Aln Valley Railway

Longhoughton Goods Yard - ?, continuation of general tasks; constructing the “”trolley line”", moving sleepers to aproximate positions, moving rail, wire brushing the 165DE, inspecting rail crane, sorting track components, etc., The yard was again very busy with the on going Plain Track Renewals work. We arrived to find the NwR contractors consolidating ballast to form a parking pad in the yard.Work continued on returning the Permaquip to working order: a nice new pair of batteries have been bought for the machine now. We removed a plate at the back which gave us better access and enabled us to remove two T pieces that were put in when the machine had a hydraulic generator (this having been removed by FE). The hydraulic tanks were topped up but still require more oil once we get rid of air locks in the system. The brakes have been freed off and now seem to operate correctly. We are now able to manhandle the machine along our track. The roller shutter doors were cleaned up and these now work correctly. A Perspex sheet was obtained for use as a temporary window. The next day…. thanks to Cairnsy we had 45 gallons of (used) hydraulic oil which we used to top up all tanks. We used the emergency hand pumps to push oil round the system and push out any air locks. We also operated the turntable a few times. As we had freed up the callipers the previous day they released quite easily and two of us were able to manhandle the ‘quip up and down the test track without difficulty. One of our electricians then isolated the immersion water heater in the rear as this appeared to be on even when the switch was off. This was not only running the batteries down but also getting very hot when almost boiling dry. With this done we refitted the batteries and cranked up the engine - still no drive. At this point we suspected the hydraulic pump wasn’t working. We did however manage to operate the turntable under engine power so lifted the machine and rotated it 180 degrees thus proving the pump was in fact working. Once back on the track we chocked the wheels and took the tension off the drive chains and removed the chains to allow us to test the hydraulic motors - even with quite high revs there was no movement - we now suspect a problem with the deadman’s handle. Various other nuts and bolts were soaked with WD40 and slackened and retightened to ease removal if necessary. Measurements were taken for replacement roof and windows. We now plan to have a look at the electrics again and check the operation of the various relays and solenoid valves to make sure oil is going where it should. The old light box from the roof is to be stripped of the reusable parts, and measurements taken ready for the fabrication of a new box. We also had a visit from some interested enthusiasts, and their sightings have gone off to the IRS so hopefully we will get a mention in their mag.