We were working over the Christmas period!

Frame repairs

The previously seen picture of the poor quality weld (all pictures by Clive Emsley)

The weld on the right hand side of the frames was ground out in December so that we could ensure the quality of the repair administered by either the Southern or British Railways in a previous overhaul.  As previously reported, the weld was found to be of less than top quality with a large amount of slag in the weld. Discussions with experts have now been concluded and it has been decided that a patch will be welded into the frames thus giving control over the repair and not just covering up what is there currently.

A cutting guide ring tacked to the frames prior to cutting

A ring has been tack welded to the frame around the old repair to act as a guide for cutting out the old weld.  This enabled Stuart to create a suitable hole for a patch to be located in over the Christmas period.  Preparation of the hole will be continued very shortly. 
  

The patch manufacture has begun, though this has been slightly more work than expected! It appears that steel of the correct quality is only available as ³/₄” or 1” plate, the thickness of the existing frames is ⁷/₈”.  The result is that a piece of inch thick plate has had to be machined down by ¹/₈” to match the existing material.  

Once the hole is prepared the final machining of the patch will take place and it will be precision fitted to the hole before welding takes place.  The repair should be carried out before too long, depending on the weather and other external factors.

Wheel sets

Wheel sets at Sheffield Park

It has been agreed that the wheel sets from 27 will definitely go to the South Devon Railway for turning when the wheels from the Standard 4 are moved there this month.  The work to be carried out will include turning the tyres to the correct profile, the turning of the journals to eliminate any "ovality" and as a matter of course the axles will be ultra-sonically tested.  These will stay away until both these and the wheels for the standard 4 are ready to be collected. This will save on the cost of transport for us and the Bluebell.

Other items

During the break from his "day job" Ian Furguson has been busy helping us with his machining skills and has manufactured the 24 fitted bolts needed to hold the new cylinders in place on the loco.  The work that Ian has carried out on our behalf is much appreciated and has kept a lid on the cost of manufacturing these parts.  All we need now is a set of cylinders!

The cylinder drawings are complete and the checking process virtually done, so once the funding has been raised we can proceed with ordering a 3d printed pattern to be 

constructed and a casting made.

A start has been made on the drawings for the "cut and shut" repair to the rear of the main frames and drag box.  This repair will need to be carried out before the re building of the loco can commence.  Again it is likely that the plate for the repair will need to be either rolled to order, machined to the correct thickness or installed  ¹/₈”  thicker.  The latter course of action may affect the balance of the loco as the rear would be slightly heavier than it should be.  This may not be a problem, but a discussion will need to be had.