Flying Scotsman

I would suspect many bridge structures need to be checked. Not been any reports of track flooding or landslips tho has there?

 

As trains expected to Rawtenstall tomorrow you think wrongly....

 

Check were done today, some work is due tomorrow morning, but after that, fingers crossed, all will be back to 'normal'.

 

Both 45407 and dmu have been to Rawtenstall today but a couple of strange moves with dmu following 45407 to Ramsbottom but returning first and around 2pm 45407 running round at bury and returning to Heywood from platform 2.

 

Mr Riley has reported that setting the valves is causing a bit of head scratching.........."proving to be a nightmare".

 

Dealing with some modifications made by a previous "caretaker" to quote him in full.

 

Hopefully they weren't welded up solid !

 

Or replaced by fittings from B&Q or screwfix....

 

Looks as though a "quick fix" needs returning to "as designed" condition. There just aren't enough walls.

 

Have to agree, 60103 is now under the care of a proper engineer, who does things correctly, ,i think Ian should write a book on his experiences of rebuilding Flying Scotsman, but the good news is that she will be back now very soon, and in probably far better condition than its ever been in since it left BR ownership.

 

How do you adjust Gresley valve gear? i assume there are threaded links ?as the activating lever is shared by the inside cylinder ? i just hope that it does not mean other parts to be replaced if the "modifications" render the valves not capable of full adjustment

 

Could not agree more, it was said in a light hearted manner!!!

 

Reading elsewhere it is done with shims, but they have been done away with by past owners / engineers.

Lets hope it does not take IRE long to figure it out, or go back to the original system, and undo the "modifications".

Its the final lap now, and it might as well be "right", rather than compromised, I am sure IR feels the same.

 

Final Lap... see what you did there, very good. Leading on,
as there are a few A4's out there including one that hasnt run since the 1960#s( of course the NRM anticipated this and had a real good look before it went back... didnt they... ?) advice is just a phone call away...

 

I think one thing we can be sure about is that Mr Riley and his men WILL sort the problem, they won't let anything beat them.
It'll be right on the day.

 

The ELR CME next door used to look after 60009 and 3442 when they were based at the SVR so expertise even closer to hand if required.

 

Hi I have to say something, at the time at Southall cannot remember any modification to the valve gear at all and no welding up of them, may be NRM had the valve gear out and forgot to put the shims back in, that’s all I can say. FISH7373 81C

 

Glad to hear it, but someone seems to have used a different method from the original design of "button" shims in sockets on the ends of the valve rods. No doubt Mr Riley will successfully return the setup to the original, but unless he is prepared to describe what he found, we'll never know what sort of alteration was made. BTW I feel sure I recall seeing that the Brighton Atlantic team have added a non original threaded section into their valve gear to ease the task of valve setting.

 

Indeed - see here for a photo and explanation, scroll down to April 2014.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/locos/atlantic/latest.html

Tom