Saturday 13th November

Attendance: 7

The tasks that needed to be completed today where all in connection for the lift taking place the next day. First up Rob, Graham and Adam collect 20 pallets to be used to place the CoBo roof panels and 4 Exhausters on. 2 of the Exhausters were for the 15 and the other two were to go in the CoBo. These were located in the Baron Street yard so a couple of trips was made to retrieve the correct number required. These were placed in positions in front of the CoBo and the 15 so that the roof panels and Exhausters could be lifted straight in.

In the mean time Jason took on the task of reaming out the holes on the CoBo and the 15 where the Exhausters are located. When the floor areas had been painted the paint had dripped into the holes so the painted to be cleaned out.

Outside again Chris Guntripp had joined Rob, Graham and Adam in retrieving the roof panels from the tent and the CoBo container. These were placed onto the pallets upside down so that Chris could free off the nuts on the bolts that fixed down the panels. Also while the roof panels were upside down Rob took the opportunity to remove to hinges that had seized up. Rob got a hammer and a drift and tried to knock out one of the hinges but it didn't move so he then applied some heat to the first hinge and then hit it again with the hammer and drift. The first hinge flew out so Rob went through the same process for the second hinge and that was quickly removed.

A new volunteer Clive Whiting had arranged to come down this weekend for his first visit and it had been arranged that he meet Adam at the local tram stop so Adam went to meet him and then on their return to site Adam showed him around the site. Graham, Rob and Jason moved onto dismantling one end of the tent so that the 15 Cab could be lifted out easily the next day. This involved untying the canvas cover and dismantling the metal frame from within the tent. With the metal frame stacked to one side and the tent canvass put to one side it was decided to stop for lunch.

During lunch Alan Lee had arrived with the first pair of Exhausters and so following lunch these were removed from the back his van using an engine hoist, each exhauster being placed onto a pallet. Alan then disappeared off to collect the other two exhausters that had been in store in a secure location in Bury since overhaul. These were returned a short while later and were lifted out of the van and placed on two more pallets.

Clive was set his first task while the exhausters were being unloaded. This was to paint the end of the engine room frame in undercoat as it had previously been painted in anti-corrosive paint. Then Chris Tatton went into the CoBo with Clive and they prepared the metal work where the roof support beams met the roof above the cooler section. This had been missed previously so they drelled back the old paint and rust and following a wipe down applied a coat of green anti-corrosive paint.

Sunday 14th November

Attendance: 10

So the day of the lift had arrived. Adam turned up and joined Chris Baily and Chris Tatton for a cuppa. The plan of campaign was to pull the tarpaulins back on both the CoBo and the Class 15 in preparation for the crane turning up. Also on the CoBo the temporary framing covering the engine compartment needed to be removed and the roof panel support beams needed to put into place. Adam, Chris T, Graham and Clive started on removing the tarpaulin from the CoBo. This took a little while as the tarpaulin is very heavy on the CoBo. Once complete Adam went inside the CoBo and removed the temporary support and placed to one side inside the CoBo as it would be required later in the day. Next up the metal work that supports the roof panels was put up. First up was the main curved roof support, this was lifted into place and bolted down. Then the two roof beams that run down the centre of the roof were put in place, one at a time and all the nuts and bolts were tightened up. This completed everything required ready for when the crane arrived.

Next up was to complete the prep work on the 15. Adam and Jason moved around to the 15 and untied the tarpaulin. They rolled the tarp up so that it the cab area was uncovered, the rolled up tarp being placed on to the engine bay roof. Thankfully this tarp is a bit lighter then the one on the CoBo! A frame that had been constructed previously to help when working under the tarp was dismantled and that completed the preparation for the crane. It was at this stage that minds started turning towards breakfast…… so an order was placed.

The crane turned up shortly after 10 am. And the first lifting to take place was to be the roof panels for the CoBo. Chris B and Rob connected slings to the first roof panel for lifting while Alasdair set up the crane. Once the crane was set up the slings on the first roof panel were connected up and the first lift was under way. Meanwhile a team went into the CoBo. Adam was on the roof directing Alasdair where the roof panels needed to be placed and Clive, Chris T, Dave and Jim were in place to secure the panels when lowered into their correct positions.

The first panel was lifted into place and once attached inside with bolts that located into brackets on the body of the loco Adam removed the slings that attached the roof panel to the crane. The second panel was lifted up and positioned into place. However one of the roof hinges was obstructing the panel and this stopped the panel being fixed down. It was decided that the hinge needed to be removed. A spanner was fetched and placed onto the rusty bolt but this didn't work. Next plan was to chisel it off. Rob went into the interior of the CoBo and following some heavy hitting managed to remove the offending hinge. With it removed the panel was quickly moved into place and fixed down and the other two roof panels were placed into position and fixed down with no further problems.

With that completed the next jobs were to lift off two more roof panels from the CoBo so that they can be needle gunned, drelled and painted in the future. More of the tarpaulin was pulled back so that the two roof panels were exposed. These roof panels differed to the ones over the engine compartment as they went the whole way across the CoBo where as the engine compartment panels were in pairs. Chris T joined Adam on the roof to assist in connecting slings through the lifting eyes on the first roof panel and once connected to the crane it was lifted off. The second panel quickly followed and at this stage Chris T and Adam climbed down from the roof. The roof panels were put to one side ready to be worked on in the future.

Now that the roof panels had been removed from above the boiler room this allowed access for two exhausters to be lifted in. The first exhauster to be lifted in was to go in front of the brake frame. With Alasdair inside the CoBo working the crane via remote control the first exhauster was attached lifted into the CoBo, as it was lowered down Chris B helped direct it into place and then Chris T and Jim fed bolts through to locate it into place. Once it was lowered down a third bolt was fed through but it was discovered that the fourth bolt didn't line up. This will be addressed at a later date. The second exhauster was lifted into the CoBo and with Chris B again directed it into place Jason and Jim again fed bolts through to locate the exhauster and once lowered into place the other two bolts were thread through. Nuts were placed onto the all 7 bolts but these will be tightened up during a future working day.

With that complete most people departed the CoBo. Rob and Adam stayed on though as a new skeleton support needed to be constructed over the gap that was now present from where the two roof panels had been lifted off. The old structure from the engine end was used but with some additional wood this was extended as it was a bigger gap. With this complete Rob, Adam, Graham and Chris T pulled the tarpaulin back over the CoBo and with that the CoBo work was complete.

Meanwhile next door at the 15 Chris B and Chris T along with Alastair lifted the exhausters onto the 15, starting with the one at the far side from the car park. This proved to be particularly awkward as the engine compartment was in the way. With the first fitted the second exhauster was lifted into place and bolts placed through the feet to secure them down.

Chris B and Chris T then moved onto fitting down the cab. As it was lifted into place bolts were placed through the holes so that when it was lowered down it could be lined up perfectly. With a bit of tweaking and persuasion the cab was positioned and lowered down back into place. Bolts wre then placed through all the holes and a job for a later working weekend will be to add the nuts and tighten them all up.

With that completed Adam and Jason pulled the tarpaulin back over the 15 while the lower part of the ‘B' end was lifted into the tent where the cab had previously been positioned. This will be worked on over the next few months to remove the rotten metal. With the ‘B' end in place the tent was put back together and with that a very successful weekend came to an end.

The next working weekend is 4/5 December. If you wish to lend a hand please contact Chris Tatton