On Saturday the 1st August CSPL were able to restart work on the Heavy General Overhaul (HGO) of GW2807 after 4 months of inactivity. We would like to thank everyone at the GWSR for the work that has been undertaken to meet the social distancing requirements and safety standards in the strange times of COVID19. We are currently limited with the number of people that can work as a single group on our workdays of Wednesday and Saturdays but the HGO team have revised their plans and working practices to ensure the members of our team are as safe as possible.
Over the next few Blog updates you will see lots of progress since March when the Boiler was removed and taken to Ian Riley’s Engineering in Bury. To that end we will give you news on the progress at Riley’s in another report on the blog in the coming days/weeks.
The process continues to remove, clean, measure/assess, and store, large and small items from the main loco frames and tender. These are cleaned, then assessed, and measured for general wear with notes being taken to understand what has to be done to each item before they are put into store in readiness for going back on the loco in the near future.
Removal of the front piston covers
LHS piston rod and head removed
Pictures of the cleaning team in action and some freshly cleaned and painted piston covers
An idea items removed during the restart period
Valve covers
Piston covers
Piston rods and
heads
Running boards
Brakes and brake
hangers
Steam heating pipes
Vacuum brake pipes
Lots more have been removed but too many to mention
Our team with the steam cleaner removing the years of muck from the bottom of the running boards and various other items.
It has been great to see the HGO restart and for the team to comeback together in a COVID safe manner. Work will be a little harder and require more planning but CSPL and the HGO working parties have started with great gusto in stripping 2807 down to its many parts so we can then start the work in bringing her back to life in the near future.
Photos by Roger Molesworth
Words by Brian Gamlin
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