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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