It's been the first really busy working week of the new year, with three of the units out on six of the days, working a total of 19 diagrams (the extra one being a staff special last Saturday evening) and carrying 2,196 passengers. We have had two-car, four-car and six-car diagrams to make life interesting. The railway has had some changes over the winter, with new pointwork at Llangollen Goods Junction bringing increased line speeds and signalling improvements at Deeside bringing into introduction a new "feather" signal. The Thomas diagrams call for some units to pass each other at Deeside, out in the country, and the 108, with its newly-repaired front end and the 127 are seen there on Saturday.

The Wickham has been the only unit without diagrammed work this week and so has been having some attention. The recent problem with a throttle motor spring coming off was partly due to an incorrect arrangement of mounting the springs dating back to the rebuild of eight years ago. To cure this proper brackets have now been fitted to both engines and correct springs fitted. The no 2 fluid flywheel, which overheated in the same incident, was drained of fluid checked and refilled but has not suffered any damage. The no 1 flywheel was also topped up but this awaits further work to cure a leak.
Some parts have now been made up with which to pressure test a spare convertor heat exchanger for the Class 127 and, after the Thomas event, the 108 was brought down to the servicing area as it is now due an M Exam. Some work was done on this on Monday but the unit is expected to be out of service for about four weeks for this to be done.
Further work has been done in the new stores and more of the stock has been transferred across and boxed up. We have been fortunate in that we have been donated a large number of motor trade parts storage boxes which are making the reorganisation much easier. As can be seen by the photo it should be now much easier to find the items which are being looked for!

Work has continued on the Class 100 trailer 56097 with welding of the side panels on the driver's side of the first class compartment. Once we have completed this section we will be moving on to interior work for a time while the finance department raise some more money to enable us to continue with the welding work. The next phase planned will be to complete the bodysides of the central section of the vehicle.

At Llangollen the season has got off to a flying start with the "Thomas" event, which requires three units to be out in traffic on each of the six days that the event takes place. At the weekends the 127/108 set works on its own as "Daisy" while the 104 and the 108 work in multiple. The midweek turns see all three sets coupled together. The turns were also used for periodic reassessments of some of the crew. "Daisy" is seen below at Berwyn while working one of the eight shuttle services which it undertook during the weekend.

The recently refurbished front end of the Class 108 set could also be seen to good effect as it had been marshalled on the outside of the four-car set. This train is seen from the driver's cab of "Daisy" as the two pass at Goods Junction loop.

Work on the Gloucester trailer 56097 has progressed well during the week. The coach has been moved to another road in the Butterley workshop so that access can be gained to the other side, defective parts of the frame in the first class area on the driver's side have been cut out and all the body sheeting on the lower body in this area removed. This side is considerably worse than the other, perhaps because it faced the sea during the time the set was stored at the West Somerset Railway. The panel which covers the two-character headcode has been fitted as had the headcode box and mechanism itself. Final fixing will take place once the glass is installed.

Inside the cab reassembly work has at last begun. A new ply floor was fitted which allowed the desk frame to be put back in place and secured. The new desk top panels have arrived but the old top is being used as a template while the cab is assembled round it. What remains of the original cab wall panels have been rescued from the power car where they are stored as have the destination boxes. Holes have been drilled for the wiper motors but,as we intend to update these, modifications will be required in this area. We will be able to progress the cab a little further before work has to stop to allow the electrical department in.

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The retrimmed first class seating has been fitted in Class 108 trailer 56223, which normally is paired with Class 127 power car 51618. The fabric chosen is a semi-contemporary design which gives the saloon an upmarket appearance. This is the fifth first class saloon which has been refurbished, the upgrades for which were paid for by charging a £1 supplement for travel. Fitted in the van of Class 108 power car 51907 have been a full set of retrimmed and repadded guard's seats.

Much of the effort over the weekend went into marshalling and refuelling sets ready for next weekend's Thomas event, which occupies three of the units over a nine day period. However the Wickham was out on passenger duties on Saturday but had to be replaced by the 127 after the first trip due to it losing a throttle return spring. This was repaired by one of our members in Llangollen station and the units returned to the depot together at the end of the day.
One of the hand throttle cables on Class 127 51618 was broken on Saturday and so this was replaced with a new one on Sunday, the Class 108 was washed and the frames pressure-cleaned following its time in the shed and the "Daisy" face was put on 56223.
Work has continued on Gloucester trailer 56097 with repairs to the roof edges, door frames and cab floor, and with a trial fit of the headcode box and associated mechanism being carried out.
While we were saved the worst of the weather the weekend was distinctly cold and damp and the view from the crew room and tea bar did not entice anyone to go outside for long!

In the depot area the tarpaulin was put back onto Cravens 56456, as this had blown off in the recent winds, some wiring was extended so that at least one of the stores and workshop vans had working lights and there was yet more tidying up of the stores. The removal of some stored items has meant that the interior of Class 104 DMBS 50447 is now visible - it's hard to believe that one day this will be a working DMU vehicle once again, given the state it is in.

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More of the winter projects are coming to fruition now that the closed season is coming to an end. One which has been finished this week is the front end of the Class 108, which has now received its finishing touches and has had its wipers refitted. For the first time in many years there is also a wiper now on the secondman's side. Details such as the jumper sockets and plugs have also been painted. As regular readers may know this front end was suffering from corrosion around the bottom and also along the tops of the windows and to the structure which held the wiper motors.

Arrived back on site has been a large amount of retrimmed seating which is mainly for the first class area of Class 108 vehicle 56223. This came down in the van, which had also been to the Midland Railway to pick up all the panels and window surrounds which had been recovered for use in our Class 127 at some future date. Two seat bases and a back for Class 127 51618 were also returned and fitted.
At the depot a few remaining jobs on the Class 104's B exam were completed. One problem which had been identified was a defective heater which could not be repaired. A replacement drawn from reconditioned stock also proved to be defective and so a third one had to be fitted. Those working on the job were praying that it would be third time lucky!

Restoration of the Gloucester 100 trailer 56097 continues apace with the steelwork on the secondman's side of the first class saloon now complete, as is the welding to the cab floor. The refurbished desk is now back at Butterley and has been offered up, enabling the headcode box cover and mechanism to be drilled out and made ready for fitting. Repairs continue on the door pillar woodwork, which had been removed as it was swolen and damaged.

As far as depot work is concerned another two bays of stores have been moved to the new stores area and have been sorted into 12 sets of storage boxes and labelled correctly. More rubbish has been thrown out of Class 104 50447 bringing the day we can start on body restoration closer.
The spare engine which has been obtained for 50528 has been checked over further and the cause of a slight oil leak traced.

There has been plenty of work at both sites this week, with some of the winter jobs beginning to come together now that the first running dates of the season are only a couple of weeks away. At Llangollen most of the B exam of the Class 104 unit has been completed, including the chassis and transmission lubrication, while in the 127/108 set a team has been painting the first class seat frames ready for the re-trimmed seats which are due back shortly.

The Class 108 set has had another coat of paint on the repaired front end of 51907 and a couple of windscreen wiper arms have been tidied up for use there. All the stepboards on the set have been repainted, while internally some of the missing aluminium trim has been sourced, cut to shape and fitted. The "No smoking" signs, which for many years have obscured the view, have been removed now that smoking is prohibited on all trains. The guard's van floor was also painted, new stickers applied and a replacement PA speaker, of the new style with built in surround was also fitted. The guard's van is now complete, except for the seating.

At the Midland Railway work has continued on the Class 100 trailer 56097. Considerable repairs have been required to the framework of the secondman's side of the first class saloon and once these were completed the first section of new bodywork could be welded in. We also had to repair the box section which is normally hidden by the curved body skirts and this had been affected by corrosion during the many years that the section had been covered in. Ironically the body skirts were holding in quantities of water, which must have originally got in there through the gaps at the bottom of the window glass.

During the week we were able to gain access to a Class 117 vehicle which is being cut up after being vandalised by metal thieves. We have obtained all the internal panels which will be used to update our Class 127 at some time in the future and we were also able to salvage other useful items such as door locks and glass. This is the same vehicle from which we have obtained a spare engine and which is now back at Llangollen where it is being examined prior to being fitted to one of the Class 104s.(Picture Ian Bradbury)

More work has been carried out to the new stores and all the racking is now in and complete, with the next batch of parts transferred over from the old accomodation on Sunday. Power cables are being run into the new stores vehicles and lighting will be fitted shortly.
The Class 104 and the Wickham were swapped over ready for the start of the season, with our first train due to take to the rails on February 4th.

The welding work on the front of Gloucester Class 100 trailer 56097 is now complete. In the process the original appearance has been restored - on this car there were no end marker lights fitted, although in its West Somerset days a single fitting was added which contained a headlight. It has probably not looked like this since the mid 1960s. As can be seen the troublesome driver's side pillar is now completely replaced with new material.

Inside the cab itself the large hole under the driver's seat has now been repaired by welding in square channel, there are still some repairs to do to the platework which will eventually be under the driver's desk. As with every job on this vehicle there have been bucketsful of rust removed at each stage.

Work has also started on repairs to the side of the trailer, which is very heavily corroded. A section of the first class saloon's cladding has been removed to expose the frame and some parts of the frame have been removed.  As well as making good corrosion damage we are also having to make good some very poor repairs which have been done to this vehicle during its preservation life, these have included use of random pieces of angle iron for repairs instead of proper section or steel box and pop rivets used for repairs which should have been welded. Once the area was stripped down a repair plan was agreed which will produce a very strong vehicle which should last for many more years to come. The unusual construction of the body can now easily be seen.

Another job tackled this week has been to recover a Leyland 680 engine from a Class 117 vehicle which is being dismantled for spares. The coach concerned was incomplete and had been stored for many years, later suffering from vandalism and as a consequence it is being dismantled for spares for other projects. The engine was removed on Wednesday and was test run on a pallet. There were some problems with blocked breathers and a stuck injector pump but after some attention all appears to be well. The engine was then steam cleaned and put aside until the Group's trailer can collect it next week. This engine will be fitted to the Class 104 50528, with the defective engine off that being destined for repair and future use in Class 104 50447. The engine displaced off 50447 will be repaired and will act as a service spare for the fleet.

Work has continued with the B exam of the Class 104 set with considerable progress being made. The DMBS, 50454, has required a battery swap as some of those fitted appear to be life-expired. Attempts to do more painting on Class 108 51907 have been defeated by the cold weather.
The depot improvement gang have wired in a light to the new oil store building and have begun to install the shore supplies which will feed the two VJX vans which we use as workshops and stores vehicles. There's also been a clear up of the area which we occupy with four barrowloads of rubbish collected and thrown in the skip!
 
 

Pentrefelin Depot was very busy over the weekend with several teams in to make inroads into the programme of planned maintenance which needs doing before the fleet is back in action for the season. An A exam was carried out on the Class 127/108 (51618/56223) and apart from a couple of bulbs and a tube out there was little to report.  Some of the jobs on the B exam of the Class 104 (50454/50528) were also done, in particular the oil and filter changes on all four engines. There are four oil  filters and eight fuel filters involved and 20 gallons of oil has to be changed!

Quite a few other jobs have been tackled also. The front end of Class 108 51907 has had its final undercoat and one gloss coat while the brake van interior has been repainted inside in gloss grey. Repairs have been made to the plates at the bottom of the corridor connection of its partner, 54490. Another job tackled was to fit a new windscreen into 54490 as the existing one had developed a rough surface which meant that the windscreen wiper did not wipe cleanly. A new wiper blade was also fitted. Some other parts for the 108, such as the wiper motors are now back and ready for fitting. Part of the rebuild of the front end is to refit the secondman's wiper so that passengers can see through the front in wet weather.

Away from the trains other volunteers have erected three bays of additional shelving in the new stores which will be used for engine spares. Other team members have been emptying and dismantling the shelving in the old stores. Meanwhile in the office it's the year end and a start has been made on collating all the information required for the end of year report and accounts.

Parts continue to arrive for the Gloucester 100 which is under restoration at the Midland Railway. The new two-character headcode box which will go under the middle cab window and replaces one removed before the unit was preserved in 1974 has been manufactured in Ireland. We already have the blinds for it available from stock.

Further welding has been done to the front end of 56097 and the driver's corner pillar and bottom corner have now been finished. Steel has arrived to repair the cab floor and once this is welded in we will be able to start putting the pieces of the cab back together again.

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With the New Year barely behind us we've not yet had chance to start work again on the fleet, which mostly remains parked up at Pentrefelin Depot on the Llangollen Railway. The 104 is currently on exam and is next scheduled to work during the Thomas event in February while the Wickham will start work in March when the midweek trains begin again.

However some parts have started to be delivered for the refurbishment of the Gloucester at the Midland Railway. These include the frame for the driver's desk for 56097 which has been shotblasted and primed as it was completely rusty. The frame has had to be broken down into two parts so that it can be transported in the van, in which it is currently marooned until the van can have its power steering pump repaired.

Some of the cab fittings have also arrived back from shotblasting and powder coating but they are going to need a bit more work before we can fit them to the vehicle. Many years of outside storage have badly corroded some of the parts.

Finally we would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year and to thank you for your interest in our activities. 2012 promises to be an interesting year with progress on Gloucester trailer 56097 and BRCW power car 50447 planned and we hope you will continue to visit us weekly to see what progress we have made.