February 5th & 6th 2011 - Bury, Baron St Works

Saturday 5th February
Attendance: 4

First arrivals, Adam and Jason, went off to Castlecroft Shed by car to pick up an air tank frame for the 'B' end. Jim and Dave G had now arrived so a quick brew and on with the job! Adam and Jason's next job was to remove the 'B' end nose doors so that headcode box modifications could be made. Adam sourced some required tools whilst Jason unpinned and lowered both doors for easier access.

The headcode boxes aren't the originals and are from a Western, one winder controls the blinds on both sides with a lever insert to determine which box is wound. The mounting holes didn't line up properly so new locations needed to be marked out on the door. After plenty of measuring, the holes were drilled out in the first door, a good fit was achieved and the blinds wound up and down.

Jason made a template from the first fitting so the three other doors could be marked out and drilled. The second door was marked and drilled but the test fitting identified a problem. The left/right lever hole was located correctly but the winder didn't line up, being about 1cm out of line. The headcode box was removed and, on further inspection, found to have sustained damage at some time accounting for the problems. The other headcode boxes were checked and found to be fine, confirming this one was damaged although still useable just requiring a new hole to be drilled. Once fitted everything lined up fine.

Adam working on one of the headcode boxes	Completed Start Panel with adapted cover

In the support coach Jim and Dave were making a modification to the starter panel guard. The new start panel board has some extra equipment on it so the original cover is too short to fit. The mesh was removed and straightened and part of the original frame around the bottom taken out to allow an extension to be fabricated. Two strips of L shaped metal were created for the sides of the guard, these were tack welded into place once Jim was happy. The same was done for the bottom of the guard using a smaller piece of metal to allow room for cables pass through.

After lunch Jim and Dave completed the Starter Panel Guard, seam welding the new metal and tidying the welds as required. Four corner pieces were also added allowing the guard to be bolted onto the Started Panel.

Refreshed, Adam and Jason tackled the 'A' end nose doors, again these would be lowered off the hinges. The first proved a little troublesome as the hinges wouldn't move, but some heat and a gentle tap with a hammer released their grip. The second door was equally reluctant to part, the same treatment tried a few times produced no movement at all with both hinges still stuck solid, abeit with door opening and closing correctly. Rather than waste time it was decided to leave it in place and carry out the work in situ next day.

The door that had been liberated was moved up to the working area and completed fairly quickly, the knack having been picked up from the previous two doors. With three of the four complete, the crack headcode box squad had a tidy up. Dave and Jim appeared with the Starter Panel and a discussion about its location resolved it should be bolted through the cab bulkhead in the 'A' end above the drive shaft cover, this was added to the next day's list.

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Sunday 6th February, Baron St
Attendance: 2

Jason's first job was to get the remaining 'A' end door altered so that the headcode box would fit and function correctly. Adam set about removing the drive shaft cover so that it could be turned and refitted - it had been noted as secured the wrong way round. Once unbolted, Jason joined the effort and helped with lifting the cover out, it being fairly heavy and awkward with limited clearance. The cover was duly rotated and lowered back into place with Adam bolting it back down.

Jason returned to door duty and Adam moved to the support coach and gave the Air Tank frames a coat of green anti corrosive paint. As Adam finished painting, Jason was almost done with the door mods so, after refitting the headcode box and checking everything was ok, the three doors and the four headcode boxes were placed into Paddy ready for cosmetic repairs to be made prior to glazing and a lunch break called.

Jason working on the final Headcode mod	Air tank frame treated with anti-corrosive

After a break, attention turned to fixing the Starter Panel to the cab bulkhead as discussed and agreed the previous day. It was decided that it would be easiest to carefully drill through from the electrical cubicle to avoid damaging any wires. The top two fixing holes were measured and drilled through from the electrical cubicle in the cab. These were temporarily fixed up and suitable gaps found for another two further down. With measurements taken, the panel was removed, corresponding holes drilled in the back board, and the a final fitting made.

The adapted metal and mesh guard had not been given any finishing touches at this point so Adam unbolted it, removed the riveted warning signs and gave the surfaces a run over with a wire wheel to remove any rust. After a brush and wipe down the guard was hung up and sprayed with undercoat in preparation for final finishing coats.

Adam carefully drilling through the control cupboard	Start panel securely fitted	Start panel safety cover in undercoat

Meanwhile Jason had been checking out the 'B' end of the loco and found that some of the nuts and bolts holding down the sideframes were missing. Suitable fixings were sourced and, with the assistance from Adam, inserted and tightened up. Unfortunately about half a dozen of the holes in the one area didn't quite line up properly, but with time running out it was decided to leave this for another week. With tools tidied away, Adam and Jason left for the day.

Another successful weekend and another bit closer to D9531 running again.