Friday 20th - Essential Maintenance

I'll just sneak in here and mention that the "Carriages" page has had an overhaul, and is hopefully in its final configuration, so do take a look. There's still plenty of pictures to be added, including some internal shots of all the operational carriages, but everything has a few lines written about it, and most things have an external photo, although some may be improved when chances arise. Many thanks to Rod for providing most of the initial photos to get the ball rolling. Now, over to Graham. -Ed.

The usual team back at Winchcombe to continue Type-A internal exam on the rake in platform 2 and pad exams on the RMB in the works.

The day started with door exams.

The sliding doors at the ends of each carriage were checked to ensure they will open & closed and can be locked either with the key and lock in the door, or using the external french key using the brackets at the bottom of the door and frame.

The side doors were all checked to ensure they open/close properly and the locks & catches work in the appropriate way.

There weren’t as many toilet checks to do as we usually have to as with covid operations we are running shorter rakes and many of the toilets are out of use.

We also check that the relevant safety/emergency items are all present and correct in the guards compartment.

The interior checks were done after lunch. These include a general check of the furniture & fittings and lighting. We go through each carriage looking at the following…

Is there any sign of water leaks/damage on the roof?

Do the lights work?

Is the luggage rack netting and brackets/bars secure?

Are the seat backs secure?

Do the arm rests work?

Are the end arm rests secure against the end panelling?

Are there any tears or rips in the seat covering?

Is the table secure?

Do the quarter lights open/close properly?

Does the compartment sliding door open/close ok and is it hanging from runner ok?

If there are any blinds fitted do they work ok?

Moving out into the corridor…

Do all the lights work out there too?

Whats the condition of the roof like, any indication of leaks/damage from rain?

Do the quarter lights open/close ok?

Is the grab rail secure?

What is the state of the floor like, are there any trip hazards?

We make a note of everything we find that needs attention. If we have time we may attempt to fix simple problems on the spot, or come back to them another time when better prepared for the job in question, or leave for the main workshop to deal with, depending on what the issue is.

Once the internal Type-A exam on the rake was completed we moved into the workshop and did the axle box pad exams on the RMB currently undergoing remedial work…

Inside each axle box is a reservoir of oil, between this and the axle journal is a spring loaded pad made out of a mop like material that has tendrils (like a jelly fish) that drop down into the oil reservoir and constantly wick up oil onto the axle journal. It looks like something out of a horror film…you’re going to need a picture…but first we have to clean any dirt over the outside of the axle box before we open it…

…a scraper and stiff brush do the job. Then we open up the outward facing plate…

…and pull out the pad assembly… with a bit of squeezing and jiggling (not shown)…

The axle journal is checked for any scoring by feel with finger tips…

…also the pad is checked and any flattening/polishing/glazing of surface scuffed back up. The tendrils/tails are also disentangled as much as possible.

The oil reservoir in the bottom of the axle box casing is topped up with oil…