Happy new year to all our supporters. The turn of the year has seen a marked increase in Diesel Group activities around the Railway.
Details of our Spring Diesel Day, to be held on 31st March can now be found here or using the menu above.
We are also delighted to announce a PLEG shunter charter using 08195 and Davy on Sunday 1st April. Details can be found on PLEG‘s website, here or using the menu above.
Last weekend saw maintenance work undertaken on D5310’s brakes, which have been adjusted to address a handbrake security issue. Grease was applied to brake rigging and underbody grease points.
Pete Edwards’s photos below show Peter Coole at work on the brakes, another fine example of the lovely working conditions typical to keeping the fleet going. Note the obligatory tin of WD40!
After a short charge the 26 started successfully. The adjusted brakes were tested by shunter pull and under her own power. The straight air is now noticeably more responsive and easier to moderate at low speeds.
5580 was also given a charge for a few hours. A1A plan to dewinterise the 31 in March ready for the Spring Diesel Day, with the LDG similarly dealing with 6940 and D1566 when the weather looks to be staying reliably warmer.
D5310 was used for a crew training special on Tuesday with the aim of getting more steam drivers trained up to increase the loco’s usefulness.