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27th February 2017


The Class 100 Driving Motor Brake 51118 made a brief foray out of the shed this week so that the corridor connection could be taken off the rear end prior to rebuilding work starting on that end of the coach.


Class 100

The move enabled us to admire the job that has been done on the driving cab and the rest of the body. The cab had only been finished a couple of days before and now has a working route indicator installed.


Class 100

Work's also ongoing on trailer 56097 where the first components are now beginning to be installed in the cab. The new jumper boxes were given another coat of paint and some templates have been made which will assist with their fitting.


Class 100

Meanwhile at Llangollen itself the 104 was checked and had a clean through inside ready for service this week and its toilet tank was filled. Inside the shed some more paint preparation was done on the Wickham and power car 50416 is now ready for its second (and hopefully final) coat of green gloss. One of the exhaust silencers with its associated pipework was also cleaned up and painted ready for refitting after the rear of the vehicle has been painted. The bogies were also disconnected on trailer 56171 ready for a planned lift next weekend.


20th February 2017


With the new season looming on the horizon Pentrefelin depot has been working on the 127/108 set which is having its Major Exam.


This weekend the battery terminals have been taken off and cleaned, the engine oils changed, heater fuel filters done, carden shafts and fan shafts greased and a coolant switch was removed and cleaned up to ensure that it would work.


Class 127
Class 127

Also tackled was the refuelling of the 104 and 108 units and a maintenance issue to the control switch on Class 108 54490.


Class 108

Over at Butterley there's been a lot of progress with Class 100 51118. More of the front bodywork has been welded into place and the top of the cab has been completed and the new gutters have been welded in.


Class 100

The 141 has been running for four days this week at the Midland Railway and will be running again next weekend.


Class 141

13th February 2017


Work to fashion the unusual body shapes at the rear of the gutters on the cab front of Gloucester DMBS 51118 is under way at Butterley.


The pronounced lump in the bodywork actually covers the ends of the main body members and the cover for this has to be beaten out by hand. Also being repaired are the roof sections the edges of which were heavily corroded and which are having new metal welded in.


One disconcerting discovery is that the centre cab window frame has been incorrectly fitted and also isn't square. A huge quantity of filler has been used to disguise the poor workmanship and it looks as though this was done when the unit was built. Needless to say there will be no filler in it from now on!


Class 100

Electrical work has restarted on Gloucester Driving Trailer 56097 with the recently-fabricated jumper boxes making it to the workbench to be painted and drilled prior to being fitted and then eventually wired up.
Class 100

The Class 141 unit had been taken out of traffic for a week so that a perished hose could be replaced. This was situated high above the radiators and underneath the floor and proved very tricky to remove. The work was completed last Thursday and the unit goes back into traffic at the Midland Railway this Thursday.


One homework project completed has been the refurbishment of a replacement speedometer for Class 141 55513.


6th February 2017


Progress has been made at Pentrefelin depot over the weekend on the M Exam of the Class 127/108 set.


The jumper cables have all been removed from the two coaches and have been stripped down on the bench, tested and then refitted. This job is carried out only once every six years and ensures that when the sets are used in multiple everything works as intended.


Class 127
Class 108

A newly-manufactured test rig was used to check the vacuum gauges on the two coaches. The one on 56223 was found to be reading a little high and so has been removed for attention.


Inside Cravens 56456 work has continued on the ceiling supports, and there was also a delivery of repaired seats which have been attended to as part of the Wickham's M-Exam.


Class 105

The final job tackled this weekend was the relocation of the shop stock which had previously been suffering from damp and has now been moved to a new location and properly sheeted up.