Saturday 8th September: Five members present. The aim for this weekend was to get the loco ready for the series of lifts that will take place in October to remove the generator set and old power unit then lift in the new power unit.

Two of us set about making a support for the free end of the generator armature, with some threaded bar, angle iron and a tad of welding. This device basically holds the engine end of the main generator armature in place once disconnected from the crankshaft of the power unit. Once made, we then set about removing the bolts that connect the crankshaft to the armature. With this job done and the support in place, it was then onto the securing mounting bolts and locating doles on the bedplate. These took a bit of effort to undo! We managed to get one side undone before calling it a day.

Meanwhile the other team of three had made a start on renovating the six marker lamp units for No1 end nose end, removing all old paint work inside and out and then applying a coat of primer.

Sunday 9th September: Five members present again. We carried on where we left off with preparations for the lifts. The other side of the generator mounting bolts and dowels were removed. We then put a bolt back in each side and nipped it up to ensure that the generator set does not move during shunting. We then set about loosening off the four mounting bolts that hold down the power unit itself, split pins were removed and the big nuts undone enough that it wont take to much grief once the crane is in place. Both of the turbos mounting bolts were also loosened off ready for removing, also the two air intake snails were removed from each turbo, as these will be needed for the new engine, better to remove them now rather than risk damage during lifting as they are the only set we have.

With this done, the generator, turbos and power unit are now ready for lifting out, ensuring minimum grief once the crane is in place. We then set about removing some of the bolts from the right hand side frame. This will be removed also during the lifts in October so we don't have to lift the big items high up over the roof to get them in, a couple of bolts were left in each end and in the floor so it is secure for moving.

The roof section was then checked, the majority of the bolts were removed some time ago with only a handful left in each side. So everything is now ready for Friday 12th and Saturday 13th of October for the lifting to take place.

Back in the coach, more marker lamp units were being renovated and painted, the welding on the right side cooler group dummy shutter panel was finished and two other dummy shutters were also welded in place.

All in all a great w/e's graft, although not a lot of visible progress, when it comes to the lifts it should make life a lot easier. Some photos of the work are below.