Thursday 8th May : Today, three members set about a mega shunt to get D8233 out of road 6 at the loco works, and get D5705 into position as well.

Castlecroft depot needed de-stitching so there was access to the pit road for D8233, which we did first, once done we took D335 and 20087 back to the works loco stack, and using D5054 2062 and 08479, set about the Road 6 shunt. 5 Hours later we were heading towards Castlecroft with D8233 in tow on 2062. Leaving D5705 in position next to our support coach. Once at Castlecroft it was shunted onto the pit road after fuelling it with 250litres of fuel and called a day.

Friday 9th May : The Day started with the tarp being pulled back, and the road compressor at Castlecroft being dug out from behind some wagons and moved alongside D8233 with the Manitou forrrklift. Next the 110v Battery Charger lead was connected to the socket on the oil priming pump, and switched on, the pump started and a check made for leaks, one leak developed on the filters, under investigation it was found two studs on the filter housing had flattened threads and the top rubber seal was missing from all three filter bowls, Jim was despatched down to the coach, and came back with the seals and one of the filter bowls off the 'green' filter assembly. With everything refitted, the pump was turned on again and with adjustment to the relief valve 30psi of pressure was gained. The oil level was checked and it required topping up, around 15 gallon of oil was put into the sump to bring the level up to Max. Carl Holt in the meantime was busy fitting the main fuel rail to the fuel pumps, which took some jiggery to achieve, but was soon done. Jason had primed the hand prime pump, and the bleed screws were opened on the filters header res and fuel rail, the air was chased round and the fuel system had been bled up. Carl then set about connecting the fuel linkages up between the rack and each fuel pump. We then decided to have a test turn over, the road compressor was hooked up to the air starter system and the lever depressed, however, not a lot happened! the starters just turned a little then started to vent the air. So it was decided to see what would happen with one starter, the second was blanked off, and the starter turned a little bit more, but it was obvious that the road compressor would not be capable of turning the engine over and 1/8th of a turn let alone spin it round fast enough to fire, despite several people advising it would do weeks before. So plan....errr think z we were now on, The workshop compressor at Castlecroft is certified for a higher pressure, so the hoses were hooked up to it and the output adjusted to the max available, and the lever depressed, this time the one starter motor managed to turn the flywheel 1/4 of a turn, but came up against compression on the power unit and stopped. so with options exhausted and it being a Friday afternoon and very little chance of hiring or borrowing something that would actually do the job, like was first planned, being available, it was obvious that the intended 1st start up of D8233 the following day would have to be postponed....... There were many long faces at Castlecroft that day, but it something that couldn't be rectified on the day, Still, progress had been made, the oil system had been tested, the fuel system was back together and had fuel in it and the coolant system was leak free. With little else to do it was decided to sheet it back over and shunt her back the following day.

Saturday 10th May: The day of the intended start up. A few jobs needed finishing off before we shunted D8233 back to the works, the air system pipework was rebuilt so the two motors were connected, Carl had 1 fuel pump to finish off and we decided to lift the two Class 31 traction motor blowers into the genny compartment while we were in the area so they could be worked on in the future. We also had some visitors to D8233 taking pictures and measuring items on it.............

Once done, the tarp was pulled back over and secured, and D8233 being towed by 2062 set back off down to the works, we had decided over many pints the night before to shunt it onto the Diesel stack in the works complex and not back onto 6 road with D5705 and the coach, mainly so we can bring it back up to Castlecroft with ease in the next few weeks if needed.

Many thanks to all who attended over the past few days, it was disappointing to say the least, but its a setback not total disaster, we have two options open to us to get D8233 started, we are looking into hiring a compressor that supply's 350psi and at least 750cfm for a day, but price will govern if we go ahead with that or not. If the compressor hire is to expensive and the money better invested elsewhere, the generator's will be sent off for overhaul instead, so we can refit upon return and start the power unit utilising another locos control system and battery's. The next working weekend is on 24th & 25th May, where we hope a start can be made on D5705 and we will know by then which road we are going down with regard to the start up, so further work for that maybe undertaken. If you wish to lend a hand please contact Chris Tatton