A great Giant of Steam Weekend for Project 27

The "weekly" update

Giant of Steam weekend

We had a great weekend, meeting and talking to our many supporters, and if you were one of them, thank you for popping by.  Our sales and information stand caused a great amount of interest as people stopped to talk on their way to and / or from visiting the Atlantic and Class 2 projects. the arrangement of the three stands together seemed to work very well.

The Project 27 Sales and Informtion Stand set up in front of the work site (note cylinders on display to the left)
(All photos by  Clive Emsley unless otherwise stated) 

We made a lot of new friends over the weekend, many of which also are turning into supporters!  The financial results were the best for many a long year both from sales and donations, but almost as important was the goodwill we were given by our visitors, many of whom came back at least twice to have further chats with us and make donations.
We managed to sell many jars of chutney, marmalade, jams, pickled onions and eggs!  we now also only have a few of the commemorative badges left, so if you have not got yours yet, get in quick!

Work Progress

Work has carried on over the last couple of weeks, mainly behind the scenes in workshops and under cover on the frames.
The frames have been painted with a coat of temporary protective gloss paint in this instance it was "Maunsell" green as there was some left over from painting the tank which is on display on the platform! The colour at this stage is largely immaterial as it will be rubbed down and the correct colour applied in the spring. The final colour will be black for the outside and red on the inside.

 

The outside of the frames on the left hand side of the loco resplendent in Maunsell green!

The inside of the frames at the front end again in Maunsell green

Some machining of components have also taken place. folowing the removal of the RH driving axle horn guide, which required the fitted bolts to be removed with a "big hammer" 10 new fitted bolts have been manufactured, 5 for the one already removed and 5 for the opposite horn that still needs to be done. The machining of these was done by Ian Furguson in the loco workshop.  He has kindly also offered to make similar (but larger) fitted bolts for the cylinders.

10 fitted bolts machined by Ian Furguson ready for replacing the horn guides, note one old bolt that survived the extraction!

Also in the workshop, the steam reverser has been receiving attention on the surface grinder.  The exhaust port has been ground to tolerance by Ben Dingley, under the watchful eye of Ian Furguson. this is part of the ongoing project being carried out by Ben as part of his college work. It just needs to be inspected and assessed then it can be removed from the grinder.

The Steam reverser cylinder mounted on the surface grinder in the workshop at Sheffield Park

Amongst other things that have been happening is the production of CAD drawings of the cylinders by Matthew Holloway. These are complete and just awaiting final checking and approval. once this has been carried out, it will be possible to in initiate the ordering of at least two sets olf cylinders, one set for 27 and a second for 178.  There is a possibility that one more set may be cast, but this is dependent on other factors.  The CAD drawings will be used to produce a 3D printed polystyrene pattern to be used in the sand casting process.  This should save time and money over the construction of traditional wooden patterns, one of the great boons of modern technology!

We always welcome offers of help on the project, be they financal, on the restoration or helping with the sales and information stands.  We are aiming to be at most if not all of the "gala" weekends at the Bluebell next year plus the AGM, so if you would like to come along for a chat, or to lend a hand, you will be most welcome. Please email me for information and offers of help on thefenchurchfund@gmail.com

For donations via "Just Giving" either on line or by text doanation, please follow the links below.  Your contribution is always appreciated.  For information,  standing orders and cash donations please E Mail me for details at thefenchurchfund@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support.

 

Clive D. Emsley

 

To make a donation please go to:

http://www.justgiving.com/Project27

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