April /May

I will start off by saying congratulations to David King for winning the Traction Magazine competition. David enjoyed a Diesel Driver Experience day with the team on the 18th April and drove the engine like a real pro! We all hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did!

The locomotives next working was on the 24th April on the Diesel Day. The loco worked the diagram throughout the day, however by the end of the day the locomotive had to be stopped due to a defective Automatic Voltage Regulator.

The Voltage Regulator (AVR) keeps the output of the auxiliary generator at a constant 110 volts regardless of engine speed. The auxiliary generator supplies a feed to the auxiliary equipment such as the blowers, compressors, exhausters and battery charging circuits. The old AVR was of a 1960s carbon pile type design which have a relatively short life compared to the new electronic versions as fitted to the Network Rail Class 97s.
This was a good opportunity to convert the locomotive to the electronic type, which will also allow us to carry out the series / parallel blower modification. The new AVR was to be built by Noel Craigen, Noel built these for the RFD’s Class 47’s at Tinsley and have since proved themselves to be far superior to the carbon pile type. They offer more protection to the auxiliary circuits as well as a built in test facility which will allow us to test the AVR on planned maintenance reducing the chances of a failure in service.

To allow us to fit this to the locomotive we had to manufacture 2 new brackets, remove the old air cooling pipe work from the blower and carry out a bit of minor re-wiring. The locomotive was re-started on the 04/06/2011 and static tests were carried out successfully. The next day the loco went out on the service train for a couple of test runs paired up with 33063. We are pleased to say all testing went according to plan and the locomotive has returned to service. Thanks go out to Chris Barrow, Daniel Jenner, Allan Harris and not forgetting Noel Craigen!

Since the locomotive has been out of service we have carried out an A exam and fitted a new spirex (to self drain moisture) to the air reservoir in number 1 nose end as this seemed to accumulate more moisture than the others. Sorry drivers more noise!
The bogie overhaul project is still progressing slowly but surely. The equalising beams have now been NDI tested and passed as fit for use. More details to follow over the coming months…

Finally I must mention the Eridge Executioner! Our fund raising event on Friday 24th June utilising 37254 and 33063. Services will run intensively to Eridge between 0900-2100. A real ale bar car will be included in the formation. Rover tickets will be priced at a bargain £10! Profits will be split between The 37254 Fund and the Spa Valley Railway. Profits will help us massively with projects such as the bogie overhaul and the pending repaint.