A small workparty was held over the above weekend. Attendees were Josh Quirk, Carl Rayner, Sean Sharples, Jon Batley, Keith Wright, Gareth Broughton, Roger Elliott.
Report courtesy of Alan Hawkins.
The weekend of Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th January went very well, with Carl Rayner, Sean Sharples, Jon Batley and Josh Quirk, carrying out some more deep cleaning of 56040’s engine room on the Saturday. A not very glamorous job, but an important one all the same, because as well as making the engine room into a better working environment, it reduces the risk of accidental fire.
Keith Wright has volunteered for the job of refurbishing the cabs of “Oystermouth” back to pristine, and on the Saturday he made a start on deep cleaning the No 1 cab, in preparation for eventual repainting.
While the lads were busy working inside “Oystermouth”, I started the re-assembly of the first compressor for “Oystermouth”. By the Sunday afternoon I had completed this task, with the fitting of the mounting cradle and expansion tank assembly, being the first time these items had been back on one of our compressors in about a year (see enclosed photos). The completion of the re-assembly of this compressor, means we have now reached a significant milestone, as we are now ready to refit one of the largest missing items back onto “Oystermouth”, bring closer the day when she will run again.
After discussion with Keith, Gareth and Roger, we’ve decided to fit this first compressor on the side of “Oystermouth” that faces Dereham station building. The reasoning behind this decision, is that there are no passenger trains running on the MNR at the moment, and fitting a compressor on this side will necessitate working with a forklift sitting on the main running line. Last Sunday, Roger (in his capacity as MNR shunter) and myself discussed the actual fitting, and have agreed on a working plan and a date for this fitting to take place. As a result, the next working party is set for Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th February.
If everything goes to plan on that weekend, we should also be able to re-fill “Oystermouth’s” engine with oil, ready for the next stage of testing / restoration.
