First of all, there are two new issues logged from the last steaming days:
46 [MY]: Rear steam heat bag missing. {I'm glad they noticed! :-) Let's hope there isn't a sudden downturn in the weather before we find out where to get new hoses from!}
47 [MY]: [steam] Leak to top rear of manifold. Poss rear of Y-splitter to condensing coils. {I took a photo so that you knew what he's talking about}
Gil was in between the frames when I arrived, fitting spacers to all of the bolts on the eccentrics. I had deliberately left the RHS nuts loose after taking off and refitting the rods & straps last Saturday when fitting felt pads into the straps. We are still totally perplexed as to how/why the metal dishes had been inserted in the lubrication points but not the felt pads. The metal dishes (with lots of holes in) are designed to hold the pad away from the bottom such that oil dribbling down the delivery pipe can spread over the whole pad surface. Why insert the metal bits and not the pads? What happened to the pads that Bruce cut? We have (well, had) a box of spares .. but where did the actual felt pads go (if not in their holes)??? Total mystery.
Anyway, Gil grovelled underneath and in between, fitting spacers, then nuts, then split pins to the ten bolts of the RHS eccentrics. I think he also fitted the two on the LHS straps (but the rods are still off until the expansion link is back on, which can only be done when the die block comes back and is riveted into its cheeks inside the expansion link. {Need a diagram?}
John G was gopher to Gil nearly all day. This even included cutting split pins down to size!
Bruce helped, from time to time, but also investigated a few things. The blower (that we were trying to cut its bottom to make smooth, some weeks ago, now) … Bruce felt that it would be best to remove it and do the work on a lathe (or something) in the workshop. However, when he & David attempted to get it off, they could not undo one of the nuts. Wisely, they tackled the most difficult nuts first .. and it was too difficult! There's not enough room to get a spanner on it properly; and not enough leverage. So, Bruce decided we would have to press on doing it by hand in situ. Then the sharpness of the cutter came into question. Then Neil said that his air drill works the cutter better than an electric drill (as we had been using). But the air drill has a 1/2" square end, not a chuck. Could Bruce find anything to fit the end and also fit the cutter? {Rhetorical question}.
I began by painting some brushes for boot scrapers, but Gil spotted me and forced me to do an inventory of our portable electric appliances. The railway is about to do PAT (testing), so need a list of everything we've got. Well, that took me all morning. Including everything from fridge to cordless screwdriver; six lamps (various); 13 cables (various lengths, voltages & fitments); 4 hand drills; microwave, kettle & sandwich toaster; and so on.
Later I cleaned four rail chairs, and John painted their bottoms. Gil buzzed off to Stroud to collect the die block from his pet machinist. On Saturday [which happens to be diesel gala day] the plan is to assemble the die block and its cheeks in the expansion link and rivet them together.
Saturday
I nipped down during the morning and painted the four chairs' tops. Gil & Bruce were playing with the newly machined die block and cheeks. Bruce was sceptical about the rivets being too loose, but Carpo said to go ahead anyway, so they did. Bruce made a widget to fit in the fly-press and squash the rivet heads. At the point where they were lining up the expansion link plus die block on the press I had to leave, as I was on crossing duty at Winchcombe station (it was Diesel Gala Day and I had volunteered).
As I departed, John T was cutting off bolts from the recently delivered pile of rail chairs. He subsequently reported:
" Whilst cutting bolts off rail chairs today, I found an SR one, dated 12-1947 (The last month of Southern Region?). I have put it "under the counter"."
John then assisted Bruce & Gil with the die block work: "I cleaned the 5 fitted bolts and sourced split pins for them. The die block was riveted, with help from Mark Young, with Bruce cleaning up (grinding) the rivet heads afterwards. Later on I helped Bruce and Gil to fit the die block/expansion link thingy. They were inside the frames and I was gopher.
You remember me dropping a bolt through the running board water feed pipe cut-out on the RHS? Gil did almost the same on the LHS, except it was a small hammer which got dreadfully wedged between frame and wheel. What a job I had getting it out.
Wednesday is now the day for fitting the LHS links from the eccentrics. At least people will have our efforts on the RHS to guide them !"
… too true, John. So, the rods will be on before coffee break, and then Gil will spend the rest of the day fitting spacers, nuts, locknuts and split pins? :-)
Roger
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