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December 2018 Working Party
With our boiler due to go away for overhaul on the 12th December this working party took advantage of being able to add a few more components to the list of those that could be needed for the overhaul.
This was helped by the fact that we also started to sort out more of the components on our storage shelves. This uncovered the main regulator shaft that had made it's presence scarce last month, together with the boiler's internal regulator actuation arm.
As we were sorting out the components we took the opportunity to clean and apply a coat of primer to those in need. Those components then duly moved across to the 'ready for fitting' section. Always nice to see that area become more populated with parts!
One main job that was also ticked off was the trial fitting of the wear plates for the leading and trailing truck axle boxes. Huw, one of the full time staff, had made these for us and he'd already tweaked one to fit it into place. We therefore fitted the other three so as they are all now ready to go for hardening. One of the plates, however, needed quite a bit of work to get it the fit. It looks like the axlebox had been built up with weld, presumably this was to compensate for where it had worn in the past, so our plate that made to the drawing needed to be adjusted to fit! Anyway, another job ticked off.
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One of the
Krauss-Helmholtz pony truck wear plates now snugly fitted into the
axlebox (left)
and the boiler uncovered and awaitng its transport to Loughborough for
overhaul (right).
All in all it was a successful weekend and we leave this year in a buoyant mode with the boiler to be sent away and so look forward to next year with enthusiasm.
November 2018 Working Party
It shouldn't be lost on those people following this restoration project that we've been spending the past few working parties doing a substantial amount of work on the boiler and its associated components and fittings. This has included the cleaning out of the foundation ring, removal of handrail brackets, painting the outside of the boiler as well as refurbishment of components such as the main steam pipe, chimney etc.
We can now make it known that all this work was to prepare the boiler ready for it to be sent away for overhaul. A landmark day for the project as this is the largest item for the loco, and one that was still needing attention.
All the details about this can be found on the News page.
Needless to say, most of the effort spend on this working party also directed towards the boiler and its components.
The first job to mention is the superheater header. We'd cleaned and painted this last time and so this weekend we re-cut and lapped in the seating for the ends of the superheater tubes. Other boiler components worked on included the regulator stuffing box and gland. Both were cleaned and in the case of the stuffing box, also painted. The J-pipe also saw attention as this was still in situ in the boiler. This was duly removed and cleaned and also measured for the thickness of the casting. It's not unusual to see wear on the inside of the bend in the pipe and this was the case here with it down to a thickness of around 55% compared to the rest of the casting.
Whilst we had the ultra-sonic thickness tester we were also asked to measure the smokebox thickness as part of our understanding for what the level of work would be needed on it.
Several of the team also cleared access to the boiler itself by moving/removing the various railway orientated bits and pieces that had accumulated round it over the years - as has been seen in the various photos of the boiler over the last few months. This is now clear to give unhindered access to the boiler by the vehicle that will come to collect it.
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The area around the boiler is now cleared to allow access to the vehicle that will collect it for overhaul.
And for something completely different, as one last job we removed the driver's reverser from the frames. The unit has far too much play in it so this was removed so as it can be attended to by the full time staff.
So as the working parties for 2018 come to a close with the last one for the year in three weeks time we finish on the positive note of the boiler now ready to go away for overhaul.
October 2018 Working Party
Back to our normal working party after the excitement of Superpower last month with this weekend consisting of refurbishing components associated with the boiler.
One thing we'd been asked to do was to clean the main superheater header and lap the taper for the tube ends. There was quite a bit of scale on the casting so the first job was cleaning/chipping that off. After that we cleaned the surface of the lighter rust then gave it a coat of primer to stop further deterioration. On the Sunday, and after the rain had stopped as the unit is outside the shed, we looked at lapping the faces. It soon became apparent that there was far too much pitting so they would need the faces machining first. Unfortunately we couldn't find a tool/cutter combination that reached far enough to actually machine the faces so with frustration we had to leave this whist we investigate a better method to do the job.
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Cleaning and painting the superheater header (left) and various other cleaned and primed components (right).
There was another casting that needed attention and this was the main manifold. Again it was down to cleaning off rust and any existing paint the giving it a coat of protective primer.
We had started to clean the whistle last month so this was continued with this time. We also lapped in the valve faces and once all the paint was dry reassembled it all.
Other boiler fittings looked at were the handrail stand-offs. These were also cleaned and given a coat of paint. One from the inside of the boiler was the main steam pipe that runs from the regulator to the front tube plate. Once we had cleaned off all the scale we realised this wasn't in good conditional all. Some of the scale removed from the inside belonged to a previous repair that had presumable been implemented to seal a hole in the pipe. We'll need to replace all or part of this. At the same time we tried to locate our regulator assembly.This had been removed when the boiler was first worked of at the end of the 1990's. Unfortunately it couldn't be found so we investigated the use of and NGG16 regulator. Fortunately this looks like one will fit with with minor modifications and so will give a degree of standardisation.
Amongst numerous other small jobs we checked out the side compensation springs. We took delivery of these last month, however the saddle had been assembled on it the wrong way round. These were therefore returned to the manufacturer and promptly returned back to us corrected.
September 2018 Working Party
This working party coincided with the Railway's Superpower Gala so there was plenty of activity going on around us causing pleasant distractions.
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Lila in operation at Dinas as part of the Superpower weekend (left) and the visiting Lynton and Barnstaple loco Lyn (right).
On the Saturday we continued clearing out the foundation ring in the boiler and this is now complete. We also continued working on the spindles and handles for the cabs various controls that were removed form the spindle board last time. We'd primed the various steel components last time so these were duly painted black. There were a couple more handles to remove off their shafts and so these were completed this time. In this case we'll probably be starting with new shafts when the time comes as it looks like these had been cut off at some point. All the brass, and in some cased bronze handles were cleaned of their layer of verdigris.
On the loco frames we did a stock take of the pins and cotters for the suspension. We were some pins short when we had new ones made a few years ago however, it now look like some more have been mislaid in the intervening time so we'll need some more making.
The chimney that we'd started cleaning last time was completed this working party by removing all of its various layers of old paint. This was then primed and later painted in heat resistant black. At the same time we also painted the smokebox door black in the same paint.
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The chimney was cleaned
then primed before finishing off in heat resistant black
paint (left)
and the smokebox door also painted in the heat resistant black
paint (right).
On the Saturday we received our newly manufactured springs and pins that centre the Krauss-Helmholtz centre pivot box in the pony truck. This was checked for fit with the components they connect to and this was found OK. There is however a strap that has been assembled the wrong way round so this will need correcting before we assemble the whole set-up.
On the Sunday we had the morning off. We'd been invited to visit the Railway's new station that is being built at Caernarfon to look around its inside. Whilst not yet fully complete it is nevertheless very impressive on the inside. Before that however we took a trip a few miles up the road to the Snowdon Mountain Railway at Llanberis to view and ride behind Brienz Rothorn Bahn loco №2 that was visiting from Switzerland. The two railways share the same Rack type, the ABT System and the vising loco was built in the same factory as the SMR locos.
After this we returned to Dinas and completed some of the other minor jobs, including finishing off cleaning the spindles and handles as mentioned above.
August 2018 Working Party
The middle of holiday season there were just a few of us present this month however we still managed to maintain forward progress.
We have two missing rivets in the frames and so after consultation we decided that it would be quite acceptable to replace these with fitted bolts. The dimensions required were duly recorded so as we can have these made at some point.
We then wanted to clear one of our shelves as it was getting a bit overcrowded and in danger of spilling some of it's contents onto the floor, or worse over us! On item that was giving grief was the cab's spindle board that still had all it's brackets and spindle shafts with their handles attached. Never mind these getting tangled up with everything else so we duly dismantled everything from it, and cleaned up the various bits. We then later painted what we could in undercoat. It wasn't one of the requested of planned jobs but still a useful job done, and a much tidier shelf as a result!
We completely cleaned the smokebox door, both inside and out, then gave both sides a coat of primer.
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The newly painted smokebox door (left) and the spindle board after having its existing coat of paint stripped off (right).
We also started to clean the chimney, especially removing all the collected debris and rust scale in its hollow rim. A vacuum cleaner came in useful here and so we successfully cleaned it all out. We started to wire brush the outside of the chimney ready to paint it however, being in possession of a good vacuum cleaner we turned to the boiler instead and cleared out all the scale and crud from round the foundation ring. We managed three of the four sides so we'll complete this task next month. We'll also paint the chimney next time as well.
The worst area was the front of the firebox where we extracted a number of brass ferrules and bits of broken or chopped off stay!
Further work on the boiler involved the oiling of the front tube plate, although we still need to get inside the boiler to do the inside of the plate. The cover had come off or had been removed off the front section of the boiler so we had to retie that back into place.
Next month's working party is the same week as the railway's Superpower Gala so we look forward to meeting people there where you'll be able to see much of the work that's been taking place on the loco. Hopefully see you there.
July 2018 Working Party
One of the tasks we had for this weekend was to clean and paint the boiler to prevent any further deterioration as well as removing more of the fittings in the process. This should leave the boiler better prepared when the time comes to send it away for overhaul.
Unfortunately Saturday morning was rather damp so we couldn't do much about painting until the afternoon so instead we continued with a job from last month, that of cleaning and sorting the metallic piston rod packing assembly. We'd left all this soaking in paraffin last time and so we now needed to dissemble the last bits, scrape off all the carbonised oil and other deposits and re-assemble ready for use. Whether we use the entire assembly is not finalised as there may some changes we can make in view of the improvements made over the years to the NGG16's in service on the railway.
As it was forecast, Saturday afternoon turned out warm and sunny so it was all hands working on the boiler - some were wire brushing any loose material off the surface and others following on behind painting in Corroless rust stabilising primer. At the same time as this was going on we also had the job of encouraging a colony of wasps to vacate the inside of the boiler where they'd made a nest. By the end of the afternoon we'd completed about half the boiler, mainly on the top side so as it would be dry to enable us to re-cover the boiler in the tarpaulins at the end of the weekend.
Sunday dawned much the same as Saturday morning so again we took to other jobs whilst the boiler dried out in the ever increasing amount of sunshine. So back in the workshop we completed the task of cleaning the piston rod packing. We then had another go at removing the second cone assembly from the Ejector that we'd left soaking from last month. I'm afraid it won again so we'll resume battle next time - but we'll bring the encouragement of heat int the battle!
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A freshly painted boiler.
In a few odd moments we also started to rearrange the shelving in the workshop to better segregate those components refurbished and those still to do (as well as those that are likely to be scrapped as unusable!). After lunch we continued with the boiler, again some were wire brushing and some painting. By the end of the day it was all complete and after making sure all paint was dry we covered it over again with the tarpaulins.
So a good productive weekend was had.
June 2018 Working Party
This weekend saw two aspects of work on the go. One was the continued work on the boiler and the second the refurbishment of various components including some that we'd acquired from South Africa a few years ago.
The first of these being dealt with were the Injector Check Valves that were duly refurbished on the Saturday. These are none return valves, sometimes known as ‘globe’ valves due to their shape, and are located between the Injector and the Clack Valve on the top of the boiler. There are two on the loco and both were cleaned internally and externally, removing many layers of paint from the outside, and then having their valve seats lapped-in to ensure a good seal.
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Refurbishing an Injector Check Valve.
The Brake Ejector was
one component that we'd started last working party, however we put it
on one side as we came came across some stubborn nuts that
refused
to budge. This time we did manage to conquer three more of these,
however, a fourth was still defeating us so we left it soaking in
easing fluid with the hope of winning the war next month!
As we
are now trying to make sure as many components as possible are complete
and ready for re-assembly we also collected together the various parts
that make up for the main piston rod sealing glands. Unfortunately it
turned out one component was broken so will need to be renewed. We left
all these soaking in paraffin until next time to make cleaning them a
bit easier. We’re not that sure if all these parts will yet be used as
we’ll probably be aiming to take into account ‘best practice’ currently
employed on the Garratts.
On the boiler we cleaned out the
smokebox of all accumulated debris, cleaned out the limited amount we
could from the foundation ring area and removed the crinolines that
were attached during a previous restoration attempt. We’re aiming to
prevent further deterioration and so would also have liked to have
patched up the protective coating of paint, but unfortunately a rather
drizzly weekend prevented that. Last month we had removed the smokebox
door, so with it now at ground level we were able to remove the baffle
plate attached to it. This looked like a replacement as it was
different to the drawings, but it also had a piece removed from the
bottom, possibly from damage due to wastage. Again we could end up with
it modified to be similar to that on the Garratts.
One last job
was that whilst we couldn’t paint outside the shed we
did manage
to paint some components on the frames inside the carriage shed, and
this included the new cylinder cladding. The painting
was needed
as mother nature was attempting to apply a layer of rust to unprotected
areas!
Whilst all these seem small insignificant jobs they will
make life much easier when further assembly takes place in the
future.
May 2018 Working Party
Our May working party was held on the same weekend as the Railway's Rail Ale weekend. I never have been able to work out why this always happens!
On the Saturday we sorted through all the motion as this had been moved from shed to shed a couple of of times so we wanted to make sure all was present and correct. We also cleaned it up and oiled the surfaces to prevent rust forming. We'd like to hope this can be attended to in the near future as we need to have new pins and bushes manufactured.
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Some of the motion after checking and cleaning (left) and the covered over boiler after removal of the chimney and smokebox door (right).
Later on the Saturday we received some instructions to remove the chimney and smokebox door from off the Boiler. So in the afternoon we were able to remove the smokebox door and lower it to the ground.
On the Sunday we needed to clear some room around the boiler so as to get the tractor in to enable the chimney to be lifted off. This also enabled us to move the smokebox door into our workshop. With access now better the chimney was lifted off and moved to outside our workshop. We then started to remove bolts to release the top section of the smokebox itself.
With the smokebox having already been condemned at an earlier restoration attempt it had been cut in half horizontally to give better access for the removal of the tubes at that time. It was then bolted back together so that all that was needed was to free off most of those bolts. The whole of the front end of the boiler was then covered over.
The only other job tackled was the painting of the axle box covers in gloss top coat.
April 2018 Working Party
Back to more spring like weather for the April working party with a nice warm sunny day on the Saturday. Far better than any of the previous working party weekends of the year so far.
Still concentrating on some of the smaller 'loose ends' jobs, we continued with the painting of the various axle box covers for the pony trucks as well as a number of the components for the Krauss Helmholtz pivot assembly that were primed last time. We also dug out a number of the castings acquired from South Africa a few years ago such as the brake ejector. We wanted to start loosening the various fittings to make it easier when the time came for their full overhaul.
On the Sunday, as well as another coat of undercoat on the various components mentioned above we also straightened and salvaged what we could of the old oil pot covers for the pony truck axle boxes. All these were very battered and that was if bore some resemblance to what they should be in the first place! Most were unserviceable with only three contenders worth considering. We'll probably be able to repair two of these and so will replace the other six.
We then concentrated our efforts on the castings for the cab and tender spectacle plates. Martin, our erstwhile traveler, had recently returned from a spell in South Africa where he spent some time with our friends at the Apple Express in Port Elizabeth working on NG15 №124. Whilst there he gained some fresh understanding of the loco's spectacle plates to give him confidence to start work on the various brass castings he had made for our cab and tender windows.
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A pair of the spectacle plate frame castings after cleaning and initial polishing (left) and the hinge castings having their mounting holes drilled (right).
We therefore set to and started to machine and polish the various components. This involved cleaning and initial polishing of the spectacle plat frame casting and turning the pivots down to size, a size determined by the castings themselves where we simply turned down until the various casting marks had been removed the went to the nearest mm below that. Holes were then drilled in the casting to take the pin as well as those need to mount the casting to the cab plates. We didn't quite finish everything here so will continue next time.
Slowly but surely it's all heading in the right direction so onto next month.
March 2018 Working Party
Well, this working party was a difficult weekend thwarted by the weather amongst various other difficulties.
Saturday dawned cold, but with a bit of sunshine, Sunday dawned cold, overcast, snow on the ground and snow flurries from time to time. However, whilst there was more concern about people getting home in the snow on the Sunday, so we finished at lunchtime, we did manage to get some smaller outstanding jobs done over the weekend.
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A cold and snowy day at Dinas.
One job was to completely clean the front pivot pin for the Krauss Helmholtz pony truck. We had oiled it earlier to prevent the Welsh dampness getting to it, however we felt something more protective was needed. We therefore cleaned all the existing oil off it, and gave it a thorough clean and then generously coated it in grease. Hopefully that will keep the damp weather at bay and leave it ready for the fitting of the truck.
The rest of the jobs involved cleaning and painting. Whilst it was between 0ºC and -1.0ºC outside it was quite a bit warmer in the workshop so thought it safe to do some painting. We cleaned the bottom cover plate for the Krauss Helmholtz ball joint assembly then painted it in primer on the Saturday and undercoat on the Sunday.
We'd rather inconveniently rested the Krauss Helmholtz truck on it's left hand side without removing the axle box cover first so we could paint it! We therefore jacked up that ended of the truck whilst it was on its side and removed the cover. Both cover plates were then cleaned and primed.
A couple of other smaller items for the truck were also painted at the same time.
Whilst there are still a few bits to do, hopefully all these small jobs will mean that when we fit the truck under the loco it will be a case of 'fit and forget'.
So that was it really. Not much but still heading in the right direction.
February 2018 Working Party
Another quietish weekend for us, again not helped by illnesses and members of the team being away, one in South Africa!
This weekend we were asked to fit the Armstrong Oiler pads to the main axleboxes on the loco as these had been ordered and had arrived. All this is aimed at making the frames easier to move around the site to where it'll be easier for us to work on.
This involved dropping the frame tie-bars underneath the axleboxes, then removing the plate that holds the axlebox keeps in place. The oiler pad was then fitted after soaking in oil and the keep topped up with oil before refitting. We managed seven of the eight axles on the Saturday The eighth was done on Sunday as we had to move the frames a short distance to clear a crank counterweight out of the way as it wouldn't allow us to get the spanners in to remove the retaining plate.
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One of the Armstrong Oilers in place in the axle box keep.
With this done we spent the remainder of the day establishing the whereabouts of the various components for the Krauss-Helmholtz truck's pivot side control spring. We knew the springs needed replacement, however as a result of the work we now know what else we will need to have made.
January 2018 Working Party
Well, the first working party of the year was a quietish affair, as it usually is, with illnesses and people not being available. The Welsh weather was also not at it's best being cold wet and windy. However - it has to be said we did complete one of the main ongoing jobs to the satisfaction of us all.
That job was the rolling of the main part of the new cylinder cladding.
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The right hand cylinder cladding as cut and ready for bending as we left it last month (left) and after rolling to shape this month (right).
As can be seen the photo above left from the December working party, the sheet steel had been cut to shape but still needed rolling. After a bit of learning on how to use the sheet metal rollers, the bending was duly completed for the cladding for both cylinders during the course of the weekend. There might still be some slight tweaking to be done but by and large the fit is quite good as it is. There is a smaller piece of cladding on the underside, from the drain cocks to the frames, these were bent as well, however, these need a bit more thought and adjustment to get them to fit in and round the new drain cock valves as these are larger than the originals.
Whilst two of the team were rolling the cladding the rest of us were refurbishing the last few holes to secure the cladding in place to the cylinder castings. This was not the most straightforward of jobs to do (and was why these were left until last!) as we had to remove the running plates in the area on each side, that in turn meant we had to remove the two mechanical lubricators! Then of course we put it all back together again once the holes were done. All that to be able to drill and tap four holes on each side! We did notice that in fact there were no holes whatsoever in the top on the left hand cylinder as if it's never had any cladding there at all. We're already convinced the right hand cylinder had been replaced, and were now beginning to think the left hand cylinder could be a replacement as well.