|
Lull before the storm?
18th June 2010
With the stress of the Butterley Diesel Gala over, Andrew and assistants have reverted to quieter tasks but with an eye to 14 901's next starring role at the Butterley shunter gala, now just a week away.
Back at Peak Rail, work has continued both to load all manner of components into the VBA and, perhaps more importantly, establish racking and other equipment to make best use of it. Twiggs at Matlock have promptly delivered two orders of hollow section steel, the first being turned rapidly into shelving (see below with Terry in full welder-mode) which, having been fitted with timber shelves (by Andrew's mother and father in the course of two very hot afternoons), disappeared under a stock of bits within an hour! The next projects are a second set of shelves and a workbench, the latter to be sited under the electrical isolators/transformers now positioned at one end.
Whilst at Peak Rail, the "stuck" wheel from the Gullick & Dobson tamper was removed from the vehicle and using the workshop press frame (visible behind the new racking in the photo) , seperated. Although on a taper with a keyway, there was found to be no key and the two keyway halves out of line - how long it has been like this is not clear.
Work on "Beverley" over at Scunthorpe has included a general tidy-up, the availability of the Palvan enabling storage of numerous casing doors, handrails, etc which had been getting in the way. The brackets for the new transmission cooler were finally welded to the chassis, and it has proven necessary to extend the casings by 20mm to accomodate the grille mountings. This will be carried through shortly. A special piece so that we can pressure test the oil cooler (which was thought to be leaking slightly) has been machined.
But the 14 has not been long forgotten. Background work on the control system has been progressed, the "Zwicky" primary fuel filter has been fully cleaned out and refitted with (another) new sealing ring, and as we are a little suspicious about the contamination, a proprietory Biocide added to the tanks to kill any bacteria or other microbe that may be breeding within. Consideration is being given to installing a means of warning should the lift pump fail to deliver fuel, i.e. if the filter gets blocked or belts snap, giving us a minimum header tank full of fuel to get back to shed on. Andrew and Peter have been bemused at comments made on various websites regarding 14 901's livery - ranging from the "I like it!" to the "Its a fictitious number and fictitious livery and it shouldn't be allowed!" (or words to that effect). People still continue to confuse 14 901 with 14 029 (until recently acting as a standby loco at a Leicestershire quarry) - even Bachmann inferred in a press release for their forthcoming Farish N gauge '14 that 14 901 had been in action on the CTRL! Though a statement by one photographer (*) on Flickr that 14 901 was on loan to the MR-B from the Bo'ness & Kinneil we thought took the biscuit - he obviously has never found his way to this site, nor presumably read the MR-B's! (* He has now been shown the error of his ways!)
 
14 029 (left) is a commercial hire loco, 14 901 (right) is Andrew's - spot the difference?
As an interesting aside, Pete was at Butterley waiting for some batteries to charge this week when he went over to talk to a gentleman who seemed to be studying the 14 intently. It transpired he was a retired Senior Loco Inspector from BR(WR) who had worked on the locos new at Swindon, and had just completed a model of one in Gauge 1.
|
