September 2015 Engineering Report
Permanent Way
The speed restrictions at Cynfal and Six Bends, in force since Spring Outdoor Week, were eventually lifted after more ballast had been dropped at both locations and the track had been hand-tamped and levelled. Trains are running well over both sections now, but one rail at the Six Bends site will need a little more tamping before the operating season ends. A Tracksiders gang re-laid the siding at Brynglas using rails and sleepers delivered to site by the Outdoor Gang, who also cleared up the rather life-expired ones ones and made the finishing touches to the job a few days later. Work on Cynfal had included the spot replacement of a sleeper under a rail joint and in an awkward location, with two half sleepers as a very temporary measure; the cutting on either side was dug out and a full sleeper was manoeuvred into position supporting the joint; new fastenings were subsequently bolted into place.
A down passenger train driver reported that Loco No. 7 appeared to have moved the curved switch rail away from the stock rail on Abergynolwyn west loop point. A site inspection proved that this was not possible, but it was discovered that the two long sleepers at the toe end had decayed rapidly since the last routine inspection and were in very poor condition underneath the point rodding cranks. In addition the stock rail rivets were becoming loose in the baseplates, whilst these plates were able to move slightly in some very wet oversize track screw holes in the rest of the sleepers. New stock rail mountings, based on the design of the ones used on MOD points had been prepared a little while ago, so a supply of these, some larger track screws and two good quality long sleepers were run up to site. An early start the following morning saw the two sleepers replaced and the track re-secured before the first train, then the stock rail was drilled to bolt on the new mountings. These were fitted and welded in-situ to the existing baseplates, which were drilled out and secured back down with the larger screws. The job overran into the following day after the small welding set shorted out and stalled the generator, bringing a halt to the day’s activities, but the following morning the job was finished. The point was then tamped and has performed well since.
Some fencing repairs have been needed at various locations, with a larger job undertaken near Tynllwynhen, whilst routine track maintenance has continued, interrupted by the laying and lifting of temporary two foot gauge tracks at Wharf for the visits of "Prince" and "Russell" in July. Summer Outdoor Week also dedicated a lot of time to this job, whilst other work during this week was undertaken at Rhydyronen for which the Outdoor Gang installed and removed a temporary water tank behind the station building. A much more comprehensive report of the work completed during this week should be found elsewhere in this issue. Other jobs have included fishplate oiling, for which a weekend was set aside in July and the running of the annual weed killing train on 9th June. A major job has been started and is still in progress at Brynyrwest occupation crossing, where the "roadway" is being widened and straightened out to improve visibility and safety at this location. This job requires the digging out of a length of hedging on both sides of the Railway, removal of the existing gate posts, digging new holes for new posts to hang the new gates on and the building up of a new access ramp from the north side. The Railway’s new digger and Bobcat are on site whilst the lorry has got quite familiar with the cross country route to the location carrying loads of stone, other material and tools. The new gates are now up and the crossing timbers are in place but there is quite a bit of work left to complete.
Steam Locomotives
Loco. No. 1, Talyllyn, has been running well, needing little attention. The air pump has been a little temperamental on occasions, but has always responded to a little gentle handling.
Loco. No. 2, Dolgoch, is also running well. The driver’s side motion has received some routine attention to correct excessive side play and remove wear.
Loco. No. 3, Sir Haydn, was kept together for the photoshoot over the July Gala. Whilst work on the delayed ten-year overhaul has not started in earnest, the buffers have been removed for use on the recently returned Baguley and dismantling has stared with the removal of cab spectacles, brasswork, removal of the cab bolts and the regulator rod.
Loco. No. 4, Edward Thomas, has been given an extended ‘B’ exam, with attention to side play and lubrication of the motion. The tank was drained, strainers were removed and cleaned and the fireman’s side injector was cleaned out and refitted, since when the locomotive has performed well.
Loco. No. 6, Douglas/Duncan, has also received a thorough ‘B’ exam, when side play was corrected, the brakes were adjusted and both injectors were removed, cleaned and the refitted; it too is running well.
Loco. No. 7, Tom Rolt. Although the locomotive had to be taken out of traffic for a few days when the whistle valve disc distorted and the whistle stuck, it has performed well. The usual annual steam exam was successfully passed in June, since when the driver’s air brake valve developed a leak and had to be lapped back in and the air pump failed completely after the rear valve spindle came apart, an unusual fault, requiring the replacement of some components before the pump could be used again. The fireman’s side injector has caused problems for some crews. It was replaced with a spare but the intermittent faults seem to have continued. The tank may have to be removed so the clack and pipework can be checked out, assuming the problem does not correct itself.
Diesel Locomotives
Loco. No. 5, Midlander, was working an evening passenger special back to Tywyn when a loud and alarming knocking noise started in the gearbox. The locomotive was swapped at Pendre and the gearbox was stripped, involving the removal of the cab roof to gain access. A long steel pin on the first gear clutch, one of several which operate each clutch, had sheared and its linkage had flown outwards, hitting the housing many times and becoming badly damaged in the process. Fortunately the housing itself was still in one piece and a spare pin and linkage was available on an older gearbox kept in the stores, so a repair, whilst time-consuming, was not too difficult. The gearbox was re-assembled, refilled with oil and the locomotive was test run allowing it to return to service.
Loco. No. 8, Merseysider, has had another engine problem, possibly a dropped valve again, and had to struggle into the siding at Brynglas with a works train. The drive chains were removed and the locomotive was towed back to Pendre, then shunted to Wharf to clear space for the Galas. There has not been time to look into this failure, but it has been suggested that the locomotive be disposed of as the newer Baguleys will take over its duties and the rest of the drive components are very badly worn, meaning that it can never be regarded as a fully reliable "main line" locomotive. If this is proceeded with then it is likely that no repairs will be attempted.
Loco. No. 9, Alf, continues to run well. One axlebox oil feed pipe became blocked and was cleared.
Loco. No. 11, Trecwn, has returned to use as an Engineering Department locomotive only, with a restricted number of drivers. The manufacture of a replacement clutch lever has not progressed as quickly as was intended, so a simple guard has been fitted to the existing lever, which serves the same purpose and prevents unintentional operation of the lever, if rather less elegantly than the planned aluminium knob. Although it appeared to be fitted with a flameproof dynamo, closer inspection revealed that it was actually a small totally enclosed alternator with an unconventional wiring system, but even so it was not working properly, so brackets have been made up to allow a much larger conventional alternator to be fitted, work which is progressing and which does also involve some re-wiring of the locomotive, so the opportunity has been taken to remove the unwanted over-speed warning device which told the driver he was exceeding 12 mph and was therefore of little use to us.
Loco. No. 12, St Cadfan, has returned to the Railway, regauged and ready to run, apart from a dead battery, which was replaced allowing the locomotive to move itself up to Pendre. The modifications made to Loco No. 11 are needed on this locomotive too and Talyllyn drawgear and a set of access steps will have to be added before it can be tried out, initially on works trains.
Carriage and Wagon
Van 7 missed a trip on July 27th after a guard found part of the floor was able to drop alarmingly if stood on. Examination revealed a small access hatch in the floor of the vehicle which had been supported at one end by a piece of timber; this timber was missing, allowing the hatch to move. A length of angle iron was cut to length, primed and bolted up to replace the missing timber and the van was able to re-join its set for the afternoon trip. Carriage 8 suffered a hot axlebox, possibly due to a mistake when the vehicle was oiled, as there was no visible fault and the vehicle was quickly returned to traffic. A broken door spring was noticed on carriage 11 during a normal daily inspection and a replacement spring was fitted at Pendre before the empty coaching stock left. Carriage 20 made a return to traffic, just in time for the July Gala, looking very smart indeed, but it was only due to some very hard work on the part of the volunteers and full time staff, particularly in the final few days leading up to the Gala, who put in all the effort needed. Our thanks go to all these people, many of whom have now turned their attention to Carriage 22 and cut and fitted all the external panels to the south side. These panels have all been primed and a large supply of timber beading purchased so that work can progress, although the vehicle itself has had to be moved into the North Carriage Shed to release the paint shop space for the longer peak service trains. Carriage 21 had to be taken out of traffic for the day after a well-intentioned early morning attempt to sort out worn brake blocks left the brake gear out of balance. New blocks were fitted and the brake rigging was lubricated and checked over, allowing the vehicle to return to traffic the next day.
The plant wagon, used to move the Bobcat around the Railway, was damaged after it was pushed over a locking chock at Quarry Siding. The wagon has two angle iron brackets, one at each end, which run just above the rail surface when the vehicle is loaded and prevent it tipping if the Bobcat is loaded over the end buffers. This bracket slid up the sloping side of the chock easily as the train was pushed in and dropped over it, whilst the wheels stopped the train when they contacted the chock. A few days later a different gang pulled the train out and the bracket hit the inner, vertical face of the chock and was partially ripped off. Attempts to straighten it failed, so a new assembly was fabricated and fitted. Two of the heritage wagon fleet have been rubbed down and repainted in the correct grey livery and work is well advanced on a new ballast wagon body, redesigned to drop side ballast further from the rails than is possible with the existing wagons. When complete it will replace the oldest of the existing bodies; if successful the other bodies can then be modified, or replaced as appropriate.
Building and Civil Engineering
Early on the Saturday morning (in fact at around 03.20) of the early August Gala, two young men decided to attack Wharf station. They pushed one of the wheeled bins down the drive, then moved onto the main building, removing bricks from the Network Rail owned bridge parapet and hurling them against the museum windows, eventually breaking one of the ones in the fire exit door and running away. Further damage was caused elsewhere on the same night, including hurling a concrete block through the window of a volunteer’s car parked in the public car park. CCTV images have been handed over to the local police in the hope that someone can be apprehended, eventually. The broken glass was cleared out once the police had examined the scene and replaced with a piece of polycarbonate sheeting. This work highlighted the condition of the door, which despite being relatively new has rotted badly down one side, to the extent that it is not worth re-glazing properly. A local builder has been asked to quote for the manufacture and fitting of a new door.
Another door found to be deteriorating was the fire door alongside the upstairs disabled toilet. In this case the joints had all opened up, causing the lock edge of the door to drop, so sheets of exterior plywood were glued and screwed to both faces of the door, whilst it was wedged back into shape, then these were primed and painted to match the rest of the door, curing the problem for a few years. Outside the building the galvanised wire mesh put down as an anti-slip measure on the Museum balcony had rusted away in the sea air and this was repaired. Prices are being sought for plastic decking, which should have a good resistance to rot and give a non-slip surface without the need for a mesh sheet. Further away from the main building similar mesh was added to the surface of the Llechfan garden decking and some potholes in the car park were filled in, whilst the edges were strimmed to encourage motorists to use the full width of the parking area. The attendant’s hut needed new hinges on the drop down flap over the window and a hole developed in the floor so part of this had to be replaced. Back on the station the hanging basket watering system had been removed to allow contractors to repaint the canopy, so this was reinstated and the hanging baskets were hung up on new stainless steel chains, whilst inside Llechfan the curtain rails in the lounge were all replaced.
Moving up the Railway, the sorting out of Pendre’s storage areas has continued with the connecting together of the nut & bolt and outdoor stores, achieved by demolishing the remains of the wall between them and concreting over the gap, whilst work to refurbish the mess room and part of the washing area has been completed. The sinks have been replaced and moved onto the back (south) wall, the walls in this area have been tiled to match the mess room, as have the toilet walls, and an electric hand drier has been fitted, hopefully to reduce our dependence on disposable paper towel rolls and save some of the cost of these. The carriage washing annex in the west shed has been provide with hot water by plumbing in a small electric water heater removed from Wharf public toilets during the improvements there; the shed itself is to be completely re-clad and refurbished, doing away with the cement asbestos cladding and roof and the outdated insulation above the paint shop, hopefully this winter. Contractors are being asked to quote for the work; the first stage of the planned works has been completed by a local glazing firm who have replaced the four paint shop windows with very smart upvc double glazed units.
In the locomotive shed stepladders are used to access the sides of some of the locomotives during cleaning. Concern had been expressed that it was not possible to use these ladders properly as this would require placing of the legs in thin air over the spaces at the sides of the pit, so steel gratings have been made up to fill these gaps, providing a further benefit in covering part of the pit during the daytime when the locomotives are out working. At first these were intended to be semi-permanent, but cleaners found it difficult to clean some parts of the locomotives with them in place, so a framework was made up and firmly bolted to the pit walls and the rails, then the gratings were cut down to drop in on top of this framework. Lifting rods have been provided to help with the moving of the gratings when needed, but crews must be careful to ensure that they are back in place once the locomotive is moved out of the shed.
At Abergynolwyn work to repair the damage caused during the break-in there has been completed; a door given to us as firewood proved to be suitable to replace the damaged locking room door under the blockpost. The new finial was screwed up on the east end of the same building and the window at this end was repainted, as planned, before the scaffolding was removed. The felt cladding will need some repairs before long but the building is looking much more cared-for now. At the bottom of the station drive the two posts installed a little while ago finally received the new approach sign, featuring an attractive picture of Loco No. 6; similar signs have been erected on the two Tywyn approach roads, replacing the old "Welcome to Tywyn" signs. This work was carried out by contractors, as the Railway’s staff were already fully engaged. Also up at Abergynolwyn, a concrete base was cast in place in the field below the station allowing a refurbished location cabinet to be bolted down, providing a weatherproof site for the electricity supply to this field, whist a picnic bench on the platform was briefly returned to Pendre for some repairs and some loose palings on the station fence were re-secured.
Plant and Works
The Transit tipper continues to prove useful, as does the aging Combo van, although this vehicle needed new CV joints and some steering components replacing after a vibration developed at certain speeds. The Bobcat bucket was sent off to a welding and fabricating company for a new working edge to be welded on and a couple of minor splits to be repaired and is now in better condition than when the machine was purchased. The flail was brought back from Abergynolwyn siding where it had been since the spring hedge cutting season finished. It arrived back with one axlebox very hot and smoking, which has been attended to, but there are a few other repairs needed before the autumn cutting work can be commenced. The Matisa tamper has had an extended spell in the workshops, whilst new pins and bushes were made up for, and fitted to, the tamper rams, the engine mounts were replaced, the belt guards were modified and large springs added to the back edge of the engine mounting plates to resist the pull of the drive belts. The centrifugal clutches need new parts but the manufacturers are struggling to supply these, so the machine is to be put back into use for a little longer with the present clutches. Some second hand ex-military Kango electric tampers, together with tamping heads, were spotted for sale on a website; the vendor also had a German-made petrol rail drill of a different design to ours for sale, so four of the Kangos and the drill were purchased. The drill uses conventional taper shank drill bits rather than broaches to cut the rail, so will come in useful for drilling non-standard holes, such as are used to fit S&T sensors.
The workshop made up some hinge brackets for use at the Brynyrwest work mentioned above, whilst an auguring attachment, together with two augers was purchased for fitting to the mini-digger for use, initially, on the same job and the workshops fabricated a trolley to carry this attachment when not in use. A cement mixer drum was purchased and fitted with a suitable connection piece, once again made up in the workshop, allowing it to be mounted onto the auguring attachment to convert it to a concrete mixer; this has proved very useful on the same job. The mini-digger itself had well-worn rubber tracks when it was purchased; one of these failed completely when a bonded steel component pulled out of the track, so replacements were ordered and fitted.
The Pendre gas boiler was proving increasingly troublesome and there had been a few problems with the identical boiler providing heat and hot water in Llechfan. The service engineer, on one of his many visits, alerted us to an offer from his installations division, giving commercial users a good discount off a new boiler, so two new Worcester-Bosch boilers were purchased and installed by them, one at each location. These boilers have five-year warranties, so we are hoping for a reasonable period of trouble-free operation and less cold showers.
One of the two air-pumps we made for the Lynton and Barnstable Railway some years ago came onto the market, after that railway decided to return to vacuum braking, so it was purchased and reconditioned giving us another spare pump, whilst the other pump we supplied to them was purchased by the Corris Railway and has also returned to Pendre, where it is to be reconditioned as well. The machine tools in the workshops have been carefully looked at and the future direction of the Railway’s maintenance considered, as mentioned in the last report. The Harrison lathe is now showing signs of wear and tear, so a long-term replacement will looked for; in the meantime a serious-sounding noise emitting from its gearbox turned out to be due to a bent indent pin on a gear change lever, which was allowing the operator to select two gears at once! Repairs were speedily effected and it is running well again.
A large Crowthorne Model HD 15" gapless centre lathe has been purchased. This lathe has a bed 6 feet long, reduced, of course, by the tail stock, but is more than long enough to deal with all of our wheelsets, whilst its ability to turn up to 30" diameter will allow us to turn most of our wheelsets. The Dean Smith and Grace and Granor lathes have been removed from the workshops and sold or donated to other groups, the latter machine going to the Bala Lake Railway as a back load for the haulier who delivered the Crowthorne. The Colchester Mascot lathe, which has been standing in the north shed for some time, has been brought into the workshops to replace the Dean Smith and Grace lathe and has been installed in its space and connected up.
A gang on a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme volunteers painted it a bright shade of blue after locomotive cleaners had cleaned it down; other cleaners finished off the job by burnishing the controls and other bright work, which had suffered from the lathe’s extended stay in the north shed. The Crowthorne will be installed more or less where the Granor stood, once a proper bed has been concreted in for it, its greater size allowing the Churchill Redmond to also be disposed of and this lathe has been jacked up and moved onto a somewhat overloaded Boflat ready for collection by its purchaser. When this work is completed the Railway will have the capacity to turn almost all of our wheelsets; possibly the very largest ones will have to go to another railway for attention.
Electrical and S & T
The department wired up the water heater in the West Carriage Shed, once it had been plumbed in and have installed an "inertia" cable reel in the roof of the same shed. This reel supplies mains electricity to the area between the train sets, allowing the electric vacuum cleaner to be used on the south-most set without struggling to find a socket. It pays out as the flex is pulled locking in place as needed and will reach almost both ends of the shed. After use a sharp tug releases the latch and the cable automatically reels itself back in, finishing up above the carriage roof, just within reach for its next duty. The wiring up of carriage 20 also featured in the work programme, as did the wiring up of the mess room hand drier, already mentioned. The useful DC130 welding set was examined after its failure on the Abergynolwyn point job, but was found to be completely beyond repair, so a replacement was obtained and added to the electrical PAT records. Some work was involved in disconnecting the various lathes mentioned in the previous section and in wiring up for the replacements, work which is ongoing. At Wharf an electrical contractor was called in to install a socket in the museum office; the existing sockets were all isolated when the Museum was closed, but a constant supply was needed for the new CCTV system and this was a lengthy job involving running a supply through the roof space from the nearest switchboard. As the CCTV was wanted urgently the job was contracted out, but the Company electrical engineer prepared the specification and oversaw the work.
The old shop store downstairs is now shared with the bar’s beer store, for which purpose it was getting far too hot; a cooler, originally purchased for use in the engineering portacabin, was installed, but a refrigeration engineer had to be found to carry out the actual connections between the internal and external units. A power lead was provided for this work and to allow the unit to start operating, an external condensate drain pipe was fitted and it is intended to install a proper socket in due course.
Routine maintenance has been completed at most of the blockposts, a Brynglas token machine failed when a lock spring broke and there have been a couple of visits to Abergynolwyn when the down platform starting signal has refused to display a red aspect, caused by poor contacts in the lamp unit itself, which has been thoroughly cleaned. On one occasion a kick from a locomotive driver restored the missing aspect, but this was not felt to be a long-term solution.
Dave Scotson
