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Class 14 D9524
The old Rolls-Royce DV8 engine bought for spares arrived at Elsecar on the 12th October and was unloaded by the engine shed for stripping. It is amazing how many passers-by have come and asked "Is it a Paxman?" despite the Rolls' build plate facing them. Amongst the other parts recovered are the 8 cylinder heads, viscous damper, fuel pump, various brackets, exhaust manifolds (which won't fit the Class 14 but are suitable as spares for the Brush 0-6-0DE), tacho generator, oil and water pumps and oil cooler. The stripping has been completed and the carcase will go for scrap shortly. Back on the loco, we started steam cleaning the chassis (after testing the 'cleaner on the Drewery, WD72229) only for the steam cleaner to revert to being an over-sized pressure washer. It has now been repaired. First part of the scrap DV8 to move across the yard to D9524 is the tacho generator, but of course the front covers on the two engines are different - the scrap DV8 had the usual plain front with the tacho generator flanged directly: D9524 has the less common Woodward governor drive complete with right angle box. These components have been removed and retained lest they be required for the Brush 0-6-0DE - new adaptors will be machined to suit the standard Smiths tacho generator on to the front of the engine, followed by fitting a Smiths 3-phase 'head into the control cubicle.
The bottoms of the fuel tanks have been refitted with 3mm cork gasketting, and a new fuel tank gauge is now in place on the right hand side. Although a Bayham gauge with similar scale, the movement of the mechanism 'is what it is' and some time was spent on Autocad trying to arrive at an "ideal" arrangement of float radius The result is not perfect but will be an improvement over the previous defective gauge. Following a two-man conference under the 14's front end, the new auxiliary tank was drawn up and is currently in manufacture - it is hoped to fit it next weekend. The modifications to the currently open vents must be completed before the main tanks are refilled.
A 180 amp MIG welder, aquired through e-bay, is now on site at Elsecar and discussion with EHR management has gone on as regards access to the shed for the '14 to enable bodywork repairs to be carried out - up to now everything has been carried out in the open air and we have photos of "14 in blizzard" and "14 covered in 3 inches of snow" to prove it. These repairs may be started prior to the November running, but other commitments means that more likely they will be pursued in earnest early in the new year.
We are still on for a running day on November 22nd - but wear your warm winter clothing as the availability of the Sentinel for steam heat is not yet guaranteed - not only has the new superheater coil arrived a little different to drawing, but it has been confirmed that the steam heat connections the loco sports are as yet only cosmetic!
Class 03 D2128
The aquisition of the steam cleaner (in mid-June) was actually aimed at cleaning the chassis down ready for installation of the new power unit, but the promised Cummins 855 fell through and the urgency therefore had rather diminished. A "new" Cummins 855 has now been obtained - it will transit into Elsecar shortly on its way to Scunthorpe - and has given new impetus to the project. We are back on the trail with a view to having the basic machine running by May/June 2010, and steam cleaning the chassis is therefore to take place during this month. In the meantime some of the heavier greasy "crud" has been scraped off and several unwanted parts realeased to other 03 owners for use in restoring other locos.
Beverley - HC 0-4-0DH
A little progress here with the new fuel manifold pipe having been fitted - an expensive spare imported from the US and which had to be modified as the brass block where the fuel "in" pipe connects was obstructed by an air compressor - in turn the fuel "in" pipe from the pump is now awaiting shortening and flaring. A new oil cooler stack was obtained and will be fitted as the existing one is thought to be the cause of cross-contamination, however, (we know from bitter experience) this requires temporarily removing the dynamo and supercharger as one of the oil cooler casing bolts is cunningly hidden behind the supercharger drive.
James - Yorkshire 0-4-0DH
The first of the pipes to make up the vacuum brake installation have been cut to length. An electric threading machine (again through e-bay) was obtained as Andrew is tired of hand-threading 2" pipe, but experiments with pieces to establish (a) how to operate the thing and (b) to confirm the dies are not worn were not too successful. Once the technique has been mastered they will be threaded ready.
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