Taff Vale railway No 28

It's dawned on me this post might have been missed in the other topic. So please excuse the double post!

To those asking about TVR 28, see the attached press release
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Taff-Vale-Railway-No28/120857981436218

 

In case anyone cannot access FB, or has no inclination to do so, I quote the news update below:

"The TVR 28 team wishes to convey Christmas greetings and a prosperous New Year to all supporters of the project. It has been an eventful two months, but the upshot of this is that we are now in a position to report that No. 28 is scheduled to enter the works at Llangollen for cosmetic restoration imminently!

The reason why we are able to proceed is that the project has received a welcome boost from the Transport Trust, which has provided a £5,000 bridging loan to facilitate the completion of this phase within a reasonable timescale. We therefore offer our profound thanks to the Transport Trust for their support in getting this project off the ground, and we will all look forward to seeing the complete O1 class locomotive for the first time in 20 years.

The fundraising campaign launched in March continues to raise money for the project, with £3,000 already raised towards the cost of restoring corroded platework, reassembly and subsequent transport. However, there is a long way to go before we can commence with the second phase of the project and return 28 to steam, and we therefore urge everyone interested in seeing this locomotive in steam and hauling a rake of Taff Vale Railway 4-wheel carriages to support this project both financially, physically or by spreading the word!

In other news, research is progressing apace at the National Railway Museum's 'Search Engine', and a set of works drawings have recently come to light as part of the general sift through the newly-arrived Swindon Works collection. Several images have also been found of other class members that were taken in 1923, and will prove useful in any future merchandising initiatives to raise money for the locomotive.

So some excellent news to add to the Christmas cheer, thus setting the project on a firm footing for an exciting year ahead. We are currently drawing up a list of events for our roadshow next year, so look out for us at a railway near you.

Once again, Merry Christmas/Nadolig Llawen from the team!"

 

Great news. Nice to see something different progressing so well.

Glad you found the drawings...

Andy

 

... Or rather you did! They may not be a complete set, but the general arrangement diagram you turned out was quite a find, and Mr G. was pretty damn happy about it. We'll have to see what else crops up. How goes the research on your project?

 

Hope they're clearer than the copy print I bought from OPC in thirty years ago!

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

 

Its probably the same one, as its not an original copy, but there's always the opportunity to get it cleaned up digitally. Either way, it's much cheaper than getting a new one drawn up from scratch!

 

Great news about the Transport Trust loan.

 

for those of you that aren't on FB...

Just an update... Further research in the National Railway Museum 'Swindon' archives has revealed a considerable number of works drawings relating to the Taff Vale O1 class. We now have a fully legible general arrangement drawing, and enough to almost start a new-build project! Drawings discovered include whistles, buffers, smokebox, water tanks, sanding and brake gear, reverser mechanism, snifting valves, lubricators, boiler, water tank manholes, cab fittings (spectacle plates etc.), couplings, guard irons, lamps (!), regulator valve, dome, chimney, sandboxes, sanding mechanism and much more... Thanks go to Mr. A. Hardy for the assistance given to the project thus far.

 

Wow word travels fast! I only found them yesterday...

I think I have also found some more today, various parties ahve been informed and may be coming to look at them later. I am looing wider at general Taff Vale drawings as many parts seem to be standard across everal locomotive types. It looks like myself and one of the project team will have to come ni and start listing what we have found.

Andy

 

Myself being one of the 'various parties'... Happy to make a Saturday or two of it.

 

It would be interesting if you come across any pre-war painting diagrams as the 1983 lining was based on a 1919(?) diagram for the A class which clearly showed wider lining, leading to an obvious compromise on the rear cab side panels where the white line too should have extended.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

 

The only painting details I have seen so far is a drawing entitled "Mode of Painting - 03 class". This just shows what is and is not painted and did not contain any lining. It is quite interesting how many Taff Vale drawings are coming to light. I have not even started looking at the Carriage and Wagon collection properly.

 

I'm sure any painting diagrams would be of interest to the KWVR lot as well. Whilst the TVR lining is pretty striking, to my eye it didn't look right on the O1 last time round. In any case, that is something for the future, as we have already established that it will be restored to GWR condition while it remains static.

 

The lines applied in 1983 were too thick and too widely spaced. "Great Western Way" by HMRS gave "approximate" (does that imply scaled from photos?) dimensions of 1/2" lines with 3/4" gaps which would have allowed the narrow side panel to the back of the cab to be lined out as seen in photos. However Dr Owen-Jones of the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum, who were paying for a sign-writer to do some of the lining, insisted on using the 1919 drawing in their possession. Even if 28 had received a re-paint after the Great War it is perhaps more likely to have been turned out in plain black.

No doubt GWR livery will match the magnificent 1922 livery of your coaches, not all of which are TVR Though I would have liked to have seen how more correct lining out would have appeared on 28; it's a pity that the KWVR haven't lined out no 85!

 

As you probably know, we have two, one of which is a Dean carriage (216) from the 1880s. However, we do have two ex-TVR (contractor-built) carriages in store; its always a question of money, but they do form part of the 'Welsh Train' element of the project due to their TVR connections. I believe KWVR did not line out 85 because of the lack of reliable source material in this regard. Naturally, we would be happy to share this info if we find it. Would be great to see both in the same livery...

 

Re-assembly of the locomotive continues apace at Llangollen, and significant progress has been made, but I'll leave it at that for the time being...

In the spirit of SLL's 'guess the component' competition (no prizes, just the kudos of being a show-off), what are the two components that constitute the principal difference between Nos. 28 and 85? I leave it to the floor (and Andy, no clues!)...

 

1. Cabside number plate
2. Smokebox number plate

 

1. No cabside numberplate- fitted to the water tank.
2. Never fitted with a smokebox numberplate.

1 point for trying...

 

Let's start with deeper buffer beams and welded tanks on No 28.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

 

Boiler, safety valves, coupling rods, buffers, axlebox lubrication? Onse's Welsh, the other is Scotiish?