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Locomotive Restoration Progress
Last Updated 20:44 12-05-12
This section is a brief report on what we're up to keeping 003 looking pretty and sounding good Section just up and running so there should be more detail on previous working parties, not yet listed.
If you wish to lend a hand and can hold a spanner / paint brush or even take the photo's so I don't get my camera dirty* please contact us
*please note Tractor pres in perfectly clean and leaves no lasting odours
If you can't help out on the loco, you could always make a donation 
12-05-12
We're very pleased to report that our shiny new electronic AVR (automatic voltage regulator) has today been fitted, and it has been tested in situ - and all is fine. On the meter it returned 111 - 112 volts through all scales of engine revs, so a good job done.
Meanwhile, Mike M has finished the air pipe leak repairs off. The repair was also tested, with 100% success, and the various components we'd had to remove to get access to the leak were then bolted back into situ. The loco was then used in shunting moves around the yard before being put to bed. We then took the opportunity to drain the bedplate of dregs before she goes into the bay for remedial work. She has been specifically requested for use in a full driver experience day next Saturday, and after that she will be pulled from service to do this work - all hands on deck time!!!!
It's good to report a fully operational loco again!
26/11/11
Got to the MNR at 0745, prepped and started 37003 up and got her nailed on to the Works Train (MLV, crane,
crane runner, 2 x flat wagons) and off we toddled to Thuxton via a couple of equipment drops. We left the
train at Thuxton and then had to go to Crownthorpe Bridge to change a fishplate on a dropped rail joint;
once that was done we went back to Thuxton and did some more shunting.
Then Mark Hallet and I went for a trip down the line to Wymondham to do tests on the 1st field divert.
On Danemoor Bank, we put some pressure on the straight air brakes to simulate a train and Mark gave 37003
full power whilst I monitored the load reg. At 1st divert, the LR ran back and the engine speed picked up
again; it is still a little slow reacting, but at least it now works properly.
A couple more checks to
confirm and it certainly looks as if we are heading in the right direction. After a break at Wymondham,
back to shuffle the works train again, couple of circuits of the loop at Thuxton and back to Dereham
picking up cut logs en route and then beddy-byes for 37003 at about 1630 as the sun gave up.
I took the chance to go over the engine with the laser thermometer and also check engine revs with the
tacho; nothing untoward anywhere. No2 end controller works a lot better now we've rebuilt it and shuts
down immediately when asked.
New job on the list are new droplight window seals - bugger that wind was cold!
It is planned to have 37003 on the Santas at least some of the time as 47580 is coming back for
a few weeks until 47596 is up and running again.
Todays moves were:- Dereham - Thuxton - Crownthorpe - Thuxton - Wymondham - Thuxton - Dereham, 7 hrs in all.
Mick Millward
21/03/11
Just a quick message to sum up what has been a very successful (long) weekend for the Group - despite the need for a
lot of last minute work, 37003 was ready in time for the weekend's Mid-Norfolk Railway gala, she worked reliably
throughout the three days of the gala - including helping out when other traction became temporarily unavailable.
As we were aware, there were - and are - still some adjustments that need to be made, in the areas of the governor/load
regulation and timing, so she was driven accordingly and with sympathy to the remaining "quirks". We're very pleased to
see that the refurbished AVR is working well, and she is using negligible oil and water - and nothing additional by way
of faults emerged during the most intensive use she has seen for many years. Suffice it to say, we are very pleased indeed
with how 37003's first weekend in revenue-earning service on the MNR went.
More widely, the gala itself was excellently organised and an undiluted pleasure to visit - a supremely high standard that
we have come to expect of the MNR team.
Anyway, the most important reason for my writing this is to express the Group's sincerest thanks to all of those who made
this possible by putting in countless hours of hard work - and frankly a lot of serious brain power too - to get 37003 into
traffic. At the serious risk of missing somebody off, thanks need to go to Chris Cheney, Pete Clay, Paul Mobbs, Steve Potter,
Gary Brzeczek, Mark Hallet, Jed, Mike M - and everyone else who helped with getting 37003 ready for a successful weekend's
running which included two stand-in runs that weren't booked but were carried out anyway with no fuss or difficulty. Thanks
also as ever go to the MNR management, ops and everybody else. But a special word of thanks is also due to the drivers who
handled 37003 with a very high level of mechanical sympathy, knowing she's not yet "the finished product" but still letting
her stretch her legs and clear her throat.
And, finally, a big thank you goes to all of those who attended the event and showed your support for the railway - and for our Group.
17/03/11
37003 has run OK all day and had a good test run again this afternoon, passed FTR. Out d/h with 37219 on the 0930 Fri morning.
06/03/11
Pete C, Chris C and Mick D have been busy fitting the AVR, checking the oil, priming the fuel today.
Must have got it right, cause 003 has been shunting a few mk2s around Dereham today.
Well done lads :-)
12/02/11
Steve, Gary and I with help from Mick Doyle drained the oil cooler and cleaned out the suction strainer today.
The oil cooler drains were a complete pain to get to get out but came
off eventually and the strainer had a good amount of detritus in it. Next time round we should be at the point of fitting
the AVR and priming the oil system, then topping up again.
Mike
06/02/11
Today we successfully managed to pump out the engine block sump of the old oil and replace it with shiny new liquid engineering.
We are now in a position to refit the AVR next week and finish off other minor jobs before the batteries are recharged and button is pressed!
Steve
28/12/10
Today being 37003's 50th Birthday, a small Group turned up at the MNR to say 'Happy Birthday' to 003 and check things over. Despite the freezing temperatures, all fluids are where they are supposed to be and all looks good, roll on the oil change and getting the AVR fitted!
10/12/10 Parts Servicing
Pete has been busy with the AVR, which is now rebuilt and ready for refitting, testing and final set up.
A new 150R resistor has been fitted as the original suffered some heat damage (cracks to terminating bands) and
also wouldn't give a reading(???). Four replacement carbon piles from 50019s former unit have also been fitted,
replacing one cracked disc and several chipped ones.
Just need to do an oil change and replace a few more gasket seals on the crankcase covers, then we can fire her up.
06/11/10 Working Party
Good day, bit chilly, Gary and Steve sorted the fuel filter OK and the water trap, then went on to strip the old gaskets off the crankcase and take patterns to make new ones for the whole engine. James spent the day grubbing foam out of the floor by the drivers seat and Mike spent several lovely hours sorting out the knackered cable supports in the aux gen and reterminating the power cables. Lack of daylight stopped play...
25/09/10 Working Party / Gala Preperation at Dereham
37003 was repainted into Dutch livery and renumbered 37360 for the 50th anniversary Gala at the Mid-Norfolk Railway. She was renumbered
37360 due to her being fitted with CP7 bogies and had she still been in mainline service, it would have been allocated this number.
A problem with the AVR was discovered, but thanks to Steve Benniston, a temporary replacement has supplied and fitted and 360 was returned to service on
the Saturday of the gala.
A number of issues were identified, but nothing to give us anything to worry about, and she should be up and running again later in the year.
11/09/10 Working Party at Dereham
First of all, I must say many 'Thank You's to Chris who spent a fair bit of Saturday pokeing the AVR with sharp and sometimes quite hard objects and after refurbishing the trimming pot, was successful in getting the thing functioning again.
After as many checks as we could do, we started 003 up and she ran for well over an hour, the repairs to the gen bearing have been successful, everything worked as it should (apart from the AWS and the deadmans, which we will be investigating next) and we even took power after a brake test.
The next part of the plan is to get her over the pit at Dereham so the bogies and traction motors can be inpsected and to do a full oil change before traffic, start snagging the minor issues and hopefully in a fortnight she will be ready.
Mike
04/09/10 Working Party at Dereham
We're very pleased to announce that, after herculean efforts by Mike and the regular team of devoted volunteers at Dereham, 37003 was successfully started on Saturday evening - at the end of a long day's preparation and final checks.
Initial indications are that the main generator bearing swap has been a success, and the engine started easily. There's also no sign of contamination in the oil
However, we are not quite there yet - there is a niggling problem with the automatic voltage regulator (AVR - a mechanical device which as its name suggests ensures that the voltage put through the electrical system is not too high) is sticking, and we need to rectify that before she can be put through her fitness-to-run test and we can run her. But, with enough volunteer support, there is a good chance that 37003 will be a runner by the MNR gala event in 3 weeks' time.
So this really is the final push - so please allow me once more to make an appeal to any members who might be able to help out at Dereham between now and then - it's more vital than ever, especially as we want 37003's bodywork looking tidy too for her big day.
28/08/10 Working Party at Dereham
Mr R hard at word
Beccles chopping out some more metal ;-)
25/07/10 Working Party at Dereham
Replating some of the 'rusty' bits was undertake, just needs a lick of paint to finish the job.
05/06/10 Working Party at Dereham
After a long time apart, the bearing is now back in and should be completely bolted back together ready for a test run very soon. Some picture from the re-assembly are shown below.
06/03/10 Working Party at Dereham
Steady progress has been made on the Class 37 Loco Group's 37003, despite the bad weather during the winter. Prior to the bad weather, the Group invested in a high-quality roof cover which has kept the worst of the winter out and with additional lighting fitted, allowed internal work to continue. Overall 37003 is in good condition; the bodywork will need further attention as it was last worked on ten years ago (37003 has been in preservation since 1998), the engine has been fully checked through and is fine and the only major concern, the worn out main generator support bearing has been replaced. This has taken longer than expected as we had to fabricate special tools to complete the task.
It is expected that 37003 will be making test runs by late April 2010 and introduced via a 'Members Day' to traffic during the early summer, then work will be carried out so that by the Mid-Norfolk Railways Class 37 50th Anniversary Gala in September, it will be in the guise of D6703 to work alongside the visiting locos.
Anyone who would like to help the oldest privately preserved Class 37 can contact the Technical Officer via the contact us page
13/10/09 Working Party at Dereham
Good progress made today with further split seams sorted out and taken to filler. The welder had a darn good workout....
It is important we get the 'North-East' side of the loco looking good first as when she comes away from the bay at some
point, she will be sat to attend to the 'South-West' side on the opposite platform. At the moment we are patch painting
her BR blue for three reasons - 1) we have lots of paint, 2) it enables us to 'guide-coat' the body as we go which will
guide us as to what else needs attention and 3) once she's ready for service she'll look half decent straight off
08/10/09 Working Party at Dereham
Some bodywork repairs were undertaken to make her fit for the onset of winter weather.
24/09/09 Working Party at Dereham
Had a cracking day up at Dereham on the 24th, myself, Al Pulford and Steve Potter got the rad fan grille fitted
at last, having spent some time finishing off the rad fan ducting and then we ripped into some bodywork. Some
stress cracks have now been welded up and finished to filler, the previous repairs to the panels below the
radiator grilles have been cut out and rewelded properly, plenty of old filler/rust was dug out and cleaned off
to bare metal before new was added, the bodysides have sort of been cleaned and one cab is now tidy for public
access.
We had a minor fright with a large lump of corrosion on one cab roof, luckily it turned out to be where
the paint had cracked and water had got in so it has been cut back and primered ready for attention.
Overall the body is in very good condition for a near 50-year old loco and once Terry Waller and his C&W
gang start in the next couple of weeks with the metalwork, she should be superb.
We've also fitted the fuel drainoff pipes to the engine, the aux gen puller is on order from the company we are borrowing it from and work is starting to upgrade the green/cream cab.
Mike
21/01/09 Working Party at Dereham
The skirts which were temporarily re-fitted back in 1999 have finally been permanently refitted
The nose end doors have been secured and bolted shut, just need a few new hindges fitting to finsh the job (hopefully this won't take another 10 years )
27/10/08 UAT Axel and Equalising Beam test.
Roy from Applied Inspection Limited came to do the test, while Mick Parker was on hand to remove and refit all the covers and end caps. Having removed the first cover, bent back the locking ring and removed the bolts, the first end cap was well and truly stuck, no amount of gentle persuasion would help with the removal of the cap, so I left it. Continued to remove the rest of the covers & caps without too much trouble, a couple needed some talking too (2lb hammer) but they soon gave up. So returned to the first and using some jacking bolts and a lot of four letter works, I finally removed the end cap, only to find that it was a non-standard model complete with a few lumps and bumps that didnt help in its removal.
Roy did the inspection (see pictures) and everything is fine, once wed had a brew, Roy had a quick walk around the museum and left. I then had the fun of putting everything back together, grease grease everywhere and not a drop to fry my chips in! Putting it all back together was fairly painless, apart from the difficult end cap, which even after a few round with the grinder, it was still a little tight, still that will be some elses problem next time round. .
All in all not a bad days work, and knowing that 003s axles and beams are OK was worth 5hrs round trip to get covered in grease.
23/10/08 Tank Inspection / Working Party.
A very windy but mainly dry day, Undone inspection plugs and opened doors to let the tank inspector have access to visually inspect and thickness test all of our 15 air tanks. Took the opportunity to move the large bracket and fix the AWS magnet back to the No1 end bogie. Air system re-pressurised to check Id tightened everything up properly, unfortunately found a new nasty air leak behind the compressors!
11/10/08 Working Party.
A sunny Saturday! Mick Chester and myself removed the No1 end blinds in order to paint and overhaul them, in order to keep the weather out 003 gets to wear its dominos for a bit.
Frothtastic? A new look in under a hour!
Mick Sasse and Chester cleaned the Rad room floor to such an extent that they have found the drain holes, defiantly on the summer painting list now.
A through inspection was made of the engine and it was decided that the timing chain and oil needed our attention.
Ooooh look at that bore honing! Mmm.
Turbo charger fan shaft end play was checked to prove how bad the turbo bearings are. As expected they are U/S and need overhaul.
30/08/08 Working Party
A sunny Saturday finds Mick Chester in the workshop adjusting some pipe work to fit back to the engines waste fuel lines, as we don't want to waste fuel. It's too expensive! And it sounds better when the engine uses it.
The sharp eyed will see the AWS magnet and cable, which we hoped will get the system working soon.
The next working weekend is Sat 13th - if you wish to come along
23/07/08 News
While delivering some parts to the container, the fuel delivery turned up, which was handy as the gauge could go back on. Looks better than the blank plate with 'fuel in here' on.
mmm...Diesel
19/07/08 Working Party.
With the possibility of good weather I decided to give have a go at changing some buffers. There was a faulty 22" removed from number 2 end when we were at Wolsingham, this was replaced with a 20" we had spare. There was also another 22" faulty on number 1 end and another 20" spare. So simply removing one 22" from one end and replacing with the spare 20" would give us the same size at both ends.
If anyone has some spare 22" buffers? will swap for some 20" :)
I arrived early after picking up an engine hoist off a friend as it was going to be a one man job, The bolt were on very, very tight, my 3/4" power bar was assisted by a 12' boiler tube on the end to give me a chance of cracking em' off, a strong cup of tea later and they were loose. Next I had to roll the spare buffer out onto the concrete apron, Which is actually quite easy with a round one, its all a question of getting the balance right and keeping toes out the way. Next I moved the loco forward onto the apron and used the engine hoist to change round as planned. This is of course when the rain started, just as I was finishing the long task of tightening the bolts up the sun can back out and gave me sunburn! Happy with the days work I had a wander into locomotion for a cuppa and look at Evening Star.
Look! same size and everything!
12/07/08 Working Party.
Finally a nice day for slogging a spanner, result after 3 Saturdays graft rad fan is back, drive shaft on, clutch adjusted and tested. Sounds nice too, no more dry bearing noise. Mick Chester even managed to get the horizontal drive shaft covers on.
Looks quite boring unless you know what is above that nut
- if you wish to lend a hand and can hold a spanner please contact us
15/06/08 Working Party.
Think this is probably the day we got properly going with the rad fan drive, looks difficult until go get big enough spanners, a hydraulic jack from my old landrover and a big enough hammer.
Worst bit was the staggering amount of grease involved, maybe you would like that...?
We have gloves if you don't.
Donor Bearings from here
Looking complicated
One naked fan drive shaft
10/04/08 Working Party.
Just managed to get the blanking plates by Armstrong engineering on before the gala, giving us better use of the fuel we put in the tanks.
