New ways

Essential maintenance - Bishops Cleeve

A small team went out on Friday to deal with a frequently used foot crossing at Bishops Cleeve. This had become uneven, and was judged a hazard.

 

It's a slightly unusual crossing, in that it is double track, albeit with the second track only 10ft long. It was this second 'track' that was causing the problems. Some pads had risen, and a space had opened out between two concrete sleepers used as part of the footway.

 

It was decided to replace the rubber pads on the second 'track' with tarmac. This also allowed the removal of the two sleepers in the 6ft, which had a gap arising between them.

The surplus mats we carried to one side, and were later taken back to store in Winchcombe. 

Those rubber mats were surprisingly heavy, but they did have the benefit of giving us some healthy exercise after all the sitting at home in a fug. It was good to be out in the healthy open air again.

In the background is the old Bishops Cleeve goods yard, now a childrens' nursery. The station site itself (further along) is all housing now, except for our double trackbed through it.

Once the second 'track' area had been cleared it looked like this. the area was now ready for resurfacing with tarmac.

 

A little later a large Tarmac lorry arrived - excellent coordination. We had only just finished.

It upended itself like this, right up against the crossing. Our fears that all the tarmac would come out at once were allayed - just a little hatch opens, and it slowly pours out into wheelbarrows.

Picture with thanks to Andy Young.

Taken at the end of the day, this picture shows the finished job. Nice and smooth again.

Picture with thanks to Andy Young.

This is Friday's little gang: Mike, Andy S, Chris and Jo. Andy Y is behind the camera.

Got some essential maintenance? We're up for it!

Essential maintenance - Fishplate greasing

As mentioned in the previous blog, we were up for trying a new method of fishplate greasing. The old method involved getting out of store very heavy equipment (TB2s and a compressor) and getting it to site in a fleet of vehicles, where a struggle unloading it and getting it on the rails ensued.

 

 

The new method involves a new type of lubricant called Interflon. This is sprayed along the tops and bottoms of the fishplates using a backpack, which is much simpler. The fluid has a high penetrating ability and creeps into the spaces between the fishing surfaces and the rail.

Drawbacks are that it is certainly not cheap, and needs to be done more frequently than with classic opening of fishplates and applying grease.

On the positive side, it's quicker, and can be done by just two people.

 

 

 

So this is the gun? Yes, and don't point it at me, Tim!

 

 

 

 

The backpack was Swiss made, while the pistol was made in the USA. We were new to the kit, and spent a long time trying to assemble it. Five, normally intelligent, people bent over it and scratched their heads. It could have been designed to be more user friendly...

 

 

 

 

 

Because of a situation peculiar to us, we needed to undo the fishplates one more time, on this first application. We did this using our impact wrench.

Some refer to this machine as a Bance, we prefer to call it the 'animal' Which is the correct term? Well, as long as it works.

Rattlerattlerattlerattlerattlerattle....

 

Pull, prime, pull, squirt. I think.

Fishplates loosened, now comes the application of the Interflon. It's supposed to come out in measured doses, supported by the pumping action of the left arm. Or right arm, if you are left handed. In which case, assemble the other way round.

 

One of the main reasons for loosening the fishplates is that we would like to achieve a constant torque on the nuts. To this end, we have acquired (sound of bugle): a torque wrench!

This can be adjusted to let go at so many foot pounds, or newton metres. Take your pick, the strength is the same.

Once the lubricant has been applied, one of us followed with the new toy and pulled, until each nut was on with the same torque applied. Although this is a ratchet wrench, we quickly learned (this being a trial session) that doing the nuts up was very slow, even with the ratchet. So the Bance (or animal) was used to do the nuts up again as well, and after some experimenting we set the machine's torque to No. 4, which worked out at not quite strong enough. Ratchet man then followed and gave it the final pull to the correct torque.

Do you speak Dutch? No. French? No. German? No. Italian? No. Well, can you read symbols at least?

We progressed from Winchcombe yard to half way round Chicken Curve (the easy bit, as it was relaid in 120ft lengths) but the powerful measured squirt from the Swiss-American sprayer gradually reduced to a trickle, then stopped altogether. We took it all to pieces again, but this time not in front of the 10T goods van in the yard, but out on top of the Chicken Curve embankment, in a mist and with 2 degrees of near freezing conditions. With numb fingers we tested the fluid supply from the container, through the gun and to the nozzle, until everything was eliminated except the nozzle itself. Finally the problem boiled down to that nozzle, but were were nonetheless puzzled as the fluid was new and we had employed the sieve as instructed when filling.

We are planning a second session, this time with a representative of the supplier to help us. We shall get there!

Wednesday follow up

A cold, but beautiful day. It was minus 1 1/2 when we started, but we wrapped up well and it was almost pleasant when the sun came out. We had an appointment with the Interflon lubricant representatives, and this proved to be very interesting and helpful.

It turned out that our backpack and dosage gun were defective, and they had brought a free replacement, which was also of a slightly different design, which we liked better.

The new backpack had an intermediate pressure vessel, which can be seen in this picture - it's the black tube on the back. This is what you are pumping up with the left arm movements.

Rob Y was the guinea pig with the new backpack. We hoped (ha-ha) that the filler cap was on tight, because if he bent down any lower and it was loose, he would get a Teflon surprise.

This is the new backpack then, with its intermediate pressure vessel.

We had a good trial run with it all afternoon, during which we did find another snag with a recurring leak where the supply pipe entered the dosage gun. This seems to be a design fault (that area rotates every time you change position) and we will be sent a new connector that incorporates a ball joint to cure this.

Are you sure you are turning yours the right way round?

Both our impact wrenches failed today, but thanks to a good team of five we were able to continue manually without too much of a problem. In the picture you can see Rob Y cracking the nuts open (if you see what we mean) while Dave on the left is using the new torque wrench to do them up again at the right setting.

Derek's 1963 colour steam pictures.

 

On 21st July 1963 I went on an RCTS Tour of Avonmouth Docks and Gloucestershire. Firstly S11 0-6-0T with our train in the docks.

Avonmouth Docks were faithful to their local constructors, and used mainly Avonside or Peckett engines in their large fleet. S11 in the picture above was a 1943 built Peckett called BRISTOL. It was vacuum fitted to work passenger trains, like the RCTS consist on this occasion.

Then S12 and S13 at Gloucester Road Junction shed. 

These two identical Pecketts make up a series of three, all built in 1943 with successive works numbers (2036, 2037 and 2038). S12 was CLIFTON and S13 was REDLAND. The 'S' in the number was added when diesel locomotives started to appear, and stood for - let me finish! - er, Steam.

 

 

 

 

 

Back with the special and S11 with train at Avonmouth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone took a little home movie of the tour round the docks, which you can see here:

 https://youtu.be/50ade5abBV4

Your blogger recalls happy days when the Broadway gang descended on the port and was allowed to remove the bricks in the turntable pit for re-use at Broadway. We built part of P2 with them - there were 7000 bricks recovered - and some have also appeared in the goods platform being built at Winchcombe. The turntable pit at Avonmouth was a Midland one, but no one noticed the Midland bricks in the GWR platform! So you can fool all of the people, all of the time...

 

 Then Standard Class 3MT 2-6-2T is seen with the special at Coaley Junction.

The loco in the picture is 82036, a 1955 built standard tank which had a 10 year career, and 9 different allocations. That's a lot of different sheds in a short life span. The shedplate in the picture is 82E, Bristol Barrow Road, from where the loco was also withdrawn in July 1965. It was cut up by Cashmore's of Newport.

Coaley Junction - in modern days re-opened as Cam and Dursley - was the junction for the short   Dursley branch. This closed in 1962, before Derek's trip, but it was retained as a long siding to the Lister factory in Dursely until 1970.

 and next at Nailsworth.

The RCTS rail tour then moved a few miles up the Bristol & Gloucester line and then up another branch eastwards to Nailsworth. This was a longer branch line with 4 stations, and a short stub to Stroud on the other side of the river Frome.

and finally at Stroud with the inevitable intrusion of fellow enthusiasts!

Stroud already had a station, a GWR one on the Golden valley line, but its citizens wanted a second line to Nailsworth, and this resulted in a second Stroud station, run by the Midland Railway. They did not meet! The MR station started to suffer as soon as buses competed for business, and it closed to passengers as early as 1947. Freight struggled on until 1966, so Derek's picture of 1963 shows a disused station really, with weeds on the platforms as well as between the tracks.

 

 

Last week's lockdown quiz - Answers

Lockdown Quiz 3

1. There were 30 Kings class locomotives built at Swindon between 1927 and 1930. How many were re-named during their GWR/BR working lives and what were the names involved?

Two. 6029 was King Henry II but became King George VI and 6030 was King Stephen but became King Edward VIII

2. Why was Merchant Navy 35019 French Line CGT unique?

It was the only BR steam engine to carry a name in upper and lower case and also in script style

3. What was the original name carried by A4 4469 destroyed in an air raid at York in 1942 when named Sir Ralph Wedgwood?

Gadwall, a common duck

4. What is the difference between a “catch point” and a “trap point”?

A catch point is installed to derail vehicles which are running away out of control on a gradient. A trap point is designed to prevent an unauthorised movement from a siding or branch line onto a running/main line

5. In a mechanically signalled area what does a white diamond on a signal post indicate to the driver?

The section of line is track circuited so the signalman will be aware of the presence of the standing train and the crew don’t have to go immediately to the SB to advise the signalman

6. What is the tallest class of British steam locomotive when measured from top of rail to top of chimney?

A GWR Castle at 13ft 5½ins.

7. Which is the “odd man out” amongst the following and why? (a) A4 (b) Coronation and (c) Merchant Navy

The Coronation class has 4 cylinders the others have 3

8. How many LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0s were built?

842

9. When was 3^rd class accommodation renamed second class on BR?

3^rd June 1956

10. The BR emblem fixed to locomotives and rolling stock consists chiefly of a lion mounted on a crown and holding a railway wheel. Should the lion face the front of the locomotive or train, or to the right or the left?

The lion should face to the left

11. Where were the highest water troughs in Great Britain situated?

Garsdale (Hawes) at over 1100 feet above sea level

12. Where and how long is the longest tunnel on the main BR network?

The Severn tunnel on the WR which is 4 miles and 628 yards long

13. Where and how long is the longest section of straight track in Britain?

Between Selby and Hull and 18 miles in length

14. Which was the first BR locomotive to appear in the rail blue livery in May 1964?

Brush Type 4 no D1733

15. How many Brush type 4 (BR class 47) diesel-electric locomotives were built for British Rail?

512.

16. What indignity was suffered by Stanier class 5 no 5212 on a filming assignment at the K & WVR railway in February 1969?

The engine was covered with red and cream wallpaper to make a commercial for wallpaper paste

17. Which former GWR King class 4-6-0 was the first to be fitted with a double chimney in September 1955?

6015 King Richard III

18. What do the following locomotives have in common? (a) 5086 (b) 61241 (c) 7000 and (d) 111

All are named after Viscounts. Messrs Horne, Ridley, Portal and Churchill respectively

19. Who presented the bell carried by A4 60010?

Presented by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the loco is called Dominion of Canada

20. Which motive power depot was allocated a shed code normally associated with one region whilst being physically located in a different region?

Carlisle Kingmoor was allocated 68A with Scottish Region depots at Dumfries, Stranraer and Beattock despite the other Carlisle depots of Upperby (12A) and Canal (12C) being LMR codes. When Kingmoor became 12A these other Carlisle depots became 12B and 12C.

 

 

EBay item

By the way, we're selling a signal lamp and burner on Ebay, if you are interested:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133658861775?ul_noapp=true

This would go inside the lamp case of a signal, or a crossing gate lamp.

The proceeds will go towards a GWSR heritage project. Have a look, you might like to bid.

Finally, we end on a sad note with the death of PWayer Geoff Bagley, at the respectable age of 92.

Geoff was a PWay stalwart on the extension in the early days, and we see him here laying in the Far Stanley Loop. Geoff is on the left, and if we're not mistaken, that's his son Chris on the right.