Fund raising at the Vintage Transport Weekend

Fun at the Vintage Transport Weekend

Roy Miles arriving on his steam roller (nearly in SECR livery) on Friday afternoon Photo: Clive Emsley

We did little on the loco this weekend, but we did have an excellent weekend in the sunshine at Horsted Keynes helping to marshal the cars at the steam fair (we also provided bacon butties for the stewards!). in return for our assistance The Fenchurch Fund was permitted to have a sales and information stand on the show ground to raise the profile (and some money) for Project 27.

A great amount of interest was shown in the project and this also translated into sales and donations, especially on the Saturday.  We managed to sell a large amount of jams, marmalade and chutney, along with some tee shirts and badges.  A donation of books and maps was made to us on Friday followed by more books on Saturday, many of which we sold, thus not having to find storage for them!

The heading picture shows Roy Miles and Oliver Warburton arriving on Roy's Aveling and Porter Steam Roller "Monarch" which he drove from Edenbridge to the show on Friday afternoon.  Roy was a well respected senior driver on the Bluebell until he recently retired.  He has an intimate knowledge of No.27 having driven and worked on it many times over the years.  As you can see the roller is in an approximation of thye SECR livery tat No.27 carried in service at the Bluebell until 1974.

There will not be any progress reports over the next couple of weeks or so as I will be away from the railway on a world tour of the British Isles!  I hope to see how it is done on the  Strathspey Railway, the Bowes Railway and at Beamish on the way back, and possibly Shildon, but we will have to see on that one!

Pictures of the workshop cladding and other items

New cladding on H.S. Wainwright House

New "temporary" cladding on the outside of H.S. Wainwright House Photo: Clive Emsley

Some remedial cladding has been carried out on the outside of our small, but useful timber built workshop at Sheffield Park. This is partly in response to recent problems, and partly due to the condition of the exterior cladding of the building.



Another view of the cladding with the front splashers from loco 27 on the bench Photo: Clive Emsley

Brake Rigging

Brake cross members Photo: Clive Emsley

The picture above shows the three brake rigging cross members which were cleaned up and painted by the lads last weekend.  These are clearly labelled as to where they came from when they were taken off the loco, so they can be easily replaced later.  These items will be stored away until it is the right time to complete the repainting back to top coat.

One of the identification tags on part of the brake gear Photo: Clive Emsley

4 of the brake hangers and the brake shaft waiting to be cleaned and painted
(not sure about the shoe, but I don't think it came from a conductor!) Photo: Clive Emsley

The above picture is a sort of "before" picture showing other parts of the brake gear before  any major cleaning has taken place. These items will be treated in a similar manner to the cross members shown above.

Frames

A number of cracks have been discovered on the frames following removal of many layers of paint and crud.  These individually would no cause too much distress, however, when these are all put together with the major waisting at the rear of the frames and some very minor waisting at the front there will need to be further investigations carried out.


A crack adjacent to the centre axle on the LH side of the loco, marked up with the loco departments usual sense of humour! Photo: Clive Emsley

An old welded repair to a crack adjacent to the axle on the RH side of the loco. This will need to be ground out, tested and re- repaired to make it reusable. Photo: Clive Emsley



Cladding the Villa

The work last weekend consisted mainly of adding aluminimum sheeting to the outside of the villa (the wooden workshop used by the Project 27 gang). The cladding is being carried out to repair the poor condition of the wooden outer skin of the building.  This is seen a short to medium term until a decission is made on the possible rebuilding of the workshop which will assist the project and other groups that use the area. This work will be carried out in conjunction with the loco director and other  interested parties.

It is hoped to add some pictures of the work to this post later in the week.

Hanging on the brakes!

Work begins on refurbishing smaller parts of the loco

Two of the brake cross members of the brake rigging - Photo: Tom Murphy

A good start was made on the parts that go to make up the brake rigging on the loco this weekend, starting with the rear cross beam.  This was thoroughly cleaned by a couple of volunteers who have worked their way through to membership of the railway via the 9F Club, our club for youngsters who want to come to the railway and get their hands dirty without Mum being too upset!  The picture above shows the beam in "before" condition waiting to be worked upon.

The brake cross beam following cleaning by Paul Booth - Photo: Tom Murphy

The surface rust and minor corrosion was removed using wire brushes and "emery" paper to produce a good bare metal surface ready for the application of a good coat of red oxide primer. this took a considerable effort and thanks must go the the lads for their hard work.

Paul applies the paint - Photo: Tom Murphy

A good coat of red primer was applied to all of the cleaned surfaces of the beam to protect it whilst it is in storage.  Nearer the time the parts are needed for erection onto the locomotives frames, a minor clean up will take place, followed by another coat or two of primer before the final paint work is done.

Finishing off - Photo: Tom Murphy

 A job well done by the lads, this sort of work can be quite tedious, but is a vital part of the restoration process which results in such splendid results turned out by the Bluebell Railway.  Without the firm foundations provided by this type of dedication, the paint jobs on the locos would be nowhere near as good as those that are turned out.

If you would like to be involved with this vital work, please drop an E Mail to thefenchurchfund@gmail.com for further information.

More marking out!

Marking out the Axlebox Centre Lines

Area of surface rust sanded to produce a suitable surface for marking out - Photo: Clive Emsley

The rear axle box positions were re-established on Sunday. This was achieved by power sanding the area to be marked to give a good surface for the marks to be seen, the area was then given a thin coat of "Engineers Blue" which allows marks to be easily seen when scratched on.



The same area with the "Engineers Blue" applied and the first cross marked on for the centre line - Photo: Clive Emsley

The picture above shows a cross marked on the "Engineers Blue". This is the bottom of three mark that are applied using a set of dividers located in the Trammel Marks either side of the horn guides.  There will be another two marks above this one and these will be centre punched and joined with a vertical line.

Stuart Marks, The Restoration Manager, marking the vertical line between the three marks - Photo: Clive Emsley

Other works that were going on over the weekend were the refurbishment of the "Villa", our small self contained workshop. The inside is being reconfigured and some repair / recladding of the walls will need to take place, plus the heating will need to be updated. 

The outside of the building will be partially re-clad with some recovered aluminium sheeting, and some repairs will be carried out to the window surrounds. This is seen as an interim solution to improving our working environment and that or other groups that use the area.

Following some discussions between the Project and the Locomotive Director, we now have three new responsible posts within the project.  Project manager, Restoration Manager and Restoration Engineer.  These posts are currently held by Clive Emsley, Stuart Marks and Matt Holloway respectively.  The situation has not really changed, just formalised, and we will probably go on much as we were!

Photos of last weekends activities

Pictures of the PROJECT 27 work and display stand

The 7mm scale model of 1027 built by Stuart Bardouleau which should have been on display at the weekend!
Photo: Clive Emsley

Firstly an apology that I forgot to take the O gauge model of 1027 with me at the weekend, and thus depriving you all of seeing it!  As I posted earlier, we had a good weekend on the fundraising side and Stuart Marks got some very important work done on the loco without the usual interruptions!
Below is a selection of pictures to illustrate what we got up to.

Claire and "Harry" modelling the PROJECT 27 Tee shirt and cap Photo: Clive Emsley

A selection of the stock that we were selling at the weekend Photo: Clive Emsley

A diorama of 32636 (Fenchurch) on the Cuckoo Line inspired by a picture in the Bluebell Railway Archives
Built and photographed by Clive Emsley

A selection of models displayed on the PROJECT 27 stand ready for the forthcoming "Cowfold" layout
Photo: Clive Emsley

 

The Front Right axle box guide showing fresh paint following cleaning and identification of datum marks - A couple of close ups follow below Photo: Clive Emsley

 

the three vertical centre popped marks found and improved by Stuart Marks show the centre line of the front right axle box. This will be a useful guide to getting the loco set up correctly during the restoration
Photo: Clive Emsley

One of the "Master Datum" points on the frames of the loco. The missing datum marks were reinstated using these marks.
Photo: Clive Emsley

The freshly cleaned and painted front end of the frames
Photo: Clive Emsley

The (scrap) left hand tank from loco 27 which will be used for component recovery
and as a pattern for a new tank to be constructed.
Photo: Clive Emsley

I hope that these pictures give you an insight into what is currently going on with the locomotive and our fund raising activities. If you would like to join us, please E Mail thefenchurchfund@gmail.com for more details of how you can help.

I will be carrying out an on site survey of the tank and producing drawings for it to enable new tanks to be constructed.  The drawings will be produced on a modern CAD package in the not too distant future. The tanks will be constructed at the right time so as not to take up space in the works yard, yet be ready to put on the loco at the most appropriate time.

Thank you for your interest in the project we aim to keep this blog updated on a weekly basis, so please come back at intervals to see the progress!

Bluebell Railway Modellers Weekend

Activity this weekend

The fund raising team had a stand at the Bluebell Railway Modellers weekend which was a worthwhile use of the weekend! We sold many items of model railway equipment and other items (as well as taking donations of stock to replace that sold).  The team consisted of Clive and Claire Emsley, Andrew Waller (who travelled down from Northamptonshire for the day), Stuart Bardouleau and Jim Turtle.  Thanks must go to them and also to those who supported us by buying or donating over the weekend.

On the restoration front, Stuart Marks spent Sunday locating and reinstating datum marks on the frames.  He used a pair of dividers located in known datum marks to re-locate some that have been lost over the years.  Once marked with the dividers, the mark was centre punched so that it becomes "permanent" and available during the erection stage of the restoration.  This is a precision job and one that cannot be hurried. If the marks are in the wrong place, the loco will not be assembled correctly and therefore will not work correctly.

If you would like to help us there are various ways of donating, including our "Just Giving" page at https://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.
We are just about to update our Standing Order Forms in conjunction with the Bluebell Railway Trust, so if you would prefer to donate by Standing Order, please bear with us.

Thanks for reading this far.  Pictures will follow in due course.