will be completed when the oil filters and injectors arrive at Loughborough. Pending the oil filter change and injector replacement the loco is booked to work the diesel diagram on Sunday’s 6th June and 18th July as well as appearing at a Cemetery Junction event over the weekend of 19th/20th June working two trains top and tailed with D1705 on both days. You may recall that Cemetery Junction film set in the 1970’s filmed predominantly at the Great Central Railway last year and featured D123 and D1705.

Work on the damaged generator from 45132 continues at Bowers of Heanor. Bowers were having problems separating the Alternator Rotor from the main armature shaft but this has been successfully accomplished. They obtained advice from someone who used to work in Derby Works and following this advice glycerine was injected under high pressure (reported as 40,000psi) into the joint and then the rotor was successfully separated (and more importantly no damage to the shaft or rotor).

Bowers are currently investigating if they can butt braze new end pieces to each of the windings. This will be quite a tricky job but if successful will avoid having to extract the entire coil which will save a lot of time and effort. Repairs on the field frame (which is more extensively damaged) is hoped to be completed in a similar way by cutting out the damage and brazing in new copper strips. A visit to Bowers by the 45132 restoration team on Saturday 22nd May gave the team a clear picture of where the repairs were up to and the good news that the generator is hoped to be repaired by August. They then visited Butterley to examine the interior of 45133. Engine room painting continues and the locos intercooler has been stripped of its end covers to allow cleaning and refurbishment. The load regulator resistance frames are also being repaired as required.

45133 hauled services at the MRC diesel and steam weekend of 17th/18th April as well as featuring at the MRC’s Ivor the engine event the following weekend. The loco then headed for the Swanage Railway on the South coast as a last minute replacement for the unavailable 33035 at the railways diesel gala.

On Tuesday 4th May, 47580 ran light engine from Carnforth as 0Z56 departing 15 minutes early at 04:30 heading for the Barrow Hill to collect 56101 and the MRC to collect 45133 and 31271 before heading for Kidderminster. An early departure from Barrow Hill and the MRC saw the convoy of 56101+45133+31271 travel via Toton, Burton on Trent, Bescot and Stourbridge arriving at Kidderminster on time to collect 50035.

The following day 0Z56 departed Kidderminster on time at 08:30 behind 47580 with 56101+45133+31271+50035 in tow running via Worcester, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Parkway, Westbury, Salisbury, Southampton and Poole before arriving at Swanage again exactly on-time.

45133 then took part in the 3 days of the Swanage diesel gala’s intensive timetable, the first class 45/1 on the railway. Over the weekend 45133 hauled a few shuttle services between Norden and Harmans Cross hauling a southern region 4VEP E.M.U. which made for some interesting pictures. 45133 did itself proud during the gala and never missed a beat operating reliably flying the flag for peaks.

The return convoy from Swanage, 0Z97 departed Swanage on Tuesday 18th May with 47580 hauling 37264+45133+31271+50035 to Kidderminster via Salisbury, Westbury, Bristol Parkway and Worcester. Faultless running following the on time departure at 08:15 gave an on time arrival at Kidderminster at 15:20 where 50035 was detached from the convoy. The following day 47580 hauled the convoy from Kidderminster to the MRC via Stourbridge, Bescot, Tamworth, Burton on Trent and Toton. Departure from Kidderminster was on time but a 30 minute early arrival was recorded at the MRC at 13:00.

45133 then took part in the MRC diesel gala over the hot and sunny weekend of 22nd/23rd May alongside 08331, 08590, 14901, 20048, 31206, 31271, 37264, D212 and 47401.

Little work has been completed on the top end overhaul of 45135 3rd Carabinier but it is hoped that the overhaul will continue now that the days are not so cold and daylight hours are getting longer.

45149 has seen progress on the power unit with one set of replacement bus bars fitted between the control cubicle and the generator. The locos missing fuel pipe (between the header tank and the fuel filters) has been fabricated. New seals have been fitted to the rocker covers. The locos traction motor blowers have both been tested and were both found to work, although one was found to run better than the other. Replacement segmental springs have been fitted as have new fuses where the various fuses were found to be missing.

The locos radiator roof section has been needle gunned to remove all of the old paint and has been painted in primer and then undercoated. The radiator fan has also been painted and the roof that is above the power unit has been painted in undercoat. New instruction label backing plates have been welded on to the locos body sides. Work on the locos silencer has been hampered recently but it is sitting back on the top of the air filter pack so that repositioning of the silencer’s feet can take place. You may recall that the silencer does not quite align with the clearance holes on the air filter box so the position of the feet needs to be adjusted.

A major step forward during the period under review was when the loco was filled with oil and water and the triple pump was run. With the triple pump running both oil and water pressure were noted on the pressure gauges although quite a few leaks were identified and cured on the oil side. The worst oil leak was found to be the valve on the oil filter leak off pipe into sump where one of the brass valves was found to be loose. The group had to make a special tool in order to tighten the joint. No work will be possible on the loco for some three weeks due to the railways Great Western 175th anniversary gala at which 45149 is expected to be on display.

46010 undertook a successful test run at the GCR (N) on Sunday 28th March hauling 47292+47765 to Loughborough. The loco was the star of the GCR (N) diesel gala event which was held over the weekend of 15th/16th May working its first passenger services since 6th October 2007 when it was based on the Llangollen Railway. The loco worked a variety of services both air and vacuum braked with various locos on the rear (all services over the diesel gala were top and tailed). The locos silencer cover had been removed due to excessive corrosion and it had been hoped that the silencer could be repaired before the diesel gala but this was not possible. The batteries held up but a new set will be required soon.

The loco was booked to haul services at the GCR (N) on Saturday 29th May but on the Sunday of the diesel gala some 30 gallons of oil had to be added to the sump and a slight vacuum leak was discovered. The owning group thought it better to try and identify the source of the oil and vacuum leaks and stood the loco down from traffic. Bodywork repairs on 46010 are due to start in the next couple of weeks in a phased approach. The main body sides are to be attacked as phase one and at the same time it is planned to lift out the silencer and possibly swap the heat exchanger. Phase two should see one of the nose ends repaired　including the nose end floors whilst phase three will see the other nose end and floor repaired. The final phase will hopefully see the roof boiler water fillers re-instated.Information on the group as well as progress with the loco can be found at www.46010.co.uk

46035 Ixion was not put on display at the Crewe Heritage Centre’s recent 1980’s event, held over Easter and remained in the corner of the compound under a tarpaulin.

Midland Railway Centre diesel fleet

D8001 Operational at Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

D8048 Operational

20205 Work in progress. Radiator replaced and piped in. To test.

20227 Operational off site with London Underground

D7671 Out of service, engine repairs underway, liners fitted, pistons next.

31108 Operational at Nene Valley Railway

31162 Operational at South Yorkshire Railway

31271 Operational, engine repairs complete.

31418 Little progress due to other commitments with 31271

33018 Work in progress, bodywork repairs

33046 Spares only

33201 Out of service, battery problems

37190 Operational the Great Central Railway

D212 Operational, roof to be repainted

D4 Out of service. Electrical maintenance and repairs

45041 Out of service. Bodywork repairs

45108 Out of service. Air leaks + testing to complete

45133 Operational. Trip to Swanage in May

D182 Out of service. AVR issue to conclude

47401 Operational after radiator fan motor repairs

D1516 Work in progress, air tanks passed hydraulic test, to refit

47761 Spares only

50007 Operational at the Great Central Railway

D1048 Work in progress, electrical repairs and buffer beam skirts

08331 + 08590 Operational D2138 out of service for engine repairs

Mikes Memories - Stratford

I have always enjoyed a visit to Stratford depot and workshops in the diesel era. It was one of those wonderful railway locations where you could immerse yourself in the surroundings and see nothing but important railway action all around you. At Stratford as well as a six track mainline there was the depot, large works to take on heavy maintenance, Freightliner depot, international freight depot and nearby permanent way yards, carriage sidings and all occupied by the east London depots large fleet of diesels. It was a busy place for the young enthusiast. I think my first trip there was in 1972 on a school railway society trip where we marvelled at the all around non stop action and the range of diesels there from the usual 31’s and 37’s to baby Deltics and Class 15’s. An old friend of mine once said that in steam days it was even busier and there were so many engines coming on and off shed all the time that you just couldn’t get all the numbers.

Stratford depot never had much of a link with peaks but 45006 was allocated there and ran on the Liverpool Street – Norwich route for a few weeks in 1975 but I have never been able to find much out about this experiment. If successful, it might have seen the transfer of Class 45s to that route a Nottingham driver suggested. 46010 is seen inside the old locomotive works used to undertake heavy maintenance in diesel days along with 46044 and a Class 40 whose engine room roof and V16 engine dominate the view. The date was July 9th 1983 on the occasion of an open day where Geoff Coleman and I brought our sales stand to promote Great Gable and sell the usual key rings and photos to earn money for the cause whilst enjoying a day out. Other Class 46s were present that day mostly for the exchange of engines or bogies between class mates to keep the last members of the fleet running. Accident damaged 46021 was outside by the west end doors of the works and 46029 + 056 alongside the works.

More recently, during a ride around the country I stopped off at Stratford station to enjoy the busy scene and reminisce about what used to be and was astonished, almost shocked about how much change has taken place on the site of Stratford depot because the new Olympic stadium now covers the area. Where once you could stand on the station and look over to the depot that view is now dominated by (another) Westfield shopping centre and new station for north London line services. I arrived at Stratford International from St.Pancras on one of the new plastic Japanese units, a mere seven minute ride in a tunnel but I think the location where we see 46010 in our cover picture is only slightly north of the huge canyon that was created to house Stratford International station. Aerial views of the site on Google earth don’t really suggest the scale of what has been built here and it is difficult to get your bearings of where the depot was. The elimination of all traces of this once famous railway location is complete and in extreme contrast to the athletes’ village and other high rise blocks now built there.

Despite these severe changes, Stratford is still an exciting place to visit. The railway still performs its original purpose of delivering people from the east into London but today does it with highly utilised units rather than with a loco and coaches. I think Stratford and its locos will always be remembered.

Next Newsletter out during the first week of August so please submit your contributions of new, information or articles for inclusion by the end of July please to the Club address above.