Sunday 4 September 2016

Maintenance Update (spark, felt, panther, moss)

The following from Brian (after I’d sent last week’s update):
“With the Loco due to travel to the NYMR in September we have to fit the various spark arresters, 1 on the smoke box and three attached to the ash pan. Brian G volunteered to fit them and set to work transporting them to the loco, Dave S offered to help and this was gratefully accepted. The Smoke box arrester had not been fitted for a while so the was some cleaning that had to be done to the fixing brackets, also the jumper ring had not been cleaned for a while so this was dealt with also. The jumper ring cannot be accessed once the arrester is fitted. Cleaning completed, the arrester was fitted with little issue, additionally the three ash pan arresters were fitted with no issues in readiness for the move north.


Brian G then went to Winchcombe at the request of Gil K to help Fred L with the removal and cleaning of the Siphon G underkeeps. Brian G arrived to find that they had all been removed, and set about cleaning them with Fred. By the end of the day, two of the 8 still needed cleaning and will need to be put back on the axles on Wednesday.”



Wednesday 31st
Because of the need for a mechanical test on Friday and a test run on Saturday, David came in today to weld up the ‘flap’ on the top of the oil reservoir. It was a bit tricky, but he managed it. Then David had to dash off. Bruce tidied it up and slapped some paint on. Later, he filled the reservoir with oil. Whereas previously it took about two tablespoons full to fill it (i.e. 30 ml), now it took something like 200 ml. We’re all feeling a bit happier about that!

After lunch, Bruce replaced a felt pad in the RHS piston rod lubricator. The felt appears to have more-or-less disintegrated!



Gil popped in briefly before adjourning to Winchcombe to work on the siphon van bogies. John G
went to Winchcombe, too, where he, Gil, Fred & Bill pressed on with cleaning, assembling and oiling
the axleboxes on one bogey. The siphon body was then lowered onto its bogies and shunted out
into the yard. The second bogey will have to wait for a free slot in C&W; it has been shot-blasted,
plus the axleboxes have been inspected, so it may just be a case of applying bitumen paint.

Saturday 3rd September
See what a fantastic welding job David did, and Bruce’s paintwork is immaculate! You can even
see the oil …


… and today the oil level had dropped by an inch or so, as one would expect - as it very slowly filters through the felt pad.

Today was “bitty”. For example, Bruce fitted a bolt on the tender - he discovered that it was missing just as we left on Wednesday.

He and I later dismantled the remaining table from the TPO and stowed it inside the van. Gilbert (and Bruce) had the loco weighed on the new scales. The results were compared against those obtained by Gil & Jamie. Hmm. Interesting! After lunch, Gil fixed an issue whereby one of the taps on the hydrostatic lubricator was leaking and needed a fresh seal.

John T and I spent most of the day preparing rail chairs, as the boot scraper stock level is still zero.
The trolley had a puncture, which (with my cycling expertise) I was ideally suited to fix. Incidentally,
there are two trolleys, formerly known as Panther One and Panther Two. This is Panther One
(though the writing is almost illegible). In addition to its name, it also says “Return to …” and the
destination is no longer legible. Does any reader know the history behind these trolleys?


As the day drew to a close, Bruce slapped black paint all over the bottoms of the rail chairs that John
& I had cleaned. Rain failed to stop play, because John moved inside the loco shed to continue wirebrushing the chairs.

Some new rails had been delivered for the Broadway Extension. You know what flat-bottom rails
look like, so here’s a photo of the brake van attached to the flat wagons:

This is the guard’s front garden. As you can see, it is tastefully sown with a cascade of moss, contrasting beautifully with the brown of the naturalised wooden finish on the brake van.


Over here we have the back garden which centres on a sycamore that provides height, with a balanced arrangement of shrubs to the left and right. The old tail lamp injects an element of interest, as does the telltale compound palmate leaf of the cannabis plant growing behind it. (not really)


NYMR chap came & went on Thursday - “Plan C” meant no test steaming today!


Roger

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