December Round Up

Apologies for not posting quite as often as I would like at the moment, unfortunately real life is playing a part!


So, what have we been doing over the last few weeks?


There has been much cleaning and painting of small parts in the "warmth" of the Villa workshop at Sheffield Park being carried out by Matt, Jim and Stuart to varying degrees.  Some work has been carried out to replace some damaged felt on the roof of the villa, some of which has been damaged by the weather.


The wheels have been returned from the South Devon Railway where the tyres and journals have been turned.  Whilst they were there, the  wheels and axles were ultrasonically tested and found to be in a good internal condition. 


We are still waiting for the final approval of the drawings before we order the cylinders for 27 and 178.  Hopefully these can be ordered soon in the new year.


The cracks on each of the plate frames has been re-inspected and a trial weld carried out on right hand crack, where a piece was welded in to hopefully make the frames good.  Unfortunately for some unknown reason as the welding was being carried out cracks were appearing ahead of the operation.  We are not sure if it was the wrong type of rod the different grades of steel or another reason, but it appears that this will make it difficult to produce a really good repair that will last for another 100 years.  Investigations are taking place to see the best way to proceed. There is a real possibility that we will need a pair of plate frames to be manufactured for the loco.


We are currently discussing the way forward from a number of standpoints.  If we do need to manufacture new plate frames there are a number of advantages and some disadvantages.  We need to bottom out all of the "pro's and con's" before we make a final decision, but once this has been made you will hear it here first!


We hope to bring some really good news shortly so please keep popping back.


We have four model railway exhibitions "pencilled in" for our display next year, all fairly local! 

• The Wealden Railways Group Exhibition in Steyning on the 22nd of April;
• The Bluebell Modellers Weekend in the summer;
• Worthing Model Railway Club Exhibition in September;
• The Sussex N Gauge Group on the first weekend in November.

We are also aiming on having a presence at all of the Bluebell Railway Event this year, including the visit of Flying Scotsman over the Easter Period - we are looking for friends to help man the  stand so if you know anyone..... (when we hope to be able to show you some proper progress!)


Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund
Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Why not support us by making a donation at
http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

More original SECR information

An extract form the SECR repair book located!

I had an E Mail from John Arkell of the SECR Society (and C&W at Horsted Keynes) with a very interesting attachment.  He spent time at the National Archives recently and found reference to the repairs carried out on No.27 in December 1922. It makes very interesting reading indeed!


It gives details of the work carried out and the settings different items are reset to.  the boiler number is listed (No. 289) and the fact that it was given a new chimney!

The entry is signed by the Chargeman Mr J. Sharp on the 23rd of December 1922 There is no mention of the date the loco entered works other than the note in the "came in" column 1922, so there is no way of knowing in this document how long the repair took.


Anyway, I hope you find it as interesting as I did!


Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund
Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Why not support us by making a donation at
http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

Time Team are at it again!

Original SECR Paint Discovered

Whilst starting to clean up one of the sand boxes on Sunday, Jim Turtle not only discovered sand that has been in the sand boxes for at least 45 years, and possibly from BR days, but he also discovered the original Ashford applied paint. Whilst knocking off the "Corn flaked" paint, and rubbing down what was below, several liveries were discovered.

Jim Turtle rubbing down the sandbox revealing various liveries (Pictures by Clive Emsley)

We are certain that the SECR livery we have found is indeed the original one as it seems to be below a layer of black, green and further black layers before the top layer of SECR style livery applied in 1962.

It is fairly obvious which layers were added in which order and by careful cleaning it will hopefully be possible to see the livery history of the locomotive.

The initial rubbed down area clearly showing the SECR lining disappearing below the later paint applications

In the picture above, you can see the original lining disappearing below later layers of paint.  It appears that the lining was covered by a layer of black when the loco was painted plain green during the SECR pre First World War period, and during it's ROD and grey liveried time. This can be seen around the centre of the picture at the edge of the rubbed down area.  There then appears to be Maunsell Green applied which again can be seen towards the centre of the picture and to the right about half way up.  The final layers of paint are black as applied in SR, BR and early Bluebell days.  The state of the original paint is remarkable bearing in mind it was applied over 100 years ago!

The original paint will be, where possible, protected following further careful research to determine the layers of paint applied.

Other work that has been carried out

A fair amount of preparation and painting on various parts has been carried out over the last couple of weeks and a jolly fine finish has been achieved during the work.

One of the Vacuum pipe dummies given a high sheen finish.

The vacuum pipe dummy has been stripped to its component parts, thoroughly cleaned and painted up to top coat.  This has been given a high gloss finish to protect it whilst in storage.

Footstep supports

The footstep supports have been given a thorough clean and have been painted black. these are located behind the footstep to give some triangulation and hold the step steady.

The footsteps and guard irons

The footstep backing plates have been painted up to primer stage following a thorough clean.  The top step angles are still attached as they are in reasonably good condition.  The lower ones have been removed and will be re-manufactured shortly.  All of the cast treads have been broken and a new set will need to be cast.  Whilst this happens, it will be investigated if any other SECR step castings need to be replaced, and if they are the same size as the ones on the P class. The guard irons also seen in the picture have been given two or three coats of filling primer to take out the pitting that has occurred over the years.  this has left a beautifully smooth finish and will look magnificent when painted into black gloss. 

One of the hooks to stow the coupling on when not in use

The hook in the picture is actually in very good condition, hardly any rust on it.  this will be stripped of the old paint before being brought up to the standard of the previously seen vacuum dummy.  This and many other small part restorations will keep us busy over the winter months, when we can only work indoors.

Thank you for reading this far I hope you have found it interesting.

Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund

Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Why not support us by making a donation at

http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

A little stream reverser update

A couple more pictures from Ben Dingley

Ben has completed the manufacture of the studs which hold the hydraulic valve to the cylinder on the steam reverser.  This has allowed a trial fitting of the valve to the cylinder.

The studs fitted and the valve trial located upon them to check clearances and fit (Pictures by Ben Dingley)

With the majority of the major machining work now done it is a matter of time before the reverser can be reassembled properly and tested for the fit and resistance of the moving parts.

Amongst the bits still to do, or get, before a "proper" reassembly can take place include the delivery of a new set of piston rings from an external source and a new piston cover casting which will need to be machined to tolerance once it has arrived and seasoned.

A new Hydraulic seal is required to be manufactured from leather. This will hopefully be made in the Loco Workshop at Sheffield Park in the near future.  

We need to source a new brass oiler, which sits on the top of the cylinder, but unfortunately has been lost, or used on one of the other SECR steam reversers. Whilst this is a small and relatively inexpensive part, it is vital to the restoration of the loco.

A new link rod, which is part of the operating linkage will have to be manufactured or the original one located.  Again it is possible that this could have been used on one of the other steam reversers.

Once these parts are located or made, it will be a case of re-assembly and testing.

The Valve and cylinder assembly on the test bench.

Please keep popping back and taking a look at the progress as the blog is constantly changing as work proceeds.




We are still concentrating on creating a set of cylinders for 27 (and 178) and this will be our main thrust for a while.  We are always grateful to receive help with paying for parts, minor or major, and a set of cylinders is certainly one of the major parts of the loco!




There will be a project 27 stand at the Giants of Steam Weekend where, hopefully, we will be in a position to show you the progress on the loco in the last 21 months.  We will be setting up the stand close to the frames and on the way to Atlantic House, which is also open during the weekend.




Thanks for reading this far!




Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund
Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Why not support us by making a donation at
http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

Update 12th October 2016

BUFFERS!

it is the aim of Project 27 to return the loco to it's Southern condition as A27 in lined Maunsell Green.  As part of this we are aiming on replacing the existing SR buffers which were put on the loco as it passed through Ashford Works in 1960.  The new ones will be a set of SECR "bottle" buffers as seen on H Class 263 and in the picture below.  Unfortunately we do not have enough spare buffers of the right style to use, so we will have to have at least one new set made.

27 in the Maunsell era with the SECR Bottle buffers (photo from the internet)

Matt has been busy surveying one of the spare buffers and producing a set of drawings and rendered 3d CAD models.  These are truly stunning!

One of the spare SECR buffers stripped for measuring and surveying (Photo Clive Emsley)

The spare buffer was stripped to its component parts and accurate measurements taken of each components. As can be seen in the photograph there is over 100 years of wear on the components especially the buffer shank.  

With these measurements and other research a design drawing was produced of the buffer components and these were added to a general arrangement drawing.  Matt then worked his usual magic on these drawings and has produced some stunning 3d CAD models of the buffer.  They almost look like photographs of a real buffer!

Rendered 3d models of the buffer components (Image by Matthew Holloway)

When the CAD image is compared with the photograph of the original buffer it is possible to see the amount of wear the shank has suffered over the last 100 years or so.

A cutaway of the assembled buffer showing how the parts fit together (Image by Matthew Holloway)

The cutaway model proves that the parts fit and in which order.  This is most invaluable when planning the assembly (if we get that far!) 

3d model of the assembled parts fully rendered. (Image by Matthew Holloway)

The final image shows the fully rendered 3d CAD model of the assembled buffer. A fantastic effort by Matt to produce such a professional result!  A true taste of things to come.

In my opinion, it would be good to see these buffers on all three P class locos on the Bluebell (and  on 753 on the KESR!).

Whilst we expect to recreate these buffers it is a little way down the list at present, the current main priority for parts manufacture is the set of cylinders.  This is expected to cost in the region of £15,000 for a "ready to fit" set.  this is made up of having the rough castings produced and the machining to size within tolerances.  We still need to raise the majority of this amount to be able to go ahead and order the castings.  If you are able to help with the cost please feel free to donate to Project 27 for more details of how to help please go to the Project 27 page on the Bluebell Railway website or E Mail the fund at then address below.

Thank you for reading this far and for taking interest in the project.

Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund

Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Why not support us by making a donation at

http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

News of the Steam Reverser overhaul

An update from Ben Dingley

Ben has been busy but has found time to let us know what he has been up to with the overhaul of the Steam Reverser.  In a previous post it was seen that a new steam side piston was being turned.  Since that post Ben has turned up the top cap which sits on top of this piston to retain the rings.  The piston rings have been ordered with help from Sheffield Park Loco workshop.

The top cap for the steam side piston (all pictures by Ben Dingley)

Den and Ian Furguson have lapped in the steam valve using engineers blue to show high or low spots.  This follows the machining of the valve and grinding of the port face sometime ago.

Starting to lap in the steam valve

The steam valve and faces having been tried using "Engineers Blue"

The steam valve has now been reassembled and the control links fitted onto the new valve rod. This controls the flow of steam and whether the piston goes up or down which in turn sets the engine in forward or back gear. 

The reassembled steam vale (minus a couple of nuts!)

The cover box you can see in the picture below in red oxide will now be returned to the railway for painting into top coat in the same manner and to the same standard as the cylinder covers seen in an earlier post.

The assembled steam valve with a test fitting of the cover prior to being painted

Ben has cleaned up all the screws which hold the cylinder cladding covers that have been seen in earlier posts.

The screws cleaned up and trial fitted to the cylinders

Over the summer Ben was lucky enough to find the valve which controls the hydraulic cylinder. This had been missing since the project began and was an important find, thanks to the workshop for helping with this. This was cleaned in the shot blaster and reunited with the rest of the reverser.

The control valve from the hydraulic cylinder having been cleaned and reassembled

The dismantled valve showing the thread which needed to be restored

The valve had a damaged thread which was gently filed using a thread file to restore its profile. This took time and was a carefully done so as not to damage the thread further and to ensure it fitted together well.

The screw thread file used the number "11" refers to the "teeth per inch"

Having got the thread sorted, attention was turned to checking the valve was seated probably using more engineers blue. We were lucky here and there was no excessive wear the valve seated well and this has now been reassembled.  

The valve having been tried using engineers blue

The studs which hold the hydraulic valve onto the cylinder were missing, owing to the valve being removed many years ago so Ben is now turning up 4 new studs to replace these.

the four studs being tried in the cylinder casting

Please look out for more updates and other posts on the blog and on Facebook

Thanks for reading this far.

Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund
Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Why not support us by making a donation at
http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

STOP PRESS!

Fareham Model Railway Weekend

Due to the generosity of Adrian Harrison of Harrison-Brown Models and the kindness of the organisers, PROJECT 27 had a presence at the Fareham Model Railway Exhibition last weekend!

Adrian had taken a selection of our stock to sell on his own stand, but owing to another trader having to pull out he negotiated with the organiser to fill the hole.

The Project 27 stand at the Fareham Model Railway Weekend (Photo Adrian Harrison)

Our thanks and gratitude go to Adrian from Harrison-Brown Models and the organiser of the show for letting us fill the gap!

For more details on the goods and services offered by Harrison-Brown Models please go to:

http://harrisonbrownmodels.co.uk/

Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund

Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Why not support us by making a donation at

http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

First of October Update

More work on the frames

Work has started on the small patch repair of the right hand frame.  Our welding expert, Ian Collins has made a start on the weld repair of the frame.  The pictures below give an idea of the progress to date. 

The new patch to replace the poor quality weld (All pictures by Clive Emsley)

The work is far from complete and the weld will be built up in the remaining grove around the patch.  Monitoring of the area around the repair of the frame is constant and is carried out following each weld. Hopefully this will not show up anything of great worry.




Another angle (from the rear of the frames)

The work will be progressing as Ian is available hopefully this can be done fairly quickly and attention can be turned to the other crack which requires less repair.

Other Works

Work has continued on the smaller parts that have been removed from the frames and are in the Villa's painting and storage area.  The first set of steps have been given their first coat of protective paint on the back and the front is awaiting rubbing down, priming and undercoat before applying a gloss green coat.  This work, and work on other small items is progressing well.




The back of the first set of steps to be worked on

Of course, we are a totally self funded group, and every penny we spend on the loco we need to raise ourselves from sales or by receiving donations.  If you feel that you would be able to help our project, please feel free to donate anything large or small to the fund. Details of how you can do this are listed below.


For "Gift Aid" donations please see the Loco 27 web page on the Bluebell Railway site or E mail for a form to donate to us via the Bluebell Railway Trust (E mail address below)


Donations that cannot be gift aided can be made by cheque (payable to the Bluebell Railway) and sent to: Project 27 (The Fenchurch Fund), Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, East Sussex. TN22 3QL


We also have a just giving page and text giving is also available:

http://www.justgiving.com/Project27
Or for Text donations Simply text "FENC72 £10" to 70070 to donate £10
    - you can donate £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10;
    - you can also elect to Gift Aid your donation;
    - your operator's standard text charge applies.

Our E Mail address for any enquiries (including invitations to attend model railway exhibitions) is thefenchurchfund@gmail.com


We are also on Face book look out for Project 27


Thank you for reading this far and please come back for another look later!


Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund

Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

Good weekend at the Worthing Model Railway Exhibition

27 meets 72

The new Dapol "O" gauge model of 32636 (Fenchurch) was on display on the Fenchurch Fund-Project 27 stand
(along with 1027!)

We had a good weekend at the Worthing Model Railway Club's annual exhibition last weekend, both financially and in goodwill.


The display included the new "O" gauge model of BR 32636 (Fenchurch) with the assistance of Brian Jackson at Morris Models of Lancing (http://morris-models.co.uk/). Brian is a long time supporter of the Bluebell and the Fenchurch Fund.


We put on a display showing the work so far carried out and also one showing the reasons behind having to have a set of cylinders cast.  These created a lot of interest as did the power point display, which was different on each day!

The display showing some of the things we have achieved and on the end panel some of those who have achieved it!

The display showing the cylinder drawings

We also put on a display of models (which was enhanced as the weekend went on) and included a selection of locomotives that would have been seen on the Central division of British Railways Southern Region.  These included a line up of P class locos awaiting their turn for overhaul, terriers up to Standard class 4 and Ivatt class 2 and also included the C and E4 locos.  Even a B4 and USA slipped in!

75H loco shed "somewhere on the Central Division"

Also on display was the small diorama of the cuckoo line featuring 32636 and a short goods train as seen in a photo held in the Bluebell Railway picture archive.  A great place for inspiration for modellers!

32636 on a short freight train on the Cuckoo Line

A great amount of interest was shown in our 1/8th scale model cylinders especially the process used to create them.  A great feather in the cap of Matthew Holloway who designed and drew the 3D computer model.  Maybe we will get a set of 1/8th scale frames to add to the display!

The Cylinders on display

We had the usual selection of items for sale on the stand and a few new lines in the preserves range.  A selection of our merchandising will be available at a couple of exhibitions in the next couple of weeks due to the generosity of Harrison-Brown Models (www.harrisonbrownmodels.co.uk) If you are at one of the exhibitions (Including this weekend, the Fareham Rail Ex) please pop along and say hello. Adrian Harrison is a "resting" working member of the Bluebell Railway.

The sales stand and display (a frontage of 20 feet!

Our next display will be at the Giants of Steam Weekend at Sheffield Park where you will be able to see the latest progress with the restoration as well as seeing the displays and sales stand.  We hope to have as many of the team on hand as possible to give you the assistance needed.  Also open during the weekend will be the Standard Class 2 project and Atlantic House, so please come along it will be a good opportunity to see the progress on these three projects.

A few pictures from today

A quick picture round up from a short visit to the Park today

(All pictures by Clive Emsley)

Three of the four footstep waiting to be stripped, cleaned and painted

The footsteps are all inside the Villa and are in generally good condition.  Three are waiting to be stripped of paint and corrosion prior to being given a coat of rust inhibiting primer. the fourth one is in the painting area.

Right side front footstep undergoing painting

Also to be seen inside the Villa are the Guard Irons, which were given a coat of filling primer to restore a smooth appearance.

The guard irons which have been prepared for painting by Jim Turtle

The original pitted surface has been improved greatly by applying a couple of coats of filling primer  and rubbing down between them.  This fills the imperfections and pitting on the metal, leading to a smooth top coat of paint (a few weeks away!).

From the buffer bean, the hook used to stow the coupling when not in use

Even small items like the hook in the picture above need to be thoroughly cleaned and painted. This is one of the hooks used to stow the screw coupling when it is not being used. it will be repainted in Red where it is located on the buffer beam and black elsewhere.

The round piece of metal has been prepared to fit in the frames

The repair to the Right side frames will be carried out shortly by welding the round plug into the hole previously cut out of the frames.  this is situated just behind the middle axle. once this is done, the shallow weld on the left side can be attended to.

The anatomy of an SECR Bottle Buffer

One of the spare bottle buffers has been stripped down and is currently being surveyed by Matt Holloway with a view to creating a set for 27.  From the measurements and pictures a asset of 3D drawings will be produced with a view to having a set made. The buffers that the loco arrived on the railway with in 1961 were SR standard buffers, which in all honesty are too strong for such a small loco. In a way it is a pity that they were changed at Ashford just before delivery to the Bluebell as the loco up to that point had always (except for a short time on the SW division) carried the SECR buffers!  It will be good to be able to return the correct pattern ones to the loco.  The body is cast whilst the shaft and head are forged in one piece.  This may be a challenge to reproduce, but we aim to succeed!

Thanks for your continued interest and with your support we will get the loco working as soon as humanly possible.

End of August Progress Report

So, what has been happening whilst I have been on Holiday?

The following is a short report based on information and pictures from Matt Holloway and describes what he has been involved in over the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully following the weekend we can add re[ports of more activities that have taken place.


Firstly We would like to welcome our newest recruit to the restoration team, Bluebell Railway Fireman Reuben Smith.  We do hope that he will enjoy his time working on the loco.


The good news is that we believe that the loco has been stripped down as much as it will be (apart from cutting out the rot at the rear of the frames).  So all news from now should concern putting things back on the frames!



The Last Bits! (all pictures by Matt Holloway)

The picture above shows the last pieces of footplating to be removed from the loco frames ready to be restored.  These appear to be in relatively good condition, so it should "just" be a matter of cleaning up the 106 year old steel!  

The brackets previously hidden by the footplating

The removal of the last pieces of footplating has allowed the inspection of the brackets below.  These are in generally good condition with minor to medium corrosion on the faces.  These will be thoroughly cleaned and painted to protect them from the elements.  It is expected that this should have been started by the time you read this!

The original cylinder block under plate

The last picture shows the original 1910 made Cylinder Block Under Plate degreased and cleaned by our new best chum Reuben Smith, and a fine job he has made of it!  This will be given a coat of protective paint and set aside either for restoration or to be used as a template for a new piece.  We would hope that the item would be suitable for another 106 years of service, but an assessment will need to be made.

Cylinder Fund

We are still busy raising the required funds to be able to order a set of cylinders for 27 and are busy exploring many avenues for this.  If you (or any of your friends) happen to win the lottery this weekend, we will be pleased to hear from you!

Sales and Information Stand

We will be attending the Worthing Model Railway Club's Annual exhibition on Saturday 24th September 2016 and Sunday 25th September 2016.  This is to be held at Durrington High School, The Boulevard, Worthing West Sussex BN13 1LA. 


There are expected to be 13 layouts plus traders in attendance over the weekend so promises to be a good show.


For further information about the show please take a look at their web site at http://www.worthingmrc.co.uk/mrc/annual-exhibition/


We look forward to meeting friends old and new there.


We are also looking forward to our last major sales and information stand during the Giants of Steam weekend in October.  More details to follow later, but we hope to be able to let you see the progress on the loco over the weekend.

 

Trip to the Carriage Sheds

On Sunday afternoon, a couple of us went for a trip around the carriage sheds expertly guided by Dave Clarke.  We say the progress on quite a few carriages including a couple that could be in the consist for the inaugural train for 27 as well as the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the terriers.  A very interesting tour, and if ever you get the opportunity do it, it is worthwhile!

Vintage Transport Weekend and work on the restoration

This weekends activities

We had a successful information and sales stand at the Bluebell Railway Vintage Transport Weekend. Based in the show field at Horsted Keynes we had plenty of passing trade and some long and in depth conversations with people who came as visitors and left as supporters. There was -plenty to see, even a car to exactly the same specification I once owned, a Vauxhall Victor 101 in two tone green!

Vauxhall Victor 101 (all pictures by Clive Emsley)

We had the cylinder models on display for people to inspect and comment on, together with a sales stand and donation pot, which was well fed by the end of the weekend!

Restoration activities

Following the removal of the side valances from the locomotive, it is now possible to easily see the condition of the rear portion of the frames. especially the top edge which looks like a set of waves on a choppy sea!


The joint between the rear buffer beam and frames showing the erosion to the frames especially at the top

The rust on this section is loose and some can be lifted off by hand, so it is very much in need of replacement.  This repair will be done in the not too distant future.  We will then be in the stage of putting the loco back together!

The right hand side frame following removal of the side valance

The removal of the side valances show that there are no major issues with the brackets that support the footplating and tanks  the frames apart from the rear section are also in reasonably good condition.


The Left hand frame following the removal of the side valance

Other works continued over the weekend and the jobs done included preparation for the weld repair on the right hand frame by Ian Collins.  This has involved placing a support beam between the frames to assist in keeping the frames square and arresting any twist during the welding operations.  This can be seen in the picture below.  The hole into which the pre shaped patch will be welded has also been cleaned up ready for the repair to take place shortly.

The hole ready to accept the repair piece also showing the frame spacing strut

Jim Turtle was busy on Sunday preparing a pair of guard irons for final painting.  This involved the application of filling primer followed by a lot of hard work to rub this down to get a smooth finish on them.  due to the shape and curvature of the irons, the rubbing down needs to be done by hand.  This certainly is hard work and can be fairly dusty too!

Jim Turtle rubbing down the filling primer on one of the guard irons

Clive D. Emsley
Chairman - The Fenchurch Fund

Project Manager - PROJECT 27
A Sub-Committee of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society
www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/

 

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