Dear Members

Welcome to our 163^rd issue in which we can justifiably celebrate a year of achievements with our four Peaks and enjoying them at the excellent Great Gable 50^th anniversary weekend. A full report of this event is included which was attended by most of the shareholders of the Peak Locomotive Company and many of the supporting Great Gable Club members who I had the pleasure of meeting. Our memories section for this issue discusses peak silencers which might not immediately appear as an area of high interest but does get peak bashers excited since the engine silencer affects the loco sound.

44004 Great Gable had its repaint into all over green livery completed by 31^st August and varnishing of the loco started on 1^st September. On Sunday 6^th September D4 went for a test run after normal services had finished taking D182 along as insurance. The locos left Swanwick Shed at 17:30 with D182 leading D4, heading for Riddings and returned from Riddings behind D4 at 17:45. The light engine test run was a success and the following Sunday, the 13^th September, D4 worked its first passenger train since 1^st August 2004 when it piloted steam loco 73129 on the 14:34 Riddings to Hammersmith, forward from Swanwick Junction as a ‘loaded’ test run. D4 ran round the service at Hammersmith, leaving the steam loco on the rear and hauled the service to Riddings, where it again ran round and piloted the steam loco back as far as Swanwick Junction where D4 ran to the shed.

The following Sunday saw D4 replace a 3F steam loco at Swanwick Junction on the 15:46 Riddings to Hammersmith service. At Hammersmith D4 ran round and hauled the 16:25 Hammersmith to Riddings, but due to late running earlier in the day this service was terminated at Swanwick Junction. D4 ran round and hauled the service back to Hammersmith where it again ran round and hauled the train back to Butterley before running light engine back to Swanwick Shed. No problems were encountered with this loaded test run. D4 worked services at the D4 50^th Anniversary event held over the weekend of 26^th/27^th September alongside 45041, 45133 and D182. See separate report below.

Great Gable’s 50^th anniversary event report

The planning for an event to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of D4’s entry into traffic goes back to late 2008 when a work plan was put together to identify the tasks required to get D4 back into traffic. D4 entered traffic on 26^th September 1959 and this was a weekend that had no special event planned at the Midland Railway – Butterley in the 2009 proposed timetable. This date was settled upon in agreement with the MR-B and the event was listed in the MR-B events timetable for 2009.

Once the restoration team had completed the bodywork repairs and repaint into BR Blue of 45108 the work could begin in earnest to return D4 to as near built condition as possible. The loco was successfully started up for the first time in almost 3½ years on Sunday 10^th May so that D4 could be checked over mechanically and electrically before its planned bodywork repairs and repaint begun. No problems were found when the loco was running which was the first hurdle overcome. The loco was then moved into the main shed at Swanwick to allow bodywork repairs to begin. The silencer was also removed from the loco to allow the repair of a small hole.

The repaint of D4 was completed by 31^st August and varnishing of the loco started on 1^st September and once completed the loco looked stunning. One of the team involved in returning D4 to as near the livery it was introduced was Ernie Bradley. Ernie worked in Derby Works as a painter and has most probably painted every single peak at least once during his time in the Works. Railstaff, an industry newspaper, carried a small story about Ernie and his involvement in painting D4 once again. Test runs with D4 took place to ensure that everything was well following the repaint.

Unfortunately an inspection by the Railway Inspectorate the week before the event resulted in part of the railway downgraded from 25mph to 10mph due to the condition of some of the wooden sleepers. The timetable had to be rewritten and we decided that all trains of the two train service would to be operated in top and tail, a loco at each end. The two green peaks (D4 and D182) would be on one service and the two blue peaks (45041 and the Class 45/1 Preservation Societies 45133) on the other service.

A free bus service from Derby station to Butterley on the Saturday of the event was offered by Club member Justin Monk using his heritage Midland General Bristol RE number 356 which added to the event. An original headboard from the 1977 Peaks Express tour to Manchester was brought out for the weekend as was an original INGLEBOROUGH nameplate and the original NEWMARKETEER nameplate carried by 45130 for a few weeks in 1978.  

The morning of Saturday 26^th September saw Swanwick Shed looking like Toton in the good old days with 4 peaks all ticking over and gleaming 45108 being positioned on shed road number 2 to allow the photographers good positions to take pictures of the loco. The Newmarketeer nameplate was fastened to the side of 45108 giving many people the opportunity of seeing the wooden nameplate for the first time.

D4 and D182 ran light engine from the shed into Swanwick platform and the GREAT GABLE nameplate was removed from D4 on the platform side and replaced by the original INGLEBOROUGH nameplate loaned by Company shareholder Nick Leverton. D4 also carried the Peaks Express headboard. The pair of Peaks then ran light engine to Butterley to form the first departure of the day. Whilst D4 and D182 were at Butterley the second pair of peaks, 45041 and 45133 ran off the shed and stood in the platform 2 at Swanwick waiting for the first train of the day to arrive at Swanwick Junction.

Once D4 and D182 arrived at Swanwick Junction, 45041 and 45133 ran up to Butterley to shunt the second set of coaches from the North siding and end up with 45041 on the West end of the coaches and 45133 on the East end. Upon arrival at Riddings, D4 ran around its coaches and D182 remained on the rear, forming the second top and tailed coaching set.

All services passed one another at Swanwick Junction and Peak Locomotive Company volunteers manned the foot crossing allowing passengers to cross from one train to another. One day the footbridge at Swanwick Junction will be completed and the requirement to escort people across the foot crossing will be removed. The rumbling presence of four Peaks in one place created a great atmosphere and overcame the disappointment of having to operate the train services at reduced speeds.

We were very lucky wit the weather on Saturday which was excellent and many photographs were taken of the locos in the sunshine – if you have any photographs of the event you are happy to share please e-mail or send them for the groups archives to Mike Kerry at the Club address. Club members choosing to have their newsletter by e-mail will have received some photos kindly donated by Dave Carnelly.

Sunday of the event started quite overcast and cold at Swanwick with D4 and D182 again hauling the first train of the day, and 45041 and 45133 (on the opposite end of the coaches from the Saturday) hauling the second coaching set. The Newmarketeer nameplate was fitted to 45133 on Sunday to allow photographers different pictures from the previous day. The weather did improve but the event was not bathed in sunshine as much as on the Saturday.

Unfortunately the star of the show, D4 had a small electrical cubicle fire whilst hauling the 11:48 Riddings to Hammersmith service, whilst coming through the Country Park. Quick thinking by the loco crews enabled D182 (which was on the rear of the service) to push D4 and its train to Swanwick Junction. At Swanwick Junction, 45133 was removed from the rear of the passing Hammersmith to Riddings service and was coupled to D4 to allow its service to get on the move again.

The departure of 45133 from Swanwick Junction was very impressive, with a trailing load of D4, 5 coaches and D182. 45041 continued hauling the other set of coaches for the remainder of the day, running around at Riddings and Hammersmith as necessary. D182 hauled the heavy-weight 12:22 Hammersmith to Riddings and 45133 was again impressive hauling 2 peaks and 5 coaches from Riddings with the 13:08 to Hammersmith. At Swanwick Junction D4 was removed and hauled to the shed for inspection and later in the afternoon D182 was removed from the rear of a service at Swanwick Junction to allow it to be checked over prior to its planned move to the Nene Valley Railway for their diesel gala the following weekend. 45133 then carried on with this set of coaches running round at Hammersmith and Riddings as required. At one point in the afternoon 45041 was adorned with a headboard ‘The Sounds of the 45’s’ while it rested at Swanwick Junction heading a service to Hammersmith.

It was a credit to all of the loco crews, signalmen, guards and platform staff that even with a loco failure and locos having to run round at Hammersmith and Riddings the timetable was maintained without any services being cancelled and whilst the speed limit was rigidly adhered to. Passenger numbers were good on both days with many Club and Company shareholders attending a single event where they could enjoy all of their Peaks at one time. Visitors came from as far away as Lowestoft by train and Dorset by car and people were seen to stay all day which was very encouraging. Positive discussions have already taken place between the Peak Locomotive Company, the Class 45/1 Preservation Society and the Midland Railway – Butterley about the event being re-run next year. Of course next year there could be 5 peaks in service at the event.

45041 Royal Tank Regiment hauled the 14:38 Riddings to Hammersmith service piloting D182 on Bank Holiday Monday 31^st August as part of the Works Open Day event. At Hammersmith 45041 ran round with D182 remaining on the rear of the service and 45041 hauled the 15:32 Hammersmith to Riddings. Here 45041 again ran round and piloted D182 on the 15:58 Riddings to Hammersmith as far as Swanwick Junction where both locos were removed and ran light engine to Swanwick shed.

45041 worked services at the D4 50^th Anniversary event held over the weekend of 26^th/27^th September alongside D4, 45133 and D182 and is due to have bodywork repairs undertaken this winter and will be repainted early in 2010. The air receivers will also get their ten yearly inspection and certification to allow the loco to visit other railways.

An attempt to start 45108 was made on Sunday 6^th September and although the engine did turn slightly, a battery cell blew which stopped the attempt. With the triple pump running the voltmeter was only reading 165v, so it came as no surprise that the loco would not start. On Wednesday 9^th September the defective battery cell was replaced and on Sunday 13^th September at 16:00 the loco was successfully started at the second attempt of the day. 45108 was jump started from 45041 and ran for about 10 minutes before it was shutdown because various electrical faults were revealed after ten years of open storage. The water pressure switch was bypassed to allow the loco to run as the pipe feeding the sensor was full of rust and would not allow water to pass. The pipe has since been removed and cleaned out. An end cover of the locos heat exchanger was also leaking and this was removed on Sunday 27^th September. The electrical examination will continue over the winter before a power test is attempted.

D182 hauled services over the August Bank Holiday weekend as part of the Works Open Day event on both Sunday 30^th and Bank Holiday Monday 31^st August. On Sunday 30^th D182 piloted steam loco 6233 on one service and the following day it was piloted by 45041 on one of its two trips.

On Sunday 6^th September it was found that number 2 compressor was not working which was discovered to be due to a burnt cable and this was repaired on Thursday 10^th September. The loco has also had two radiator elements replaced as a small water leak was noticed in one of the elements and when this was removed, the one next to it was also noted to be leaking. The check valve and several other brake valves were cleaned and checked in readiness for the locos visit to the Nene Valley Railway Diesel Gala. D182 worked services at the D4 50^th Anniversary event held over the weekend of 26^th/27^th September alongside D4, 45041 and 45133.

After the event D182 was tested using 45041 to ensure that it was okay to be hauled to the Nene Valley Railway for their diesel gala. Unfortunately when the brakes were released on 45041 it was found that D182 was very slow releasing its brakes. With no time to resolve the fault on the Sunday evening and the loco move from the MR-B to the Nene Valley booked for Tuesday 29^th September, the decision had to be made that D182 would unfortunately not be able to attend the event. The loco is to have its boiler examined by the insurance inspector on Monday October 5^th in readiness for operating the railways Santa Special trains.

44008 Penyghent has been allocated to work at Peak Rail Mixed Traffic event which is being held over the weekend of 10^th/11^th October. Unfortunately it appears that D8 is only booked to haul freight trains at the event, with the passenger services being in the hands of steam loco 8624 and class 47 47635.   

45112 The Royal Army Ordnance Corps has not been used as the ETH supply for the Cargo-D air conditioned coaches or for shunting around the Nemesis shed at Barrow Hill recently as some of the curves on the pit road are a little too tight for the loco. 47488 has been used as the ETH supply/large shunter in its place. It is still intended to fit OTMR to 45112 but the loco currently resides in the yard at Barrow Hill waiting its turn to be worked on behind 31128 which has just been OTMR fitted and 47375 which is having missing OTMR bits and other electrical bits fitted.

45118 The Royal Artilleryman moved to the RVEL workshops in Derby (part of the old Technical Centre) on Monday 3^rd August. 45118 was loaded on to the lorry at the Northampton and Lamport Railway at lunchtime and following arrival at Derby was positioned just outside of the shed and visible from passing trains heading to/from Long Eaton. The date of the locos movement to Derby was exactly a year to the day following the damage caused by cable theft. An ex-loco condition nameplate (minus the crest) from the loco was auctioned at the Sheffield Railwayana Auctions, held in Derby on 12^th September and was sold for £4100.

D123 has had a quieter schedule during the period under review. Mid-week passenger services mean that the testing work it has recently been taking part in has not been made because the testing work at speeds above 25mph requires the railway to effectively be closed with no other movements taking place. On Monday 10^th August the loco was used for some slip testing at speeds of up to 75mph before the start of passenger services and then again after the passenger services had finished.

On Friday 14^th August the loco and Freightliner Lowliner wagon were used to pass additional drivers for driving at 75mph. Saturday 15^th August was a tank engine steam loco event at the Great Central Railway so the 12:15 diesel hauled passenger service was hauled by a steam loco.

The class 101 DMU was still allocated to work the 09:45 Loughborough to Leicester North and 10:15 return but due to holidays, no one was available to drive it so D123 stood in for it. D123 hauled the service with just one carriage – an observation coach and on the return from Leicester North it was standing room only. August was rounded off with D123 being used for an afternoon ‘drive a loco’ course, completing two trips of the line with six coaches on Monday 24^th August.

D123 hauled services at the GCR Diesel Gala which was held from Friday 11^h until Sunday 13^th September. The Friday of the event was a type 4 and 5 day with D123 working two trips of the line. Saturday 12^th September saw D123 allocated an early morning trip from Loughborough to Leicester North and return followed by a top and tailed trip with D1705 from Loughborough to Rothley Brook. In the event due to problems with both of the locos booked to haul the 17:00 Loughborough to Leicester North and return (D1705 and 47714), D123 had to be substituted at the last minute. Sunday saw D123 complete the same booked services as it hauled on the Saturday of the event, except that D5401 replaced D1705 on the top and tailed trip due to air system problems with D1705.

On Friday 18^th September D123 had its exhauster re-brushed; with one of the removed brushes found to be almost new and the other being found to be very short. The loco also had its auto air brake valves re-set. It was also noticed that A3 rocker cover had stripped the threads off a mounting stud and this was replaced.

D123 hauled the 12:15 Loughborough to Leicester North and 13:00 return on Sunday 20^th September and was then used for high speed testing work on Tuesday 24^th September with the new type of freightliner container carrying wagon that has very small wheels that it has been testing with previously. With a loaded freightliner wagon, D123 hauled various trips at 20, 40, 60 and 75mph with the wagon being slipped from the loco as usual along the Quorn straight on the Down line and the distance the wagon took to stop being measured to ensure that the wagon stopped within the laid down distance at each speed.

D123 was used to haul the 12:15 Loughborough to Leicester North and 13:00 return service on Saturday 26^th and Sunday 27^th September and was planned to be used on further high speed testing of the freightliner Lowliner container wagon on Tuesday 29^th September but this was cancelled because of problems with the wagon.  The loco has more testing planned for October with the freightliner wagon and some 60mph training days planned for November to give the Army transport personnel the experience of driving and braking trains from 60mph in daylight as well as in the dark.        

45133 hauled services at the MRC’s Works Open Day event which was held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. On both Saturday 29^th and Bank Holiday Monday 31^st August 45133 was used to haul the 10:10 Butterley to Riddings and 10:36 Riddings to Hammersmith as far as Swanwick Junction. In the afternoon of both days 45133 hauled the 11:58 service from Riddings to Hammersmith forward from Swanwick Junction to Hammersmith piloting steam loco 6233. At Hammersmith 45133 ran round leaving the steam loco on the rear and hauled the 12:52 Hammersmith to Riddings. 6233 then hauled the service from Riddings to Hammersmith, with 45133 being removed at Swanwick Junction and running light engine to the shed after the service train had departed. The only problem encountered over the two days running was one of the handrails came away from the loco body making getting into the cab through this door a little more interesting. This has subsequently been welded back into place.

Work over the summer months on 45133 has included removing, stripping, cleaning and refitting the milometer which records the locos mileage since its last type change due to water ingress into the mechanism.

The straight air brake has been swapped with a spare at number 1 end and the AWS units in each cab have been exchanged although the replacements are not working correctly. The loco was found to be loosing its coolant during a routine inspection and investigation revealed a couple of leaking radiator elements which were changed.  

45133 hauled services at the D4 50^th anniversary event at the MRC over the weekend of 26^th/27^th September. On Saturday the loco worked services top and tailed with 45041, with 45133 hauling services from Hammersmith to Riddings. On Sunday the formation was reversed with 45041 and 45133 again top and tailing services, but with 45133 hauling the trains from Riddings to Hammersmith. When D4 was declared a failure, 45133 was removed from the rear of the 11:42 Hammersmith to Riddings at Swanwick Junction and attached to D4 which had failed while hauling the 11:48 Riddings to Hammersmith, but had been pushed into Swanwick Junction station by D182. This made a good load for 45133 to handle, with a trailing load of D4, 5 coaches and D182 (which was on the rear of the train). Throughout Sunday 27^th 45133 carried the name Newmarketeer which had been carried by 45130 for approximately 6 weeks in 1978. The wooden nameplate had been made in a similar style as other peak nameplates and like 45022 Lytham St. Annes, has no regimental crest.

45133 has been invited to the Nene Valley diesel gala (Thursday 1^st – Sunday 4^th October) in the place of 50007, which is unable to attend the event due to and air leak that could not be repaired in time. The loco received an ultrasonic axle exam on Tuesday 15^th September, which it passed. The certificate is valid for 3 years unless the loco has a derailment and allows it to be towed over the national network.

45149 is having bodywork repairs on the A bank side of loco with a different tactic being taken to that used on the B side. The method in use is to needle gun all of paint off and then to wire wheel the exposed steel and then fill any areas that need it. Whilst undertaking this work, evidence of previous scrapes has been found on the body side.

An attempt to refit "silencer box roof section" was carried out recently, but unfortunately the roof section would not sit down properly. Further investigation revealed that when the roof had last been removed (in 1993 by the previous owner) two bolts, just over the electrical cubicle had not been disconnected prior to removal of the roof. This is a set-back and will need a contractor to visit Toddington to rectify it. The silencer has had the last of the broken bolts drilled out of the flange that couples to the silencer elbow. All the spigots have now been fitted to the silencer that support the roof cover. The final couple of tasks in this area are to remove the cracked baffle plate and drill and tap 5/8” Whitworth holes in the silencers new feet.

The repaired silencer elbow has been refitted to the locos power unit and all of the fuel pumps have been refitted on both A and B banks and the tappets set. All of the injectors have been fitted and all of the associated pipe work connected and wire locked where required between the fuel pumps and the injectors. In addition, the 2 air manifolds have been fitted with the B bank air manifold proving to be a bit of a challenge. The drain pipe from the turbo has also been reconnected. The lack of an available pit did not stop progress on the loco and one hardy volunteer spent the day in the confines of the area between bogie & battery box fitting the outlet hose to the sump. In the cab, the dead mans foot pedal floor panel has been fitted allowing the air brake pipes to be fitted and the sanding pedal. The nose end grill frames have been fitted to the loco.

46010 had a small amount of asbestos removed from around the boiler area so forward movement from Llangollen by lorry is now possible. The paperwork is said to be with road hauler Alleley’s to allow a road movement with the loco in one piece to the locos new home.

When 46010 was delivered from Doncaster Depot to Llangollen in May 1994, the power unit was delivered separately from the rest of the loco due to weight restrictions on the route from Doncaster to Llangollen. A new home away from the Llangollen railway is still being negotiated following the locos owning group receiving an eviction notice to remove 46010 from the Llangollen Railway by the board. Several of the Llangollen diesel group members are forming a group separate from the Llangollen diesel group, to own and look after 46010 at its new home.

Mikes Memories                       45119 and Peak silencers

Peak enthusiasts often discuss engine silencers since the performance of this steel box affects the sound the loco makes. Whilst this may seem a relatively small aspect of loco operation, the issue of engine silencers back in the days of peak operations came to the fore when new silencers were fitted to some of the Class 45/1 resulting which were very effective and absorbed much of the engine sound we like to hear. The engine silencer has a tough life because the engine exhaust is so hot any corrosion protection is burned off and over time corrosion takes its toll to the extent that, in the opinion of works staff, the silencers were not worth repairing. Internal corrosion meant that the steel became thin and when weld repairs were made staff had to cut out so much metal to make good that the silencer ended up virtually new at each overhaul.

Before new silencers were fitted, a trial was conducted using 45119 as shown on the cover photo on April 20^th 1977 at Derby where she is seen ex works double heading with 45123 on 1M84 to London. A second loco was often added to this train that year for operational reasons to get extra locos from Derby into London probably for newspaper trains. 45119 at this time ran experimentally without a silencer to confirm whether the silencers were worth having at all since the similar but smaller Class 25 don’t have one.

The experiment with 45119 involved adapting the engine room roof section because the silencer sits in a well in the roof and has a separate cover attached to it to keep the weather out. 45119 was chosen because the roof members had corrosion damage requiring extensive repairs for which the modification of removing the silencer and replacement by a pipe could be incorporated.

Constructed of 6 mm steel plate welded up into a box with internal insulation to absorb noise, two types were in use. Those fitted to Classes 44 & 45 were known as T1216 (this was the drawing reference) for the flat bottomed design. Class 46 have a slightly different silencer which is elliptical like a Class 47s in cross section and has a different pipe to feed exhaust gas from the turbo charger into the silencer. The new silencers to be used on Class 45/1 were made by Gloster Saro to their drawing SKB 1494 and would be similar to the Class 46 type, have a flat bottom to fit into a Class 45 engine room roof but include the improved pipe from turbo to silencer as used on Class 46s. These must have been the good ones that made the locos very quiet.

Records show that 20 locos have a slightly different engine room roof so any silencers used in 45001/4/11/13/15/16/18/24/25/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53 110/121/122 would need further modification to fit. Most of the engine room roof sections are adjusted to fit one loco and this challenge arose when fitting a new silencer into 45133. The new silencer would not fit so one had to be taken from another loco awaiting works attention, repaired and fitted in order to release 45133 for traffic. It seems likely during the last overhauls of the Class 45/1s in the 1980’s that a third variant must have been used that made the locos sound very loud and our 45108 has one of this type. Looking at them suggests the works fabricated them to their own design to cut costs. Something to look forward to when 45108 finally returns to service.

Next newsletter out during the first week of December for which contributions should reach the Club address for consideration in the preceding week.