North Norfolk Railway General Discussion

Yes, its a test rig (ex Crewe I think?) and has a driver's style brake valve connected to a 3 phase vacuum pump which creates 21" of vacuum in about 30 seconds.

There is a changeover switch which selects one output which is connected to the cylinder tester and a second output which is attached to a long hose with standard bufferbeam hose on the end. The latter function is to test or simulate braking conditions for a whole coach and is usually done to test all cylinders together on a carriage, along with DA valves and any adjusted brake rods/rigging before a coach is released back into service after we've messed about with it. It's very useful for testing if one bogie is braking at (roughly) the same time as another and how much the shoes are moving under partial brake applications etc. We also do pass-comm chain checks using this method as you can see on the gauge how much vacuum the emergency alarm is reducing.

The cylinder tester itself is a simple connection through a release valve and stop cock to the vacuum pump. We test them the same as you do - pump them up, seal off the cylinder using the stop cock and then wait 3-6 hours and check for leakage. Out of sight below the picture is a stand that holds several cracked brake blocks to simulate a load. There is a steel "collar" that we slip onto the piston so when the cylinder is operated it traps the collar between the end of the rod and bottom of the cylinder. This holds the piston is the place it would be if the brakes are applied on a carriage. The piston lifts up the stand and then holds it up (hopefully!).

The writing on the right hand side tells the operator the correct number of brake blocks to put onto the stand for each type of cylinder to simulate the correct load that you need to exert on the cylinder to make the test accurate. Bigger cylinders are obviously expected to hold more weight!

Whilst we accept leakage of vacuum (they can routinely drop from 18-20 to as low as 10) after a few hours, the important test if if the collar is still tight between the cylinder and piston and therefore if its "held the weight". This proves that the cylinder is capable of holding the brakes on unassisted for a period of several hours.

The chalk marks are exactly as you suspect: the vacuum that the cylinder started the test at (we rarely get a full 21" out of them) and the time at which the test started. It is not uncommon for us to leave them overnight and check them in the morning. If they've dropped we check them again and ascertain how many hours it is lasting before it leaks off completely. There is a fixed length of time that we consider a "fail rate" but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

I hope the above proved informative and/or interesting! The test rig is a fantastic piece of kit and essential if you want to overhaul your own vacuum cylinders as after overhaul they often fail and require minor tweaks before they're released into the big wide world!

 

I appreciate the detail of your reply. Many thanks.

Now......



Anybody got a Vac pump going spare?

 

So, with the acquisition of the turntable and Black Prince, 2015 must've been a pretty good year for the NNR.

With the growing locomotive fleet, could there ever be scope for a display shed, so out of service engines awaiting overhaul could be on public display undercover?

 

I have herd on the grape vine that they are trying to by some of the farmland by the water tower for a display shed, museum and a café but that is only what I have herd.

 

In am assuming you mean at Holt. I'd love to see that...They have an increasingly interesting fleet of carriages and wagons, as well as the aforementioned locomotives awaiting overhaul (plus who knows what loans from NRM)

 

The NRM J17 would certainly make a great static exhibit as an East Anglian type

 

Carriage & Wagon Blog update:

C&W News - November Part 2

 

Looking forward to see the restoration of the Great Eastern Railway 1899 4 Wheel Brake Third 853 the fifth, and final, member of the M&GN Society’s vintage train rake but why have only 5 vintage coaches, as there are a lot more coaches out there waiting to be rescued?

 

A sense of realism? One railway can only restore so many carriages. The NNR will have the Quad-Art set, the vintage set, the suburban set and the Mk1 set(s?), in addition to their demonstration freight set and the PW set. I think that's quite enough for one railway to deal with! There would be no point in restoring more as they would then need more covered accommodation, more staff and more finance for maintenance. It makes sense to stop collecting/restoring once you have enough stock to cover current and expected demand.


Keith

 

Actually there's a wooden paneled mainline (as in was used on it,unfortunately not passed for it) set to be restored yet (the exception being the buffet, which is in use). The 1907 GER BTK 295 is the one I really want to see done (sadly no lottery email this morning). It is one of only 3? extant non royal or observation/directors Great Eastern bogie carriages and the other two are equally unrestored. Details here http://www.mandgn.co.uk/page.php?pid=22 That said I'd love them to have an M&GN set and a Great Eastern victorian set one day...and a museum to display them when not in use...Greedy aren't I?

 

There isn't a cast iron ban on considering more vintage coaches, however there is a VERY strict collection policy severely limiting what would be considered as a worthy addition to the vintage train. The leaders of the project are aware of what's out there and the types of coaches that they may consider as additions. In the meantime however the five coach "Mainline" set remains the main focus/intention for the future post 853

Sent from my HTC Desire 620 using Tapatalk

 

When the suburban 4 project is completed will that free up space to progress the heritage coaches 2 at a time or is it anticipated that the gold refurbs on the mark 1s will be accelerated? Or has that not been decided yet?

 

The heritage coaches are restored by a separate team to those who have dealt with the suburbans. The subs have been done partially to the detriment of the "bread and butter" stock so the focus will almost certainly return to standard Mark 1's next year when the suburbans are launched.

Sent from my HTC Desire 620 using Tapatalk

 

thank you

 

As well as the J17 it would be great to have the N7 running there!

 

Can't see the N7 running anywhere for the next few years...

Is 44767 likely to return to the railway? I take it 76084 and 61306 are staying around for 2016, especially with the possibility of running in to Cromer?

 

East Anglian Railway Museum has just finished the overhaul of Storefield and are now deciding if they are going to do the N7 or Lamport No.3, so hopefully it won't be too long a wait.

 

Carriage & Wagon Blog update:

C&W News - November Part 3

 

I'm sure it's not quite as good as it looks but it looks amazingly solid in those pics

 

Carriage & Wagon Blog update:

C&W News - November Part 4