Latest News

December 2022

The new Ejector exhaust ring casting has now been machined.

 

Finally managed to track down and have machined the four feed oil tray that mounts in the
fireman's side of the cab to lubricate the damper controls.

 

Another very successful work weekend just completed, we had nine vounteers turn up on
Sunday, the most we have had for several years. See below for the activities worked on.

Neil making clips for lubrication pipework.

 

Phil making parts for cylinder cladding around the rear of the steam chest.

 

Malcolm removing insulation from a donated copper water tank for recycling.

 

The re-wound eletcric motor re-fitted to the facing lathe in readiness for machining axleboxes.

 

Robin wiring up the re-wound motor following it being mounted.

 

Tim re-fitting the guards to the belts on the facing lathe after the re-wound motor was fitted.

 

Toby continuing work on the wheelsets, filling, rubbing down and painting to get a good
finish for aesthetics and to make it easier to keep the wheels clean when in service.

 

John and Lawrence manipulating axleboxes for storage on a pallet until they can be machined.

 

One of the axleboxes following re-fitting of the crown and underkeep, now marked out from
a dummy centre to assist with setting up in the lathe, note the scribed circle on the white
metal with a series of centre pops around the circumference.

 

One of the white metalled crowns now pressed back in the axlebox in preparation for maching.

 

Pressing one of the crowns back in an axlebox on the hydraulic press.

 

A cardboard cut out of an axlebox to help with working out how we are going to mount
and clamp the axleboxes on the faceplate of the facing lathe for machining. This helped
us position the jaws on the faceplate and the spacers to stand the axlebox off the
faceplate during machining as the oil filler and drain will project out the back when mounted.

 

November 2022

In our continuing work towards re-wheeling, the last set of driving wheels has now been
shot blasted and primed. This brings all the work inside now before the weather turns.
The filling and rubbing down the spokes will continue due to the castings being so rough.

 

Shot blasting the trailing wheel set, the last ones to require this treatment.

 

The machining of the axleboxes starts, here we are proof machining one of the thrust faces
to get it flat so it can be used for marking out and finding the axle centre in preparation
for final machining when assembled with the crowns back in place.

 

The right trailing axlebox crown now white metalled ready to press back in the axlebox
ready for machining.

 

One of the axlebox thrust faces white metalled with just a clean up required prior to pressing
the crown back in to prepare it for machining.

 

Pouring the white metal into the chill for a thrust face on an axlebox, note the fire cement used
to seal it up and contain the molten white metal whilst it cools and solidifies.

 

All six crowns now tinned, ready for casting the white metal onto them.

 

The last thrust face tinned and ready for mounting the chill and casting the white metal.

 

July 2022

A set of new tyres has just been delivered for the tender wheels.

 

The rig for pushing the crowns out of the axleboxes.

 

First crown pressed out of one of the driving axleboxes, 5 more to go. These will be white
metalled separately and then re-assembled prior to machining.

 

The white metalled face on an underkeep after the chill has been removed.

 

The chill has been filled with white metal, just waiting for it to cool enough to remove the chill.

 

Pouring the white metal. The hand coming in from the left with a stick is to puddle the
white metal as it is poured to ensure there are no trapped air bubbles in it.

 

Preparing the molten white metal for pouring.

 

Pre-heating the underkeep so it is the same temperature as the molten white metal
so it takes to the tinned surface.

 

White metalling the underkeeps, this shows the chill we made, clamped to the underkeep ready
for casting the white metal. The four pieces of flat bar sticking up are to preserve the
pockets where the felts go. Fire cement is packed all around the underside of the chill to stop
the molten white metal from leaking out when it is poured and before it cools to become solid.

 

May 2022

New cladding piece for rear cylinder cover trial fitted before removing for painting.

 

New rear cylinder cover cladding section, the original, rather 'moth eaten', piece
it is replacing can be seen on the right.

 

The Driver's side main cylinder cladding section has now been able to be finally fitted
having been painted on the reverse side.

 

The new lasgging arrived so we've been able to finish lagging the Driver's side cylinder.

 

We,ve started lagging the driver's side cylinder now so that we can fit the
cladding. This is how far we got before we ran out of lagging, more is on order.

 

An underkeep showing the tinned face ready to receive white metal.

 

Brushing on some flux after tinning to leave a clean tinned surface.

 

Applying the tinning stick whilst heating to tin the surface to be white metalled.

 

Heating an underkeep for tinning in readiness to receive white metal.

 

Tapping one of the underkeeps for the oilfeed elbow. A collet in the mill is being
used to guide the tap to keep it square to the hole.

 

The centre driving wheels have their first coat of primer after being shotblasted.

 

The centre driving wheels undercover for the first time in many years after having been
shotblasted.

 

The cocoon to contain the grit from shotblasting has been turned around to do the other
side of the centre driving wheels.

 

Shotblasting the first side of the centre driving wheels.

 

A small shelter erected around the centre driving wheels to try and contain the grit that we use.
This set up will be used to shotblast the outside face of the nearest wheel and the back
of the farthest wheel so that the directio of the shot is all to the back of the shelter. The
shelter wil then be re-erected the other way around to do the opposite sides of the
wheels when the shot is being directed in the opposite direction.

 

April 2022

Neil trying to get to grips with the lubrication pipe runs from the mechanical lubricator
to the cylinders. All the pipework and clips is new

 

A set of new drain plugs for the underkeeps has just been manufactured.

 

Machining the end of the underkeeps that go against the back of the wheels on the shaper.

 

Putting the grooves in the end of the underkeeps to key the white metal to the face.

 

Tapping the holes in the underkeeps for the drainplugs after having faced off the boss and drilled it.

 

March 2022

New standoffs made for the front and rear cylinder covers to support the cylinder cover cladding.

 

Using the forming plates we made for flanging new sections of cylinder cover cladding.

 

This is a short section needed to weld into one of the sections of rear cylinder cover cladding
where it has wasted away.

 

The new section of cylinder cladding on the left with the wasted section on the right prior
to being cut off.

 

The new bit of cylinder cladding now welded to the original piece and ready for painting.

 

The leading set of driving wheels now being prepared for final painting in readiness for re-wheeling.

 

February 2022

All the axlebox underkeeps now hand dressed and individually fitted to each axlebox.

 

Having made the cladding we had to make and fit the pipe from the steam chest to the
steam chest drain before the cladding can be finally fitted.

 

After a respite from cylinder cladding on the Fireman's side we have now made
and fitted the Driver's side cylinder cladding. It still needs to come off for fitting
the lagging and painting and there is still parts to make for the front and rear
ends of the cylinders.

 

Marking out some of the cutouts on the bottom edge of the main cylinder cladding panel.

 

A new bolt being manufactured for securing the Driver's side slidebars.

 

The Fireman's new cabside being marked out and drilled for the various
brackets, angles and window fittings that have to be attached to the sides.

 

Cleaning up the axleboxes ready for hand fitting each of the freshly
machined underkeeps to their respective axlebox.

 

January 2022

New castings delivered today for the steam pipes that fit in the smokebox on the top of the
tubeplate to lift the pipework for the blower, atomiser and steam lance over the superheater
header. You can see from the part on the top left that the originals had been cut off at Barry
to extract the copper pipes. The only reason this part of the bronze fitting was not recovered
was because it would have been inaccessible behind the superheater header.