Diesel Locomotive Component Repair & Overhaul

  • arrow-right-orange-32 Even with relatively light useage and careful maintenance, the many components in a loco will steadily degrade through wear, exposure to weather and long term ageing of materials such as electrical insulation, rubber seals and bearings.

Overcoming the Problems

Spare parts for long obsolete equipment are becoming harder to find, and it is necessary to repair old components to keep the locos in service. Fortunately, this necessity has resulted in close co-operation with specialist suppliers and modern improved materials have allowed components to be overhauled to high standards, sometimes better than original.

Our Component Repair & Overhaul Services

We are able to overhaul and service many components in-house, such as engine components, brake equipment, electrical controls. For other more specialist work such as motor rewinds, air receiver repairs, we manage suppliers closely to ensure they work to approved specifications and deliver a high quality result.

Diesel Locomotive Repair Overhaul

Examples of Recent Component Repairs & Overhauls

45133 Loco Power Unit Overhaul

Overhaul of Power Unit in loco 45133

We are carrying out a comprehensive overhaul of the power unit in loco 45133 for its owners, the Class 45/1 Preservation Society. The work on the engine is being done in situ, and includes removal and overhaul of major components such as cylinder heads, pistons, liners, engine bearings.

45133 Loco Piston Overhaul

45133 pistons ready for re-installation, and the lowering into the cylinder head pictured above.

Class 33 Diesel Loco Generator Overhaul

Class 33 Generator Overhaul

The Class 33 generator is an 8.5 ton leviathan machine comprising three sections: main traction generator, auxiliary generator and heating generator. After a long restoration programme of our loco 33035, it went into service on a local railway and worked fine for a couple of years. Unfortunately when testing the electric heating system on a coach, the heating generator section suffered an unexpected insulation failure in the armature windings. A large hole was blown in the armature by the high voltage flashover.

We sent the generator for overhaul and repair at a traction rewind contractor and developed an improved design of armature winding for the heating section. At the same time, the rest of the generator was reinsulated and revarnished, new main bearing fitted and all components overhauled and tested.

Since the generator was reinstalled in the loco, it has performed very well on hire to preserved railways including heating coaches for Polar Express at Christmas.

Other Diesel Locomotive Engineering Services

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