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Cromwell made it back from York just over a week ago and since then has been in the shed having very small amounts of paint applied very slowly. In case you are wondering, this isn’t a cheap crack at people working slowly – it’s strong admiration for the craftsmanship that goes into lining out (I’ve done some in the past, so I know what it takes). Suffice it to say that Cromwell is starting to look very smart indeed, and the team are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 
The TPWS and OTMR equipment are the other main task on Cromwell. Together with a million and one “just” jobs – “just” fit the speedo, “just” make a new bracket, I’m sure that everyone reading this is familiar with “just” jobs so I’ll draw a veil over them.
Lamiel is just about to leave Loughborough for her Summer tour of the main line network. The first destination on the itinerary is the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway where she is due to work the Hellifield Shuttles next weekend for the KWVR’s 40th Anniversary celebrations.
But railtours don’t just magically happen – there is a lot of work to do behind the scenes. Lamiel worked on the weekend of the 14th & 15th of June and was then stopped for washout and various running repairs. In the meantime we have been trying to get her clean ready to go away. As you know, 5305LA’s standards of clean are not the same as other people’s. Some people think that if it looks clean enough it is clean enough, we believe that you keep cleaning until a clean white rag comes away clean & white – there’s a long way to go. 
There’s a lot to pack as well – about a tonne of sand, several spare firebars, a few springs. But that’s not all, between now and next weekend we have to fill the new van up with all the tools, consumables, cooking equipment, mugs and teabags that we will need to put into the support coach that we are hiring for the Summer. Then we have to drive it to Keighley and hope that the coach is not too far away from the car park and if possible, is accessible by barrow – otherwise it will be a lot of long walks with armfuls of gear.
You will probably have noticed in the preceding paragraph a mention of “the new van” and wondered whether you’d missed the mention – don’t worry, that was the first mention. The group decided recently that given the amount of travelling we will be doing this Summer, having our own van to transport equipment and crew would be a very useful addition to the fleet. So an ex Post Office van has joined the elite ranks of Heritage rolling stock in 5305LA’s custody.
The support coach is still progressing, and the class 33 is starting to look a lot smarter thanks to the painting team. The final mention in this bulletin goes to D123 which was in traffic this weekend.
By Info | Monday, June 23, 2008 | Tags : 30777