Several people corrected my assertion last time that No.1 boilers are used on Manor class. They are not, of course. I should have said Grange class. Manors had smaller (no.14) boilers and were not fitted with large ejectors (as far as I am aware) possibly because they were used on secondary lines where traffic was not heavy and the extra “suck” therefore not deemed necessary?
Here’s the large ejector on Foremarke Hall: back half, and front half leading into the smokebox.
Wednesday 14th
Part of the mechanism that operates the drain cocks is held together with a tapered pin. JP reported that the pin is too far into its hole and needs replacing with a longer pin. Gil started on this; removed the old pin and tried to fit a new pin. However, not only was the new pin too long, but it took Bruce to get it back out again. We could not find a suitable tapered pin, so the old one has gone back in for now. {Just look at the filth!}
The hydrostatic lubricator drain pipe in the cab had been rubbing against a floor panel. John G modified the panel and repainted it. Then he made a couple of rubber garters to fit round the pipes to reduce the risk of wear.
John then refitted various ferrules around washout plugs, and Gil found one to fit, too.
Gil oiled the front valve spindles to be sure they are lubricated before the loco moves very far.
Bruce also tackled oiling-up. He started by checking the felts that lubricate the piston rods. These looked good.
Checking the oil in the pots revealed them to be full of water! So, he sucked the water out and refilled the oil pots.
We requested a steam test before being put into service, to check all of the seals and joints are steam-tight. This is currently planned for next Wednesday.
Friday 16th
MY reported to us: “I have heard the loco is sitting at a funny angle, very low on back corner and
high on the opposing front corner. This may simply be the loco is "stuck" from the jacking up that
took place last weekend …”
I was gardening at my daughter’s until 11.00, when I decided to pack up & go home … it’s “The
Races”, isn’t it?! Winchcombe: gridlocked. I could not turn into Castle Street (it’s only wide enough for one car, and there was a queue waiting to come out of it!) So, I thought: ‘Where else can I get a cuppa? Ah-hah! The railway!’ So I managed to turn round and head for Todders, thinking that I’d measure the loco heights while there. When I arrived, our container door was open! Who’s doing what, I thought? It was Rob. He was cleaner on Dinmore, and while waiting for it to come back from Cheltenham, he was cleaning 2807 instead. We measured the height of the running boards, and sure enough, the front is 2” higher on the right-hand side, and at the cab end it is 1” higher. But we had jacked her up on the RHS and let her down slowly. I hope it is just that she’s a bit stuck.
Saturday 17th
It was a tad cool today (viz. icicle on tap).
I began by doing a little gardening, filling in a couple of gaps with alliums and bluebells. Our garden is coming along nicely - various spring bulbs popping up. But, by heck, my fingers froze!
We decided to take a look at this dipping of the frames. Gil & I jacked up the LHS and then let it down. That had some effect, but not a lot. Later in the day, Jeff [Loco Dept] wanted to pull Dinmore and Foremarke out to be coaled. So, I asked him to pull 2807 out, too, and he pulled her down the track a way and then back. It did improve things a little, but (as Bruce pointed out) the front buffer beam is at an angle anyway!
In this photo, I have lined the camera up with the side running boards, and you can see that the buffer beam RHS (as you look at it) is definitely lower. One can only assume that 2807 suffered a heavy shunt at some stage of her final years in BR service.
Bruce carried on making new felt pads for lubricating the LHS piston rod. The new ones are soaking in oil during lunch.
Rob and Alex continued cleaning the rods.
Gil showed Rob where he was to grease the loco underneath.
Finally, we moved the Pecket and Dinmore’s new tender to the end of their road so that P&O has room to sleep tomorrow night.
Pushing the Pecket turned out to be no easy thing. With five of us heaving at it plus three using pinch-bars, it was a struggle to get it to move.
The tender, on the other hand, heavier though it obviously is, moved quite easily with five of us pushing, and no-one on pinch-bars!
For those of you who would like to see 2807 in action, she is rostered for:
Train 3 on March 30 & 31;
April 1, 2; and then from 17 to 26 inclusive, 28, 29.
Roger
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