a fairground life

Monday

Although promised my seal, it did not arrive. So went and got laminate flooring and finished off the lobby that I had added to the house. Finally after two weeks we got visitors that night. They arrived just as I was laying the last piece, good timing as I was keen for a beer.

Tuesday

Got a call to let me know the seal had arrived, we went out with the hub and got a lend of the tool to seat the seal without damaging it. It was too late to go out to the Foden an fit it that day. Later, another phone call telling me that we were to erect the Santa train tomorrow night.

Wednesday

Went out and fitted the hub back on with "r", well he mainly did it while I cast an eye on him. We topped up the back end with gear oil, but it didn't seem to need any. I decided to run the backend for a while and adjust the breaks. After that the backend took nearly 6 ltrs of oil. "r" cleared a blockage in the breather hole on the axle. I don't think this caused the seal to blow  but you never know. While the axle was jacked up I burnt the brakes in a touch. Next we moved onto the DZ. After 2 years of operation we decided to change the wire ropes. They were still in good condition, no frayed strands, but prevention is better than cure. It only took us an hour to change them as we didn't lower the tower to loop the ropes over the top pulley. "r" just climbed up inside the tower and fed the rope through with his hand. For 4:30pm we were heading home again for tea. 9pm and we were heading back again to erect the Santa ride in the mall. We have to carry the carriages one at a time down 6 steps onto the rink. By 1 am the ride was erected but not decorated as we ran out of snow (wadding) and steam (us, not the train)so we called it a night. 

Thursday

Back at the mall with more supplies. It took another 4 hours to decorate,clean and finish the ride off. We had to sand the tracks to remove the surface rust so the wheels could get a clean contact. The ride is erected its full size now with the insertion of two extra sections of track. It looks really well, even if I do say so myself. On another note, the insurance doc arrived for the van today. I will try to get it taxed tomorrow so I can start using it. Anyone want to guess how long it will last before the engine blows?

There you go, nearly another full week away in the blink of an eye.