The Class 56 Group

Working parties on 56006

Regular working parties continue on 56006. These normally take place on the middle Sunday of each month but occasionally vary due to the shift patterns of a couple of key volunteers.

Next working dates are

Mon 14th and Tue 15th March.

10th April 2022 (Sunday)

In an effort to encourage some much needed volunteers to step forward to help we’ll publish images of some of the work we do on 56006 and some more general images of the working environment at Bury Baron Street Works.

Working on 56006 is really enjoyable and our small team of volunteers are a nice bunch and we are really keen to show some willing volunteers what we do and how they can start to contribute to the ongoing work on 56006.

  • No 1 end cab after a bit of TLC applied.
  • Don’t worry- this image is from 1980 , but explains why No1 end drivers quarterlight was impossible to refit with a standard piece of glazing.
  • Emergence brake plunger- this instantaneously dumps the brake pipe in case of emergency.

Time for reflection on what the future holds for both our locomotives. An ongoing shortage of volunteers is going to impact on how soon 56006 is returned to traffic.

Report – after 14th March and 15th March working party

Attendance : 4 volunteers on Monday , 3 volunteers on Tuesday

Following two days at Bury working on 56006 some progress has been made – some is easy to demonstrate in photographs while other work on the rewiring and overhaul of the wheelslip resistor circuits is less easy to show.

Before- this photo shows the radiator compartment (at No 1 end) before repainting started. The chequer plate floor is still in position in this image.

First coat of corrosion inhibiting primer applied. Waiting for floor to dry out to give it a coat of paint too. The debris on the floor is actually loose paint flakes which were wire brushed off the surfaces prior to painting. For reference the large tank on the left is one of the brake system air tanks, next is the main brake frame and the unit with the blue cylindrical tank is the E70 brake unit. Behind the E70 is the traction motor blower. And through the opening at the end is seen the free end of the Ruston 16RK diesel engine.
Wheelslip protection circuits – in original condition. Evidence of damp and corrosion are very evident.
The resistors , wiring and terminal rails have been removed and will be examined and repaired / replaced as necessary. This is one area where the poor connections caused by corroded terminals can thro up electrical faults, especially in damp conditions. Image below shows the first set of removed resistors sitting comfortably on the second mans seat. The round item in the centre is one of the screen washer pumps- that’s part of another job which is underway- but because the loco is not being started up we can’t test our work as they work from the locomotives air system.
Its ok you’re still on the Class 56 Group website……….

Our friends in the CFPS have some spare tarpaulins similar to those being modelled by 40135 in this image. These will need to be opened out, cleaned of any muck and then left to dry. They can then be stored ready for fitting to 56006 ready for its next winter hibernation.

Other jobs done today included the replacement of the on/off push buttons for the parking brake in each of the cabs. These had proved problematic and one was seized solid. A parking brake fault was one of several faults which caused problems when the locomotive was last in service in July 2021. Thanks to Roy Turnbull Fasteners of Ashton-under-Lyne who provided some emergency fasteners to ensure the job could be completed today. https://www.royturnbullfasteners.com

We did seem to be doing lots of jobs inside the loco and as the sun was shining we took the opportunity to have a look at the cab rain strips (or the hanging gardens of Babylon as they have become known! ) These are u shaped steel channels which run around the top of the cab and are supposed to drain rainwater away from the windscreens and cab doors and droplights. However they gather dirt and then moss grows so they were in a bit of a state and needed cleaning out. To be honest I was worried that the wet conditions may have corroded some of the strips and perhaps damaged the cab roof. However they all appear sound and most of the previous tatty appearance was caused by flaking paint. We’ll plan to use some safe access platforms or ladders to access the area and will dress it up and reapaint.
Before….. looking terrible, but most of the grot is flaking paint and the roof and rain strips seem in good condition.

So there we go- a good two days, and a much appreciated extra volunteer , Antony Jolly made a big difference to what we achieved.

A big thankyou to new volunteer Antony in the radiator compartment of 56006 yesterday with freshly painted sections in background.

If you like the progress made and think you could help out please get in touch. It really is rewarding to work on 56006, and if we see some extra volunteers to do simpler tasks such as painting and cleaning then that frees up the more technical volunteers to do the more involved jobs. Of course for those who want to learn the more technical aspects there is plenty of scope to learn by assisting the technical team.

Please get in touch (full contact details are available from the contact section of this website ) if you’d like to attend the next working party on Sunday 10th April.

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Keith Bulmer

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