Not a lot to report on 26043...its making a few funny noises but nothing really of interest since the last update, things might get a little more interesting towards the winter when we start taking roof panels off....

 

In the meantime.....

 

I took a help for request from the Llangollen diesel boys, owners of 26010.... 26010 was in a sport of bother in that it had damaged a commutator on the traction motor. 

 

long and short of it deal arranged for 26010 to visit Toddington to have this sorted out and the chance for a bit of nostalgic thrash for a pair of 26s in there 60th year.

 

 

26010 arriving at todd, sporting a fantastic "economy green" paint job, but she's hiding some very dark secrets...

 

 

26043 sat in the rain at broadway with the last departure of the day

 

so 26010 has suffered a partial collapse of the commutator bearing in traction motor number 2, the original job was to get one of 26043s "spare" traction motors overhauled shoe horn it in to 26010, and the rest is history......

 

so whats the plan then....firstly we need to get the traction motor overhauled.....

 

 

if we jump back in time to the dark days of a number of years ago we see errant traction motor no2 being extracted from 26043 in the very same car park as the one which 26010 is being unloaded, 3 months prior 26043 decided that it didn't like traction motors no2 and no3 and flashed them both over. in the case of these 2 motors it was an interpole failure, which meant a winding failed in one of the interpole coils and those nasty volts got their wish and got to earth, blowing a 3cm hole in the interpole in the process. Principally this is caused by a break down in the varnish insulation, mostly due to age or possibly moisture contamination.....26043 was withdrawn after a power earth fault while on snowplough duties....so you can assume moisture had a big part to play.

 

The motor itself is quite easy to extract, in fact in a rainy car park yours truly (pictured with my back nearest facing the camera. and a number of other fellow workers extracted 3 motors in less than 24 hours (we had to send a bogie away for a tyre turn and due to the depot crane limit it couldn't be more than 10 tons, all successful many years of thrash right up to the present day....

 

those 2 motors went into storage....until 3 months ago they were then sent along with a suitcase full of money to a specialist contractor to be overhauled although you cant really see from the photo inside that motor is black filthy and full of "soot" externally its covered in grime and oil after last being overhauled in 1986!

 

So as I said a lot of money and a specialist contractor and you get this.....

 

yes that's the very same motor you saw being extracted earlier, 47105 basks in the background having a very extensive overhaul.

 

ok looks shiny but its the inside that counts right?

 

 

Here you see all of the brush gear overhauled the coils removed and re-taped, the armature baked and varnished and the commutator turned on a lathe and undercut, and new brushes fitted.....the brushes alone are £1200

 

Ok great all good to go get it in 26010 and the Llangollen lads are good to go right.....

 

sadly not as I said 26010 was hiding some dark secrets....

 

 

26010 inside the shed at Toddington over an internal pit for inspection with 26043 for company (the first time a pair have been together for quite a few years)

 

When 26010 was delivered as I was the responsible person for her It was myself that gingerly shunted her into the yard with our trusty 04 shunter, whilst moving her I could hear a deep rumbling sound coming from axle 4.....if I heard it from axle 2 I wouldn't have been bothered as axle 2 was the motor due to replacement.....

 

A quick chat with the owners who said they heard the same noise and thought it some incorrectly fitted brushes which had been fitted the day before.... as such I decided to put 26010 over a pit the following weekend and have a look to see if this was the issue.....

 

 

sadly....it wasn't....

 

 

What you see here is another case of the bearing collapsing on the commutator side of the motor if you look carefully the first picture you see the right hand side of the brush box clear the commutator but as you advance to the left that gap is slowly being taken up and eventually it strikes the commutator on the far left causing serious damage to the commutator and possibly writing it off. Note also how dirty and black everything is compared to the refurbished motor.

 

 

 

Close ups of the offending brush box which has caused all of the damage, the brush box is still fully serviceable and only needs minor work to No1 brush cavity to be serviceable again.

 

after inspection I recommended to the owners that all 3 remaining motors would best be overhauled, and in a flash the repair bill for the owners went north of 22k!

 

So after expecting to only have to replace 1 motor....we are now removing and overhauling all 4!

 

None of us are being paid for this work, and by working together 26043 is left with an overhauled spare traction motor and 26010 is restored to working order after so far 12 months out of traffic, after repairs and period of running at the GWR, she will return home to wales, and hopefully after all this work run for many more years to come!