Steam Department

Another good week in which we were able to move a lot forward on 1630.

Various tasks support the overall work plan.  First we must finalize preparation for the inspection of the boiler shell.  Not much remains to be done to enable this so the next focus is on the tasks that will enable us to make the boiler water tight again.  For this, we are preparing all the flues and materials that we need to refit the tubes and also to complete the patching of the firebox.  Finally, whenever possible, we work on ensuring that parts that can be fitted once the boiler is watertight and passes its first hydro test are cleaned and ready to be fitted quickly when required.

·         During the week Jeff and Jerry managed to complete the cleaning and hydro testing of the super heater elements.  The conclusions were good.  24 passed the pressure test at 1000 psi with no issues and are back in the box car ready for refitting when the boiler is ready.  1 passed the pressure test but has some minor damage to the protective shield (a simple sheet metal construction that is wrapped around the element to protect the most exposed areas from erosion by cinders flying thru the flue) and only 2 failed.  The last 2 will require the attention of the boiler welding specialist when he comes in to safe end the flues.

·         Phil and Collin cleaned up the front tube sheet in preparation for re-tubing.

Front tube sheet is now ready

·         Eric did a great job clearing the medium from around the firebox.  This is important so that everything is clear and visible for the upcoming inspection.  The blasting medium is deceptive stuff!.  We knew that there was some still on top of the firebox.  The initial comment in the morning was "don't think there's much there".  Having used an air line to blow it off the firebox crown and the stays at the sides of the firebox so that it settled into the bottom of the firebox water legs, Eric sucked it out with long pipes on the vacuum cleaner.  By end of day we have a clear view along the bottom of all the water legs .......... and probably 80 lbs of medium extracted !.

Eric removing blast medium from the water legs

·         After a lot of adjustment to get the settings right the McCabe was used to bend a test sheet for the firebox patch.  Past experience with the Shay has demonstrated the importance of proving exactly how the patch will be formed using an old piece of steel before we do it "for real" with an expensive piece of new boiler plate.  Considerable progress was made.

The McCabe was used to bend the sheet

Test plate loaded in the jaws of the McCabe

The jaws start to bend the plate

and bend it smoothly to the small radius curve

........... and the radius formed proved to be an excellent match to the critical curve in the mud ring.

The result looks a good match to the old plate

Having been cut to the template, the piece is a pretty good fit to the firebox and can be used to make minor adjustments to the template for the final patch.  The next step is to form the piece to fit the slope of the front tube sheet.

Mike holds the test plate up to the hole in the firebox

·         Ed and Jim identified and measured the pipe work to be replaced along the boiler and this can now be ordered.

·         Phil, Jeff and I started another job that looks like it will be a lot more "fun" than we had hoped!.  A number of the bolts that project from the front ring of the smoke box to secure the smoke box door sheet are wasted and need to be replaced.  In theory they can be driven out by hammering them back (towards the boiler).  In practice the effect of 60+ years of heat and rust on bolts that were a tight push fit to begin with is "interesting".  After 90 minutes of effort with a heating torch and air hammer we have one out.  Only another 15 or so to go !!.

·         Bob Hunter has now finished the computations and supporting documentation for the form #4 submission.  This is the engineering assessment of the boiler which confirms that, having regard both to original design and subsequent wear as now measured, it is suitable for the intended operating pressure.  This is now ready for submission.

Nigel

Despite the heat work progressed well in the steam shop this week. 

A number of important tasks on 1630 were moved forward:

·         During the week, Kevin has made good progress on needle chipping the mountings under the boiler in preparation for painting.

·         Jason worked with Bob Hunter on the form 4 submission which is now well under way.

·         Glenn and Richard (welcome Richard on his first day) reassembled the McCabe which we urgently need to produce the firebox patch.  An extremely awkward set screw fitting was achieved and the piston refitted.  Now we are close to being able to test the machine.

Piston back in place

·         Phil and Bob continued tapering the super heater flues.  A welding contractor is due in next Saturday and we should then be able to start building up the flues ready for refitting.

Flues ready for welding

·         Dennis welded the marks on the front tube sheet that need to be filled ready for tube fitting and also repaired the crack in the smoke box.  We can now finish the front tube sheet ready for the inspection.  That was the good news !!.  The bad news was that Dennis proved that he is too big to reach the rear tube sheet either from the firebox or from inside the boiler.  (Despite all the jokes, it is not your gut but your rib cage that determines this.  I can just barely fit between the arch tubes and usually bruise my ribs when I do so,  Dennis is just that little bit bigger in the chest).  Hopefully the contractor coming in next Saturday is smaller and can do the work on the rear tube sheet.

Dennis welding the tube sheet

·         Collin, Sean and Jason removed flexible stay caps that we need to inspect and Jason refitted a number that we have already done.

Removing a stay cap

Here you can see the inside of a flexible stay after cleaning and inspection.  The slot is in the ball head of the stay surrounded by the hex headed sleeve.  The stay is a long threaded rod with the ball head at one end,  When fitting a new stay it is inserted from the outside thru the sleeve and screwed into the inner firebox.  So far we have not found any bad ones, which is good news as replacing these is a slow job.

Inside a stay

·         The big new task started, which kept a lot of us busy, was the cleaning and testing of the super heater elements.  There are 16 of these and each must be wire brushed clean, the ball ends that fit into the header thoroughly cleaned and polished and then hydro tested to 1000 psi.  While it will be months before we are ready to fit these, we wanted to start early so that we can schedule any repairs if required.  It was a good thing we did.  The first one failed the pressure test and will need to be rebuilt.  Two then passed and the fourth proved to have a good deal of corrosion on one of  the ball ends which will require significant work to reshape or replace.

Paul cleaning super heater elements

This shows the critical ball end of an element.  The two rounded ends fit into rounded recesses in the header.  It is essential that these provide a smooth, polished and rounded surface that mates tightly to the header.

The ball ends of an element

·         We also welcomed a number of groups of visitors to the shop.  It was encouraging that a couple of groups expressed surprise at the number of volunteers and amount of work being progressed.

In other areas:

·         Jeff put together an outline plan for positioning machines in the new machine shop.  Once this is agreed we will be able to position all the large equipment and free up a good deal of space in other parts of the shop.

·         Bob cut the steel slugs that Tom will now machine to make the spring retainers for the Shay and also continued work on the planer.

Nigel