Steam Department

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