The latest information on 45149
July 2024: During June, 45149 received attention to the No.2 end nose front, to address where previously applied filler had failed and cracked. A new coat of yellow paint was then applied to the nose end. The loco operated services at the GWR diesel gala (pictured right) on 12th and 13th July, but was taken out of service on the 14th due to a leaking heat exchanger end cap. This was not a serous fault and the loco was repaired in time for its next booked workings over the summer.
April 2024: 45149 The overhauled blower motor (pictured right) has been installed and tested. A leaking fuel pump, radiator settling tank sight glasses and perished inter-tank pipes under the loco have also been replaced. Also No.2 end cab has been given a spring clean! The loco had an annual B exam completed on 17th April and passed ready for service. Bring on the 2024 running season :)
January 2024: 45149 was stopped in late October 2023 for attention to No1 end blower motor, this has been a known issue since 149 came back into traffic 10 years ago and had a defective bearing. Also noted was that the commutator was quite worn and several segments were starting to merge, as such it was removed in November 2023 and sent for overhaul.
During the overhaul the motor was found to be in much poorer condition than first thought, with one pole and its associated interpole to earth. We assume that during the dismantling phase it was disturbed. The fault is thought to be an insulation breakdown rather than a coil failure. As a result the stator has been completely dismantled and rebuilt.
The armature is thankfully in good condition and this will be varnished and baked and the commutator skimmed and undercut. Based on this it was decided to send No2 blower for overhaul as well and now both blowers are at the motor repair shop for overhaul. Other areas of work is the sight glasses on the radiator settling tanks which have given considerable trouble over the past 12 months and are awaiting new glass, and will be repaired when the loco is drained of coolant over the winter.
October 2023: 45149s last running day for this year was on the 7th of October, a successful season completed with no major issues encountered and with the locomotive running slightly over 1000 miles. However, the season was drawn to a close early due to No1 end blower motor bearings making the cab environment very noisy, the blower motor will be removed and sent for overhaul. Other work taking place during the closed season will be the replacement of the resistor bank in the lower electrical cubicle which control the Engine Run Solenoid, Field Divert Motor, and various warning lights, as they are becoming life expired and blowing quite commonly. 45133 has already had these replaced with modern equivalents and we will be following suit. Engine work includes a continuation of the injector and pump replacement program the group has been running over the last 6 months and replacement of the crankcase door seals where oil leaks are becoming hard to ignore.
June 2023: 45149 has enjoyed regular running days this season. The loco has been reliable, but a number of resistors in the control cubicle are suffering from age related failures, so replacements are being ordered. Also attention is being planned to B1 cylinder liner, which is leaking at the top soft iron ring.
The picture right was taken on the Ale & Steam weekend on 18/06/23, when the loco covered another 56 miles, including an evening train to Cheltenham Racecourse, taking plenty of passengers back after a day of revelry!
March 2023: 45149 had batteries charged and a B exam completed in preparation for start of services in April. A number of fuel pumps and injectors had been changed and the electrical issue affecting the lights at No.1 resolved.
November 2022: 45149 was moved over onto Road 8 so that it could have a bit of TLC and the batteries could be charged as it is due to haul a volunteer Fish and Chip special on Monday 14 November. Unlike other locos in the fleet, Class 45's (as well as their sister classes 44 and 46) have two banks of batteries - one on each side - and these have to be charged one bank at a time. As the loco had not seen much use since the summer it was decided to check the de-ionised water within the batteries, refilling any that were low, before charging them. With the batteries checked and topped up with de-ionised water the loco was hooked up to the charger. The traction motor blower bushes were also checked for any adverse wear. The loco's water was also topped up and the oil levels checked on the ancillary equipment - these being topped up as required - before the loco was fired up and FTR completed. This threw up a slight issue with the brakes at one end which prevented any brake force being created. However, this seemed to correct itself and the loco was moved under it's own power to the fuelling point. After fuelling, it was driven over to Siding 1 to see if the brake issues returned or if we could operate without issue. Several passes up and down the siding were made with no issues identified.
March 2022: 45149 returned to traffic following some light winter repairs and a B-exam. A fuel leak has been repaired and the low oil pressure problem resolved. The refurbished compressor motor has also been fitted. Repairs to a blowing cylinder head and leaking cylinder liner are to be planned in later in the year. The first operating day for the loco was on March 12th 2022.
October 2021: The compressor in the No.2 end nose failed in August. Fortunately 45149 has continued to fulfil its booked running dates through the summer and autumn, running with just one compressor in use. The compressor motor has been removed and sent away for assessment. Other repairs and maintenance is scheduled to take place over the winter. Attention will also concentrate on the blowing cylinder head and leaking fuel pumps.
July 2021: In a previous update it was reported that traction motor No.4 had been reconnected after repairing the crimps a short while ago. Unfortunately, on a test run the motor failed again and has had to be re-isolated. Further tests indicate that it is likely an armature fault is present. This will involve a 5-figure sum to repair so it is pretty much beyond the current funds to repair. The group owns a spare unserviceable motor which may have a serviceable armature, so it is possible one good motor could be made from the two - costs for this are going to be a more palatable 5-6k.
May 2021: 45149 passed a B exam but this has highlighted a couple of engine issues. A cylinder head is blowing, which will require its removal to see what the cause is, initially thought to be a snapped stud, but not now considered to be the case. A number of fuel pumps were also found to be leaking. The fuel pumps themselves are getting on for 10 years old now, so it is likely that a complete set, along with fuel injectors, will be sent to the Midland Railway - Butterley for re-calibration and repair of any defective pumps. This will help massively with the fuel dilution problem. A few issues have been identified with brake valves but it is hoped they do not need to be sent away. However, it is possible an FV4 valve may need to be sent away as it has been highlighted that this is starting to exhibit problems. Traction motor 4 that failed a few years ago has been reconnected and appears to be functioning well.
March 2021: 45149 has had some significant work done to it over the last 6 or so months. It has now been fitted with a limiting valve on the main reservoir feed to the brake distributor, after another set of sealing and timing blocks had failed and had to go for overhaul. A number of locos had this modification fitted but Peaks generally were not fitted as they were being withdrawn when the change was being implemented by BR. Other areas of work have been repairs to the cubicle which had suffered some damage when No.4 traction motor failed a few years ago. This incident melted A4 field divert contactor and destroyed the cable connection which subsequently blew the cable off and then burnt a hole through the top the cubicle. At the time the motor was isolated and a temporary repair put in place. Last week the cable was completely renewed and reconnected and run through the cable blocks to the resistors on the back of the cubicle. Investigations into the cause show the traction motor connections themselves were either loose or had failed allowing the connector to come into contact with the junction box whilst the locomotive was doing around 25 mph in service. An insulation test has been made on the traction motor, new connectors crimped on to the cable the loco successfully tested around Toddington yard. A fault with the wheel slip circuits has been repaired.
Previous Updates
45149 worked 3 round trips of the railway on Sunday 4th October 2020 on the last of a number of 2020 diesel running days. The loco is now undergoing winter repairs/maintenance. 45149 is operational, however a few electrical faults have manifested in the locomotive, the exhauster speedup is not operational and efforts continue to find the cause. A brake fault also has manifested itself with the air brakes, and a part has had to be removed from 26043 to keep 45149 serviceable, pending a final modification to prevent this issue occurring in future.
A number of gauges have been found to be outside acceptable tolerances, and these will require re-calibrating, along with the air governors on the locomotive.
Work has also started to overhaul the compressor which failed on 45149 during the 2016 gala. The compressor will have a full rebuild and will require a full motor rewind, which is likely to be very expensive.
The blower motor for No1 end will also be replaced at some point during 2021 to replace the one fitted, which has a defective bearing.
The locomotive was also re-anti-freezed during the autumn to protect it over the winter.
45149 worked 3 round trips of the railway on Sunday 4th October 2020 on the last of a number of 2020 diesel running days. The loco is now undergoing winter repairs/maintenance. 45149 is operational, however a few electrical faults have manifested in the locomotive, the exhauster speedup is not operational and efforts continue to find the cause. A brake fault also has manifested itself with the air brakes, and a part has had to be removed from 26043 to keep 45149 serviceable, pending a final modification to prevent this issue occurring in future.
A number of gauges have been found to be outside acceptable tolerances, and these will require re-calibrating, along with the air governors on the locomotive.
Work has also started to overhaul the compressor which failed on 45149 during the 2016 gala. The compressor will have a full rebuild and will require a full motor rewind, which is likely to be very expensive.
The blower motor for No1 end will also be replaced at some point during 2021 to replace the one fitted, which has a defective bearing.
The locomotive was also re-anti-freezed during the autumn to protect it over the winter.
Maintenance work restarted on 45149 in the summer. On 1st August, the cabs were thoroughly cleaned after an infestation of flies.
The floor in the engine room around the triple pump was cleaned, sanded and given a coat of primer, as seen in the pictures below.
For some time up to summer 2019, 45149 was running on one compressor.
149 entered preservation service using 45128s compressor, which was removed (along with a lot of other useful parts) from a cab kindly donated by Richard Benyon. 45149s original compressor had been rejected sometime before. However, shortly after entering service, 45128s compressor failed with a motor flashover.
Enter 45140; this was the cab that was sat in a collectors back garden next to the WCML. A deal was struck with Mel not long before he sold the cab to the South Wales Preservation Group, but various issues meant it was not possible to complete that deal. Thankfully Richard Benyon came to the rescue again and allowed us to remove the compressor. On inspection, despite having sat for the best part of 30 years relatively unprotected, the compressor after some minor repair work and an oil change was still serviceable the motor meggared to a reasonable value. Before installation in 149 it was tested successfully outside the locomotive.
People having had haulage from 149 will remember this compressor well - it was extremely loud, and could be heard from the entrance of Toddington when 149 was idling in the yard. beggars couldn't be choosers however and it ran successfully for about 3 years, when on the 2015 gala it suffered a flash-over of the armature, we think partially caused by a valve failure, causing the motor to unload.
On close inspection after the failure we found the excessive noise from the compressor was caused by BR not setting the backlash correctly between the motors drive pinion and the crankshaft on the compressor.
So attention was turned to 45149s original compressor, this was fully stripped down and the motor sent away to a local contractor in Gloucester for an inspection of the motor (which previously had persistently blown fuses).
Unfortunately the reason for the blown fuses was a rather knackered armature. At that point the repair bill jumped by about £1400.
The armature now needed to be rewound for the motor to be used again. The motor then had new bearings fitted and the brush gear overhauled. After some problems setting the backlash the compressor was ready to fit on 149, the compressor itself was found to be in good condition with very little wear internally, the 3 sinus valves were refurbished and a new set of gaskets were fitted.
The photo above shows the overhauled compressor being installed on 29/06/19.
The total bill for the motor came to £2300inc VAT, with the work done by a small company called ISM southwest in Gloucester. They are currently overhauling two more motors, a compressor motor from D5343 and a blower motor for 45149.
