73129 in need of tyres.

Well a different class of 73 has just had a NEW set of bogies and wheels put under it so I think you can safely assume I* know what the costs are.

* See my signature, 5th row down.

 

For while it did seem like that.

I'm coming to the conclusion that all may not be as it seems at first sight. Someone suggested to me yesterday that it might even be a fund raising gambit. Whatever the reason, it doesn't make much sense to me to claim to be about to pump that amount of money into a couple of weeks work.

 

The question i feel needs asking is why whernt they replaced at the time of the overhaul it just dosent add up especialy as they where known to be thin

 

£25,000 to £35,000 (depending on number of axles in question and whether just drivers, all loco or loco and tender need doing) is the going rate - the tyres are high quality steel, these days have to be imported and require considerable equipment and specialist skills to fill. Because of the specialist nature of both equipment and fitting, any charge would include the cost use of such facilities.

I think the considerable debate above highlights what I have always said about "the cost of an overhaul" - quite apart from 2 different locos never needing the same work actually doing, how it is done hugely affects the cost, i.e. the mix of volunteer, paid and contractor time and whose facilities are used.

I think if being set up to renew tyres was as straightforward as seems to be suggested in the lower prices in some posts, then every major steam shed would do their own tyres - they don't - doesn't that say something!

The question of whether to renew tyres at a major overhaul or try to get every lst file out of them is always a difficult one, especially as you only hear about it when it goes wrong! I think the record must lie with 6619, which achieved about 3 weeks in traffic before slipping a tyre at the start of its present boiler ticket. Fortunately, thanks to GWR standardisation, a set of tyres in stock for 4277 were made available and fitted by Riley & Sons in about another 3 weeks!

Steven

 

At Middleton, we have a Hunslet 2-6-2T that was repatriated from Trinidad, a few years back. It had been shunted into a siding in 1955 and left to rot. It is in rather poor condition but the wheel tyres are perfect and virtually untouched. Nothing unusual in that. However, when the loco was first inspected in Trinidad, it was noticed that everything had good wheel tyres with almost new thickness. it was also noted that the works had a lot of spare tyres lying around. When asked about this, the answer given was that the mill didn't have a wheel lathe so couldn't turn worn tyres but considered it an easy job to re-tyre when they were worn. All it needed was a crane and a gas supply!!

 

You might want to take into consideration the actual movement of the engine and tender from the one line to the other.

 

Trainmad stated at the start Ash that they are only sending the wheels to wherever they decide, just as we did with 5199s. Saves a lot of transport as you don't need as big a lorry!