::: nuelr.org.uk :::

A full team turned out today, Clive, John, Len, Jonathan and myself, we were joined later with Simon the railway's full time electrician. This Sunday was the Transport & Steam Gala the day was very cold and wet, the job we had planned to do was to repair the station lights at Heywood Station using our mobile tower scaffold, however the scaffold was not available so the job was postponed until we get some better weather.

The very long extension lead which is used to keep the carriages batteries fully charged at the end of the days duties, had been deposited outside our workshop for repair, it had been run over by the train in two places.
It would appear that someone had laid the mains extension lead across the tracks again instead of under the track, this was duly repaired and left with the Station Master at Bury Bolton Street Station.
Guards, please be careful when putting the stock to bed and connecting up the charging leads which should always be under the rails not on top of them.

After a brew it was decided to carry on the carriage plug refurbishment programme in the warmth of our workshop.
Two more carriage plug shells were stripped down to their component parts and the shells stripped of years of paint and dirt.

Four more carriage plug leads were finished off with heat shrink tubing to stop any water ingress, these were then tested for continuity.
We now have enough refurbished carriage plug leads, twelve off to replace the leads on another three carriages, these will be done when the weather improves somewhat!

Lunch was then taken, after which we carried on and painted the two cleaned up carriage plug shells ready for assembling next week.

The workshop was then tidied up before we had one final brew and devoured the chocolate sponge cake which John had kindly brought in for us to sample.

We had an early dart with the weather being a bit grisly and completing all the tasks we could do, back next Sunday.

The very long extension lead which is used to keep the carriages batteries fully charged at the end of the days duties, had been deposited outside our workshop for repair, it had been run over by the train in two places.
It would appear that someone had laid the mains extension lead across the tracks again instead of under the track, this was duly repaired and left with the Station Master at Bury Bolton Street Station.
Guards, please be careful when putting the stock to bed and connecting up the charging leads which should always be under the rails not on top of them.


Le Plonquers!

To be fair, it's not always the Guards at fault here.

Yes, I have seen a few instances of the cable run over the top of the railhead, but mostly, the cables are hooked over the gangway lamp iron/door handle and are well clear to cause any damage (squashed against the buffers perhaps, but not run over!)

It's often when stock is shunted or split midweek that this damage to the cables occurs.

The cables deposited outside our workshop had all the markings of being run over, cables have not been damaged for some time until recently, someone must be getting a bit lax.