Cab Heater and Band Brake

The refurbished radiator/ cab heater for KS4415 has been returned from Exeter & Newquay Radiators. It’s a beautiful thing and incorporates a header which came with the MDB4 from Armley Mills, the original header being in a bad way.

Clearly it now needs a great big plate, with a great big spelling mistake on it to reminder the driver of the Kerr Stuart Diesel Locomotive that the power under the bonnet (and half way into the cab) comes from McLaren.

Looking at the cab layout, if they hadn’t gone for the colonial shuttered look they could have made the cab heater a lot smaller.

Having said that, the standard gauge loco Kerr Stuart made for the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway had a cab more suited to wetter climes, an MDB6 and still had the radiator in the cab.

We have now removed the ‘MacLaren’ plate from the roller radiator and our intention is to use this as a pattern to cast a replica. The 4415 Merchandising team think these are an ideal man-cave addition that all (well, one or two) 4415 enthusiasts will desire. Get in touch if you’re interested and we’ll confirm a price once contact has been made with a foundry.


Another ticked off job is the band brake straps which have been fitted with new Ferodo liners by Nutexa Frictions.

To put these components into context the band brake is a drum on the layshaft and these two shoes clasp onto it, the brake being operated by an impressive lever in the cab, all coloured a lovely sandy shade on the GA below.

In all the enthusiasm for painting things grey the drum for the band brake has been painted. It now needs un-painting. We have a method statement which involves a big bit of emery cloth, someone lying on their stomach and a trip to Porthmadog for the loco frames.  Unfortunately the accompanying risk assessment suggests that not all good ideas are actually good.

This was the complete, front-end assembly before restoration commenced, and apart from replacing the pins all of the components (including the turn buckle) are fit for re-use:

It makes a change from the usual closing shot of paint drying!