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D8110 [20110]
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A replacement head arrived from Railparts of Doncaster
at the start of the month and was lowered onto the engine on Sunday the
8th April. On Saturday 28th April the loco received it's batteries
back from 118 and was started up on the Sunday.
All was ok, and the loco is back in service. The only
thing is, if you shut the engine down, you can not restart immediately
as it appears to be dead. After about 10 minutes it can then be started
again. This fault has been traced to M2 relay, but did not stop the loco
working the Saturday over the Thomas weekend. On the Sunday the loco had
the replacement head valve settings checked after a day of running. On
Saturday 19th May the loco was prepared for use, only to have the main
control fuse blow when the anti-slip button was pressed. This will be looked
into at a later date. After a trip to Totnes to bring back a milk tank
and brake van for use on Sunday, some more shunting at Buckfastleigh took
place.
Whilst this was taking place the loco gave the 25 a kiss
to No. 2 cab damaging the sand boxes and steps on both locos. The sand
box was removed and the steps straightened out. The rest of the shunting
was finished off. On the Sunday (Gala Day) the loco had to stand in for
the 25 on the 09.57 departure (10.48 from Totnes) and later in the day
for 118 on the 13.22 & 16.54 due to a failure, sadly this put double
heading from Staverton to Totnes out the window, but all went well with
the loco. The following weekend the loco run two round trips on the Sunday
and one in the afternoon on the Monday without problem. The M2 relay has
been cleaned up and seems to work better. The loco did a spot of shunting
on Friday 15th June to get things ready for the Steam Gala on the weekend
(16th & 17th).
On the 17th the loco had to work the goods back to Bishops
Bridge vice steam. And the following week it had it's brakes adjusted.
This will be the last time, as a set of new brake blocks will be required
next time. |
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[D8118] 20118
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It has been found that the power unit is now putting
oil through the exhaust on 'A' bank. The loco had been moving around
Buckfastleigh at the start of April and was meant to take part in the Devon
Diesel Society (D.D.S.) AGM, but only managed a small part. Black spots
on the face was the order of the day for the window hangers! On Sunday
8th April the fault was traced to A2 cylinder. By mid April the head was
off and a couple of days later the piston was taken out to reveal that
a piston ring was stuck in and that the bore was part covered in a layer
of rust. As for the head, two valve guides are warn and the valves all
need regrinding. This head will (if all goes well) be rebuilt as a spare
for emergence use and a reconditioned head from Railparts to go back on
the loco. The piston was replaced back in the cylinder with a new set of
rings and two days later on Thursday 10th May and the new head was lifted
back on as well. Despite the loco working last year plus engine running
and about 100 or so gallons being transferred into the 25, the fuel gauge
was still showing 400 gallons! On removing a gauge the tank was found to
be almost empty. The gauges have both been freed up and now show nearly
zone. The loco was towed round for fuel on Friday 18th May and later back
in the yard where it was jump started from 110. The new head had to have
it's tappets adjusted, after which it ran without throwing oil out of the
exhaust. Two or three test trips to the starting signal were made towing
the 25. On the Saturday the loco had a good wash and polish ready for the
Gala Day on Sunday. On the Sunday the loco made two round trips of the
line without fault, but on taking power for the third trip a battery cell
blew taking out the main control fuse. The fuse was replaced but the loco
could not be jump started because of the blown cell. The loco was towed
to shed and 110 took over 118's work, with one round trip being cancelled.
And as you can tell the new batteries had not turned up for this weekend
despite waiting for quite some weeks. The following week the new batteries
turned up and were dully fitted, but the engine would not start,
so they were charged over night. On the Monday the loco was jumped started
from the D7612, after a short shut down, it still would not start on the
button. On Friday afternoon (1st June) a examination of the batteries was
made, only to find two dead cells. The dead cells were replaced by the
battery company, and a week later a second try was made.
This time the loco started, but only after three tries
on the start button. A check around a few days later found another dead
cell (reading 0.06, whereas the rest showed between 2.09 & 2.14 volts)
this one was one of the four that were spare when D8110 had it's new set.
The compressor governor has now been changed, and works fine, stopping
the compressor at 140 psi and re-starting it at 120 psi. During the week
commencing 18th June, the replacement batteries arrived, and were fitted
a couple of days later. The loco now starts first time. |
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D7612 [25262, 25901]
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| With the two 20's stopped the loco has had a bit of work
to do with shunts and the D.D.S's AGM on the 7th April. It also worked
over the 15/16th April on the Grand Easter Transport Gala, but only just!
With only 50 gallons in the tank it went for fuel, only to find the main
fuel tank on site was empty! With the tanks on 20118 almost full, or so
we thought, (see 20118 report !) a fuel transfer was made with the locos
side by side.
The loco worked again over the Thomas weekend on Sunday
and Monday with a fault free performance. Saturday 19th May saw a bump
from D8110 (see D8110 report) a sand box has been replaced and the steps
have been straightened out, but a piece of skirt is now missing. The loco
failed to start on Gala Day (Sunday May 20th) for some reason, but was
up and running the goods from Bishops Bridge in place of D8110, which was
doing the 25's passenger trip. The loco worked again the following weekend,
doing three round trips over the two days. All went well over both weekends.
By the start of June the loco was still in service, awaiting 20118 batteries
being sorted out.
Below is the advice to drivers of the new sub class 25/9.
This has been taken from the BR. L.M.R TRACTION BULLETIN No.421986 for
drivers.
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19
16. Class 25 Locomotives
It has been decided to allocate 12 Class 25 locomotives for
specific freight purposes. The locomotives will be restricted to a
maximum speed of 60 mph and renumbered into the 25/9
number series.
The renumbering will be carried out as the locomotives pass
through depots for maintenance examinations.
T.O.P.S. Locomotive Characteristics will be amended as and
when the renumbering take place.
The number sequence will be as follows:-
25 901 (25262) 25 902 (25288)
25 903 (25276) 25 904 (25283)
25 905 (25286) 25 906 (25296)
25 907 (25297)
25 908 (25307) 25 909 (25309)
25 910 (25315) 25 917 (25316)
25 912 (25322) |
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Class 09
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| This loco was started up for the first time in a very
long time on Friday 20th April. The engine soon settled down to run nice
and smooth. Now the loco is started every two weeks or so. All that's needed
is the bottom of the loco to be repaired, and away we go. A drop of fuel
will be needed soon, as the main tank is now showing empty with only a
few gallons left in the service tank. |
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Class 127
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| The trailer (2nd class saloon) has had a window broken
by persons unknown, so the trailer has been put to one side awaiting a
replacement to be fitted. The Ashburton end power car has blown the Local
fuse giving problems and was not available for the BBQ at Totnes on Saturday
2nd June. |
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Class 122 - 55000
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| The welding around the cab windows is still to be done,
but the new bits to be welded in are all ready. With some dry days the
cab, guards & small saloon have had a coat of grey undercoat applied.
The first window of the big saloon has now been removed. |
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Yorkshire
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| In Service |
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Fowler
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| In Service, no change from last time. |
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Hunslet
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| No change from last time. |
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South Devon Diesels' Drewry 04
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| This made two trips of the branch on Saturday 7th April
with the D.D.S's AGM trains. Some minor faults showed up, but all went
well until the last return trip. The unloader valve stuck open letting
the main air drain out. A special stop had to be made to reseat the valve
with a specialist piece of equipment, (a hammer!) Sunday 29th April one
blue loco, Monday 30th April one Black loco! A quick repaint into black
ready for the Thomas weekend on May 5/6/7. Some fault showed over the weekend.
First a key came loose again (this key is what keeps the counter weight
on the drive shaft under the cab steps) a temporary repair was carried
out to hold the key in place, and second, a seal on the exhauster started
to leak quite badly. Gala Day (Sunday 20th May) saw the loco (now numbered
11216) make two round trips of the line and some shunting. The loco is
now having some repair work done. The key that holds the counter weight
on the drive from the gear box has been removed, along with the weight
and connecting rod. Also under repair (or replacement) is the vacuum exhauster,
which had a blockage in a oil way and has caused some damage. |
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Stock
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MINK - No change.
CCT - No change, though it has made a few trips to Totnes
over May 20th, and a week in the siding at Bishops Bridge by mistake. It
also had some use over the Steam Gala on Sat/Sun 16th & 17th June.
SHOCK - No change
MINK `B' W125814 ~ The van is now under cover close to
the workshop and the wood for it arrived on 1st May. By mid May the
floor was all down and the walls started going up by the end of the month.
At the end of June all sides were cut, primed, fitted and given a second
coat of primer. A start on fitting out the inside with shelves/racking
has been made.
BG - Parts to be sold off, then broken up or maybe going
away ! |
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Other
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| Keep the aluminium drink cans coming in. |
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Dates for Diary (Diesels running)
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July 7th & 8th Thomas Weekend
August 26th & 27th Branch Line Weekend
September 22nd & 23rd Transport Heritage Weekend |
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Working Weekends
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Mostly Sundays at the moment.
If you turn up about between 09.30 and 10.00 someone
will be around. But no guarantees on this. |
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Running Days
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| No running days planned unlike last year, but the
17.15 from Buckfastleigh on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 24th
July to 30th August, is programmed for diesel haulage though it may be
possible to put a loco out on the service train instead of the DMU, but
this will be a last minute arrangement |
