Weatherproofing!
This set of pictures is from 28th December 2002. In the two months since the previous set of pictures in this section, we had got and fitted the glass for the cab side windows of 26040, had made and fitted a new roof hatch for the former boiler-room, whose original hatch blew off and disappeared in a gale a couple of years before, and were now working on other external repairs to the bodywork.
1. In this first picture the new drivers
side windows at the No 2 end can be seen on the left, with Alistair (the co-owner
with me of 26040), busy undercoating the hole left by removing one of the cab door
handrails removed during the asbestos removal work in 1994.
2. Looking from the other side shows paint
inside the hole that Alistair had previously put on. Since we obviously wanted to put
all the missing handrails back it was important to us that we get these holes and their
edges painted, but we used a spare tin of greenish-grey paint for the bits that would be
covered over, since since nobody would see them, and only used yellow and blue paint for
the outside edges.
3. I moved back and climbed a ladder to try to
get a good shot of the new roof hatch on the boiler-room, and also of another repair on the
roof next to it we had recently done where a strip of metal skin several inches wide had
also been removed.
4. Swinging the camera round shows the rest
of 26040 in the late-December sunshine. Noticeable here is that we have not yet
replaced the roof strip removed at the No 1 end, although we have of course been
painting the inside and the edges of the hole where it should be.
5. This next picture shows the data panel
26040 was carrying when withdrawn. I am not certain of the accuracy of most of these
numbers, as a Class 26/1 is usually quoted as being 73 tonnes and RA 5, while the
maximum speed is only nominal (most 1st generation BR diesel locomotives aren't speed
governed) and used to be quoted as 80mph anyway!
6. Another BR sign, in this case on one of
the cab doors and giving a message about lubrication! Not a lot of use to us, but we
wouldn't dream of removing it!
7. Moving round to the other side, here is
an example of a missing handrail where Alistair has already painted it inside, and has
also done the edges in blue and yellow undercoat.
8. A quick close-up look now at the holes
where the handrails should be at the No 1 end, starting with the drivers side...
9. ...and moving round to the secondmans
side. Both, like the one in the picture before last, have been painted inside and
have been undercoated round the edges.
10. And to finish, Here is a full view
of the No 2 end, complete with a couple of our ladders for good measure!
Getting 26040 gradually weatherproofed was very welcome, especially as it was now December and we had already been fairly lucky with the weather. However we did have to cope with rain at times, and in the following weeks had many more rainy days which held up progress on repairing the bodywork.
However working on a machine as big as this has one definite advantage - you can retreat inside it to work when the weather is bad! And we did! But that is another story...
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