Engine overhaul for A1A Locomotives’ Class 31

A1A LOCOMOTIVES has commenced an engine overhaul on 31514 at the Midland Railway – Butterley as the Class 31’s extensive rebuild continues.

31514 was purchased by A1A locomotives in January 2016 and moved to the MRB from its previous home on the nearby Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. It was in poor condition at the time of purchase and has been undergoing a comprehensive overhaul at A1A’S depot at Swanwick Junction ever since.

In a Facebook post in early April, Jon Gibbons, from A1A, said that ever since the group had owned the locomotive, it had been found that some of the cylinders on the A-bank of the engine were not firing properly. As a result, the group had changed the injectors and pumps and set up the camshaft timings, but this had not resulted in any improvements.

Upon dismantling, it has been found that the A-bank side of the engine has suffered some damage from the period before it was owned by A1A. The group now plans to strip down the B-bank side to ensure that all is in good condition on that side, and new overhauled components will be fitted as part of the work, as well as a thorough engine overhaul before it enters service.

A1A also owns 31108, 31162, 31271 Stratford 1840-2001 and 31418 Boadicea. All are based at the MRB, apart from 31271, which is on long-term loan to the Llangollen & Corwen Railway.

Recently, work has been carried out on 31108 in preparation for a six-month working visit to the Great Central Railway after about six years out of service. The Class 31 was one of the attractions at the GCR’S spring diesel gala from April 26-28, joining the railway’s resident diesel fleet and the Deltic Preservation Society’s 55009 Alycidon (still currently operating as long-scrapped classmate 55013 The Black Watch).

As part of the locomotive’s reactivation, it has had its camshaft timings reset and has also undergone an extensive bodywork overhaul and repaint into Railfreight grey livery, as has been carried throughout its time in preservation and the same colour scheme it carried when it was withdrawn by British Rail from Immingham in June 1991.