A slightly late update covering the work carried out on Saturday 30th December by the group….

There was a good turnout at Wansford to continue with the vac fitting of the vehicles that are currently in Wansford Yard. We formed into two teams and whilst one team completed the fitting of valves and branch pipes to the two vans that had overhauled cylinders fitted, the other team carried on with overhauling more cylinders. New gaiters and release cords were also fitted to complete the job.

Meanwhile, Tim was busy in the workshop makings some missing parts for the brake gear. One of the vans was missing three flat split pins and had normal split pins fitted as a temporary measure, which was considered unsatisfactory. After a bit of heat and some bending, Tim made a set of four new pins (keeping the original as a pattern).

Also in the workshop was Stu and Josh, making retaining bolts for the cylinder hangers. These needed holes drilled in exactly the right place for a split pin.

Paul led the overhaul team and with the help of Mark and Jason managed to split two cylinders and clean up the insides. These will be assembled during the next session and hopefully fitted.

Then came the moment of truth! We had arranged for a diesel loco to be available to test each van in turn. As these are the first vehicles the group have vac fitted there were a few nerves to see if they would actually work. However, there was success on both counts with both vans passing all tests and furthermore holding full vacuum for at least 45minutes before they had to be moved again.

Whilst we had access to a locomotive and were on a roll, Tim thought it would be good to shunt the two finished vans back into the rake and get the other vehicles that needed work into the yard for the next session.

At the end of a very successful session the next few vehicles were sitting in Wansford Yard ready for attention, with, for the first time, two fully fitted vans back in the rake.