April 3rd 2010, Baron Street Works, Bury

Main aims for today were to finish fitting the brake rigging apart from the last few missing parts and complete the coolant system including a test fill. Jobs were allocated to the team of 8 volunteers.

Couplings to the hydrostatic pump on the free end of the power unit were tackled by Chris Baily. Ones side was "easy peasy", the other proved otherwise with the Y section of water pipe work from the engine having to be removed to get the coupling screwed in. Once in, flexible pipe was fitted, but had to be removed from the tank outlet first to allow for movement. Finally the Y section was refitted and bolted up and a temporary 'bung' fitted to the coolant pipe from the top of the transmission heat exchanger where a bleed pipe will later attach.

Refitted pipes to hydrostatic pump	Adam fitting bleed pipes

Adam Booth took care of making and refitting bleed pipes, including bending parts under a gentle heat to aquire better angles, un-sweating original flexible fittings from the old pipework and re-soldering them onto the new. 2 lengths were constructed one from the top of the engine turbo, and one from the top of the engine heat exchanger. These were then fitted to the loco, using suitable silicone hose and jubilee clips.

Jason and Chris brainstormed a better way to mount a bleed pipe from the top of the cooler group, the existing being too close to the bonnet top for comfort. The original fitting was removed, the top half was un-sweated, then the other half was cut down, the top was then refitted and the whole assembly replaced. A length of 8mm copper pipe was then cut and suitably bent to pass down under the bonnet and run towards the header tank, this was then soldered into the fitting. Another length of pipe was cut and joined between the header tank and cooler group bleed with flex hose and jubilee clips. The access hole in the bonnet is pre-existing.

New bleed pipe from top of cooler group	Chris B tightening hose clips

Alan Lee had begun the task of stripping down a starter motor contactor panel and designing a suitable one for D9531, which took up the majority of his day along with sourcing suitable resisitors.

Jason was tasked with cutting and modifying hose clips for the remaining large water pipes. Unfortunately our resident welder was ill so Jason took the clips up to Castlecroft for Andy Hardman to weld, but had problems getting the welder set up correctly. Luckily later on Les Tappenden turned up for a chat and to have a look at progress and got roped into help! He was able to complete the welding on the clips for us, allowing them to be fitted on the coolant system (Thanks Les!).

Meanwhile, down in the pit James, Rob, Les and Andy were all busy under the loco. James and Rob fitted the missing bush into the cross beam, this was not a easy, requiring G clamps and lots of brute force to get it home. The face was flashed down flush with the beam but the pin wouldn't fit through the bush, so this was then gently ground back using a drill and small abrasive until it passed through into position. The brake rigging was then fitted and pinned back. One of the slack adjusters was found to be seized, so this was dropped down, freed and refitted. The life guard that holds the slack adjuster anchor bracket was drilled and fitted with Les making some minor adjustments and straightening out the anchor rod itself. Andy and Rob fitted the remaining brake blocks, some of the faces on the arms needing flashing down as they were too thick to sit between the arms of the block. The rigging is now fully fitted apart from the missing brake cylinder dog bones, and handbrake actuator arm and rod.

James and Les sorting the slack adjuster anchor	Les checking the header tank water level

Back on top, the coolant bleed pipes were completed, all drains were checked as shut and a hose pipe put in the header tank and turned on. 5 minutes later the hose was turned off! One of the drain connections was leaking! Les and James investigated and found that the clips were not tightening up enough to clamp the hose onto the pipe. A small slither of hose was cut and placed round the pipe for the clamp to squeeze onto as a temporary measure, enough though to reduce the leak to a constant drip. The tap was turned back on and we waited, there were some other minor leaks that required the clamps nipping up, then one of the bleed pipe solder connections started to drip and will need a repair at a later date. A short while later, water gushed out from the overflow indicating the system was full, albeit with a few minor leaks. The oil level on the transmission was marked with a cable tie and the system left overnight.

The next day, Jason popped in and checked the system. The header tank was empty but water was still at the top of the engine, the drain was still dripping out, but the transmission oil level had not risen indicating that the heat exchanger was in good health. As an extra check a sampling plug was removed on the oil side and no evidence of water found. So, apart from a few minor leaks to solve and minor modifications to make, the coolant system is complete and tested successfully.

Another good turnout and days work, thanks to all who helped.