GWR NEWS: The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway was forced to close in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This put the railway into a serious financial position, as repairs to a landslip near Gotherington depend largely on a regular income stream during the running season. An emergency appeal was launched and thanks to the amazing generosity of supporters, the target amount of £250k has been reached. However, regular donations are essential for keeping the railway operational. If you are able to make a financial donation to help, please go to the link here to find out how. Thank you.
The railway re-started steam hauled train services on 15th August to a limited timetable and for pre-booking only. Please click here for more details.
The railway re-started steam hauled train services on 15th August to a limited timetable and for pre-booking only. Please click here for more details.
Regular updates on our locomotives will be posted here. For the latest Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway locomotive roster, click here
The latest information on D5343
Since work on the loco restarted in July, the cylinder liners have been inspected thoroughly. Internally they are all in spec, although externally one is a candidate for rejection due to a large score and major external corrosion. A few of them have some corrosion as well but can be brought back into serviceable condition.
The pistons have also been examined and are not quite as they could be, some of the ring grooves have wear and it is likely that some of the rings will need to be replaced.
You will see from the picture that No.4 piston is originally from a Class 45 - marked as D65, later 45111 'Grenadier Guardsman'!
Work is also carrying on in the background to clean all the parts that need cleaning. All the piston rings have been removed so they can be checked for wear. The next stage will be to internally clean the liners, and then check the condition of the cylinder heads. The fuel pumps are being sent away for re-calibration.
The pistons have also been examined and are not quite as they could be, some of the ring grooves have wear and it is likely that some of the rings will need to be replaced.
You will see from the picture that No.4 piston is originally from a Class 45 - marked as D65, later 45111 'Grenadier Guardsman'!
Work is also carrying on in the background to clean all the parts that need cleaning. All the piston rings have been removed so they can be checked for wear. The next stage will be to internally clean the liners, and then check the condition of the cylinder heads. The fuel pumps are being sent away for re-calibration.
Previous Updates
By the end of March 2020, the engine strip down of D5343 to attend to defective cylinder liners was complete.
The photo (left) shows the loco outside the shed at Toddington on 23/02/20.
Bearing wise the engine is in excellent condition, the bearings on all 6 big ends have minor scoring but very little in terms of actual wear. The engine runs on standard bearings so if this was a repair item it would be in the region of £1500 but thankfully this isn't required.
Pistons are in good condition for their age, with minor slap present and a little damage present on the skirts, but nothing too bad. One piston ring was broken, which looks like it has been broken since BR installed it in the bore. Thankfully it was intact, but there is signs of wear on the bore where the ring has been trapped.
Cylinder liners internally are not brilliant, with some damage mainly due to where the locomotive sat out of use for a number of years and water/condensation has formed around the piston rings, causing them to eat into the liner walls. We had a similar issue on 45149 which caused us to reject the fitted liners, which at the time was a simple process, since the liners were readily available from Booth's scrapyard. That is no longer the case so we will have to live with what we have...
Externally is not very good news, with No.1 liner showing significant corrosion around the bore external to where the cylinder liner seals sit, which is not unusual and is normally the reason why liners get rejected. This is caused where the seal fails and water sits behind the seal this causing corrosion and pitting. Without intervention it is unlikely the liner will seal successfully with water, let alone antifreeze, so we will have to use chemical metal to re-fill the pitting, which is the cheapest option.
Top deck wise, everything is in order, it is likely new transition cups will be needed but we will see how they clean up. The fuel pumps are likely to be sent away for re-calibration/overhaul since on strip down it was noted that there is a continual fuelling issue.
The extensive work to the metal on both front ends of D5343 has been successfully completed and yellow top coat applied. The discs have also been cleaned, repainted and refitted with them being treated to black painted edges, an embellishment that was very Scottish Region.
By the end of March 2020, the engine strip down of D5343 to attend to defective cylinder liners was complete.
The photo (left) shows the loco outside the shed at Toddington on 23/02/20.
Bearing wise the engine is in excellent condition, the bearings on all 6 big ends have minor scoring but very little in terms of actual wear. The engine runs on standard bearings so if this was a repair item it would be in the region of £1500 but thankfully this isn't required.
Pistons are in good condition for their age, with minor slap present and a little damage present on the skirts, but nothing too bad. One piston ring was broken, which looks like it has been broken since BR installed it in the bore. Thankfully it was intact, but there is signs of wear on the bore where the ring has been trapped.
Cylinder liners internally are not brilliant, with some damage mainly due to where the locomotive sat out of use for a number of years and water/condensation has formed around the piston rings, causing them to eat into the liner walls. We had a similar issue on 45149 which caused us to reject the fitted liners, which at the time was a simple process, since the liners were readily available from Booth's scrapyard. That is no longer the case so we will have to live with what we have...
Externally is not very good news, with No.1 liner showing significant corrosion around the bore external to where the cylinder liner seals sit, which is not unusual and is normally the reason why liners get rejected. This is caused where the seal fails and water sits behind the seal this causing corrosion and pitting. Without intervention it is unlikely the liner will seal successfully with water, let alone antifreeze, so we will have to use chemical metal to re-fill the pitting, which is the cheapest option.
Top deck wise, everything is in order, it is likely new transition cups will be needed but we will see how they clean up. The fuel pumps are likely to be sent away for re-calibration/overhaul since on strip down it was noted that there is a continual fuelling issue.
The extensive work to the metal on both front ends of D5343 has been successfully completed and yellow top coat applied. The discs have also been cleaned, repainted and refitted with them being treated to black painted edges, an embellishment that was very Scottish Region.
The pictures above show the work taking place on D5343 during November 2019, with the yellow end rubbed down to expose the corrosion areas and then new metal welded in. Photos by Simon Townsend.
The pictures below show further work taking place on the roof and around the top of the cabs. The roof was fully shotblasted with no corrosion found, the body structures were in good condition with just some surface rust evident. Apart from a little corrosion around the window frames, the general metalwork on the cabs was in excellent condition.
In 2019, D5343 was joined at Toddington by classmate D5310 (26010) from the Llangollen Railway (pictured up on jacks at Toddington). The plan was for two traction motors to be overhauled, one to go in D5310 and one in D5343. However, on closer inspection it became apparent that all of D5310s motors require overhaul, so the loco has had an extended stay at the GWR.
In 2019, D5343 was joined at Toddington by classmate D5310 (26010) from the Llangollen Railway (pictured up on jacks at Toddington). The plan was for two traction motors to be overhauled, one to go in D5310 and one in D5343. However, on closer inspection it became apparent that all of D5310s motors require overhaul, so the loco has had an extended stay at the GWR.
The picture on the left shows one of D5343s original Crompton Parkinson traction motors, overhauled and in the diesel shed at Toddington, ready for fitting into D5310.
The latest information on 45149
Maintenance work has restarted on 45149. On 1st August, the cabs were thoroughly cleaned after an infestation of flies.
The floor in the engine room around the triple pump has been cleaned, sanded and given a coat of primer, as seen in the pictures below.
Previous Updates
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.
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.
