Steam Department

A rather brief update this week, not because of lack of progress but because I spent most of the day in the rules and safety sessions so was not directly involved in the work in the shop.  While this was a day away from the shop for a number of us it is essential that we have a team able to control movement of equipment and these sessions are critical to ensure that this is done safely.

Work progressed steadily on 1630:

·         Collin, Eric and Jason made good progress on cleaning and preparing the tube sheets.  Both front and back tube sheets have now been extensively cleaned and checked.  The good news is that no signs of cracking have been found.  Work is progressing on smoothing and preparing the holes to take the new tubes.  This will take several weeks to complete but good progress was made today.

·         Dennis, Bob and Mike continued building up of the mud ring ready to for fitting of the corner patch.  Over the next couple of weekends this will move out of sight as the section inside the firebox is built up and the rivet holes on that face are rebuilt.

·         Plans are in place to do the thickness testing next Saturday.  This weekend we were marking out the points at which measurements will be taken.  Each section of the boiler plate work must be measured to assess its minimum thickness which then forms the basis of the calculation for the form 4.  Clearly each part of the boiler is only as strong as its weakest point so the calculation is based upon the thinnest point found in each section.  Measurement points are identified in a random pattern across each plate with a focus on the areas likely to be weakest such as the belly.  Here the guys are cleaning off and marking measurement points ready for next weekend.

Cleaning and marking the points for testing

Nigel

A successful day at the steam shop.

We now expect the ultrasonic testing to be done weekend of May 5th so yesterday was an opportunity to progress other activities in preparation.  1630 saw the light of day for the first time in nearly a year when we pulled her out to remove the throttle valve and allow cleaning of both the locomotive and the shop area where she has been sitting.

Into the daylight

Eric and his father made good progress in testing the tell tale holes in the firebox stays.  The engineer's side is now largely complete.  By midday Jeff had the BrownHoist de-winterized and running and we were ready to shunt 1630 out of the shop.

BrownHoist mobile crane

Once outside we worked on the removal of the throttle body, which will be lapped to ensure a good seal when reassembled. 

This is an awkward piece that sits in the dome. 

Throttle body in situ

However, with some help removing cotter pins from inside the boiler, it was removed and taken to the shop. It has apparently been removed and refitted in the past with all the tubes in place. I have a lot of respect for the guys who achieved that !!.

It must come out somehow

Throttle body out and on the way to the shop

It was good to see 1630 in steam again !!.

1630 in steam again

Seriously though, it was an opportunity to do some steam cleaning and the locomotive now looks a good deal better and easier to inspect.

Unfortunately not its own steam!

The opportunity was also taken to clear the area around and under the locomotive, that had accumulated the most amazing collection of insulation debris and other muck as well as odd items that had fallen while working.

Even the work area is now clear

By end of day she was back in the shop and ready for ultrasonic testing.

In other areas, Paul and the lads made good progress on needle chipping and wire brushing the Shay truck.  Glenn over came a problem, that has developed in recent weeks, of the fork lift battery failing to hold a charge.  Far from the suspected defective battery he found that a loose terminal and blown fuse in the line from the alternator meant the battery had not been connected to the charging system at all for the last few weeks!!.

Next weekend will probably be quiet as many of us need to attend the rules exam.

Nigel