56101 has been worked on over recent days and the cooling system reassembled. Unfortunately , despite being drained of coolant, one of the charge air coolers has sufferered frost damage. The replacement of this component is not possible at Dereham as the roof section needs to be removed.
As a result 56101 will not be available for the MNR Spring Gala (18th March) and will be returned to Barow Hill and the repairs carried out in due course.
Regards
Keith Bulmer – C56G
56101 is still out of traffic at Dereham.
Repairs to the cooler group are continuing but the discovery of some unorthodox methods of using engineering studs looks set to challenge the technical team again.
Cheers
Keith B
9th – 11th July
Friday we were blessed with good weather and for the weekend ahead this meant that we could progress a little closer towards the removal of the cooler group. Oli and myself set to and made a start on removal of pipework, access panels etc. What we didn’t expect was how hot it got during the afternoon 29 degrees outside, 34 degrees inside! It wasn’t long before trips to the tap ensued and all to quench our thirst and replenish the fluids which we sweated out. I managed to remove all the bolts that secure the intake duct to the No1 end turbo and move it out the way for access, that was enough for the day.
Saturday was pretty much the same this time, working alone I set to and made a move to remove the main water pipe that connects to the top water rail, this was the more awkward of the pipes to move clear. This also took most of the day to do purely down to the shear heat of the day as Saturday was a scorcher too!
To cap it all off I think that we are nearly in a position to remove the remains of the cooler group and crack on with the repair. As always, any extra man power at this stage will be greatly received, even if you can only spare a few hours. Please get in contact with the group using the button on the right.
More to follow…… Mick Doyle
It all started on Friday afternoon shunting the stock out of the way in order to release 56101 that was stuck right down number 1 road at Dereham. Myself, Oli, and Josh managed to complete the shunt in two moves and leave the 56 on number 2 road ready for Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning Myself and Josh set to on the removal of the remaining grill and roof panel, as to be expected we did shear more bolts in order to get them off but never the less they were removed without any incident. Armed with a tin of “Gas Oil” I sprayed all of the studs and let them soak, Josh was removing the three access panels that located inside the cooler group tunnel and I made a start on the removal of the first batch of elements. With only 7 out of the 10 elements remaining I managed to shear more of the studs, bearing in mind that the elements are made primarily of copper and the main objective of the exercise was to remove the risk of theft, either way they had to come out and be stored.
Because the loco was positioned in the MoD platform we were in the way, and stock stored in the main platform meant that we had to shunt release the service train when it returned. I was using the ONLY serviceable loco at the time at Dereham, 50 019 “Ramillies”, to shunt the 56 out of the way and perform the shunt release and pick the 56 back up to continue the work, so as you may gather we were a little bit busy during the day. Never the less we managed to complete the task and remove, store and clean out the cooler bay with 5 shunt releases thrown in.
Please do not be fooled into thinking that there can’t be much work for us to do, on the contrary! It is a big job and we need all the hands we get so we can overhaul the cooler groups in turn. If you can spare a day or two, please get in touch with the group via the group email address – class56group@hotmail.com
Mick Doyle
Empty radiator bays on 56101 – note the rear cooler group tunnel covers removed.
Nearly there – 2 of the 3 radiator bays have been emptied of their copper radiator elements.
30 years of hauling MGR trains has taken it’s toll!!
Firstly, a huge apology to those who turned out on Sunday expecting 56101. While we managed to get word out on some of the forums that 101 would not be out, this website was not updated in time with the bad news. The following report is from Mick Doyle.
For all those out there that had the wasted journey I am sorry. There is an issue with 56101 being water tight and this has worsened since the Thunder-bird run to rescue 20069 after she failed at Wymondham 2 weeks ago. Gareth Broughton was duly informed on the severity of the leak and that it would need to be rectified at the earliest opportunity – this meant that the loco was still under repair and wasn’t officially declared SERVICEABLE.
Gareth started the strip down but with no surprise sheared one of the lower studs that secure the radiator element to the lower water rail, because of the lack of time the job was left to me to see if I could do anything to try to rectify the situation. The answer to that would be NO! I managed to shear another two studs – oh hell! So this means that after a lengthy conversation yesterday with Gareth we agreed that the cooler groups will come out for repair and the voids will be cleaned and painted. To this end 56 101 will be out of service for the foreseeable future.
Once again appologies to those who made a waste journey.
The sheared studs on the bottom water rail of one of 56101’s cooler groups. Photo: Mick Doyle.
As promised! 56101 will be out at the MNR, Dereham, on Sunday 20th June. The loco will be working the Orange timetable with the line’s Blue/Grey Mk2s. It’s planned for 56101 work all three round trips: 1015, 1300, 1515 from Dereham and 1115, 1400, 1615 from Wymondham – just over 66 miles in all.
Fares and details on how to get to Dereham / Wymondham can be found at http://www.mnr.org.uk. Please note that while every effort is made to provide the advertised traction, the railway and loco owners reserve the right to change this at short notice.
56101 at Swanage during the Diesel Gala on May 9th. Photo courtesy Mick Doyle.
As reported earlier on last week, 56101 has now safely arrived in Norfolk. GBRF arrived on the MNR branch with the loco around 1600, slightly earlier than planned. Some photos below taken by our very own roving paparazzi Geoff Tibble show the ‘Grid’s arrival in the flatlands! The idea of a running day with 56101 in the near future is being discussed with the operations team at MNR – rest assured you’ll read about it here first!
0A56 arrives at Wymondham Junction
56101 is fired up on MNR metals
‘101 put to bed at Dereham
Privately owned 56101 will be on the move to the Mid Norfolk Railway tomorrow, 26th May. Grid ‘101 will be taking up duties at the MNR’s Dereham base for the forseeable future while group loco 56040 is off site for repairs. GB Railfreight will be moving the loco working as the 0920 0A56 service from Eastleigh Works – Dereham MNR, hopefully arriving shortly before 1700.
Some rough times are thus: Eastleigh (09/29), Basingstoke (10/04), Woking (10/30), Hounslow (11/24), Willesden Jn High Level (1141 – 1143), Upper Holloway (12/01), South Tottenham Signal 1004 (1214 – 1225), Stratford (12/47), Cheshunt (13/22), Harlow Town (1333 – 1339), Stansted Goods Loop (1356 – 1419), Cambridge (1443 – 1446), Ely (15/01), Brandon Down Goods Loop (1525 – 1555), Wymondham (1622 – 1626), Dereham (1646).
Photos greatly received!
56101 at the recent Swanage diesel gala on the 9th May. Photo courtesy Mr Rodgers Snr.
The owners of 56101 ‘Mutual Improvement’, currently at Barrow Hill, have announced that the loco will be attending with Swanage Beer Festival Gala in May. The three day event from 7th – 9th May should see 101 perform alongside visiting 50026, 47580 and 37264 amongst others.
For more information, as well as timetables etc see http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/bfw10.htm
