37042 Update
I know this is the update most are wanting so we'll deal with this first. There's been a lot happening in the background & I wanted to deliver some good news first.
37042 is alive, when in EO the warning lights are all on & its delivering happily a solid 55psi on the oil pump primer & we've barred it over 3 or 4 times with the decompression plugs out.
Yes there's been issues, surprising bits missing etc, broken studs but when it came alive it was just wonderful. There really is hope for 042 now & I'm gaining optimism.
Following on from previous fb posts Jo C warned me about the wiring but the wonderful unknown news is that 042 was the last EWS loco to get a heavy overhaul at Toton 2 years before being out into the reserve list with EWS. (Graham told me this). What this means is that's it's been rewired.
So there's none of those concerns. Fantastic.
Terry P warned me to check the heat exchanger for frost damage as water could mix with the oil so what I did was I removed the water inlets (locos been drained down) & we had some flanges made up with a tyre valve, some large o rings & we tried pressurising the heat exchanger but we found two cracks bizarrely in the endcap. However the heat exchanger is free from any oil & of course now we've been running the oil pump at 55psi it's still clear so good news.
We'll repressurise it with the tyre valve flange set up to check the water side next time once the sealant has set. More details in pics.
Technical support is coming from the usual trusted sources & the consensus here is to clean the generator before trying to churn it over. To that end one of the EVR guys, Marcus has most of the brushes out now & 'meggarwash' or whatever it is called has been purchased to be applied to clean up the commutator/brush boxes before we think about refitting them. There'll likely be anti tracking paint applied too.
So far all the brushes were free & only the bottom two boxes are still to be tackled so again positive news. I'm being told EE's are bad for drawing oil mist through their generators which seems plausible given the mess.
So this is pretty much where we are with it.
Good news & progress you'll agree & wonderful.
Was lovely to phone Graham & tell him about progress & the kind words conveyed in return were appreciated. We're all in this for fun & it's my view to share it to be enjoyed.
We're in a good place with 042 now as the other guys are set up & running now to work on it in my absence with the jobs needing done. A bit like what we've achieved at Bo'ness bringing together a squad to work on 27005 who now have the confidence to get on.
Can I again ask that any comments are only positive & looking forward only in regards to what lies ahead for 042.
Maybe an apt analogy would be 'good things come to those who wait'.
If you have an interest in coming to see 042 there's been TALK of how we might manage this but this requires further discussion to see how/if we can do this so please let us think about this & see what could work. Details to be confirmed here when approved but it could be a unique experience to see it up close/chat with us.
It's also next to a live army base with all the security that brings !!!!
Thanks also to the EVR volunteers but especially Marcus & Joseph.
Keep up with 37042s progress at 26040 D5340 BRCW type 2 facebook page