17/07/2020
0-07-14 Greased the LHS of the loco but there are a few problem grease ni***es. Painted the cab roof exterior black. also tested output from the solar panel which was delivering 35V on a cloudy day. Removed a panel handle by drilling out the pin and hammering and levering off the retainer. Then drilled out the remaining bolt on the RHS front inspection panel (writhed off when we had a recent diesel leakage). The bolt holes are being re-threaded. Removed a short piece of vacuum pipe from under the cab (floor had to be lifted) so that the pipework can go to the valves and exhauster.
20-07-12 Sun Prepared the cab roof for painting. Sanded down, treated rust, painted on red oxide on patches of rust.
20-07-07 Tue BAD NEWS Wheel profiles tested and they failed. This means we cant use the 427 for B/V rides until we have had the wheels re-profiled. This entails removing the side rods and most probably having to send the loco away. There is a slim chance that this can be done on site with a special underwheel lathe but still requires jacking the loco up. It would have to be jacked up to replace the side rods anyway.
This could be VERY expensive. Anyone want to help with a donation?
20-06-30 Tue Took 427 to Eythorne to test the new fan belts. We pushed the B/V up the slope quite hard and the temperature hardly moved so we put it into top gear (not often used) and tried again. We got up to 15 mph and the temp barely reached 190C so we are very pleased. We will have to change one belt again as it is slightly wider that the other one.
20-06-23 Whilst deciding that the oil change wasn't urgent we had the air tanks tested, the air pressure gauge verified and the pressure relief valve adjusted. We also changed the fan belts for larger ones, which hopefully will help stop any overheating.
LOCK DOWN. THE LOCO WAS NOT VISITED.
