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Evening all, Hopefully a productive modelling bank holiday has been had this weekend. Just a quick update to share that my Heljan class 37 arrived last week and it’s been well worth the wait Whilst in reality the loco would never been seen at Wenford it will only make an appearance at home or maybe the last 15 minutes at a show - Rule No.1 A big thanks to Lee Edmondson of Lee’s locos who not only managed to source the 37 late last year (when everywhere else it seemed sold out) but has also numbered it, detailed it, weathered it and installed the sound. The sound is LegomanBiffo and it certainly captures what I remember from these beasts! Lee has done an awesome job working from photos that I sent him and he was a real pleasure to deal with - really helpful too. So the back story is, that it’s actually 37412 primarily for my future 7mm Kyle layout however a few Large Logo class 37’s were transferred down to the West Country 37412 and 37175 being two of them. Hence the interloper… Much fun has been had shuffling the odd wagon around the sidings with it…no complaints from the neighbours yet…but blimey it’s loud Photo - Lee Edmondson Photo - Lee Edmondson Photo - Lee Edmondson Unfortunately I can’t load the other photos I took as they keep coming in upside down Here’s a link to a short video of the start up…hopefully this works! https://youtu.be/3sg3pjg4v1E Cheers, Pete

One of the models that's survived with me down through numerous upheavals and house moves is this Hornby Battle of Britain class "Spitfire". It was a Christmas present in 1981 so will soon have been in my possession for forty years. The model was much anticipated as the original Triang-Hornby Spamcan had been out of the catalogue for some years and I had high hopes that Hornby would have used the gap to improve the product a bit. After all, this was the time when Airfix, Bachmann and even Lima were putting out models that, at least in looks and finish, were a huge step above what had been available before. Hornby had started to meet the competition with models like the Schools and Fowler 4MT that, for their time, were nice products. However, when the Spamcan reappeared not much had been done to it! I think there were shiny wheels, possibly a keeper plate with some incorrect brake blocks, and that was that. However, I did like mine and thought it looked good with a bit of weathering. I added rear cab sheets out of plastic card, filled in the sand box holes, and added front steps and some extra weight in the body. Forty years on, and although I was still fond of the model, it had to be said that with its solid plastic deflectors and lack of brake gear, it couldn't stand muster next to one of the modern Hornby Spamcans from the early 2000s. I didn't fancy building a new chassis as I felt that we could rapidly get into Trigger's Broom territory! More importantly, and allowing for it being powered by an X04 motor, it still ran fine. So what to do? Ebay came to the rescue with the purchase of a vintage Crownline detailing kit intended for this very model! I'd been aware of such kits when I was younger but they were well out of range of my pocket money, not to mention skills! Before tackling the body I thought I'd work on the chassis. There was no point doing anything else if this bit couldn't be made to work properly. On with the brake gear! This already makes a huge difference in my opinion. The gear is a flimsy etch which needs to be glued to the Mazak chassis block. For added peace of mind with regards to short circuits, I first glued very thin acetate to the chassis block, then glued the etches onto that - the idea being that each half of brake gear is totally isolated from both the wheels and the chassis. The kit also includes proper slide bars, to replace the dummy plastic ones on the original model, as well as parts to adapt the piston rods into proper ones that fit into the slide bars. Next I tacked the main work on the body. This involves some major surgery to the front end, but it's nothing too difficult. The solid deflectors are removed, blanking pieces are fitted in to replace the gap in the casing, and then nice etched deflectors can be fitted over the top. Along the way, the front of the loco, with the smokebox door, is also replaced by a new casting of the right width. Throughout the process I tried to limit damage to the original moulding and paint job, as I felt I would save myself a lot of work if the basic Hornby finish could be preserved. For old time's sake I wanted to keep the name Spitfire. The kit also includes replacement buffer beam and buffers, new castings for the ash-pan and bogie, and some etches to improve the look of various details on the body. With the major work done, I indulged in some test-running. The loco was hooked up the fairly taxing "Pines Express", which is seven Bachmann mark 1 coaches which are somewhat on the heavy and draggy side. Other than some initial slipping, the Battle of Britain was well up to the task. Once run in, though, I imagine it will rarely be asked to pull such a heavy train. More work followed with the addition of some of the more fragile parts, such as front steps and cylinder pipes. I also used some of the parts intended to improve the tender. Touch-up painting then ensued, using Railmatch malachite which was a fair match to the Hornby shade. To my eye, it looks almost bang-on but the camera inevitably picks up some variation in hue, as evidenced between the body and the deflectors. The model very much still displays its Triang-Hornby heritage around the wheels and rods, but I feel that, taken as a whole, it's now far more at home among the more modern models - a testament to the basic body shape being very good, and in proportion. So there you go - nothing very clever, and very far from finescale modelling, but a nice way to keep an old loco in running condition. Cheers and thanks for reading.

It was gloomy yesterday so I turned the layout lights on and tried running a few trains in the dark. Daft, but oddly fun. Anyway, a few random pics of variable quality. The station in general, I need to lightproof the roof more next time it is off. This is a lucky pic. I cant really see the from of the station building so its just done by point the camera at the mirror on the end of the layout and hoping. The resultant image is then reversed in preview. Through a window. Atmospheric, a bit....

Its been a while since the last blog.... we start where we left off....me and my fellow 26 workers beavering away all over the depths of winter...changing windscreen seals....cutting out rot....repainting yellow ends....all for the start of the ever promising 2020 season . Two visits already planned, 1 to Somerset and Dorset, and one to the severn valley....even my fellow diesel dept members thought we wouldn't make it...but we did...we finished all our body work and repairs to internal systems, and were ready....one last job needed to be done and that was an oil change.... the oil sum on a 6lda holds 130gallons of your finest straight 30 engine oil, the frequency of oil changes generally depends on the condition of the engine and turbo charger, 26043 on average has an oil change every 2 to 3 years, and this is commonly due to fuel contamination, which is caused by a lot of cold starts...something which all preserved locos suffer from, which thins the oil. 26043 has the additional issue of a high soot value in the oil but we will touch on this later....so what does an oil change look like It looks like this...2 oil drums on brand new oil....best part of £1k not cheap....this year 26043 has had the addition benefit of a full filter change, £500....but this is the first filter change its had since it had been withdrawn. Inspecting the filter turned up good news...the only thing in there was paint flecks...and lots of it....but NO METAL which corresponded with what I read on the oil sample results. (the insides of Sulzer engines are painted) no it doesn't make sense to me either! the engine side cover off allowing access to the crankshaft main bearings and big end bearings, and allowing for general inspection of the engine to the right is piston 6, this is what's known as "B Side" (non air compressor side) Now seasoned BR depot staff reading this will say...to change the oil all you do is get the engine hot....connect the hose to the oil drain and open the ratchet and just wait....easy....no I know full well if open that valve after 25-30 years its not going to seal....and just like 26010....it will just drip and drip and make a mess everywhere. So...what I do is pop the engine access door off (3 man lift) and stick a barrel pump down to the depths of the sump to suck the oil out....its a tried and tested method.....it just takes a while Its here....things started to go down hill a pear into the depths of 043a engine, the oil sump (currently full of oil) reflecting the flash off my camera, note the surface rust on the crankshaft counter weights...this isn't unusual as condensation over the winter forms internally (as the engine has a large vent) and this ends up with inevitable surface rust. Nothing unusual here Piston number 4, the piston and rod assembly for all sulzers is about 4 feet tall, its held on the crankshaft using an end cap (not unlike a car) with 4 bolts...the toothed wheels prevent one bolt undoing another. the piston has a 28" stroke hence the name 6lda28 again on the left we see standard rust....its the right hand side counterweight which shows something is amis, we see a fresh streak of rust indicating a flow of water has occurred recently....its at this point I asked one of my colleagues to run the triple pump to bring the water system up to pressure, and while the cover was off I could see if any was escaping from the water jacket above and into the crank case, after a short period of running the pump I could see a bead of water form at the bottom of the cylinder liner....after wiping away the water it then returned...its at this point I knew the cylinder liner seals had failed on at least piston 4....and after close inspection I could see they had also failed on cylinder liner 1. So this then wrote the season off....the engine would require a full strip down and rebuild..... So what's first... first there's the rocker gear and fuel pumps....sadly because of the sheer amount of fiddly work we didn't get pictures of this...but its a fairly straightforward process. Then... the heads a 6 LDA like all sulzers and EE loco's have individual cylinder heads....unlike your car which has one head for the engine (or bank if its a V) the heads are held in with 6 nuts on studs, its common for these studs to snap and require drilling out of the engine block...thankfully we avoided this....but the nuts are sighted up to 650nm and, you have absolutely no chance with a spanner so a torque multiplier is needed, and a strong man....up steps fireman sam (his real name is fireman Jon but fireman sam is more humourous) with fireman sam pulling funny faces and me providing a little finger of morale support all 6 heads were undone ins about 3 hours....at which point fireman sam departed for a 12 hour night shift at his Bristol fire station! the heads weigh roughly 1/4 ton and are a minimum four man lift...you first need to remove the handy fibreglass cover so you can lift them out the engine bay with an overhead gantry. 3. of the. 6 heads after steam cleaning, they were covered in a 1/4" of grime and will be full stripped down and inspected before re-use each head is a minimum 4 man lift! you can see the twin valves and the studding which holds the rocker gear, the angled port to the right is the exhaust, and the port to the left is the inlet. next... the pistons... a piston being lifted out the roof with a gantry, each piston has a threaded hole for an eyebolt in the crown All six pistons weighting to be lifted into the racks All 6 pistons (well 5 you can see) awaiting clean up and piston ring inspection piston 3 had a broken piston ring and this will be replaced. The pistons with the bearings and end caps in situ, its vital that these are kept together the end caps are not interchangeable, the bearings are in excellent condition with only minor scoring, but very very little wear. finally...the liners...and liners are the biggest pain to remove, they have been in place for over 35 years and are reluctant to give that up, they are pressed into position and held in with the liner seals, a base plate and two 1.5" diameter bars are passed down the liner and installed at the bottom, at the top the a top plate sits over two head studs and the two bars pass through it, and then two 1.5" whiteworth nuts are installed, which clamps the liner against the studs....then with two ratchets and two people you wind the liner out using the two nuts, but doing the nuts up the bars pull the liners up...its slow and painful process until the liner jumps up (which is when the seals have been released) the base of the liners showing the 3 liners seals which are nothing more than overgrown. O rings...yes an £18.50 o ring has caused this failure! you can see above where the water circulates round cooling the liner, the lower portion protrudes into the crankcase. the liner bores...these are in fair condition, a few scores and a little corrosion evident where the locomotive sat for long periods after withdrawal, lack of spare liners means these will have to be re-used. after a light honing. finally a view into the now dry cylinder jacket looking down the bore at the liner sealing surface down to the crankshaft. at this point lockdown hit and min waiting to go back to carry on. thanks for reading.

An overdue blog.... winter is upon us again.....actually winter has been on us for a while, however we once again run the gauntlet of maintenance that ends up being needed for a 60 year old machine....that should have been withdrawn 35 years ago!!! Observers of 26043 will know that at one end it started to develop a smile...this smile was caused by over-enthusiastic use of filler! that smile was getting bigger and bigger....and it would be long before a rough shunt would have knocked the whole thing out....and also since there was tell tale rust signs it was clear that things were not too good underneath. In addition to this water ingress into the cabs was becoming an increasing problem, so something had to be done.... After the "smile" was knocked off (it didn't take much this is what greeted us beneath…. 26043 after No2 end had been "attacked" A close up of the smile....after clean up... Actually its not that bad the metal although pitted is still strong, but what you cant see from this picture is the cause of the issue, to the top left and right of the "smile" you can see 2 circles this was the place of the headlights, when these headlights were welded up the welder put too much heat into the metal (trying to weld too much at once) and the result is the metal expands....and starts to bow inwards....to make up for this large depression (3/4") copious amounts of filler were used.....but wait....there's more...to try and cut down on the filler the area was "padded" out with random bit of steel plate...the problem then is that steel expands and cracks the filler....which exposes the metal underneath to air which causes the corrosion..... we cant have that.... What they should have done....is that cut it out and started again, you are looking directly into the locomotive connecting doors.....the bellows of which are still present...the air tank you see was added when the locomotive was dual braked, consideration was given to re-instating the headlights, but the presence of this tank prevents it. New steel welded in unfortunately that's not the extent of the rot...the centre windscreen has a significant amount of corrosion also...this is caused by the gutter leaking this too will be repaired... the filler above the windscreens isn't filler....its actually a fibreglass strip added sometime between when 26043 had its unique full yellow ends and civil engineers livery, clearly water ingress was an issue on 26s to try and resolve it scot-rail fibre glassed over the join seen below between the cab steel work and cab dome, all this however does is move the problem further up, if the gutter base starts to leak, water can get behind the fiberglass and lift It away, the water can then go where it likes, and in this case pool in the corner of the centre windscreen. close up showing the extent of the required repairs, all the filler and paint has been stripped back and the leaking portion of the gutter removed. the boiler room roof has also been removed to repair the seal beneath it. the area seen earlier now in green primer, the socket in the picture is for the fire alarm system. Work has also been taking place at No2 where similar horrors were found.... this is where we realised that at some point 26043 has had a "wallop" and doing a bit of research shows 26043 running around in the 70s with a very deformed front end, it was then we realised that No1 end of 26043 is nearly entirely double skinned instead of replacing the damaged metal, they put a new skin over it wrapping round underneath drivers cab side, its possible......the tablet recess still exists underneath, heavy corrosion is present as seen in the bottom right corner this is mostly caused by water pooling, which Scot-rail clearly saw as an issue as they tried to resolve the corrosion by cutting "drain holes" with an oxy torch in the cab base plate which is 3/4" thick. it didn't work..... the yellow ends will get a fresh coat of paint and new windscreen seals. Internally over 50 winter jobs have been completed some minor some major, one major job is the fitting of a new AVR. The AVR has one job, and that job is to keep the out put supplied to the battery charging circuits and the auxiliary machines, and control circuits to 110v regardless of auxiliary generator load and engine speed, in the event of either of those two changing the AVR will automatically adjust the auxiliary generators field to maintain 110v. 26043 like all Sulzer type 2s was built and withdrawn with the ABB moving coil AVR. there is the face of it as you would see it with its glass door open in the locomotive, its a big beast about the size of a dustbin, and towards the rear are a load of resistors. How does it work.....well im glad you asked.... BLACK MAGIC!!! Effectively 2 coils magnetically oppose each other until 110v is seen, when that happens the arms seen in the picture place resistances in the auxiliary generator circuit to change its voltage. Other the only thing I know is that the man who invented in ABB wasn't paid enough, the whole thing is as complicated as a swiss watch. 26043s is still in working condition and is for sale for anyone who wants a spare however the issue with these AVRs is as follows 1,) Its a mechanical device so it has consumables in terms of carbon tracks and bearings and springs 2,) it has no over-volts protection 3,) If it breaks no one in this country knows how to repair them! 4,) they are incredibly difficult to adjust sensibly 5,) they are incredibly sensitive to vibration 6,) most common failure mode is resistor failure in the back of the unit, and the resistors are quite unique. The biggest issue with this AVR is if there is a problem it will quite happily carry on cooking the batteries and the auxiliary machines in your locomotive, its also very slow to react. so what do you do.... you contact a very nice man called Noel. Noel used to work for British rail, namely at Tinsley depot for rail freight distribution, noel came up with a new type AVR fitted then to class 47s to greatly improve reliability over the carbon pile AVR they had when they were built, the AVR you see above is a modern version of it. It is custom tweaked to every type of locomotive, and 26043 is the only 26 to date fitted with this AVR, but lots of other locomotive classes use noels expertise. Noel is in 70s but still offers his services to locomotive owners. The AVR above is a major investment at over £2000 all this work needs to be complete by mid-February as the locomotive is due to visit the Somerset and Dorset Railway, everything is on track, and this will be the first mainline locomotive they had at the railway. Thanks for reading...…..