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46010
Updated 2/4/11
46010 is scheduled to take part in the combined Greater Great Central diesel gala which is being held over the weekend of 14th/15th May.
Updated 3/3/11
46010 took part in the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) diesel gala which was held over the weekend of 23rd/24th October. In the weeks leading up to the event most of the smaller issues with the loco were resolved, leaving the blowing B2 cylinder head and the corroded silencer to be resolved. The loco has not had any bodywork repairs started yet due to the weather.
A new silencer has been designed to replace the rotten silencer currently fitted to the loco. The new silencer, along with the nose end grills and general body side repairs are due to start as soon as the weather improves. The loco will shortly need a replacement set of batteries as those fitted are now rather tired, although a de-sulphating solution is to be investigated. The long term plan with the loco, following bodywork repairs and a repaint, is to re-instate the train heating boiler. The boiler has been inspected by a qualified boiler inspector and he was impressed by the standard of it, which is good news as the boiler has not been used for some 27 years.
Updated 7/10/10
46010 bodywork repairs have not yet started due to lack of shed space and crane availability at Ruddington. The person undertaking the bodywork repairs has also been very busy lately. The first job planned is to sort out issues with the locos silencer. A totally new configuration has been designed to replace existing silencer box completely. It consists of a pipe straight out of the turbo and across to the outlet in the silencer roof panel. The silencer roof panel will be supported on studs on a new framework instead of the silencer box itself and follows the thinking behind a modification made to 45119 and discussed in Great Gable News issue 163.
The heat exchanger has now had more tubes blanked off when it was discovered that at least one had definitely failed at the last gala plus a couple others are suspected of leaking so have also been blanked off. The owning group had plans to change the unit for a spare but the lack of crane availability at the GCR (N) has meant that the existing heat exchanger must be repaired for the moment although an exchange is still planned. A brake fault was attended to which has resulted in the locos brake timings being wrong and was found to be as a result of a blown coil. The loco expected to take part in the GCR (N) diesel gala which is being held on October 23rd/24th.
Updated 8/8/10
46010 has had its air receivers inspected and passed and the safety valves have been overhauled and re-calibrated accordingly. The inspector also had a quick look at the Stones boiler and that apparently looks in good order also. Bodywork repairs have not started on the loco as yet, but it has been found that the heat exchanger has failed (again) and the decision has been taken to swap the heat exchanger with a spare. All of the pipe work has been disconnected and it is ready to remove with just the roof to be removed to allow the swap to take place. The locos batteries are now starting to give cause for concern.
The loco has now been officially signed over to the group from the Llangollen Diesel Group. This means that a company can now be set up so that others can contribute if they wish to do so. The best way to set up the company is currently being investigated.
Updated 3/6/10
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
Updated 7/4/10
46010 was started up at Ruddington for the first time since it arrived on the line on Sunday 28th February and ran for some 90 minutes and no faults noted. The loco has been started up at Ruddington on a couple of occasions since for further checks to be made with nothing major found although the health of the batteries is becoming a bit of a concern. A few expired battery cells have been identified following a couple of awkward starts of the loco so purchase of a new set of batteries may be necessary soon. Despite the very cold weather no frost damage was found with 46010’s heat exchanger, although a water leak was found on one radiator element so the element was changed.
A plan of action for the locos bodywork has been formulated after the group received an excellent quote for all the fabrication and bodywork repairs. 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 attended to including the nose end floors with phase three seeing the other nose end and floor sorted. The final phase will hopefully see the roof boiler water fillers re-instated. On top of all the bodywork, there are several other jobs that need tackling, some leaking transition joints under the cylinder heads and other small leaks here and there. After all of this the loco will receive it’s the long awaited repaint into BR blue livery.
The work will be undertaken while keeping the loco ready to fulfil any GCR(N) commitments as required. Now that the loco is based upon a mainline connected railway a couple of offers have been received for the loco to visit other heritage railways although the group want to complete the bodywork repairs before visits elsewhere are considered. The group plan to give GCR (N) the maximum potential of the loco before anyone else and would prefer 46010 to be up to the same standard as the other GCR (N) locos before it attends other railways. A test run of the loco is planned for Sunday 29th March and the loco is booked to make its debut at the GCR(N) at the railways diesel gala which is been held 15th & 16th May.
The loco has also been booked to haul 4 trips from Ruddington to Loughborough on Saturday 29th May. Information on the group as well as progress with the loco can be found at www.46010.co.uk/index.htm
Updated 6/2/10
46010 was loaded on to an Allely’s lorry in readiness for its move from Llangollen to Ruddington on Thursday 3rd December and the move managed to make it as far as the roadwork’s at Northwich where it was held for an overnight stay. The following day the move passed Hanley at 09:50 and arrived at
An attempt to start the loco on 5th December was made but the batteries were not up to it and have been put on charge occasionally since. Unfortunately the winter weather we have experienced recently has meant that the restoration team has been unable to get to Ruddington. One of the team still had 5 inches of solid ice on their driveway in
Updated 5/12/09
46010 was run up on 19th November and ran for a couple of hours with no problems found. There are some coolant leaks to be addressed and the loco’s exhaust silencer is to be removed for repair. A considerable amount of bodywork repairs are to be undertaken on the loco but this should not come as a surprise considering the loco has not had a major works overhaul since it was released from Derby Locomotive Works on 19th September 1979. The news that 46010 will move to the Great Central Railway (North) based at Ruddington was made public domain on 20th November. The lorry move of the loco was to have occurred on Monday 23rd November but road works in the Northwich area meant that this date had to be postponed and the group are awaiting a new date from the hauliers, Alleleys. The following is a press statement from the owning group of 46010 and further details can be found at www.46010.co.uk
In the early part of 2009 several senior members of the Llangollen Diesel Group were having concerns for the future of locomotive 46010, following the Llangollen Railway's decision to evict the loco from its site. The team who restored the loco had invested much time, effort and money in the machine and did not want to see the loco sold on or moved into the care of other individuals. Hence it was agreed that this small group would take on full ownership of the loco and transfer it to another railway for much needed repairs and restoration to continue. The Western 46 Group was born taking its name from the fact that 46010 is the only surviving Western Region allocated class 46 'Peak', having been allocated to Plymouth Laira depot until withdrawn in 1980.
The Group's intention is to ultimately set up a company so that shares can be offered for sale to attract further funding and interest in the Group similar to other well established and successful loco preservation groups. We are looking to attract new working members / shareholders as this will help to provide valuable finance for the loco and assist us in the continued restoration and operation of the locomotive. It is hoped that the loco will debut at the GCR(N) diesel gala over the weekend of 15th/16th May 2010.
Updated 5/10/09
46010 had a small amount of asbestos removed from around the boiler area so forward movement from Llangollen by lorry is now possible. The paperwork is said to be with road hauler Alleley’s to allow a road movement with the loco in one piece to the locos new home.
When 46010 was delivered from Doncaster Depot to Llangollen in May 1994, the power unit was delivered separately from the rest of the loco due to weight restrictions on the route from
Updated 3/8/09
46010 has had minor repairs to its heat exchanger undertaken as one of the many tubes was found to be leaking and needed to be blanked off. The loco was then successfully started and took power at Llangollen on Saturday 18th July. Mechanically the loco was found to be in a reasonable condition, especially taking into consideration the amount of time out of service. A video of the first start of 46010 in over 18 months can be found on YouTube at the following address – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bA3_qqeQfw A new home for the loco is being sought following the locos owning group receiving an eviction notice to remove 46010 from the Llangollen Railway.
Updated 6/6/09
The Llangollen Diesel Group has received an eviction notice to remove 46010 from the Llangollen Railway by the end of June. Several new homes are currently being investigated but as yet no decision has been taken. The group has had to make the difficult decision that the overhaul and continued operation of the locomotive is currently beyond its means. As a result the Llangollen Diesel Group are looking to transfer custodianship to a Group who can commit to performing the necessary work required to give her an operational future.
Updated 4/4/09
46010 has had no work done to it over the period under review and is still awaiting major bodywork repairs as well as some work on its power unit.
Updated 1/2/09
No acceptable bid has been made for it when all of the Llangollen diesels were offered for sale and so the diesel group hope that the loco will remain at Llangollen. No work has been done to the loco over the period under review.
Updated 5/12/08
No work has been carried out on 46010 recently at Llangollen whilst the owning group evaluate options after the decision to reduce their diesel fleet was taken. At the beginning of September it was announced that the Llangollen diesel group will keep 25313, 37240 and D1566. D8142, 46010 and the diesel shunter will be sold.
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