UC191 Water Wagon Restoration and Maintenance Progress

The intention is to use this UC on trips because the Wab does not have a lot of water storage in its side tanks. This will allow us to run for a longer time without the need to stop for water. The committee looked at many UC tank wagons that were for sale before purchasing this one. The reason the committee chose this UC was because of its riverted construction. The rivets make the tank more in keeping with the historic nature of the society.
For more information about UC191, visit the information page.

16th May 2009
Uc 191 now has a new feature to help watering as these lights flash when almost full so the person on the hydrant can turn it off, without wasting water.

16th May 2009
Lights donated and appreciated.

16th May 2009
Training the younger members on watering.

29th November 2008
Mike showing Keith Jacob the recently fitted water level indicator.

29th November 2008
The level indicator goes from 1 to 9 and then F for Full.

29th November 2008
The control unit controls on the Wab always had a water level indictor, but one was never fitted to the UC as it had a sight glass. Over the years the sight glass has clouded up and become a problem to maintain, so fitting an electronic water indicator seemed to be a good idea. A new indicator using a seven segment display was created by Dr Nick Body.

Inside the tank is a level detector that we made. It is made of a piece of electrical capping with wires coming out and equal distances apart, with the final wire on the bottom of the tank as the common wire. Electricity passes though the water and the controller is then able to work out how much water is in the tank. This level indication is sent via a cable to a set of LEDs (lights) setup in a line so the fireman can see how much water is in the tank behind him without leaving the cab. Also you can see the baffling that we added to prevent the rolling effect that the tank had when running partly full. The baffles are simply roofing iron.

Kevin DeRose and Mike Higgie installing the newly built bespoke pump control system. Fitted to the UC is a control unit that controls the petrol generator and pump by communicating with a sister controller in the Wab. If water is required in the Wab's side tanks then the UC generator is started and allowed to warm up, then the pump is started and water is pumped into the Wab's side tanks. It is fully automatic but also has complete override controls and generator failure alarms.

As the bogies were in need of a paint, Jason can be seen operating the angle grinder on the bogies frames after they had been needle gunned. Once clean this allows the chief fitter to check the frames for cracks.

11th June 2005
We have fitted a 5KVA Petrol Generator to the UC. We use it to run the 1HP water pump and two large sets of lighting. The pump is used to keep the water in the Wab at the preferred level. The lights are used at night to service the Wab. The generator needed to be rebuilt into a new chassis as the orginal one was too large.

27th November 2004
Replacing the pivot cone bolts. We inspected the bolts that hold the pivot cone under the UC wagon and found they needed replacement. We used our gantry crane yet again to lift the wagon and remove the bogie. Mike and Stuart then replaced the bolts.

1st February 2003
The two John's fitting the plumbing to connect to the Wab and the F.

28th December 2002
This UC is the biggest tank of Woodstock Bourbon in the country.

26th October 2002
The UC after its first coat of black paint. It look nearly a whole day to paint.

23 September 2002
The primed UC being pushed back into the depot by the F.

2002
The UC is currently only primed with red paint.

2002
Painting the UC

2002
Sand Blasting the UC

Photos taken by Stan Jenkins

Back to Wagon Restoration page

	16th May 2009 Uc 191 now has a new feature to help watering as these lights flash when almost full so the person on the hydrant can turn it off, without wasting water.
	16th May 2009 Lights donated and appreciated.
	16th May 2009 Training the younger members on watering.
	29th November 2008 Mike showing Keith Jacob the recently fitted water level indicator.
	29th November 2008 The level indicator goes from 1 to 9 and then F for Full.
	29th November 2008 The control unit controls on the Wab always had a water level indictor, but one was never fitted to the UC as it had a sight glass. Over the years the sight glass has clouded up and become a problem to maintain, so fitting an electronic water indicator seemed to be a good idea. A new indicator using a seven segment display was created by Dr Nick Body.
	Inside the tank is a level detector that we made. It is made of a piece of electrical capping with wires coming out and equal distances apart, with the final wire on the bottom of the tank as the common wire. Electricity passes though the water and the controller is then able to work out how much water is in the tank. This level indication is sent via a cable to a set of LEDs (lights) setup in a line so the fireman can see how much water is in the tank behind him without leaving the cab. Also you can see the baffling that we added to prevent the rolling effect that the tank had when running partly full. The baffles are simply roofing iron.
	Kevin DeRose and Mike Higgie installing the newly built bespoke pump control system. Fitted to the UC is a control unit that controls the petrol generator and pump by communicating with a sister controller in the Wab. If water is required in the Wab's side tanks then the UC generator is started and allowed to warm up, then the pump is started and water is pumped into the Wab's side tanks. It is fully automatic but also has complete override controls and generator failure alarms.
	As the bogies were in need of a paint, Jason can be seen operating the angle grinder on the bogies frames after they had been needle gunned. Once clean this allows the chief fitter to check the frames for cracks.
	11th June 2005 We have fitted a 5KVA Petrol Generator to the UC. We use it to run the 1HP water pump and two large sets of lighting. The pump is used to keep the water in the Wab at the preferred level. The lights are used at night to service the Wab. The generator needed to be rebuilt into a new chassis as the orginal one was too large.
	27th November 2004 Replacing the pivot cone bolts. We inspected the bolts that hold the pivot cone under the UC wagon and found they needed replacement. We used our gantry crane yet again to lift the wagon and remove the bogie. Mike and Stuart then replaced the bolts.
	1st February 2003 The two John's fitting the plumbing to connect to the Wab and the F.
	28th December 2002 This UC is the biggest tank of Woodstock Bourbon in the country.
	26th October 2002 The UC after its first coat of black paint. It look nearly a whole day to paint.
	23 September 2002 The primed UC being pushed back into the depot by the F.
	2002 The UC is currently only primed with red paint.
	2002 Painting the UC
	2002 Sand Blasting the UC