Deconstruction and a Re-Bore

One of the last actions before Lockdown 1, in March, was the dispatching of the Boiler from GWSR to Ian Riley’s Engineering in Bury, see previous report on the blog submitted by Steve Price. 

Well it arrived safely!

Like many businesses Riley’s had to close during the 1^st Lockdown so work did not start on our boiler until June. The first things were to remove some of the smoke box internals and then the smoke box itself. As well as the boiler overhaul they will also be repairing parts of the smokebox.

The CSPL support team had removed many of the small tubes before the boiler was sent to Riley’s. It was left to them to remove the remainder of the smaller, and then the flu, tubes as part of the preparation for the Non-destructive testing (NDT) and British Engineering (BEM) inspection.

A further part to be removed was the firebox foundation ring which needs repair work as part of the overhaul. Most of the studs have been removed in readiness for the boiler to be turned on its back and then the foundation ring lift clear for further inspection.

The NDT work and BEM inspection has now been completed (Sept-Oct 2020) and the HGO management team will be meeting with the Riley’s team via a Zoom Meeting to review these reports and finalise the Statement of Work for our boiler. This we hope to complete before the end of November so work can then be planned, and the overhaul of 2807 boiler commence. This will be a massive milestone for our group and marks another stage in the process of 2807 being returned to steam. I will let you know via this blog progress on the work with Riley’s Engineering and the boiler

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In addition to the Boiler work at Bury, Riley’s have been subcontracted to complete the re-bore of the cylinders at Toddington on the GWSR. In September a member of Riley’s team spent a few days at the GWSR, supported by our team, to re-bore both cylinders.

Following is a selection of pictures with the equipment used and the end result with an internal picture of the RHS cylinder

The final measurements for both the RHS and LHS cylinders, see next pictures, these will now be used to manufacture new piston heads along with replacement piston rods. 

As you will see from this report things are progressing with the overhaul of GW2807. Keep popping by to see further updates and reports on this blog.

And always remember you can make donations via the 2807FLA our registered charity and purchase shares via the 2807 website

Words by Brian Gamlin

Pictures by Roger Molesworth

Work restarts after COVID lockdown 1

 On Saturday the 1^st August CSPL were able to restart work on the Heavy General Overhaul (HGO) of GW2807 after 4 months of inactivity. We would like to thank everyone at the GWSR for the work that has been undertaken to meet the social distancing requirements and safety standards in the strange times of COVID19. We are currently limited with the number of people that can work as a single group on our workdays of Wednesday and Saturdays but the HGO team have revised their plans and working practices to ensure the members of our team are as safe as possible.

Over the next few Blog updates you will see lots of progress since March when the Boiler was removed and taken to Ian Riley’s Engineering in Bury. To that end we will give you news on the progress at Riley’s in another report on the blog in the coming days/weeks.

The process continues to remove, clean, measure/assess, and store, large and small items from the main loco frames and tender. These are cleaned, then assessed, and measured for general wear with notes being taken to understand what has to be done to each item before they are put into store in readiness for going back on the loco in the near future.

Removal of the front piston covers

LHS piston rod and head removed

Pictures of the cleaning team in action and some freshly cleaned and painted piston covers

An idea items removed during the restart period

Valve covers

Piston covers

Piston rods and heads

Running boards

Brakes and brake hangers

Steam heating pipes

Vacuum brake pipes

Lots more have been removed but too many to mention

Our team with the steam cleaner removing the years of muck from the bottom of the running boards and various other items.

It has been great to see the HGO restart and for the team to comeback together in a COVID safe manner. Work will be a little harder and require more planning but CSPL and the HGO working parties have started with great gusto in stripping 2807 down to its many parts so we can then start the work in bringing her back to life in the near future.

Photos by Roger Molesworth

Words by Brian Gamlin

June 2020 Round-Up

This has been a strange year so far. It’s been tragic for anyone directly impacted by the virus. And it’s been frustrating for those of us keen to get back to our pre-COVID life.

At the end of June we’re unable to restart our normal activities on no. 2807. The indications are that it will be at least August before we can get back to work. The railway is restarting operational activities preparing for a re-opening during August. The railway’s priority is reopening, and not locomotive maintenance.

Fortunately for us, we were able to get our boiler to Riley & Son before the lockdown, and they have indicated to us that they are re-starting work in a limited way. The foundation ring has received attention, and the smokebox has been removed from the boiler barrel. So it’s not all doom and gloom. And some of our volunteers have been carrying on with their ‘homework’, working on parts of the locomotive that they took home before lockdown.

Meanwhile there’s still been plenty to do. We still have a company to operate, Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd (CSPL). CSPL owns no. 2807, which is why it is possible to purchase shares in the locomotive, and a team of volunteers keep the company running.

Much of the work is not dissimilar to any other UK company. We have a chairman (Brian G), a secretary (Gilbert K), and a treasurer (Roger M). The remainder of the board is made up of Geof A, Fred L, Stuart F, John G, Ingo S, and myself. The directors of the company are Brian, Fred, Geof, Gilbert, John, Stuart, and myself.

The board members look after such things as publicity, marketing, engineering, siphon restoration, and internet presence. Other members of the team are David S who is responsible for health and safety, Andy B the “2807 News” editor, Sue S who looks after friends of 2807, and Karen F who looks after the 100 club. So operating a locomotive isn’t just about the engineering side, there’s a commercial side to it as well.

Having said that, many of these people are also directly involved in the maintenance and support of 2807, and there are ten to fifteen additional members of the maintenance/support team. Some are also involved with our charity, “The Freight Locomotive Association”.

Something else that’s been ongoing during the lockdown is boot scraper sales. Some of you will know about our boot scrapers, and they remain as popular as ever. They are available via online sales despite lockdown. To find out more please follow the “Our Shop” link from our web site, www.GWR2807.co.uk, or email Roger M at treasurer.GWR2807@outlook.com.

Keep safe

Steve

March 2020 Round-Up

Well, things have changed a bit. It’s tempting to be dramatic and say we’ve ripped up the plans and started again. But actually we haven’t.

The plan was always to throw all resources at removing the boiler because that’s the major part of the overhaul (unless we find any nasty surprises elsewhere). Having completed the last day of operations on 1^st January, the loco was withdrawn from service and overhaul work started on 2^nd January. Working in discrete teams, parts were removed, thoroughly cleaned, and stored away securely.

By the end of Saturday 4^th, these items had been removed:

Spark arrestor, petticoat, brick arch, brass bonnet, steam pipe cladding, superheater elements, most of the backhead fittings, half of the boiler cladding, safety valves, clack valves, water feed pipes, whistles, blast pipe, and the steam pipes.

By the end of January these items had been added to the list:

Superheater header, blow down valve, backhead cladding, mudhole doors, washout plugs, the remainder of the boiler cladding, cylinder cladding, backhead fittings, cab windows, cab roof, damper linkages, boiler tubes, regulator, ‘tea tray’, and the cab side number plates.

A start was made on needle-gunning and painting the boiler, and this was completed in February. The cylinders received the same treatment, as did the steam pipes, and many other parts. Also during February, the ash pan was removed, by cutting it up in situ. Into March, and the con rods were removed, and a start made removing the inside motion.

Prioritising the boiler work meant that we were ready to remove it from the frames well ahead of plan. The boiler overhaul work will be carried out at Riley & Son. We contracted a haulage company known to Rileys to maximise the chance of things going smoothly. The loco was shunted out onto the line in Toddington car park on Wednesday 18^th March. On the 19^th a lorry with a 20-ton crane incorporated arrived at Toddington some time before 9am. It ‘simply’ lifted the boiler from the frames, and by 11am was on its way. It arrived at Rileys either the same day or early the next.

You’ll probably notice that this happened just before the country went into lockdown. So we are very relieved that the hard work has paid off and we’re in a good position for the work to continue once the lockdown rules are relaxed. However, our team, and the team at Rileys, are now ‘stood down’ until further notice.

So what’s the impact on us? The restoration has effectively gone on hold. There’s still activity around setting up contracts for work, and this includes the loco wheelsets going away to be refurbished and tyres re-profiled. But the bigger impact to us is on fund raising for the overhaul, because normally we’d expect our ever popular bootscrapers to be selling fast, and other fundraising initiatives to be in full swing, but the lockdown means that this can’t happen. So please visit the pages on this web site and see how you can help.

We’d also like to send our best wishes to the GWSR and all volunteers at this difficult time. It’s clear that the lockdown will have serious implications for the railway and other heritage railways across the country, and indeed the world. We’re sure that the GWSR is in good hands and will come out of the other end of this pandemic raring to go.

All the best to you and your families from Cotswold Steam Preservation.

Steve

December 2019 Round-Up

This is going to be a big year for 2807. This is the year when the heavy general overhaul, that we've been talking about for quite a few years, starts to happen.

When 2807 was pulled out of Woodham Brothers scrapyard in 1981 and moved to Toddington, it was the first time that people on the team had achieved such a thing. When the loco was re-wheeled in 1996, it was the first time that people on the team had achieved such a thing. I think you can see where this is going. A similar story when 2807 re-entered service in 2010. And now we commence the next phase, the first heavy general overhaul - and we haven't done this before either.

We're not particularly concerned about this (did somebody say “famous last words”?) because as a team we've built up considerable expertise over the years, and we're surrounded by people who have done this before and will give us advice when we need it. And not having done something before didn't stop us achieving the previous milestones, so let's do it again.

I'm pleased to say we have a plan. I kept hold of the plan when we completed the restoration (I was project manager then). So it's been updated to reflect an overhaul rather than a restoration, and Gilbert has split the work between teams so that things should be happening concurrently once we get going. I say once we get going, but by the time you read this it will have started. The last two operating days for 2807 were 31^st December and 1^st January. Withdrawal followed on 2^nd January and work started the same day. In fact some things had already started. Last winter we completed some work on the valves and cylinders. That was originally planned to be overhaul work, but an opportunity arose to carry out the work early, so we took it. And, during 2019, we contracted Ian Carpenter to build us a new ash pan, ready for when the boiler overhaul work is completed.

I'm sure you're aware that the biggest piece of work to be completed is usually the boiler. It's usually the biggest piece of work because certain things have to be done each overhaul (new tubes for example), and there may be a lot of other work to do. We won't know how much other work is necessary until the boiler can be examined and tested. The other reason it's the biggest piece of work is because it requires suitably qualified people to work on it, which means the volunteers can't do it. And this means it's going to be expensive. What we do know though is that, following a tendering process, Riley and Son (E) Ltd of Heywood, Lancashire will be completing the work. It is anticipated that the boiler will be transported to Heywood mid-2020.

Which brings me on to financing the overhaul. There are certain things that have to be done, and some of these have to be contracted out (the boiler for example). Other things have to be done, but the volunteer team could do them. There are likely to be more things that we discover during the work, and which have to be done, either contracted out or by the volunteers. And there are still more things that strictly speaking don't have to be done, but while the loco is in pieces it makes sense to do them rather than store up problems for later on.

We believe that we have the finance for the things that we know about and which must be done, and also the things that it makes sense to do at the same time. But additional finance will assist in two scenarios. One is that we discover significant additional work that needs doing. The other is that we wish to shorten the duration of the overhaul by contracting out more of the work.

It's worth mentioning here that our main source of income is steaming fees. During the overhaul there's no steaming, and so no fees. If the money runs out then the overhaul will stop until sufficient funds can be raised (by other means) to complete the work. What we need is a steady flow of income other than steaming fees. We already have a very loyal group of supporters who always come up trumps when we need them. If you would like to join this group, then please take a look at the pages on this web site where you will find information about ways to help, and the benefits that brings.

Steve

The last few days ...

No. 2807 has now completed its last few days of running prior to heavy overhaul.  The overhaul is likely to take a few years, so here's some photos from the 1st January 2020 to remind us of what we can expect on 2807's return.

(photos reproduced by kind permission of Geoff Turner)

Steve