Since the previous report we have provided services on twelve days using various combinations of units: the Wickham class 109 provided all of the 2-car services except for one (18th August) when the class 108 did the honours, and the 4-car services were provided by the class 108 + 109 combination until the August bank holiday Monday when the Wickham acquired a new partner in the shape of the hybrid class 104/108 set.
The following picture shows the 4-car hybrid class 104/108 + class 109 combination at Carrog Station on Wednesday 31 August...
Fortunately there have been no failures that have "stopped the job" but the no. 2 engine on the class 108 continues to puzzle us with several different faults, all of which seem to be heat-related. In keeping with some of its drivers the class 108 seems not to like seriously hot weather! There was also a problem with a vacuum feed valve on the class 108 (see the class 108 section below) and an electro-pneumatic (EP) valve on the Wickham class 109 (see the class 109 section below).
We are now busy preparing for our forthcoming Railcar Gala which is scheduled to take place during the weekend of 8-9 October 2022. Because of the disruption caused by the pandemic it will be our first gala since 2019 so we are very much looking forward to it and hope that many of our readers are too.
Tickets can be booked online and the timetable will be published shortly after it has been finalised.
A recent 'shunt-a-thon' resulted in another case of Pentrefelin looking like a DMU depot. From left to right are class 104 50528, Class 105 56456, Class 109 56171 and Class 108 56223 (as part of the hybrid set with partner class 104 50454)...
Information about the work that was carried out on specific railcars can be found in the unit-specific work sections below.
The vehicle was shunted into the shed last Saturday so that some gloss paint can be applied as and when time permits without any concerns about the weather.
The new ceiling for the toilet was cut and fitted as shown in the following before and after views...
The fitting turned out to be more difficult than anticipated due to the need to first of all remove the old screws that had been left in the frame. All that remains now is the fitting of the beading which will be constructed and painted as homework projects. The toilet can then be declared 'well and truly open' and the team that did it 'flushed with success'!
50454 was given an 'A' exam last Saturday. Most of it involved 'run of the mill' checks, top-ups etc. but some additional work was required including adjustments to some of the brakes...
Both vestibules on the secondman's side received a coat of gloss paint, as did the metal wall upstand on the drivers side of the middle compartment.
Some investigation into relays, throttle and gear controls, oil pressure switches etc. showed no obvious reason why the random engine shutdowns have been occurring so they will live to fight another day. Given that the problems seem to be temperature related they may disappear again anyway once the traditional Welsh weather returns.
One of our members specialises in painting solebars and could, possibly, be described as our sole bar painter (sorry - that was bad even by my standard!). It's amazing how much better a vehicle looks after it has been given a shiny bottom...
A newly-upholstered seat that had been produced for us as a 'prototype' by the Carriage & Wagon Department was used to replace the ripped 3-seat base in 51933.
It must be the season for problems with feed valves (that form part of the quick-release vacuum brake system) because, only a few weeks after the one in the Wickham trailer car (56171) failed and had to be replaced (see the 12/07/22 news report), the one in the class 108 power car (51933) failed with identical symptoms. Its almost-inaccessible location surrounded by other equipment under the driver's desk came as no surprise but the discovery that an additional method of access could be gained by temporarily removing the headlight turned out to be a real bonus!...
The following picture shows the removed and replacement feed valves alongside each other. The replacement was the one that had been removed from the Wickham trailer in July and subsequently refurbished.
Here is the replacement one after a successful installation...
It looks as though there is a person trapped behind it but I'm assuming that that is because the person was in the cab and the picture was taken through the headlight aperture or vice versa. If, however, we discover that our group is missing one person we will know where to look.
The failure of the feed valve was once again caused by a split in a diaphragm...
The unit was given an 'A' exam on Saturday 20/08/22 and there were a few arisings including the need to adjust a relay so that one of the engine fire panels could ring the fire bells in the cabs as it should.
While working the train service on Thursday 01/09/22 the reverse electro-pneumatic (EP) valve was reported as repeatedly blowing so it was dismantled and cleaned during the following weekend. Each power car has a number of EP valves that are used to switch on/off the compressed air supply to the throttle motors, gearboxes (to select the required gear) and final drives (to select the required direction) and they themselves receive commands from the driver's controls via electrical relays. The following picture shows the throttle and forward/reverse EP valves in situ...
...and the following one would be the equivalent of an exploded diagram showing the internal components of an EP valve if only the spring had been placed in its rightful position immediately below the top nut...
The usual reason for EP valves misbehaving is that some small specks of dirt prevent the valves from closing properly. It is rare to find the offending item(s) but dismantling and cleaning the components usually does the trick. Time will tell!
Some 'hockey sticks' had suffered some damage and needed to be repaired. 'Hockey stick' is the name given to the piece of trim on the end of each seat due to its shape as shown in the following picture...
The nature of the damage was such that it was necessary to replace the screw blocks on the back as well as the material on the front of each hockey stick. The following picture shows the work in progress with some hockey sticks circled...
A lot more beading was fitted in the Gloucester trailer. The following picture shows beading being fitted in the middle compartment...
The ceiling beading in that compartment is now complete.
Various other things were taken away as homework projects by several members of the team.
Thanks to Allen Chatwood, John Joyce, Mike Martin, Brian Nicholls and Martin Plumb for supplying the pictures.