As a result of a below solebar thermal incident UKRL were asked to carry out an urgent repair to 73968 by GBRf. UKRL were chosen due to the high level of competence and familiarity its staff has with Class 73’s since repower by Brush Traction. Many of the highly skilled staff at UKRL were part of the Brush Traction repower project for GBRf Class 73’s at Brush Traction and the ongoing maintenance of the fleet before they joined UKRL.
This expertise allowed UKRL to investigate the root cause of the problem, identify the required repair processes and engage the original supply chain quickly.
This meant that UKRL were able to source the correct material quickly and expedite the repair in three weeks from arrival at Leicester to redelivery back to Craigentinny.
The repair involved the removal of internal floor plates in the engine bay to expose the damaged high power cabling and control looms. Replacement of the cabling was then undertaken, along with the removal and overhaul of main compressor, repainting the affected areas internally and externally, full testing of the repair, including load bank.
A typical repair of this nature, without the required expertise could have taken 6-8 weeks.
As a result of this performance UKRL are now assisting GBRf with other fault diagnosis of Class 73’s on load bank relating to alternator performance.