Are you free to come along on a Tuesday to join the Tuesday Gang of volunteers? This is an ideal opportunity for retired or semi retired folk to get involved during the week when the railway does not usually have a large input from volunteers. If you are able to lend a hand, then please give either Tony Baker (01492 874579) or Peter Roughley (01407 741893) a ring for further details, or email Tony at: tony.baker@festrail.co.uk. Tasks on any other day of the week can also be organised, if that is more suitable for you.
The K1 Group of the WHRS would be very pleased to meet new volunteers, although with K1 in regular service working parties are normally held at Dinas when K1 is out of service during the Winter period only. However the NG15 group are looking for ex-K1 volunteers to help at Dinas each month. Could prospective candidates e-mail either: andy.rutter@clara.co.uk or charlesandjomckenzie@yahoo.co.uk so that their contact details can be forwarded to the NG 15 team, or even contact them direct. Thank you.
For those of you who are not sure what you would like to do, or would like a variety of tasks from ditching and brush clearing, to painting buildings, washing carriages and helping with the buffet trolley and guide book selling. Please contact the volunteer co-ordinator for the operating railway, Tony Baker, on 01492 874579 or email tony.baker@festrail.co.uk. Anyone is welcome whether for one day or one month. Tasks are available to suit all ages and capabilities.
The renovation and repainting of what was a motley collection of South African Railways wagons is making a real difference to the image of the Railway, as well as providing useful rolling stock; you should be able to get an idea of what is involved from the Goods Stock page. To get involved with any of this work, contact Marcus Ingram, email marcus.ingram@ntlworld.com. He can advise and liaise on matters such as access to tools and lists of tasks at Dinas.
February 2007 - Appeal to WHRS members for funds to overhaul more wagons for Phase 4
Please can you help support our Track Gangs with more equipment? Those hardy volunteers building our future line and the permanent staff who are maintaining the entire WHR track do not yet have the full range of support wagons they need to make their lives as easy and efficient as possible. In particular there is a shortage of fully braked flat wagons to provide more carrying capacity, as well as secure mobile storage for all the volunteers' equipment - in particular for tools. Neither the Construction Company, nor the Operating Company, has any budgets or funding to meet these important requirements, so can you help with this aim? With your help this year we aim to raise enough money to bring at least three of the DZ Flat wagons we own at Dinas up to full running order. With a target restoration cost in the region of £9,500, can you help us? Please give as generously as you can to provide our Track Gangs with the equipment they deserve. Just add a donation to your WHRS annual subscription or, if a Life Member, use the renewal form to make your contribution, please send it to the Membership Secretary. You can greatly help our Gangs progress on the ground over the next few years by donating to this project and help fill a gap in our fleet by restoring this rolling stock. All donations will be gratefully acknowledged. Thank you.
Working parties are held on certain Saturdays (usually), from around 08.30 onwards.
The location is member Rob Blackmore's site at Horseheath, between Cambridge and Haverhill. Remember to bring sandwiches and a flask! Directions: From Cambridge direction, leave the A11 at the Fourwentways junction, following the A1307 towards Haverhill. Pass the villages of Great Abington and Linton, and you will eventually come to the village of Horseheath which is actually located off the A1307 on a "passing loop". Ignore the village, but look out for a minor road on the right, signposted Shudy Camps and Camps End. Head for the water tower, which is a local landmark. Follow the road around and Rob's site is on the right, immediately under (but just before) the water tower. The gate is padlocked; on arrival, wait at the gate until a key carrier appears. Contact: Richard Watson, richard.watson7@virgin.net or 07971 130829.
Full illustrated reports on EAG projects can be found on a separate page.
Team Wylfa undertakes various rolling stock projects and maintenance at Dinas. Working parties are held on Tuesday evenings. Contact: Clive Briscoe, clive.briscoe@magnoxnorthsites.com, or phone 07756 489780 (mobile - leave a message and Clive will phone back after 17:30) or 01407 733595 (office). The team are looking for additional members - please contact Clive, all are welcome, not just those who work at Wylfa power station!
If you can only help at weekends or during the daytime, no problem - contact Clive as above to arrange to have supervision and a list of work available.
Friday 13th Apriil 2012
For the next few weeks, the Tuesday evening Team Wylfa A Team will be joining forces with the B Team on Thursday evenings. Thus there will be NO Tuesday evening working parties. Normal Tuesday and Thursday evening working will recommence on Tuesday 8th MayWednesday 25th August
Last night we had the largest working party for many years with seven of us present. This allowed the team to split up - the two newest recruits, Pete
and Paul were quite happy to carry on removing 134's tender bogie spring hanger brackets ready for NDT and possible re-bushing, whilst the rest of
us, myself, Bob and three 'occasional' members - Pip Clark and his two sons, Ben & Barry came down to the carriage shed to inspect and oil the E
Set carriages and the F Set spares (which are dropped off for the late train). With five of us on the carriages, it was almost a pleasure for a
change! With so many to take off the axlebox covers whilst I went around inspecting and oiling the couplings, it was soon time to swop for the oil
bowser. With one pumping oil and me inspecting and saying, 'When!' for the oil, others followed putting the covers back on. Bob in the meantime went
around putting replacement 'grease sticks' in the flange lubricators. All the carriages were done in the record time of 1½ hours so we all retired to
the Clip Shed and carried on with 134 work for the remaining time.
Many thanks to 'Team Clark' for joining in the fun... Many hands make light work and it proved to be a very productive night with lots of info swopped
and tales told as we worked.
In summary:
E Set checked and oiled in it's entirety.
F Set spares checked and oiled
134 - tender bogie spring hanger brackets now all off bar one with a hard to get at nut which requires splitting next week
134 - connecting rods dug out from under bench and thoroughly cleaned down.
They were still covered in grit from when the loco chassis was grit blasted. The grit had mixed with the grease with which they had been smeared to preserve them.
Outlook for next Tuesday:
With the high season running over (really?!!), the F Set will be available for our team to check and oil up again...
134 - Remove the final tender bogie spring hanger bracket.Wednesday 11th August
Team Wylfa were at work on carriage inspections this evening, out of synch due to our non-availability on Tuesday evening... Next week, Tuesday 17th, we will be working on 134 again since the the E Set is not due for oiling until the week after, and as the F Set is on the late train it is unavailable to us.
August 2010 Update
Team Wylfa has at long last recruited two new members which should ease our workload. Welcome Peter Tabord and Paul Jones. With the peak summer service now in full swing, until September, our carriage checking / oiling is only taking place every other week on the E Set as the F Set is out until just before 10pm every night so too late for us to even contemplate starting. Works staff are therefore having to cover the F Set. This means that on the intermediate weeks, we are able to do some work on 134 and this is what we did this last Tuesday evening. Our task was to remove the spring hanger brackets off the front end tender bogie ready for NDT. The tender frames had to be jacked up to run the bogie out into a better working position and then the two suspension compensating beams were easily removed. That was the easy part. The fixed brackets at the ends of the frames are a slightly different matter - they are bolted to the bogie frames and the nuts and bolts have not been out for many, many years. Some nut heads are corroded so will not take a spanner and all have seized split pins to lock then in place so resort to hammers and chisels has been necessary to split these nuts... We will carry on where we left off in two weeks time, next week it is back to the carriages...January 2009 update:
Team Wylfa is currently assisting in getting 138 back together. Our current task is to clean up and repaint the boiler cradle. It's at the stage were progress is slow, and dirty, as we're having to scrape thick, greasy crud off the inside faces. Most is now off and it will be getting quicker from now on as we'll be able to use power wire brushes and the needle gun where needed. However, manpower is a problem - one of our stalwarts has been highjacked by the FR to cut down lineside trees for the next few weeks and one of the others can't come for a week or two. I've no guaranteed help for next Tuesday evening, 3rd Feb and possibly the following one too, 10th Feb. Is there anyone out there who could assist please.
We've also some electrics to move in the clip shed workshop prior to the next 134 working weekend which starts on Thur 19th Feb so that 134's tender chassis can be moved inside alongside the loco's chassis so if you fancy a cleaner job and have some electrical experience...
Past and Recurring Projects
Team Wylfa worked on the previous phase of assessment and overhaul of NG15 no. 134, have been heavily involved with the overhaul of the power units of NGG16 no. 140, and the boiler overhaul of no. 138. The team have also worked on refurbishment and maintenance of the seven pairs of RRM rail trollies.
Team Wylfa's most frequent task is inspection and maintenance of carriage axleboxes. What is inside a carriage axlebox? There are still some with the "patent" oilers - absorbent wool is mounted in a block held within a light spring steel holder with the strands perpendicular to the axle's journal (second picture below). The block sits in the lower half of the axlebox within the oil bath. The oil soaks into the wool and the strand ends then wipe the journal with oil as it rotates. Most of the 'patent' oilers are about at the end of their working lives so are being replaced with worsted (wool) trimmings (third picture). Approx 130 strands of unbleached wool, about 250mm long, are tied at their mid point into bundles. These are then left in soak in axlebox oil for a minimum of one week before using. After an axlebox has been cleaned out, the norm is to repack with three or four bundles of pre-soaked bundles. After a week or so's running, we find that the original trimmings have settled and another bundle or two is required. That's usually it for a few years then - just keep the oil topped up and check that the whitemetal on the shells is intact and not flaking off or overheating (due to a fault - like lack of oil) and melting out.
The wool-filled axlebox shows one that has been in service for about three months and shows all the component parts within. The axle is undercut to form a parallel journal on which the bearing shell sits, it has a 'button' end which prevents the shell from sliding off the end of the axle. The wool surrounds the lower half of the journal and keeps it wiped with oil. The oil carries upwards in the direction of motion and forms a high pressure "oil wedge" between the journal and the whitemetal-lined bronze shell above. This keeps journal and whitemetal apart with a film of oil and prevents wear. It also keeps the bearing cool as the oil from the wedge spills out on the free, low pressure side and drops back into the axlebox. The shell has a certain amount of free movement axially, floating on a hardened steel backing plate at the very top of the axlebox. Other points to note on these modified, rebuilt ex-SAR freight wagon bogies are the brake blocks (one just visible on the inner side of the wheel), which are checked for wear. On the brake linkages we check that they are all present and correct, and check for freedom of movement with all pins secured by split pins. The bolster (cross beam on top of the springs on which the carriage body rests and articulates) and dampers are checked to ensure all nuts and bolts are present, bearer pads are in one piece, springs are not broken and vertical movement is not restricted. Away from the bogies, we put a few drops of oil on the corridor connection drop plate hinges and on the coupler eccentrics and choppers - again checking that securing split pins are present and a smear of grease on the rubbing plate on which the drawbar rests. A quick check is made that the fold back corridor wings are intact and hinges free and secured completes a carriage check. Internals, doors etc are checked by Operations staff and guards.
If you can assist, please contact Clive Briscoe, Tony Williams or Bryn Jones or if all else fails, drop in to Dinas on Tuesday evenings from 7pm. If you are willing to do some of the dirty clean-up jobs during the day, so much the better but do check first so that supervision / safety cover is on hand for the period you can come.
Cymdeithas Rheilffordd Eryri/WHRS Caravan Accommodation [top of page]
The Board of the Society have agreed to hire a residential caravan for the use of volunteers, in Beddgelert Forest, about half a mile north of the Forest Campsite. The accommodation is a six-berth caravan capable of sleeping four individuals, on a self-catering basis. The cost per person per night is £5.00 and to find out more and to book your place, phone in the first instance Dave Kent on 01766 890452.
Fire extinguisher and electrical appliance testing [top of page]
As the completion of the laying the track from Caernarfon to Porthmadog draws ever closer, thoughts now turn to running the total line as an operating railway. The tasks involved in this are many and varied which include the big jobs and the little ones. There are two important tasks that need to be done on the Welsh Highland Railway without delay.
The first one that needs to be undertaken is the annual checking and maintenance of fire extinguishers. We could do it by paying an outside company; this is not a small amount and we really don't want to do that, we would rather spend money on track, station buildings, locomotives and rolling stock. It can be done if we get a volunteer who is willing to be trained in the job. Training would be done off site at a recognised centre, the qualification is then valid countrywide, costs plus expenses, would of course, be paid by the railway whilst training. The ideal person would be local to the railway or a regular visitor, meticulous in their approach and good at keeping records. So if you fancy gaining a new qualification or possibly you may already have the necessary qualification and that would be even better; for more information contact Brian Coldwell - brian.coldwell@festrail.co.uk
The second task is the testing of portable electrical equipment, which is anything that has a plug on the end of a cable to get its power; the PAT test as it is known. This equipment includes electric drills, saws, impact wrenches, kettles, microwaves, etc, etc. If you have the necessary qualification and can help out that would be extremely useful. If not training will also be given for this job, some electrical knowledge is required but the record keeping is more important as the test equipment does most of the work. If you can help or would like more information the contact once again is Brian Coldwell, as above.
Station and Buffet Volunteering, 2009 Season [top of page]
Many of you volunteer for various tasks on the Railway but please consider if you can do an extra day for the next few months, or if you have not tried your hand at volunteering now is your chance - or maybe those who work on the track regularly or work on the locos would consider trying something different. As you know, the company has had to make cuts in its staffing, with redundancies and reduced hours for some employed staff. The 2009 season has just started and the buffet trolleys need to be staffed, tickets need to be sold, Caernarfon shop needs staffing, as does the new station at Beddgelert. There will initially be a marquee at Beddgelert station. To cut down on the number of seasonal staff employed and thus save money and maximise revenue from the trains, it would make a huge difference if a number of these tasks could be undertaken by volunteers. If you can do your bit on the trolley contact Daron Lodge (daron.lodge@festrail.co.uk); for other tasks, contact Clare Britton (clare.britton@festrail.co.uk).
Wednesday Evenings at Dinas [top of page]
On Sunday May 24th 2009 a start was made on sorting things out at Dinas, post-construction period. After constructing twelve miles of railway there is a great deal of materials, rubbish, tools and equipment that needs to be sorted out at Dinas in order to get the place back in working order as a base for running and maintaining the railway. We have made a start yesterday and we will continue with Wednesday evening working parties, so anyone interested please contact Dafydd Thomas - tycroes@btinternet.com / 01248 681019.
Help with NG15 Fundraising [top of page]
Volunteers are needed to help on the "From Scrap to Steam in 27 Days" fundraising stand on Y Maes in Caernarfon in August 2009. Any help will be appreciated, whether for an hour, two hours, half a day or a full day (the stand will operate 10am - 4pm every day from August 3rd). If you can help, please contact Pam Smith (pamelaS636@aol.com) Dafydd Thomas (tycroes@btinternet.com), or Peter Randall (prandall@aol.com).
Also, the NG15 Group's July working party will be dedicated to getting no. 133 ready for its move to Caernarfon. See the NG15 restoration site for details.
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