Entries by Nigel Bennett

Back to Union after a couple of weeks in the UK.  Lots of progress in the last two weeks and a hectic day on Saturday.

The site looks very different with the snow gone and a frenzy of activity leading up to opening day.  It is not normally this bad but the weather delays mean that work normally done in February and March has been concentrated into just a few weeks.

Frank and the track team, with assistance from the scouts camping on site, were hard at work on the track of the steam lead.  This has proved to be a nightmare.  The section of track in front of the service box car was very poor and was lifted in December to set new ties.  Unfortunately the area was then covered by snow and has only just re-appeared!.  On Saturday the new track was laid and we now have excellent track in the area where we will service 1630.  This overcomes concern that, after all the work in the last couple of years, she could have fallen thru the track in her service area.  Many thanks to Frank and his team.

Brownhoist edges thru the damaged switch

and carefully pulls back the water cars

(Thanks to David for the above pictures)

Unfortunately this is not the end of the job.  We have only recently become aware that the big T&NO 2-10-2 (#975) rode up on the switch between the steam lead and the car line when being moved for the Transformers filming.  Substantial work is required to repair this switch over the next few weeks and we will work with Frank’s team on this.  However, we may need water for testing before this is done and the water car was stuck in the yard behind the damaged switch.  So a very careful piece of switching was done under Frank’s supervision to pull the water cars out over the partially repaired switch with the BrownHoist.  All went smoothly and we now have the water cars by the shop and can get water when required.

Another interesting exercise followed!.  The damage highlighted the next major question.  Why did #975 cause such damage when moved?.  She was moved at short notice and without steam department staff present so we did not see the event.  After an hour with a lot of oil and much shunting of #975 back and forth on the “Y” with the BrownHoist we think the problem is identified and resolved.  Absent lubrication, the bearing plates of the trailing truck were not moving.  After applying a lot of oil and pushing slowly in and out of the curve, there was an loud bang and the truck started moving from side to side again.  More oil and a few more trips back and forth into the curve and she slides smoothly from side to side.  A big 2-10-2 will never be happy on the curves around our site  … but if lack of lubrication before movement turns it into a 2-12-0 !!!.

(Oh well. I have just heard from Jamie that we investigated the wrong locomotive.  It was #2707 not #975 that damaged the switch.  At least #975 is now well lubricated!.)

Back in the shop the main effort was focused on preparing 1630 for spraying of the cab and boiler.  A lot of different tasks were progressing in parallel.

Jim and Rick were filling and sanding areas of the cab side.  In the past two weeks, Dennis has done a lot of weld repairs to the cab sides and these are now being finally prepared for spraying.  While I was away, the decision was taken to remove and repaint the lettering, as it was proving too difficult to preserve the existing letters. So the cab sides are now completely stripped and stencils are being prepared.

Cab now prepared

Eric and many others worked on sanding down and masking the superstructure of the locomotive.  The smokebox is now sheeted to protect it from over spray.  All brass pipes and fittings, that are not to be sprayed, have been either removed or protected.

Preparing for spray painting

The injector starter valves were removed from the sides of the firebox, as these were too large and tricky to spray around.

The cab front windows are masked.  Now we are ready for the painter to review readiness to actually do the spraying.

Masking in progress

Jason, Collin and others worked on the smokebox front.  Some leaks were detected in this during the November test runs.  We had considered removing the front sheet and fitting a thicker gasket.  However, the team identified that the leaks were clearly identifiable to a small number of specific areas, visible when Collin was shut in the darkness of the smoke box and lights were held on the outside!.  These were sealed with a high temperature sealant.  So this issue should now be resolved without the need to lift off the smokebox front again.

One of the large areas that has been completed while I was away is the top of the tender.  This is not an area usually seen by the public, but it sure looks good despite a couple of Nigel’s dusty boot prints!.

Tender tank top painted

Aside from 1630 most of the effort was focused on the switching to bring the water cars to the shop and resolve the issue with #975.  However, in the shop:

Tom was working on the adjustments to the planer.  It has actually been set up to start some work (the axle box for a leading truck).  However it is not currently advancing the cutter horizontally or vertically between cutting strokes as it should.  So work is progressing to work out why this is and how to correct it.

First work piece in the planer

I worked with Collin and Bob on the new house air compressor.  We now have most of the parts in hand for this and will plan to activated it soon.

While the trip to the UK was largely for a family visit, I was able to fit in a couple of visits to UK railways.

At the Bluebell Railway in Sussex I was warmly welcomed by a couple of the teams building largely new steam engines.  The 84030 team are building a replica of an extinct class of BR 2-6-2T locomotive from parts of a similar 2-6-0 while the Atlantic team are building a replica of a 1911 LBSCR 4-4-2 using a boiler that survived in industrial use.  In the latter project much of the rolling chassis is now complete.  The new axle boxes and wheel make an interesting comparison to our efforts with #428.

New axle box and wheel set

The cylinders have been fabricated and are in place on the frames.

New fabricated cylinder

High quality work is obvious on the Bluebell in the wood working as well as the locomotives.  These are shots of a superb set of late 19^th century Metropolitan Railway varnished wood coaches, the restoration of which has won awards.  These have been rebuilt in recent years from an extremely run down condition.

Superb set of wooden coaches

Detail of the wood work

and of the interior

I subsequently visited the Severn Valley Railway for the last day of their Spring gala with 7 or 8 locos in steam.  A pause to wait the crossing with another train gave me the chance to look closely at one of their GWR Manor class locomotives.  It really highlights how different the layout and painting of this is when compared to our #1630.  Looking in this way, there is no exposed pipework.  It all runs below the sheet metal, which is almost completely unbroken.  A very different approach when I think of all the holes that we have to adjust and fill around the many pipes and studs on our locomotive.

A very different painting project

There was no work at the shop on Sunday as many of us attended the memorial for our late and sorely missed friend Bill Chyna.  Many thanks to Kath and Beth for the invitation to a very pleasant afternoon remembering the good times.

Next weekend is likely to be rather quiet as many people will need to attend the rules training and / or test in preparation for running this season.

Nigel

What a difference a week can make.  The Winter still clings on - we left Saturday evening in falling snow and the shop water supply is still frozen.  However, even a couple of days at near normal temperatures during the week has had a remarkable effect on the snow and ice around the museum.

A very different scene

For the first time in months, strange parallel lengths of steel have started to appear from the snow banks.  The sound of a diesel locomotive was heard again as Jamie worked with the track gang to plough key lengths and start the Spring inspections.  A lot catch up is required on track work delayed by the weather.  Aside from the normal inspections, a large part of the steam collection is still out by the depot and cannot be moved back until work is completed on the track and switch leading to the steam lead.

Now we can move outside the shop

On 1630 work continued steadily

One important effect of the thaw was that we were able to get to the box car and retrieve the dome cover.  While this will not be fitted until the last minute when the locomotive is outside the shop, we urgently need to prepare it and spray it at the same time as the boiler so that the finish is the same.  Thanks to Phil who grabbed the camera and provided a rare shot of Nigel actually doing something as opposed to standing behind the camera!.

Dome cover heads for the shop

People with paint brushes were all over and around #1630 and her tender.  The walkways are now largely complete.  The tender truck frames have been done and the sander lines were being touched up.  Irregularly shaped parts like this generally take about three shots, paint one way up, turnover and paint the other side, then stand back and spot / touch up the small areas that somehow did not get painted in either of the previous shots!.

Christian finishes the sander lines

Truck frames now painted

The tender wheels still need to be cleaned and painted but that is an area which will is seriously impacted by the loss of water supply, as these need to be pressure washed.

And an update from Jim on Sunday morning!.  The pilot is now completely painted!.

 Pilot now completed

We are getting close to the point where the large areas of sheet metal can be sprayed.

Dennis was hard at work welding the weak spots on the corners of the cab so that these can be finally prepared.

Dennis repairs the cab

Large areas of the sheet metal have been rubbed down ready for spraying.  After some thought, areas where bare metal has been exposed are being treated with sprayed primer.  While the epoxy coating is self-priming, we are finding issues with the bare metal developing a rust tarnish when left exposed for a week and more.  Since the area is far too large for us to rub down in one day, covering the areas we have done seems preferable.

Sheet metal prepared for spraying

In other areas:

Bob continued work to make the planer fully operational.  He was working primarily on a pressure switch system that gives the operator an illuminated warning when the hydraulic system is pressurized.  The picture below gives a much better idea of how this huge machine operates.

Planer cutting assembly

The massive “L” shaped cutter assembly can move vertically on the tower to the right of the moving bed. 

At present the cutter assembly is relatively low.  In this position, tools mounted on the horizontal arm of the cutter assembly would cut the top surface of the work, while the threaded shaft would advance the cutter horizontally after each movement of the bed.

The assembly can be raised substantially, allowing tools mounted on the vertical arm of the “L” to make a vertical surface on the work.  Again a threaded shaft advances the cutter head after each pass.

I will now be travelling to the UK for a couple of weeks so will be watching progress with interest from a distance.

Nigel

Oh well, we are into March.  You would not have guessed it at Union yesterday as we gingerly picked our way across thickly ice encrusted roads to get between the shop and the amenity block.  The day was then somewhat shortened by the development of a steady snow storm as darkness fell.  However, there was a reasonable turn out and steady progress continued.

On 1630 it was very much “more of the same”, which is exactly what we need at this point.

Painting continued on the frames and running gear.  Christian joined the team for the first time and, by afternoon, was fitted in between the frames and top coating the cylinder casting and adjacent areas.  There is a lot of variety in the steam shop.  As a new volunteer, you cannot be sure if you will be handling a paint brush or a 20 pound hammer!.

Christian paints the cylinder casting

Meanwhile Jerry worked between the frames ahead of the firebox.  So most of the lower areas of the locomotive have now received top coat and attention moved to the tender.  Jim and Jerry painted most of the tender frames during the day.  (The positioning of the bucket is unfortunate.  Honest, we are not painting it with driveway sealer!!).

Jim paints the tender frames

There are a few more weeks of work on the lower areas of locomotive and tender that will not be obvious unless you are standing next to the locomotive.  A number of pipes and the under sides of the walkways need to be cleaned, primed and painted.  In addition there is a major review and touch up exercise.  Whenever you shine lights and look from different angles you spot areas that are not fully covered.  So there will be a significant exercise of inspection, with a brush in hand, to touch up these spots and finish the job.

Dennis had welded some areas of the cab last week and identified further areas on the fireman’s side that needed grinding out and clamping so that he could weld.  I cleaned these up so they are now ready for welding.

This weekend Dennis was cutting the new mesh sections for the smokebox spark arrestor.

Jason located another steam heat gauge, very similar to the existing one.  He was able to exchange the face of this one with the damaged face of the existing gauge so we now have a good looking gauge to fit.

Dennis cuts the new mesh

Rick removed the sander discharge pipes as these would be in the way of spraying the cladding sheets of the boiler. He then wire brushed these ready for painting.

Rick prepares the sander lines

On 428:

Ed worked on the sander manifolds.  He showed me an interesting feature.  The inspection plugs of the sand channels are filled with lead.  Apparently this wears better under the force of steam driven sand than does iron or steel.  One of the plugs needs a new lead filling.

Ed works on the sander manifold

Dennis and Phil worked on one of the brake rods.

In other areas, a major milestone was reached last week on the planer.  I understand that, after much investigation and adjustment it is now effectively operational.  Critically, it was adjusted so that it now moves on the cutting stroke at an adjustable speed and then returns for the next cut at a surprising speed for such a large machine.  In addition, features that were not previously understood are now seen to operate.  For example, a small hydraulic cylinder actually lifts the cutting head at the end of the cutting stroke so that it is positively lifted above the work as the table returns.

The planer is working

All of this is second hand from the team as the machine was not operating this weekend.  A number of leaks were identified in operation so a couple of seals will be replaced and some connections remade to bring it to readiness for routine.

So a week of steady progress.  Now what we need is the Spring!.

Nigel

Welcome back to the IRM Steam Department skating rink. A few days of thaw during the week were a mixed blessing.  The snow mountains are a little reduced but not much of the water went away.  So it has now formed thick ice.  Blacktop roads around the site could be ploughed effectively and so dried out.  But the unmade roads around the shop now have an inch or more of solid ice.  Pauline’s passenger car shop blog has some great pictures of the conditions around the site.

There was a good turnout and most people sensibly kept to the shop once they had carefully slithered their way in.  Quite a lot of cleaning and painting had been done during the week and it was generally decided that we would have a “dust free” day so a lot of people concentrated on applying primer or topcoat to the lower regions of 1630.  Since we have no separate painting area or dust extraction we have to focus on cleaning and then paint all areas we have cleaned before making any dust anywhere in the shop.

With so many people involved it was difficult to keep track of the progress.  Indeed this is an interim update as I left early to go to the Soiree and I will wait to see what happened after I left.

The major focus was on the frames, both inside and out.  The confined space just behind the cylinders is probably the worst part.

Not an easy area to paint

Brian put in a lot of time in this area.  The trick, that he achieved pretty effectively, is to clamber into the space from the rear, carefully paint all around yourself and leave an exit so that you can clamber out without damaging your work.

Brian painting in a tricky place

Further back, just ahead of the firebox, there is rather more space.  Jerry is hard at work on the inside of the frames on the fireman’s side.  This gives a good indication of how fast things are moving.  The inside of the springs on the engineer’s side are now primed while the outside of the springs on the fireman’s side are already in topcoat.

Jerry at work just ahead of the firebox

Brian, Phil and I refitted the ends of the valve chambers that had been removed for measurement of valve rings for potential replacement in 2015.

Brian refitting the valve chamber ends

Later in the day, the ends and cover sheets were all fully fitted and the painters had already come by and primed the areas around them.

All back in place and primed

Jim was back at work on Sunday and sent me this picture.  The cylinder ends and all the section behind the pilot is now finished.

All back in place and primed

Jim was in early Saturday working on the engineer’s side.  Later in the day, the engineer’s side wheels, frames and motion are well in the way to completion

Engineer’s side largely complete

The fireman’s side is progressing well with much in topcoat and priming well under way.  The lubricator now looks really nice.  That was a lot of work.  A significant exercise now is quality control, i.e. looking at it from all angles and spotting any gaps.  There are so many projections, crevices and angles that this is no small exercise.

Fireman’s side well underway

Dennis worked with Jane on welding, particularly areas of the coal bunker that showed small leaks.

Jane degreased and pressure washed underneath the boiler of the Shay.

Stu, Bob and Mike worked with Rod on the planer.  When I left the hydraulics would move the table in one direction but were showing remarkable reluctance to push it back the other way.  Much analysis was continuing of old manuals and drawings to investigate possible reasons for this.

So a very productive day.

Nigel

Back again after a week’s gap.  Last weekend was the worst yet.  Saturday working was cancelled on February 1^st as the forecast suggested so much snow.  In retrospect that may have been overkill as we did work yesterday when more snow fell than actually arrived the previous week ….. the forecast just did not seem as bad!!.

I have been out at the museum more this week as I take on the role of museum Treasurer.  The museum site is an incredible Winter wonderland.  Dave and the B&G team have done a great job keeping the roads open.  He was saying yesterday that the plough truck has run about 220 miles so far this season simply clearing on site.  However each working day we have to dig our way into the shop, clear drifts to get to equipment like the compressor and any idea of moving equipment or getting at boxcars or containers is a joke.  There are considerable drifts or barriers of ploughed snow everywhere you look.

Anyway, Phil and Tom braved the elements last Sunday and did some work on 428.

This Saturday I was heavily involved in the Board meeting and some follow on Treasurer activities so was not very productive in the shop.  However, there was a good turn out and substantial progress.

On 1630:

The major step forward was reaching general agreement of the plan for painting.  This does not sounds much but is actually rather complicated.  We have two (or effectively three) methods of painting different areas.  Large parts of the loco will be sprayed.  However, there are substantial areas that are so confined and irregular in shape that it seems impossible that a decent finish could be achieved with a  sprayer.  So brush painting seems logical for these.  (The third category is areas in so deep and covered in grease that the logical approach seems to be leave well alone, for example the leading truck frame).  The whole process is complicated by the fact that, while everything is painted black, it is expected that the two painting methods, using different materials, will show shade differences.  So we do not want the two methods used directly next to one another. 

The final plan is that the wheels and frames will be brush painted while the upper works (cab, boiler, tender) will be sprayed.  The wheels were a particularly tough choice.  There is no doubt that 4 and 5 could be sprayed.  Also 3 could be sprayed, but would require several moves of the loco to get at all the spokes.  However, 1 and 2, heavily concealed behind connecting rods, cross heads and slide bars would be a near impossible target for spraying.  (The picture below of #1 is taken looking vertically down behind the slide bars so imagine getting at this with a substantial sprayer!).  So all will be brush painted as the likelihood is that a shade difference would be very obvious if we sprayed just the ones we could. 

With this done progress started to become visible.

Jim had brought in a much more powerful pressure washer.  He and Jerry did a further degreasing run on the frames, wheels, and everything that  was not in the leave well alone category.

Inside the frames now grease free

#1 driver grease free but behind the slide bars

Following this preparation much of the lower part of the locomotive is now assessed as ready to be primed once dry or requiring just a small amount of wire brushing to allow priming.  (A key part of the need to agree how each area is to be painted was that the spray epoxy does not require a primer while the brush applied finish does).

Substantial areas were dry by afternoon.  So painting began with priming the wheels.  While Jim did most of the work, our General Manager came by the shop and spotted the need to fill in a gap.  It is a rarity to seem Jamie at work in the Steam Shop so we have recorded this event as our ceremonial first painting on 1630.

Jamie does the ceremonial first painting

By end of day three wheels were primed.  The ability to start painting created a lot of enthusiasm.  I received the picture below from Jim.  By Sunday several of the wheels are finished with the black top coat.

Impressive progress by Sunday

On the superstructure, part of the preparation for spraying is removal of pipes that will create shadows when spraying.  One of these is the steam supply for the air pump that runs from the governor high up on the fireman’s side of the firebox.

The pipe runs from the union at top down the join between firebox and barrel

Collin needed to re-lag this anyway so he and Paul managed to release a union and remove it.  As with lots of things on an old steam engine, one thing leads to another.  It was obvious that moisture trapped in the lagging had caused some corrosion on the steel pipe.  After thorough wire brushing and hammer testing no obvious failures were found but it was clearly not in good condition so the decision was made to have a replacement fabricated.  In matters like this we want to avoid any doubt and there is currently time to have the replacement made before the season.

Collin removes the lagging

Paul removes the rust and scale

Jason and Phil worked on the manifold for the stoker.  The casting was damaged and Dennis fixed this some time ago.  The threaded holes into which fit the steam connections had to be recut and then the steam connections fitted.  By end of day the manifold was ready to refit.

Stoker manifold repaired

As a “British” fireman who has never seen a stoker in operation I learned something.  The stoker on 1630 is not operational at present as the screw drive in the tender needs work.  So I had assumed that the steam manifold (which controls the jets fire the coal around the box from the distribution plate) was simply decorative at this time.  It seems this is not so.  If the fireman is feeling tired he can put coal onto the distribution plate manually and then use the steam to fire it up to the front of the firebox.  You live and learn!.

I did my penance for spending most of the day out of the shop by crawling into the firebox to test fit a sample of the new fire brick.  Although I spent days in there when fitting tubes, fitting the fire hole door casting has made this a whole new experience.  What used to be a simple exercise is now more like getting toothpaste into a tube for one of my build.  Anyway the conclusion after Jason and Phil had put in a few more of the arch bricks is that the shorter F5 bricks, that are readily available, cause only a marginal lift in the arch bricks so should be usable.

On the Shay, Phil took advantage of the degreasing set up for #1630 and did a thorough job on the truck.  Hopefully, once dry and examined, this will also start to see new paint applied.

Truck degreased for painting

On #428 quite a lot was happening:

Dennis started the long job of building up the axle boxes.  The first step, on which he was working yesterday, is to build up the damaged areas that will be behind the plates which will be added to the box castings.  Once built up, these areas will need to be finally ground to shape so that there is a solid surface to which the plates will be mounted;

Dennis starts building up the axle boxes

Mike was back after his trip to Arizona and restarted work on the air pump.  Not much visible progress today.  The first big step was to locate the many substantial parts of this 3 dimensional jigsaw and work out exactly how they must fit together.  What fits where is only part of the challenge.  It is immediately clear that it would be very easy to assembly a lot of it and then discover that a key part should have been fitted earlier in the sequence!.

Jane was hard at work on the frame binders that join the frame at the bottom of each axle box guide.  Dennis has done a good deal of repair work on these and they now need to be cleaned off, ground smooth and then machined to fit accurately into the frames.

Jane works on the binders

In the shop in general:

It was a worrying day on the planer.  Mike, Bob and Ed worked on preparing it for a further test of the hydraulic drive system while Jane completed painting the machine.  Unfortunately a second attempt to start the hydraulic pump caused a blow in the gasket that failed last time, although we are now confident that the surfaces are flat after surface grinding.  This leaves us with a puzzle.  Documentation of this machine is distinctly limited.  We know it should operate at a high pressure (suggested around 1200psi).  The key question is whether this seal is failing at a pressure at which it should not or if some blockage or error in assembly is causing pressure to build substantially above the intended level.  Needless to say there is no tapping that would allow us to fit a gauge.

So back on the job and a lot was achieved in the day.  I am off to Mexico for a week so will miss next weekend but look forward to seeing a lot more paint when I get back

Nigel