That Thursday feeling    Back to Articles

Thursday? What am I doing here Thursday? As it happens, I didn't arrive until 10-00, tea-break and so, as I left early yesterday, was the subject of some (good natured?) pee-taking... Fair enough I suppose!
 
First task was a bit of a tidy up. It's Thomas week next week so we need to look our best for the great British public. A couple of us had a go at sorting and tidying the rack of steel stock outside the machine shop, just putting stuff on it's proper rack and putting big bits at the back, small bits at the front, nothing that involved to much brain power...
We just stepped back to admire our handiwork when Dave, a Thursday gang regular, came and pinched a bit and un-tidied the whole thing! Duly admonished, he slunk back into workshop...
 
Then to some more interesting stuff. Trevor who runs the machine shop was chatting about how busy they were when it struck me I'd never really taken many pictures in his empire; I'm not clever enough to use a lathe so only head down that end of workshop when I want something doing (I'm sure I'm not the only one, Trevor?) He took the opportunity to show me a Bronze manifold casting from Standard 4 75069 which had been beautifully machined and finished, even to my untrained eyes. It was plainly obvious the level of skill and countless hours that had gone into it by a chap I didn't know by the name of Hugh Caldwell, who sadly passed away just recently. What a fitting testament to the mans skill....
 
Then  Trevor showed me something I was far more familiar with from our old combatant, the Standard 4. Those frame stretchers that several of us had struggled to remove just two or three weeks ago were now re-bushed and had new pins made, ready for re-fitting in the next week or so. They turned out to be a machine shop team effort too, with Trevor making the pins, Peter drilling them, Dick making the bushes and Matt pressing bushes in. After we'd removed the stretchers Matt and Ollie also followed us up removing the bushes from the engine too, which apparently was a swine of a job.
 
And lastly, Trevor produced a drawing of Crompton Diesel D6593 brake components; The loco is at Shacklestone at the moment having it's traction motor re-built but all the brakes for it have arrived back with us in various states of diss-assembly for the machine shop to re-bush and fettle. Each wheel brake system has 13 bushes, and there are Eight wheels! So the lathes keep spinning and the guys keep producing; just hope the fitters (me!!) don't screw up when putting all the various back together!!
 
Another casualty of of recent disastrous fire has been the boiler shop, who are in temporary residence back in main workshop. They were today pressure testing the new superheater tubes Andy made for the Black 5; each one was tested to 400psi and left for a time to make sure the pressure didn't decay due to leaks. Needless to say, none of them leaked.
 
You will all have read elsewhere about the fire a couple of weeks ago. The area is out of bounds until investigations are complete when I'm sure the powers that be will release more information. Meanwhile, it's business as usual for everyone without the magnificent facilities of the David Snow building. Much of what was lost cannot be replaced, including a lot of tools which anyone who uses tools regularly in any skill will sympathise with. There is an appeal for replacements to be donated, not just hand-tools, but work benches, store cupboards and timber supplies; all the Oak that was being used to restore the coaches has obviously gone.
 
So if you can help, we'd love to hear from you! If you have any tools surplus to requirement, particularly woodworking tools they'd be gratefully received, and put to good use. Or perhaps you have a friend or relative that has a shed full of stuff he no longer uses?
 
Give it a thought, and see what you can come up with. Thank you in advance!
 
Back next Wednesday in the middle of a busy Thomas week.
 
Dave.