Off we go again

Actually, we don't; Jim has gone off finally to get started on the electrics and I will be joining him and Warrior on Friday after finishing work for the week. I have had telephone reports already though, which I pass on as best as I understand them. No pictures as obviously he has the camera with him and the mobile reception up there is scarcely enough to talk by, let alone send pictures, so there will be a backlog when we get back.

Today's reports are from Daventry, of course. Firstly, the gearbox. We originally thought - and were told - that it was a National gearbox, the engine's original pairing. Then someone, I genuinely forget who, but possibly someone at RN, said, nah, that's a Bruntons box, don't know who put that National plate on it ... Then they started saying, wow, a 1:1 Bruntons box, never seen one of those before. And the latest verdict is that that is probably because Bruntons never made a 1:1 gearbox and Warrior's was most likely really a National one all along. Which certainly makes sense. Other reasons for thinking that are that in certain respects, which I now have forgotten, it is unlike a Bruntons one and more like a Blackstone one, which in turn is what a National one would be like. Confused? Basically it means we were probably right all along. For a change. We're still awaiting the new casting for it, but it's in hand.

The sump, there's something wrong with the sump, but that's being sorted to. It was missing its proper strainer, which has been replaced, and was missing some other bits, so wasn't working properly ... no, I really wasn't paying proper attention there, sorry.

Oh, and the leaking water manifold; Jim's bringing that home (I think) to see if it can be repaired, because if it were to be replaced with an RN one a lot of modifications would be required.

So there you have it. Don't miss tomorrow's exciting episode.