When the class 104 made its 2024 debut in time to play an important part in the October Railcar Gala, we expected to make good use of it for this year's remaining timetabled services but, unfortunately, the Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS) vehicle (50454) suffered a collapsed wheel bearing shortly before arriving at Corwen with the second train of the day on Friday 18th October.
As luck would have it, the rostered driver and secondman that day were both qualified drivers so, after splitting the two vehicles, one of them was able to shunt 50454 into the siding at Corwen (hastily designated as a new 'naughty step') while the other returned the passengers to Llangollen using the other vehicle (50528) as a single-car unit. Meanwhile another driver went to our Pentrefelin depot to prepare the class 108 for action and then assisted with the transfer of 50528 from Llangollen Station to Pentrefelin.
That teamwork resulted in a delay of only twenty minutes or so to the departure of the last train of the day and even though we, as a group, don't normally make a habit of blowing our own trumpet, that was rather impressive given the circumstances!
The following picture was taken from the front of the class 108 at Corwen Station on Saturday 26th October and shows the errant class 104 vehicle 50454 in the siding in the distance...
With the class 104 out of action, the services have all been provided by the class 108 which was assisted by the class 127 on Sunday 20th October when a 4-car was requested by the Railway.
The following pictures show the class 108 on Saturday 26th October - a day that began with mist and fog and then developed into blue sky and sunshine. It is seen at Corwen...
...and at Llangollen...
Information about the recovery of 50454 from Corwen can be found in the unit-specific section below.
It's that time of year again! In preparation for the cold winter weather, the antifreeze levels in all of the engines were checked and topped up as necessary, and the toilet water tanks were drained in all units except for the class 108 which still has a couple of turns to complete.
As reported in 'Out and About' above, 50454 suffered a collapsed wheel bearing on Friday 18th October and was shunted on to the 'naughty step' in the siding at Corwen...
...prior to various heads being scratched wondering what to do with it next.
The outcome was that a team of specialist contractors was employed to construct a wheelskate to enable the vehicle to be moved with the poorly axle remaining stationary - an operation that was carried out on Wednesday 23rd October...
The vehicle was then taken, by class 08 shunter no. 08202, to the depot at Pentrefelin where the wheelskate was removed. The following video shows the train preparing to leave Corwen for Pentrefelin...
The last two ceiling panels and the last saloon light were fitted...
Before the smaller end ceiling panel could be installed it was necessary to construct a small, shaped piece of wood in order to provide something for the aluminium bead to fasten to. As is often the case, that was time-consuming work for something that will not be seen in the finished product.
The final wall panels were installed on the driver's side of the rear compartment...
Attention then turned to the luggage racks, the first of which had some rivets replaced and was cleaned...
Surprisingly, though, the trial installation on the secondman's side of the vehicle...
...highlighted a problem insofar as the mounting brackets failed to line up with the corresponding holes in the side of the vehicle. In theory, at least, nothing should have changed in that respect since the luggage rack was
removed, along with all of the other internal fittings and fixtures, prior to the asbestos removal several years ago. And yes - it was confirmed that it was the correct luggage rack for that side of the vehicle! Perhaps the vehicle
somehow slipped through a gap in the space-time continuum while we weren't looking?
Some progress was also made with the electrical wiring under the desk in the cab...
Shortly after the Railcar Gala the Wickham was taken indoors for repairs to its bodywork. To begin with it was thought that the work would require a small number of minor repairs to the filler around rivets, followed by a coat of green gloss paint and a coat of varnish but it was soon realised that the first of those stages would be much more involved than anticipated because several 'popped' rivets required attention especially on the river side of the unit which is subjected to the worst weather conditions.
As a way of providing better lighting on the subject, a special bracket was produced to support a striplight. As shown in the following pictures, it fastens to the gutter and a window frame and can, therefore, be moved along the unit relatively easily as the work progresses...
Gloucester class 100 51118/56097 (undergoing restoration at the Midland Railway, Butterley)
The newly constructed wall for the toilet was fitted...
The sections of desktop will need to be removed again before being installed for the final time but, as the above pictures clearly show, it has made an amazing transformation to the cab!
The beading that fits along the top of the large glass windows was fitted to the four windows on the driver's side of the middle compartment...
As well as the aforementioned, some draught excluder was fitted round another door, and the wiring was completed in one of the jumpers on the front of the vehicle.
Thanks to Allen Chatwood, Dewi Davies, Mike Martin and Martin Plumb for supplying the pictures and video that were used in this edition.