Saturday 11th

Attendance: 2

First job of the day was to put the kettle on. We are planning on having a lifting weekend in the next few months and for this to happen there are a few jobs that need to be finished off on the CoBo and on the 15. First up three of the four roof panels for the CoBo that had previously been sent away for sand blasting needed the gloss painting completing. Jason took this task on and with a hand from Adam the roof panels were taken from the CoBo tent and placed in the container. This was to make the painting easier due to better lighting in the container. This took Jason most of the morning. The inside of the one of the large roof panels and the outside of both the smaller roof panels needed to be completed.

Meanwhile Adam took on the task of needle gunning the area around the cooler group grills. The needle gunning didn't take too long as the old paint flaked off nice and easily. Following the needle gunning Adam ran the dreller over the metal work to remove the final remnants of paint. Following a wipe down with a cloth and some white spirit both areas were ready for a coat of anti-corrosive paint. Adam applied the paint and left it to dry.

Following the previous CoBo working weekend where the last of the repairs were completed in the cooler group area Adam decided to continue with the painting in this area. Firstly Adam applied black to the cooler group floor after one of the midweek working crew had applied the grey undercoat. The black floor paint was applied to the floor on both sides of the CoBo. This didn't take to long and the final painting was to apply Hemp paint to a couple of repairs to the sides of the cooler group. At this stage Jason and Adam broke for lunch.

After lunch Adam and Jason went up to Castlecroft yard to visit CoBo world as they were after a few bits but were thwarted as they couldn't gain access. So they headed back off to Baron Street . When back at Baron Street Jason had set aside a job that needed to be completed. He needed to split down some 2” pipe that was needed to replace one that had been on the Class 15. The original had been badly corroded so Jason had found some pipe and had set it to one side. This task needs to be completed in time for the cab being placed back onto the sole bar as the pipe will be fitted first.

While Jason was working on the pipe Adam continued work on the floor in the boiler end of the CoBo. First up was to use the needle gun on the floor in an area that used to be inside an air box. This part of the floor was particularly corroded. As Adam worked the needle gun over the metal work he noted that there were several holes in the floor and that a considerable amount of rust jacking had taken place under the foot of an old stand that has since been cut away. Once complete Adam ran the dreller over the area and got it ready for some anti-corrosive paint. Once wiped down the paint was applied.

Jason had completed the splitting down of the pipes, some useful knuckles and bends were also retrieved and put to one side for a later date. Next Jason moved on to the sorting out of the breather pipes for the CoBo radiator tanks. The CoBo radiator tanks are going to be fitted at a later date to the lifting session but it's still a job that needs to be completed. He took the pipes into the workshop and started to run them over the wire wheel. This task wasn't completed so was set aside for the following day. And so that brought Saturday's proceedings to a close.....

Sunday 12 th

Attendance: 3

Today Rob joined Adam and Jason and after the customary greetings and cup of tea it was time to get down to work. Adam and Rob took the tarpaulin off the 15 so that they could get the rest of the floor painted. With a typical sense of timing the heavens opened and so thwarted attempts to paint the floor. For now........

Jason meanwhile had returned his attention to the 2” Vacuum pipe. He got the old piece of pipe and measured it then getting a piece of the donor pipe he marked it up and then proceeded to cut it by hand. No mean feat as the metal is quite thick on the 2” pipe.

So back to the floor painting...... A cunning plan was devised. Because the cab area of the 15 floor area ready for the lifting session Adam and Rob decided that they could get some pallets and lay them under the tarpaulin at the B end and thus it would create a tent affect so that they could work under the tarpaulin. So they had a walk into Baron Street yard and claimed half a dozen pallets which they stacked up under the tarpaulin. This worked a treat and they were able to get a coat of grey undercoat down on the cab floor area.

Next up Rob then moved onto some painting in the CoBo tent. The compressor from the 15 needed a coat of undercoat. While he was doing that Adam moved back into the CoBo cooler group area. The bolt holes where the radiator tanks and side panels bolted to the CoBo required a die running through them to clear out all the old paint and muck. By the time he had finished this and a few areas of touch up paint in the cooler group Rob had finished the painting in the CoBo tent.

And so the final job of the day. The grey undercoat on the 15 Cab area had dried so Adam and Rob decided to get the first coat of black floor paint down. This again was done under cover, not ideal but was a necessary and good result for the weekend considering the weather conditions. As Rob and Adam where completing this Jason came and joined them. Jason had been working on the pipe work for most of the day and this included drelling the rest of the CoBo breather pipes. When he had completed the drelling task Jason decided to run a piece of wire through the breather pipes and found that most of the pipes were blocked. This is a bit of a problem but this will need to be addressed at a later date.

And so this brought the weekend's proceedings to an end. It had been a good weekend with lots of jobs completed.........

The next working weekend is 23/24 October. If you wish to lend a hand please contact Chris Tatton