Transmission change carried out on D2128

6th November 2012

The long awaited change of powershift on D2128 was finally completed on Monday, 5th November.

The news a week or so before that the problem had finally been identified and the transmission was tested and ready was the trigger to sort out a day and haulier to bring the transmsission in to Scunthorpe and assist in swapping the units over. Andrew's loco "Beverley", itself just back in use for the first time after a full injector change, was used to bring D2128 out of the shed and round to the outside siding where the crane lorry could reach. With all the superstructure top pieces disconnected ready it took just over 2 hours to lift out pieces to obtain access, take the weight, release the fixing bolts, lift out the defective powershift and replace it with the other.

There is still much work to do before the locomotive can be trialled again, replacing all the electrical and hydraulic connections, propshaft, etc, as well as work that has been delayed to handbrake, engine throttle, etc., with Andrew not expecting to see the loco running much before the year end.

Work has also been proceeding on the casing "bulges" and replacement doors, using a tool to make louvres kindly loaned by a member of Heritage Shunters Trust. Those on the right hand side of the loco are almost complete and the left hand side awaits attention.

The first weekend of November also saw Sentinel 0-6-0DH "Tom" in action again after its torque converter came out for rectification - a long snag list now needs to be tackled before the loco can take over from "Charlie" at Rowsley. You can see a vid of "Tom" in motion on Peter's "Weerkend Rails" site. Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0DH "Beverley", as mentiomned above, also returned to the active list after its engine was reassembled following overhaul of injectors. The previous uneven running is largely gone and when called on to shunt the shed in order to access D2128, the loco performed very well apart from some known air leaks. The replacement driver's brake valve also proved fully functional.