Saturday 25th September

Attendance: 4

Well after the pleasantries minds turned to work. One of the main tasks for today was to continue the painting of the 15 floor. The sun was shining so Jason and Adam set themselves up for the task of continuing to paint the floor so first up was to pull back the tarpaulin. On pulling back the tarpaulin it was discovered moisture had seeped under the cover so the first task was to dry off the floor and at the same time clean off all the muck and dust. With this complete Adam grabbed the grey undercoat and the black floor paint. Adam started on completing the grey undercoating of the floor, there was a small area left in green. While Adam completed this task Jason made a start on the second coat of black floor paint. Once Adam had completed applying the grey undercoat he joined Jason in applying the second coat of black floor paint.

Jim and Dave G got the conduit out of the tent to finish off the metal repairs and to put new holes in the new metal where the kopex conduits will be attached. This involved getting the removed sections of corroded metal out of store and placing them on the conduit and marking out where the holes will go and also what size hole to cut.

Once Jason and Adam had completed their cups of tea they decided on their next task for the day. The inside of the Class 15 cab required a coat of undercoat applying. Since the cab had been sand blasted some work had been completed but this was mainly welding work. So Adam armed with a paint brush and Jason armed with a mini roller they set about painting the inside of the cab. The inside of the cab in places was a little bit awkward as there are areas that contain captive nuts that are welded on to the bulkheads. Adam targeted these areas while Jason tackled the large areas that didn't contain any captive nuts. This took them until lunchtime.

After Lunch Dave and Jim decided that all the welds on the inside of the conduit needed to be dressed with an angle grinder. Then discussion turned to how the conduit was going to be mounted to the floor of the loco and several brackets were made and welded to the conduit

Meanwhile Jason checked the class 15 floor and found that the black floor paint had dried so it was decided that a second coat in the area where the ‘B' end sits would be applied and also the first coat of floor paint was applied to the area that had received a coat of undercoat paint earlier in the day. As the sun was out the paint was drying rapidly. Once this task was completed Adam started to tidy away as he was going for a ride out on the East Lancs Railway.

Adam tidied away and Jason emptied out the water from the coolant system from the Class 15 ready for the winter. While Jason was completing this Adam bid everyone farewell and set off for Bury Bolton Street .

Sunday 26 th

Attendance: 4

Today the day started on work class 14 related, which took up the majority of Chris's and Jasons morning.

In the afternoon, Chris, Graham and James set about applying a coat of hemp gloss to the inside of the cab that had been undercoated the day previous. Jason set about threading the 2” pipe he had previously made to replace a corroded piece. Once done he then set about removing two small conduit troughs that were still on the cab floor, these will be replaced with more modern materials and were air chiselled away from the cab floor so corrosion underneath could be addressed with the wirewheel, once done he applied some primer to the affected areas.

Chris James and Graham completed the cab glossing and with the evening drawing closer we all decided to pack away tools and equipment and head for home.

Another great weekends work by the team, and work in preparation for the lift sessions is drawing to a close, only a few minor tasks to complete now and we will be ready for November the 14th .

The next working weekend is 20/21 November. If you wish to lend a hand please contact Chris Tatton

Above : Jim givin it some 'ommer! © C15PS