Maintenance Update (lap, face, shiny, fixed)

Friday 17th

Clive reports:

" Regarding the 'hot' pony, neither my driver, Sean Nielsen, or myself noticed any excess heat in that area apart from normal running. Reckon **** has been doing too much washing up without his Marigolds."

{So, I'll write that issue off as investigated + no problem found}

Bruce reports about the clack problem:

"Something wrong here, on Wed we went to quite a lot of trouble to clean the faces and align them properly when clamping them up. What are we doing wrong?"

My theory.

"Let's assume that if both faces are flat, so that when they are clamped up, a THIN gasket should seal ok.  But, as the clamping bolts are outside the raised sealing area it is easy to clamp the faces slightly out of parallel, so, if a thin gasket is used it may not be able to cope with this variation.  Would it be better to use a thicker reinforced gasket to take up any misalignment better?  I acknowledge that a thin gasket is best if you can get it to seal.  Is this valid or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?"

Saturday 18th

David, Bruce and Gilbert spent the whole day working on the leaky clack box joint. Once the clack box was off, Bruce set to, lapping the face to make sure it was perfectly flat.  He found some thicker gasket material and cut a new gasket for it.

Meanwhile, Carpo had looked at the studs that held the clack box to the valve assembly, and decided that the studs were life-expired.  So, David & Gil began removing them.  The usual way is to fit two nuts on the end, tighten them really hard and then undo the pair - usually they grip the threads hard enough to be able to turn the stud and remove it.  This worked on four of the five studs!  After struggling for ages, David decided to weld a nut on the end of the stud and try to turn it that way.  The first attempt ended in the weld breaking before the stud would turn!  So David applied even more weld, and then  finally managed to turn the stud and get it out.

Thereafter, the three of them took it in turns to lap that face.  It's a strain on the arms, because you are moving the lapping block in a vertical plane all of the time.

Carpo made a set of new studs for us {Thank you, Ian!}.  I found some fresh nuts to fit, plus new spring washers.

In a spare moment, Bruce thought to check the nuts on the new blow-down valve, to ensure they were tight after the first few steamings.  They were.

More in hope than expectation, I cleaned the firebox grate and laid a warming fire … but didn't light it!

By end of day, the decision was not to rush things, but complete the job carefully on Wednesday.

Monday 20th

Bruce reported

"This morning David brought his large file to remove material from the Clack Box sealing face to improve the flatness.  We both spent the next couple of hours removing material from the face, but not enough to clean it up.  David then had to leave.

I went back this afternoon and carried on filing, hoping to clean it up, but the flange is so large that I could not remove enough to get rid of the low area completely, but it was getting close.

I then tried lapping the face to get rid of the filing marks and flatten it off and give a better idea how much more needed to be removed.

After several lapping cycles the face had cleaned up except for the low area at the bottom which had only cleaned up across about half its width.

I measured the gap on the bit that had not cleaned up with feeler gauges and found that the largest gap was only 0.003"

In consultation with Carpo I explained that it would probably take at least another half day to clean up the last bit of face completely, so he agreed that it was good enough to reassemble it and see what happens, particularly as we need to be available for the wartime event at the weekend.

It was 5.15pm by the time I had finished so I did not clean the flange.  

Before inserting the studs the threaded holes need cleaning out."

Wednesday 22nd

Jamie & Chris B7 [Loco Dept] took the leaky J-cock off the side of the smokebox and hence found out how it fits!  They gave it a good clean; obtained a new copper washer (from Dinmore Manor group) and reassembled it.  Jamie confirmed that there was oil in the pipe, so that means it is working!

Bruce & Gilbert spent nearly all day working on the clack valve.  The new studs were fitted, but then they didn't quite fit the holes in the clack!  So, Bruce had to tease a couple of holes open a tad.  When it did fit, they verified that nothing was fouling the clack valve and that the two surfaces were absolutely flat against each other.  Bruce also ground a little bit off the clack body to make sure that the nuts & spring washers fitted flush.  The new gasket is thicker and also reinforced.  Carpo kept an eye on things and gave the "all clear" to light a warming fire, which John G and I then did.

Apart from this, Bruce checked the balance weights in the wheels.  John polished everything brass and copper in the cab (to impress the folks on the Fire & Drive on Friday!).  Chris and I lifted the brass bonnet onto the firebox top in anticipation of fitting it after steam test on Thursday.

I had cleaned up four rail chairs during the day, and John painted their bottoms.

Fred was assisted by Geof and Bill at Winchcombe, working on the siphon restoration.

Thursday 23rd

I got to Todders at 10 am.  There were still embers from last night's warming fire, so a quick rake round of the ash, plus a few shovels of coal and I got the fire going again.  However, there was no pressure, and with only half of the grate covered you can't use the blower, so it was after lunch by the time I'd got 30 psi.  Carpo decided to test the injector at that, and there was no sign of a leak.  Then he told me to spread the fire; make a full-grate fire and raise pressure.  By 3 o'clock I'd got 200 psi.  Carpo observed the clack as I injected, and he declared it "passed".

Having got her hot, but going nowhere, she continued to blow off until 4.30 despite periodic injections to cool her down a bit.  Anyway, I fitted the cover over the delivery pipe (to the clack) and then fitted the brass bonnet over the valves.  It was bloomin' hot up there - sun as well as boiler!  I thought my overalls were melting at one point!

I left at 5pm with 180 on the clock; had a take-away; returned at 7pm at which point she had 140 psi.  Checked round; put the chimney cap on; shut the gauge frame; shut the fire hole doors and finally … I'm home!

Roger

Maintenance Update (failed, fixed, failed)

Friday 10th

I knew it was going to happen, but I still have a twinge of sadness - Maurice has definitely left home.  The food I put down for him on Wednesday was still in his little bowl.

2807 was in service on a Fire & Drive.  Seemed to be going OK.  Carpo also told me that he had decided to keep her in service for Saturday.

I really went down to restock the railway shop with some of our teddy bears (the Winchcombe Wendy one seems to be everyone's favourite!).  However, while there I applied Deproma to the tops of the three black-bottomed-chairs.  Then there will be nine ready for their enamel coat on Saturday.

Saturday 11th

Daphne gave Bruce permission to come down for a couple of hours, so he helped me by applying the top coat to the rail chairs.

2807 was chuffing up & down happily, so there was not a lot that people could do - hence I'd suggested they go to Winchcombe and help on the siphon work.

Meanwhile, I tackled some exceedingly clagged-up chairs, and managed only to de-grease four by 2.30 pm.  Bruce had gone by then.  Mike W came and ate lunch in the TPO, but then went to help with P&O (they hope to light a fire on Thursday).

Sunday 12th

2807 was in service again.  I did a spot of painting for a short while, but really went down to count up how many teddy bears we still have.

Tuesday 14th

Carpo reported: " Bad news Roger I'm afraid. The joint twixt safety valve and delivery clack has lasted all of about 4 steamings and has failed again today although the crew managed to nerdle the engine through the day."

Wednesday 15th

Gil & Bruce, assisted by Jeff & John P from Loco Dept, set about solving the problem of why the first gasket lasted four years and the second one only four days.  As the loco was in steam yesterday, it was a shade too warm to work on it initially (not to mention the pressure on the 'clock').

In due course, they removed the clack box from the left-hand side of the safety valve block and retired to the TPO for an inspection.  Bruce started cleaning up the face and it was soon clear that it was not exactly flat!  It was slightly dished, in fact, plus a bit of a dent and a scratch.  So, he and John P spent a while with the diamond scrapey-thing making the surface smooth and flat.

John G & I decided to look at Issue 14, that reported the LH pony running warm.  The loco was not over a pit, so I grovelled I the dirt and John passed tools to & fro.  Draining a small amount of liquid from both axleboxes revealed no water in there (which, of course, there shouldn't be!) only oil.  So we have no idea why it should run warm.  Maybe it was the sunshine?

For most of the rest of the day, John G and I repaired one of the trolleys.  They get (ab)used a lot, and the wooden planks were in a sorry state.  In fact, one piece of plywood had stood up to wear better than real wood.  By chance, there was a heap of plywood planking by the wood store - which is no good for fire lighting.  So we made good use of it!

Once all of the clack box faces were clean and smart, it was refitted by Bruce, Gil & Jeff.  Carpo inspected it and declared Thursday as steam-test day.  Jamie (Loco Dept) is in on Thursday morning and will light a steam-raising fire, so all we needed was someone to light a warming fire tonight ….

Bruce & I had a quick look at the leaky J-cock on the RH side of the smokebox.  Something is loose, but it is hard to be sure exactly what needs doing … and it was still a bit warm inside the smokebox! Anyway, time was running out.

… John assisted me in starting a fire.  By 4.40 pm we decided to adjourn, and I would pop back about 6.30 and bank up the fire.  It is important to only light a small fire when the loco is already hot, otherwise it could easily raise steam during the night and blow-off.  Apart from annoying any neighbours, it could then cause the water level in the boiler to drop to a dangerously low level.

Thursday 16th

FAILED AGAIN!  Water pouring out of the clack box joint.  Yesterday's fix clearly didn't.

Service days

2807 was rostered to be in service every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of the month.  However, this leak will wipe out this weekend.  Otherwise, Wednesdays are good for fixing things!

Speaking with Andrew M (P&O), their planned steaming test for Thursday has been postponed to

Sunday.

Roger

Maintenance Update (Panic, Don't Panic, clack, steam)

Saturday 4th April

Whilst doing the shopping, Claudette Oddy casually mentioned that "2807 won't be in service today because it failed on Friday".  Panic!!!

Gilbert had gone to Winchcombe to work on the siphon, but toddled down to the platform to watch 2807 come in …. and it didn't!  Panic!!!

Gil shot over to Todders to find out what was happening.  He discovered that she had failed.  He reports:

"2807 failed on Friday after completing two runs to Cheltenham Racecourse.

The failure was caused by a faulty gasket between the LH Feedwater Clack and the Safety Valve base.

The clack valve assembly was removed, the joint faces were cleaned, and a new gasket was cut. During removal of the Clack, one of the fixing studs broke, a new stud was made and inserted into the Valve base. It was noted that at least one of the other studs shows signs of corrosion and will ultimately require replacement. 

During removal of the clack the cover over the top feed pipe was removed and it was noted that the cover is eroding the copper feed pipe. The edge of the cover was dressed to remove any sharp edges in this area. The wear on the pipe will require monitoring.

The clack valve assembly was remounted onto the Safety Valve base and tightened into place. The top feed pipe was reconnected after cleaning the spherical copper washer in the joint. The retaining plate was bolted into place and tightened up.

It is intended to carry out a steam test tomorrow, Sunday, with a view to going back into service.

Thanks are due to "Carpo" and the Loco Dept team, for their work in dealing promptly with this failure, and getting the loco ready for service."

Sunday 5th

Geof popped down to Todders for a short while, and reported:

" The steam test was going well when I left.  Carpo was asking if  any of us could be around tomorrow to put the loco ‘back together’.  I’m available tomorrow from 10.00 am.  Anyone else available?"

on Monday 6th he added:

"Carpo does want to put in  service on Wednesday. Today was cooling down day; tomorrow first thing he will tighten the nuts; then if we put back the water feed pipe covers and dome etc. tomorrow, he will roster it for Wednesday. Hence my request for help; I doubt I should be trying to do this unaided!"

No, Geof, you shouldn't!  [He who had a major heart operation at Christmas!]  Of course, it being Easter, everyone else was well busy with their own things!

Wednesday 8th

2807 was back in service!  Gilbert had managed to attend on Tuesday, and a couple of chaps from Loco Dept did most of the work for us, apparently.  Many thanks to whoever it was [Carpo - please pass on our gratitude].

From what Gil has said, it seems that this failure was something that the boiler inspector had mentioned - that there was a steam leak from the LHS of the safety valve assembly, and it ought to be fixed sooner rather than later  … it has been, now!  Anyway, it is now down as Issue 13:

13 [BE] LHS injector clack leaking (possible joint). Steam seen when injector in use.  { New joint fitted}.

2807 is currently rostered for Friday 10th; Friday 17th to Sunday 19th;  Tuesday 21st; and Friday 24th to Sunday 26th.

Watch out for 2807 on 25th & 26th when it is Wartime in the Cotswolds!

It's always a brilliant event, and if you can make it, do: you will not be disappointed ! 

Oh, I forgot to mention: Wednesday, Fred & Gil were at Winchcombe (mostly), working on the siphon.  John G and I pressed on with boot scrapers - John was head painter; I was needle-gunner and bottom painter!  Bruce passed through briefly to see if we have a diagram of the leaky J-cocks.  Mrs Bruce {Daphne} has a disc problem, and backs do take an awfully long time to get better. So, he's currently excused 2807 duties.

Roger

Maintenance Update (eccentric, washer, shiny, guide)

Friday 27th
I popped down to Todders to deliver a heap of {Tesco's} cardboard trays that we use to box-up boot scrapers. Mark Y spotted me and pointed out that there's a loose nut & bolt on a bracket that holds oil pipes going down to the axle box on the LHS driving axle.  He & John P had attempted to tighten it, but couldn't.  Mark was concerned that the nut could be catching on the wheel.

Later in the day they had a minor disaster:
The reversing lever was shaking badly and on the second run Mark detected knocking sounds from the motion.  He stopped the loco and went inside the motion to find out what was occurring.  He found that one of the eccentric rods was loose.  Apparently the lock nuts had loosened because the split-pins were not tight up to the locknut.  This had allowed the main nuts to slacken as well, so that the ends of the rod were bumping against the eccentrics.  The nuts were re-tightened and flogged up on return to shed.

We have been advised to get some spacer washers made to take up the space between the locknut and split-pin and to fit them as soon as possible.

It has also been suggested that we check the clearance in the bottom pivot for the reversing lever together with the bushes in the ends of the actuating rod.

Meanwhile:  Maurice has opened up his door to the outside, so he's probably been off out exploring and testing the weather.  Program on TV about calories said that he should only have three peanuts per day!  I better cut back on the bowl of food, then.

Message from Dave Owen (of Cheltenham) via Stuart: "2807 looks a treat and congratulations to all who put in so much time and effort".  It's nice to get feedback like this.

Message from David Holmes in the GWSR Toddington shop: " I now have the Hornby 2807’s in the shop at Toddington"

Saturday 28th
I was late arriving (due to family commitments) but found that I was the first (and only) one to arrive!  The loco was in service anyway, so kind-of hard to do anything on it.

I painted three bottoms; cut up some cardboard boxes, fed Maurice and retired.  Later, I partook of tea & cake in the Coffee Pot café on Winchcombe station, and "happened" to see 2807 roll in.  Much comment from onlookers about the cleanliness & shininess of our loco!

Just in case you've never noticed, there's an excellent footplate guide here: http://www.gwsr.com/footplate/VirtualFootplate.html that explains the controls.  The cab layout is very similar to that of 2807.

Monday 30th
John G & I went down to see if anything could be done about the issues raised: (a) the eccentric rods, and (b) the oil pipe brackets.

We checked all of the nuts on the eccentrics, and all are well tight.  The space between the locking nuts and their split pins is actually less than the thickness of a washer!  Nevertheless, washers could be machined down to suit.

We went round all of the brackets that hold the oil feed pipes above the axle boxes.  Six of the eight brackets had at least one loose nut!  The problem is that the bolts are countersunk with slotted heads.  This makes it difficult to tighten them … when the nut has seized on the thread!  Also, as the nuts are behind the wheels, and the balance weights were blocking access on the LHS, Carpo had to shunt the loco to give us access to them.  In the end, we had tightened all except two seized nuts.  It was impossible to hold the slotted head firmly enough to turn their nuts … so they won't be dropping off during the week!

Wednesday 1 April
As the loco is in service, no one turned up at Todders.  So, I applied a primer to the tops of the three rail chairs and went home to plant my spuds.

The current list of (new) issues is:

5. [PG]: Regulator suffering from lack of oil?  J-cocks on smokebox leaking.  {Talking with Jeff L, he agreed that he felt that oil was not getting to the regulator when he was driving, and it got worse through the day}

6. [MY] LH engine back gear ecc rod to ecc strap bolt loose.  {He fixed it; I checked the other nuts & bolts}

7. [MY] Crown oil pipe bracket loose on frames, LH driving wheel. Tip of thread catching rear of wheel.  {Monday, John & I went round them all.  Two remain seized.  Not convinced it's catching the wheel}

8. [MY] Vac pump piston rod rubbing on end bush at full forwards stroke.  OK at full rear,  ?Head worn?  {We have been aware that this is so, and we can't do anything about it.  The rod is positioned at its best}

9. [MY] Safety valves lift at 210 psi.  {When talking with Jeff, he suggested that creating a vacuum might become difficult if pressure drops below about 190, so it would be good to adjust them}

10. [AS] Left hand intermediate underkeep retaining bolts too short x 2.  Lock nuts not fully on threads.

11. [IB] Lubricator feed to RH cyls leaking slightly.  Visible on lubricator when hot.

12. [JC] Left hand injector steam feed leaking steam under floor.  {We have been aware that a sleeve is inadequately brazed, but it is a challenge to remove the entire pipe to re-do; so we haven't, yet!}

Loco is in service
Friday 3 April to Monday 6th, then Friday 10th (probably for the weekend … it's just not on the roster yet).


Roger

Maintenance Update (chairs, clearances, brakes, cladding)

Thursday 19th
The sun shone (but there was a cold northerly wind) and I went for a bike ride up some hills (because I'm training for doing the British Heart Foundation sponsored ride in May) and found myself at Toddington!  So, I made a cuppa, fed Maurice and applied a primer coat of paint to the eight rail chairs we'd cleaned on Wednesday.

Saturday 21st
It was the volunteer fair day at GWSR, which clearly frightened off our chaps [Bruce is let off because he has a valid excused-duty-permit as his wife, Daphne, has slipped a disc].  John and I spent a leisurely day chipping grease off rail chairs and cleaning them up.

By end of play, I had applied top coats to the eight; John beat three chairs into submission all on his own, and then between us we de-greased a further seven.

Monday 23rd
Ever had a nightmare about trying to get somewhere and everything was determined to stop you?  It's called trying to get to Tewkesbury!

Got there eventually.  Visited many roads (some several times) that I didn't know even existed! Picked up some Deproma paint and  returned to Todders.  Picked out the lettering (in silver/gold according to chair colour) on the chairs that were approaching the end of the production line.

Wednesday 25th
Today had a kind of gentle feel to it.  The sun shone, which helped.  Gil spent the entire day measuring clearances on the loco and tender, ably assisted by Bill.

After attempting to find out where the bit of cladding went, and discovering that because of the thickness of the new brake blocks, it won't fit anymore, John G entertained himself by polishing all the brass and copper in the cab.

I finished off the boot scrapers, fitting their brushes and boxing them up.  Then having discovered that John's cladding can't be fitted for two reasons: (i) the thick brake block, and (ii) the upper half is missing …. I went in search of the missing pieces!  Eventually found them, hidden under a box. Finally, I cleaned up three more rail chairs.

Over at Winchcombe, Fred was working on the siphon van; Geoff was doing some painting there, too, for a while; Ray might have been there (but as I wasn't, I don't know for sure!).


Roger

Maintenance Update (injector, weight, first train, freight charter)

Wednesday 11th
Bruce expanded upon the fun he'd had with the vacuum gauge calibration.  From the photo, you can see that the calibration was performed with the gauges horizontal.  Guess what happened when the gauges were set vertical (as they are in the cab)?  The reading was different!  It appears that the gauges need to be calibrated in the orientation in which they operate!  So, Bruce had to do it all over again.  He had to set the pepper box first and then calibrate the gauge against this, while holding the gauge vertical.  He's explained to Neil (owner of the equipment) and asked if a suitable set of connections can be devised to set everything vertical for the calibration.  Today, Bruce noted that the vacuum gauge can get to 26 ins in the train pipe, using the ejector; but when running and using the vacuum pump, the gauge sits at 25/23 as it should.

Today, however, Bruce had a play with the injectors.  He checked the steam cone in the RHS; there seemed to be a dribble of water (possibly condensed steam) trickling out at times.  The back cover of the LHS still leaks.  Bruce suspects that he didn't put enough PTFE on the thread to fill the run-out against the nut end.  He noticed, too, that there is a steam leak on a braised sleeve on the LHS injector feed pipe - which explains why I got steam through the floor & into the cab last week.  He also tightened up some of the balance weights in the driving wheels, which had become loose.

John G was wandering around with black paint & brush.  It started off as a minor task: to paint the two steel pipes that feed down to the injectors.  However, once seen with paint, he was soon directed towards many a small chip in the paintwork and which he proceeded to patch up.

Gil was determined to weigh the loco, but from time to time, people kept driving it away!  In fact, both he and John G managed to get a ride round to the coal & water for a top-up.  Bill was also assisting in the weighing - manning the pump and pencil.  You have to weigh one wheel at a time, by raising it a couple of thou' off the rail.

The weather was predicted to be cloudy and rain starting at about 1 pm, so I decided to clean a few rail chairs outside to begin with.  I chose a couple of gunge-covered ones (someone has to do them eventually!) and managed to clean just five before 3pm.  The rain didn't come; nevertheless, I moved inside and boxed up last week's completed boot scrapers before carrying out the bottom-blacking ritual on today's five.

Friday 13th
I popped down to apply green Deproma primer to the five chairs' tops.  The TPO was so quiet you could hear the paint stick.  Apart from the sound of a fly frantically bashing its head against the fluorescent tube, and Maurice rearranging his bedroom, there was nothing!  Maurice did stick his head out at 3.30 to see who had come, but he reversed back inside again.  2807 was simmering quietly in the yard, obviously not having been required to be called into action on race trains.

Saturday 14th
Everyone had decided to take the day off - that is, apart from Fred and Gil, who were at Winchcombe working on the siphon van.  One side looks immaculate.  The other side is what they are working on!

I slapped a top coat on the five chairs, but that's all.  I watched 2807 as she pulled her first train of the year out of Todders (see photo).  Later, I took the family for a ride behind her.  Tony Coombes was having a cab ride on that trip.  Minor last-minute panic when I was told that he needed a pass from the Station Master, and Tony had to sign it in person.  Sorry, Tony.  No one said beforehand!

Sunday 15th
Just nipped down for an hour to do the lettering on the chairs.

Monday 16th
Popped in at Winchcombe to see 2807 arrive for the freight charter (see photos).  The weather was not kind.

Later, I fitted brushes to the chairs; prepared a further 9 brushes; and carried out a model wagon stock check (we've still got 361 to sell).

The issues list for 2015:
There are 4 issues carried forward from last year, renumbered as:
1. Fizz from rivets bottom left back firebox;
2. LH cross-head slide bar warm & using lots of oil;
3. Vacuum fault - slow to create & sudden drop in train pipe;
4. Puff of steam from air valve when ejector turned on.

We can just watch (1); (2) has possible gone away; We might have accidentally fixed (3); and (4) needs the brake valve removing and lapping.

One new (well, one issue with two points):
5. Regulator suffering from lack of oil. J-cocks on smokebox leaking.

Wednesday 18th
Discussion about (5) today: Bruce suspects that the loco having stood for four days in steam but going nowhere, the regulator would have been shut (obviously) and knowing that there is always a dribble of steam passing everywhere, it is feasible that a small amount passed by the regulator valve and cleaned off the oil that we had put on there.  With the J-cocks leaking (as they always do) they would allow the oil in the steam to escape through the point of lowest pressure - the leak.  Hence, the regulator valve has not been receiving its due lubrication.

On Monday, Clive noticed that one brick in the arch had sunk (though not fallen out), so he, Gilbert, David and Jeff Lacey worked on the arch (not all at the same time, I suspect … though it is quite spacious in the firebox).  The brick was jacked up and a slip was inserted in the gap twixt it and its adjacent one.  They all came together nicely this time.

Gil then continued to examine every nut & bolt on the loco (against a checklist) and measured clearances.

I set John G on cleaning up a piece of … ah, this week's quiz: what are the black things, and where do they go?

Once armed with a tin of paint and a brush, John gets the urge … and touched up cladding, running board /frame sides, smokebox dart & hinges, lamp brackets and steps (that Gil duly stepped upon).

Having run out of black things to paint, John began polishing brass and copper in the cab.  [Methinks the crew will need sunglasses!]

Bill and I cleaned rail chairs all day, completing 8 by home-time.  Bill had the honour of painting their bottoms.

I lingered on, fitted a new wire brush to the drill (having totally worn out the previous one, today); tightening up the needle-gun that had worked loose; and fixing a lamp that had been thrown away!

Whilst doing these, I heard a noise in the roof.  Above our kitchen area, there is a cavity in which the original water tank was situated, and various pipes pass through there.  There is a rather insecure trapdoor in it, and I could hear tiny footsteps and the trapdoor visibly wobbled!  The footsteps crossed the ceiling and ran down the wall … to Maurice's hole!  I sat, poised with camera, but he spotted me and wouldn't come out.  :-(

2807 is next in service Friday  27 March, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday following.


Roger

Maintenance Update (warming, vacuum, leak, arch)

Wednesday 4th
Recap: A warming fire was lit by Loco dept chaps.

Thursday 5th
No pressure on the 'clock' this morning; Carpo lit a new warming fire. I arrived about lunchtime, but there was nothing that I could do on the loco, so I just pressed on making boot scrapers and then went home again.

I returned to Todders just before 5pm to assist Carpo in preliminary testing.  There was 60 psi on the clock by this time, and once the fire was burning across the whole grate, with blower assisting, it was a gradual increase up to around 100 psi.  When she's warmed up, it takes relatively little time to raise pressure from 100 to 200 psi.

Carpo had toddled round finding the occasional loose nut, but on the whole all looked well.  So, he carried out a few checks.  The first safety valve blew at 210 psi and the second one blew at 220.  Maximum pressure is 225, and despite a valiant effort with the blower, Carpo could not persuade her to go over 225 - which is good!

The steam heating valve (Mason's valve) must have been fiddled with over winter, because it let the pressure in the train heating pipe go too high.  The pressure relief valve blew at 45 psi; the normal value on GWSR stock is 40 psi [the limit in GWR/BR days was 60 psi].  So, that will need tweaking to get the right pressure.

Creating a vacuum turned out to be mildly amusing - she happily took vacuum up to 28 ins in the train pipe and 24 in the vacuum cylinder … it should be 25/23 !!!  There's a little "pepper pot" valve that clearly needs adjusting!  There was also a very slight leak in the train pipe; nothing serious.

There is a significant steam leak from the LHS injector body.  It looked to me as though it is from the rear cover.  But it was dark by this time, and difficult to be certain.  Steam came up into the cab (through the floor and through the door)!

Anyway, Carpo was happy, and decided to run up & down a bit, to test the new regulator valve and the new brake blocks.  There was a tremendous clang as we moved off - sounded like a pipe had fallen off!  Carpo braked immediately, of course, and I got down to investigate.  It appears to have been a length of pipe that is used to extend a spanner when hard-tightening nuts (or undoing tight nuts).  It must have been on the underside somewhere, balanced on something. Phew!

Ah - that demonstrated that the brakes work, anyway!  :-))

After a short poodle round the yard & Road 1, Carpo reckoned that the regulator was a tad stiff, but was reacting exactly how a GWR loco should.  He commented that "she's a completely different beast, now".  Beast, indeed!  The brakes work fine.  So, we adjourned at 6.30 pm.

Friday 6th
Carpo lit a full fire at 7 am and I arrived at 8.30.  At that stage, there was 60 psi on the clock.  Once the fire had taken hold (it was a bit slow at the front) pressure soon rose up to blowing-off by 9.30.  Bob Garnet, the Insurance inspector, was expected at 10 am. That gave us a short while in which to do a final check.  Today's amusement was when attempting to create pressure in the train heating pipe, there was a cloud of steam at the front!  The front (and back) valves were open!  :-)

I found a minor leak in the heating pipe connection between loco & tender - the clasp was not tightened.  Soon fixed that.

I had another look at the LHS injector.  Steam definitely seems to come from somewhere at the back - probably the back cover.

Bob arrived (with his wife/fireman, Jill).  He had a good look round, of course, and came up with two items to address:
1. LHS safety valve has a joint leaking.  Needs fixing before the steam cuts the seat.
2. LHS (fireman side) slight leak of steam from a superheater element in the smokebox.  Needs tightening up.

And that was it!  Carpo commented that 2807 is in the best state that she has ever been in!

Bob departed and we left 2807 to cool down … she was still eager to blow off, and took quite some calming!

Saturday 7th
I re-stocked the F&W with boot scrapers and loaded my car to do the Coffee Pot, and planned on just working on assembling more boot scrapers, but …. I ran out of parcel tape for their boxes!

John T arrived first, and riveted the two trim angle pieces that had come lose from either side of the backhead.  He then turned his attention to the front cladding from the cylinders, which we had purposely left off until the steam test, so that we could verify that the cylinder covers were on tightly.  They were.  So, John, with Fred, replaced the two pieces of front cladding.  Later, he cut out some tiny gaskets for Bruce, who was playing with the "pepper box" (vacuum relief valve).  John's final task of the day was helping me lift the brass bonnet onto the top of the loco.  Needless to say, we put it on the wrong way round initially, so Fred brought the paint, and there is now an "F" on the inside of the bonnet!

Fred spent some time sorting out the new batch of fire bricks for the brick arch.  They are letter-coded, and a plan shows which goes where.  They are now on the floor in some sort of order.

Bruce attended to the leaking injector.  He removed the back cover (where the leak was) and cleaned it up.  There was some sort of crud around the outside.  We couldn't be sure what it had been - maybe something used as a seal? … that obviously didn't work.  He then worked on the vacuum system.  He dismantled and cleaned the "pepper box" valve, and then borrowed Neil's pump plus a calibrated vacuum gauge, and had a play with ours.  You know that the train pipe side registered 28 (inches of mercury) on Thursday … well, it was wrong.  It took a while to lift off the needle; in fact, Bruce had to run up a part on the lathe for an extractor, in order to get the needle off.  After much playing, he finally got the pepper box, the calibrated gauge and our gauge to all be happy at 25 ins.  However, he ran out of time, so the vacuum cylinder side has got to wait until Monday.

Clive, Ade and another chap (unfortunately, I didn't see who) [Loco Dept] very kindly cleaned out the grate and emptied the ash pan.

During all of this activity, Gil was wandering round oiling things and measuring things (specifically the tyres - but they haven't worn noticeably).

Monday 9th
Gil & John T, aided by Clive & Ben [Loco Dept], fitted the new brick arch.  Several bricks had to be "modified" to fit round studs, etc., and along the centre line there needs to be wedges to stop the arch from succumbing to the effects of gravity.  Anyway, it all worked in the end, and a warming fire was lit.

Bruce calibrated the vacuum cylinder side of the vacuum gauge, and fitted that back in the cab - kind of essential when the loco could be called into service if one of the rostered locos should fail over the next few days [it's Race Week, for those of you who live miles away].

Gil says that Wednesday's job is to weigh the loco.  Who's got the scales???


Roger

Maintenance Update (cladding, waxing, painting, filling)

Saturday 28th
The last brake rod was fitted by Gil, John T and possibly Bruce and/or David gave them encouragement! John had to grind a bit off one end to make it fit; thereafter he made sure split pins were all in place.

Gil went on to adjust the brakes on the tender - I saw him & Mike having fun with the bottle screw adjuster: there's a "left-hand" thread on one end ….. ;-))

It was good to see Bill Venton rejoin our group after several years away (partly in Devon and partly working on Broadway station).  His first task was to fill the new blow-down valve exhaust pipe with sand.  This is to avoid kinks in the pipe when it is bent to shape.  Then we broke him in gently by giving him chair-cleaning to do.  Gil had brought a new needle-gun, which worked a treat.  I think we managed about 7 chairs by end of play.  John spent the afternoon chipping lumps of greasy gunge off some more chairs and had the honour of painting 7 bottoms.  Bill painted the final four bottoms.

Bill said that if we had a 1935 chair he'd have it - so all three of us went in search.  We'd scrape away the crud from the date panel … find a 5 at the end, and frantically work away at the rest of it, only to discover it was 1925 !!!

David was in the cab.  He'd made some new catches for the reverser - an issue had been raised that the reverser lever rattled about a bit when the loco was in motion.  Whether by design or age, the little catch that holds the reverser at each notch seems to be tapered in every possible direction.  So, David has made some to fit exactly.  He tested each one, and now Gil has taken them away to be hardened.

After lunch, David decided to fit the cladding to the rear of the valve cylinders.  I know what a challenge this is (having done it several times) … made slightly worse by not being able to find the studs or bolts; they were not in the standard Safe Place!  I think that he & Gil managed to find them in the end, but such is the task (e.g. you have to remove an oil pot before you can fit the cladding in place) that by end of play, David had only done one side!

Bruce tackled the issue about the slacking pipe (AKA "pep" pipe) cock leaking. He lapped in the taper of the tap and refitted it all.  We can only test when we have some pressure, of course.  Having worked out how to fit the blow-down valve exhaust pipe without the need for the cab floor panels to be removed, Bruce bolted them down again, and then fitted the handles to the damper levers - again, you can only remove the floor panel by first removing the three damper lever handles!  Whilst in the cab, Bruce noticed that the condenser coil had not been connected up - it was disconnected in order to drain water from it over winter.

The final job for the day was to use Neil's [Loco Dept.] vacuum pump to test the brakes. Gil, Bruce and probably Mike were involved in this.  All seemed to go well.  Bruce detected a minor leak in one vacuum cylinder and tightened its gland.

The Loco Dept. is deserving of a big thank-you, as several people were crawling up/over our loco: Clive appeared to be cleaning the top of the smokebox & chimney; Eleanor was making sure he didn't fall off; Clive, Eleanor and someone else (I didn't see who) threw out all of our fire bars and fitted brand spanking new ones; Stuart, Paul & Mike were applying wax polish to the lettering on the tender; and Carpo refitted the mud-hole doors.  So, I'd like to pass on our thanks & gratitude to all of the Loco Dept. guys for their much appreciated assistance.

Sunday 1st March
Message from Toddington station shop: "I thought your supporters may be interested to know that I have just secured, for GWSR, a batch of the last available Hornby models of 2807 these will be available from the Toddington shop within the next week or so".

Monday 2nd
Deproma primer coat applied to tops of 11 chairs.

Recently discovered who the "P&P" are who manufactured some of the rail chairs: Pease & Partners Ltd., Tees Iron Works, Cargo Fleet, Middlesbrough. Formed in 1882  …  after nationalisation, the lack of prospects for a foundry heavily committed to chair making, and in the face of developments at Horwich, helped swing the balance from reinvestment in congruent businesses to orderly liquidation; wound down from 1955 and finally liquidated in 1959.

Tuesday 3rd
Enamel coat applied to the eleven chairs. Restocked Maurice's food bowl.

Wednesday 4th
Fred and Ray were roped in to help with cleaning, having to abandon their play with the siphon van restoration work!  Ray was particularly proud of the shine he got on 2807's con rods.  Fred went round washing everything below the running board, and then cleaned up a few places where wax had not been polished enough on the boiler and tender!

Bruce & I spent the day trying to fit the cladding to the rear of the valve chests.  David had previously found this a challenge, the situation not being helped by the various letters on the insides being ambiguous: R = rear or right? L = left or lower?  So, what's R+L mean?  Each cladding section consists of three pieces: an upper semi-circle; a lower semi-circle and a half-round outer edging section.  You can only fit the lower semi-circle by removing the oil pot.  The two semi-circles have to be fitted first, then the outer edge piece can be fitted.  Then the oil pot will not fit back in without its delivery pipe being removed.  On Bruce's side (RHS) the delivery pipe was out of alignment and wouldn't then go through the hole in its guide …. on several occasions an angle-grinder was called for …. and finally Bruce used the lathe to prune 1/8" off the spacers that position the guide.

John G finished colour coding his ferrules and fitting them.  While doing so, he noticed that some paintwork on the backhead (in the cab) was flaking off, so he cleaned all of that off and repainted it.  Thereafter, he joined the cleaning team.

Bill went round the loco and tender oiling and greasing everything that looked as though it should be (apart from the two oil pots that were causing Bruce & me grief).

Somebody had filled the boiler with water (probably Carpo, as he was later seen fitting one of the higher mud-hole doors back in place), and later Peter filled the tender with sufficient water to enable a warming fire to be lit.

Gil was wandering around all day looking for loose nuts, missing split pins, etc.  He took delight in pointing out a loose nut he'd found on the front buffer beam (which is actually a dummy - it's just there to fill the hole!!!).

Finally, Bruce noticed that some of the balance weights in the driving wheels had worked loose.  He's promised to caulk them next time!


Roger