55002 startup

For the first time in ages (don't know how long!) 55002 was started up at York after an extensive restoration that is nearly complete. I for one cannot wait to see it working a train again soon!:nod:

 

Since there is no such thing as too many working Deltics, welcome back 55002.

 

A day out in York, and a visit to the NRM, my first in over 40 years, sadly she is tucked up in a corner, almost ignored, with a cable tie holding her drivers door closed.

I could call it a waste, but the fact that the working group subsequently moved to 15, and are almost there, makes something good come out of the sad story of No 2

 

Well as I understand it KOYLI is owned by the NRM and is in working order, to an outsider/rail enthusiast it seems criminal to have it just static sitting in a corner.

 

It is a long way off working order, with 2 engines with leaking liners, and no regular maintenance carried out on her for over 6 years now.
The fact that so many contributed to getting her fit again, and then the working party were then banned from looking after her, all the more sad.
However No 15's renaisance is down to the same party of people, and there expertise.

 

So it would seem the NRM non-steam fleet is heading towards the same fate as the rest: shiny and highly-polished outside, dead inside (I'm thinking of D8000 here).

 

D8000 was behind a high level barrier yesterday, with text on the outside saying is was being renovated.
The story of No 2, is as bad an example of management (not the repair group), The NRM, as you will ever hear...

 

Finally! For years it has sat with its cylinder head covers off, tucked against a wall and with some of the doors off too (although last time I saw it they'd turned it so the absent doors were facing the wall).

 

I think the "renovation" is only concerned with asbestos removal or stabilisation. This is being done in the main hall as I assume there's nowhere else available during the building works.

If only they had something like a workshop facility

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A sad state of affairs for 002.

 

Getting muck under your fingernails is to be discouraged at all costs these days, it would seem.

If asbestos is involved, I would have thought it'd be tented.

 

Yes, I remember the flurry of excitement us ECML-based spotters had when we learned it had been painted into green - the same went for 40 106; who'd get to see it first? (My friend Andy, in both cases)

 

They would have no choice, and i would have thought it would be taken off site for expert remediation.
The H&S police would have a fit if it were removed in open view.
Seems a return to running condition is not in the offing, just a typical lick of paint.
Looking back at the FB post from 2019, about the termination of the agreement with No 2, the rest of the diesel fleet were to be parked.

 

The NRM's 'Operational Rail Vehicle Strategy 2019-2034' includes:
"4.2 MAIN LINE OPERATIONS: DIESEL AND ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
Operation of the museum’s main line diesel and electric locomotives on a regular basis is not to continue as this is well covered by the private and heritage sectors."

It does not rule out loans for operation on heritage railways but does say:
"The creation of a new storage facility at Locomotion will enable us to better care for vehicles on our own sites, therefore it is likely that the number of loans out purely for collections care will decrease. The currently operable locomotives on loan should be reviewed with the borrowers when the loan periods expire due to the potential need for display on an SMG site"

https://www.sciencemuseumgroup.org....23-11/op-rail-vehicle-strategy-2019_FINAL.pdf

 

So... stuffed and mounted then

 

D8000 is having asbestos work in the hall. There are photos taken (from an elevated position over the top of the wooden wall) showing the polythene etc.

Also the following words quoted from a museum employee on another forum: "D8000 is having asbestos remediation as part of a programme that sees many of the collection being similarly treated."

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