Monday 18th
I popped in to the TPO and slapped Deproma anti-rust on some bottoms, and GWR green enamel on 4 tops.
Tuesday 19th
Today the sun shone, and I could see what a pig's ear I'd made of the tops yesterday! Had to re-paint them. Had hoped to do the lettering with a view to finishing them off on Weds!
Wednesday 20th
The day began with rain and hail. Geof pressed on for a while outside. Bruce decided to paint some chairs inside! Fred brought Gilbert, and tea break was declared. Fred then returned to the siphon at Winchcombe, where he had abandoned Ray.
Bruce completed 3 BR chairs in red Deproma, ready to become Crimson Lake. Then he focussed on the vacuum retaining valve that Carpo thought was sticking up. Bruce keeps making sealing rings for the valve piston, testing out ideas and trying to get the ring to be a perfect circle and not stick in its cylinder. Also he has an idea of making a push rod for inside the cylinder so that you can demonstrate that the piston is stuck up ... or is not! This is Bruce's homework.
Geof pointed out that, since the damper door is being lowered, but not increased in depth, could we please remove the angle iron welded across its inside face, because it makes it very awkward to get the ash rake in through the door, as the angle restricts the opening. I'm sure I'd mentioned it before, but this time notice was taken! Bruce cut it off. He also found a smaller angle that could be welded in its place with considerably less interference for the fireman. The point was expressed that some of our team would benefit from experiencing a day of firing and clearing out the ash, to learn some of the idiosyncrasies of our loco first-hand.
Gil & Geof re-measured the LHS cylinder valve rod, and decided that it is feasible just to re-bush the front cover. All else is within tolerances. This saves us removing the whole assembly - just the front cover. Bruce joined in with the discussion about actual sizes versus sizes on the diagrams that we have. As usual, the diagrams do not entirely reflect what we have on the loco. G&G then replaced the running boards on the LHS and also took the remnants of the ash pan bottom to the skip.
I had busied myself with you-know-whats, painting 9 tops in Deproma, lettering the 4 that I re-painted yesterday, and finishing off one boot scraper that is ordered.
The loco has had 59 of its 60 steamings, so there is no guarantee she will be out during December, though rumour (i.e. Geof) had it that Adey is planning 5 steamings for her. Oh, BTW, the Turk has two more broken springs, I hear!
TTFN
Roger
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