4th December 2011
As you will probably be aware the cooler group has been removed and is now totally stripped down with removal of the shutters, elements, fan, fan motor and internal pipework. The renewal of the roof catches in nearly complete and one sand box that had rusted through has been removed to the workshop and repaired and repainted and is ready for refitting.29th August 2011
Photos taken from D7029 Rad Group Lift in Kidderminster Yard by D7029 Working Party. All Photos courtesy of Jeff Atkins (DTG)
20th March 2011
As usual this locomotive has had to take a 'back seat' behind work on D1015 and D821, however sound steady progress has been made.
The 'A' cab superstructure, whilst still not fully completed on one side, is now fully glazed and therefore effectively watertight. Other work here includes fittings of new floor plate sections, conduits , small amount of cab woodwork. Cab roof moulding removed and sheared or damaged fasteners replaced or repaired.
The control cubicle has been removed and moved to the workshop. The electrical design work and production of cable schedules etc is well advanced as this is an essential requirement before rewiring of the cubicle and desks can take place.
Work to make the engine compartment water tight has been commenced. All original rotten sealing has already been removed and new rubber seal materials purchased and are in stock. A production run of roof clips is also ongoing as a number of the originals were either damaged or totally missing.
As with any large project, many of the activities are progressed side by side along with a number of smaller jobs such as the overhaul of the buffer beam air hose and cock assemblies. The internals of the latter have found to be badly corroded and have required remanufacture of internal components and also the sourcing of new rubber seals for the coupling heads.
A range of repair/overhaul work is taking place by off site. Whilst the project is continually hampered by the lack of engineering facilities at Kidderminster and this frequently results in slow progress, we will not be letting this stall us. The next significant task is likely to be the removal of the cooler group in readiness for overhaul and this will likely require us to hire in outside craneage facilities. Perhaps the greatest step forward to the project has been a number of new faces in the DTG Working Partys that have contributed, some of whom are from a younger generation. Fortunately this has been in the fields of engineering, component manufacturing as well as the painting side and these individuals have so far proved extremely competent. Whilst I mention no names, you will know who you are and I would express our appreciation for the time and effort you have devoted to this project as well as to all those more long standing individuals who have contributed either work wise and/or by financial contribution.
