1991 - 2000
The idea of purchasing a ' Skinhead ' example was conceived like many good ideas , over a few pints...! None of the earlier locomotives built without the headcode box had been offered for sale , indeed no Class 31s had been offered at all since we had tendered for 31162 .It was suggested that 31108 might be one to go for. Withdrawn from Immingham's FPCI Petroleum pool on 27/09/91 with cylinder head problems and passing oil from the exhausts , she had been partially robbed and hauled to Anchor Sidings at Scunthorpe for storage.
An inspection was arranged and we were pleasantly surprised to find all machines present and in good order , complete bogies with ok tyre sizes , reasonable bodywork and a 90% complete power unit with 2 newly overhauled turbochargers. On the negative side , the engine was seized solid ( not a problem because we would rebuild it ) , no exhaust system , missing brake valves , all 3 - 4 sets of 27 control wires disconnected both ends with jumpers missing , rotton doors , collision damage to a cab roof , buffers missing , most radiator elements removed and literally bucket fulls of coal dust everywhere...! Unfortunately she had been parked within ' blowing ' distance of the nearby Steelwork's coal stockpiles........ and most of it seemed to be in the cabs !
31163 & 31108 at Newark Flat Crossing with 7E71 Brownhills - LOR...08/05/90.
Withdrawn 31108 stands in Anchor Sdgs Scunthorpe..10/02/95.
Following the inspection , it was decided to put the idea to ballot ( we cherished a challenge !! ) and a majority vote decided we should ' go for it '. 31108's owner , Loadhaul Ltd was contacted and amazingly , a private sale was agreed.
In the meantime visits to scrapyards were made to start collecting the bits we were missing. The MRC at Butterley thankfully accepted 31108 so arrangements were made to remove the loco to her new home.However due to the poor condition of the loco it was not an option to move by rail so Allelys Haulage Ltd thankfully gave us an acceptable quote to move the loco by road.
Unfortunately 31108 could not be collected by lorry from its position in the yard so Loadhaul agreed to transport her the short distance to the now closed Frodingham shed for collection. Replacement buffers were fitted , and the local trip engine did the honours ! On Tuesday 30th May 1995 she finally departed ' FH ' courtesy of Allelys and arrived at Butterley Top Plain the following day to commence her second life , the movement costs of which were very kindly met by A1A Charters .
31108 at the closed Frodingham shed awaiting collection.....26/05/95
Almost ready for departure , 31108 wearing 'A1A Charters' & 'A1A Group' headboards at Frodingham..30/05/95
31108 on the M1 en-route to Butterley and into preservation..30/05/95.
Only days following arrival at her new home , 31108 was being worked on..... 2 replacement sets of brake slack adjusters and brake rigging were fitted , all the others were freed off , cleaned and greased. A replacement battery isolating switch ( BIS ) was connected , all 4 Traction Motors examined ok ( to be attended to later ) , all relays and Interlocks checked , freed off and lubricated and the speedometer gen drive and cable replaced.......oh and as much of the coal dust hoovered out as possible.....!
Obviously with so much work being lavished on 31162 at this time , there was only so much time we could afford to spend on 31108 but bits and bobs continued to be done whenever possible , or if we fancied a change .
A view from the roof of power unit overhaul to 31108..07/96. |
In mid 1996 and following soaking in diesel , the power unit was barred and turned for the first time, even if only for a quarter of a revolution . The original batteries were removed and scrapped , the boxes cleaned and painted out and a ' new ' set fitted......we now had lights , and a means to test circuits and pumps etc.
June 1998 witnessed all 12 cylinder heads removed and both seized turbochargers removed for overhaul. Most of the liners were in a state and would require serious attention or renewal. Now inside the shed at Swanwick , we can also start on the bodywork and all cab doors were removed for rebuilding. Nose end doors were removed to reveal the usual rot in the door bases , and all bodyside skirting was removed for repair and shotblasting.
Once 31162 was back together again in Sept 1997 , the ' real work ' could begin in earnest on 31108 ......All the loose wires ( approx 100 at each end ) were traced / repaired and re- connected. The fire alarm system was repaired and its seized relay overhauled , re-fitted and tested ok . All cab equipment from both cabs was removed for overhaul where even more coal dust was discovered and removed ! Two missing brake cylinders were fitted to the bogie , and the other 6 stripped down for overhaul. A missing sandbox and trap etc was re-fitted to No 1 bogie RH side. All the missing radiator elements were refitted with many of the existing ones either renewed outright or just re-jointed. |
Another view of 31108 at Swanwick undergoing power unit work....07/96.
During September 1998 we started to remove pistons , rods and liners. With the power unit still 75 % seized , only those big end bolts we could get to were undone , and the relevant pistons and liners removed. To get the other big end bolts undone ( there were 4 pistons seized solid in their liners ) we had to carefully place a jack on the crankshaft , and force the piner up in order to get the power unit to rotate a small amount. After many days of swearing etc , gradually we got each one undone and all the pistons and rods were removed one by one. Indeed the 4 seized pistons came out with the liner still attached.....! The crank pins were in excellent condition as were the big end bearing shells.
Slowly but surely we managed to separate all the pistons from their liners , indeed one required a 20t jack to push out the piston with packing !B1 liner was badly scored , which is we suspect the primary reason 31108 was withdrawn ......as a start to remove its cylinder head had already begun by Immingham fitters. A1 piston and liner on the other hand were brand new and following cleaning , re-ringing , honing and the fitting of viton seals , were re-fitted back into the block. One piston was sidelined with a small fracture , however all the others were machined to accept ' more oversize ' rings.. 5 cylinder liners were scrapped due to poor condition and replacements obtained.
From March 1999 onwards we gradually re-fitted each piston , rod and liner back into the block. 12 overhauled cylinder heads were re-fitted ( some ex newly acquired spares loco 31271 ) as well as the 2 turbos which had been freed off and cleaned up. Both of these turbos were only fitted to the loco 2 weeks prior to withdrawal and were in superb condition as one would expect...!
A missing fuel transfer pump was overhauled and fitted ( ex 31288 ) , and all the dismantled brake cylinders were overhauled. Moving on to the electrics , all 4 traction motors were de - brushed (many seized due to oil and carbon dust ) , cleaned up and new brushes fitted. The main and auxilliary generators had all brush boxes removed and bead blasted. The generator comms were cleaned up before the re-fitting of the brush boxes which were meggered to check out insulation.....all were spot on... All the machines such as traction motor blowers , compressors , exhausters etc were all given attention and brushes renewed where necessary.
Bodywork repairs included wasted steelwork removed for replacement , some handrail recesses renewed and all woodwork around the door frames renewed. It was saturated with water and in some caes resembled a sponge...Kickplates were renewed due to corrosion and many rotten pipes under the cab floors were renewed. Cabs were overhauled and repainted........all the fittings were replaced. New cab ceilings were made from new , shaped and fitted and the engine room , boiler and generator compartments cleaned and repainted. She was starting to look superb !
During March 2000 the power unit was almost rebuilt. The cylinder heads were slowly built up , charge air ducting replaced and the missing exhaust system fitted courtesy of scrapped 31413. The missing jumper cables were fitted , wired in and tested , as were all electrical circuits. The bodywork was steadily being rubbed down and primed several times and the large dent in No 1 end roof was cut out and replated . Nearly there....!
Following a thorough examination of the tyres it was discovered that the flange heights were all borderline with No 1 wheelset LH side exceeding the max allowed by 0.5 mm. ....therefore plans were arranged for tyre - turning . By this time , we had already received an invite to 2 Diesel Galas as well as her ' launch ' at the MRC June Diesel Gala and the Old Oak Common Open Weekend and we hadn't even started her up yet .....!.
Although 31108 had never carried snow ploughs , indeed it didn't even got brackets fitted until its HGO , we decided it'd look smart with them , so a set was obtained , repaired , shotbasted , painted and fitted.
By the end of May 2000 , the 28th , to be exact the finishing touches to 108's power unit were being made.....overhauled Injectors were fitted , tappets were set , fuel pumps were set and new oil was pumped into the sump. The batteries had been on charge all day so at 2145 , we pressed the start button to turn the engine over.........unfortunately there was an invisible coating of hard glaze on the generator commutator which despite earlier cleaning was preventing the batteries from doing their work ......... Therefore following 20 minutes of more cleaning , the button was pressed again and the power unit turned beautifully. At 2212 , the manual over-ride lever was returned to the normal position and the start button pressed once again......this time following 3 or 4 turns she fired into life for the first time in 8 and a half years and she sounded lovely.......!
Everything worked as it should , all the machines were fine , 109 V on the auxilliary circuit and no air leaks !. 5 years of hard graft and dedication and 31108's rebuild was a huge success.......how satisfying.......!
A gleaming 31108 runs-round her train at Keighley during their Diesel Gala... 22/07/00.
The engine was run for 5 mins and then shutdown so we could check the big ends for any signs of overheating.........none was found. Once started again we ran her again , this time for 30 mins and carried out the same test.......again thankfully everything was spot on..... No attempt at this stage was made to take power although it was noted that at No 2 end the auto brake valve would only create 30 PSI despite adjusting and was blowing badly.
On Tues 30th May this previously overhauled brake valve was changed for another one and this time the required pressure was obtained and a full brake test carried out. Later upon stripping down the original again , a small piece of glass which was obviously ' in the system ' had lodged between a valve seat....... Power was applied and although obtained at No 1 end , No 2 end was less reluctant.A badly making contact under the controller was traced and adjusted ok. 20001 was attatched as insurance and off we went on a test run.....! , we made 5 round trips of the line , gradually increasing the power on each run with the final 2 on full power and thankfully no problems whatsoever......!
How relieved & proud were were and now we were ready to ' show her off ' ...!
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