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Industrial Loco Updates

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by AlistairS, Apr 17, 2008.

  1. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    Bagnall 2746 The |Duke

    More news from Loughborough: the boiler now has a full set of crown stays. The backhead has had a successful trial fit and is being prepared for final fitting. The new ashpan has been fabricated. One of the next jobs will be the installation of the new copper tube plate.

    Two new specially commissioned model wagons have arrived from Dapol and are selling well. The first is a model of a BR engineers stores van which we rescued from the derelict Buxton DMU depot a few years ago, the other a very nice spoof, "Jeremiah Harbottle Coal Merchant of Buggleskelly"
     
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  2. brennan

    brennan Member

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    Bagnall works No. 2572 0-4-0 saddle tank Judy, ex Port of Par, is undergoing its ten-year overhaul. A new tubeplate has been fitted and the boiler is ready for its hydraulic test. The frames and tank are in good condition and ready to receive the boiler.

    Judy is owned by the Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum but on long term loan to the Cornish Steam Loco Preservation Society and is based at the Bodmin and Wenford with its running mate Alfred. Unfortunately the latter requires a new firebox and there is as yet no plan to return it to working order.
     
  3. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    Bagnall 2746 The Duke

    The backhead has now been permanently fitted and LMS are working on the internal feed pipes.
     
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  4. Fireline

    Fireline Well-Known Member

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    The boiler of Peckett "Marcia" has now gone for contract overhaul. Resources permitting, it would be great to see her back in steam next year.
     
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  5. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    Bagnall 2746 The Duke

    I went down to Loughborough on Saturday with Rob Davies to drop off some small parts from store ready for the next phases of the work. Dave Wright has been working over Christmas, mostly on the internal pipework and on preparing for staying and riveting.

    Dave showed us his "Black Museum" of steam boiler horrors, which included a section of injector delivery pipe from an austerity, with the bore reduced by limescale from 2" down to about 3/4", and a section of firebox plate from an NG loco about 18" square showing that the firebox water space had been totally filled with limescale. Apparently this had caused massive distortion and the operator (not in the UK) had simply fitted longer, thicker stays and left the scale as it was.

    Next we moved on to the GCR Loughborough shed where the 8F team were stripping 48624 with the assistance of GCR shed volunteers. The aim is to get the 8F stripped ready for examination before the boiler for The Duke returns to Wirksworth. We made very good progress and intend to go down about once every two weeks.

    Dave has been talking about a hydraulic test "by the end of January"; that is possibly a little optimistic, and there will still be a steam test required, but the boiler is making good regular progress.
     
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  6. thegrimeater

    thegrimeater Member

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    1982 Ring Haw has been sold by the NNR to the M&GN society. This provides a cash injection to the NNR at this difficult time and allows a society legacy to be used to help fund the overhaul.
     
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  7. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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  8. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    IMG_0436[1].JPG Bagnall 2746 The Duke

    The above picture shows the progress on my last visit, just before Rona hit in earnest. The new backhead has been welded and rivetted into place and fitting stays has begun. Less obvious is the flatting work on the bosses for the clacks and gauge frames, new inserts for the washout plugs have also been welded and tapped for the taper plugs. New internal steam and water pipes have been formedThe bit that has not been done is the fitting of the new copper tubeplate, which will have to wait until the restrictions are lifeted enough for people to work close together. Some time back I was rash enough to guess that the restoration cost might be about £80,000.

    Actually, I have been doing the books recently and the running total is currently about £165,000 and there is a fair bit to do yet. I ran into a chap at Embsay on what will be my last trip out for the time being who reckoned that a full repair on an Austerity including boiler repairs is likely to cost up to £250,000 and it seems he was not far wrong. I dread to think how much the work so far would have cost without the skilled help we have had from the 48624 8F team. Does one recover this money in the event of a sale, as has been asked? Apart from the laws of supply and demand, doubtful. Despite all that has been done it would take a very brave owner to sell on any basis but "sold as seen" because of the potential comeback for breach of warranty.

    For the time being my activities are concentrated on smaller projects. I managed to get my emergency model railway purchases completed before lockdown, track, timber and so forth, I hope the attached thumbnail raises a few smiles: "The Buggleskelly Goods sets forth".
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2020
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  9. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    IMG_0450[1].JPG Here is a minor detail which may be of some interest, a new water delivery pipe, through which cold feed water from the clacks arrives in the boiler. Note all the little perforations, drilled as per the manufacturers drawing- with a gap where the support bracket clips on. The idea is to diffuse the cold water into a larger volume of hot water, rather than dumping it on the tubes all in one place and so reduce thermal shock. I gather not everyone bothers with this feature and LMS quite often have boilers in for repair following tubes failing at just the spot where the concentrated cold water hits them.
     
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  10. fergusmacg

    fergusmacg Resident of Nat Pres

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    Of course the cost of a overhaul is in respect to the condition of the locomotive you start with and in particular its boiler. Some Austerities have residual life remaining within their boilers but are now needing major repairs, however once done the next 10year overhaul and probably a few more after that 'ticket' may only require just a retube(s) and other minor works. The same is true of main line locos and the further they get from those major overhauls when in traffic the more the costs mount up before a reset is needed with a major boiler rebuild and that's shown in the large costs now quoted for some loco's and not for others. The narrow gauge world has bitten the bullet and many more now go from major repair to full replacement in their boilers and ultimately standard gauge rly's may well go the same way when the economics make it prudent, although at the mo it's still fairly rare.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2020
  11. brennan

    brennan Member

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    Meanwhile at the Bodmin & Wenford ex Port of Par Bagnall 2572 Judy's boiler has been given a hydraulic test and is now back in the frames. A new chimney casting has arrived as well as the smoke box wrapper. Work was well in hand until the enforced stoppage.
     
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  12. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    Bagnall 2746 The Duke

    Some good news from Loughborough: all except 4 of the backhead stays have been fitted, the regulator valve has been machined and is ready to re-fit. Installation of the new tube plate is provisionally set for 29th May.

    Tim
     
  13. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    Bagnall 2746 The Duke

    To Loughborough for a socially distanced conference with LMS and the boiler inspectors. LMS are obviously getting the hang of the 'Rona regime: visitors by appointment only, hand cleansing station at the door, lunch spaced out in the car park etc. Very heartening to see the new backhead fully stayed and the stays all tooled over, even more heartening to see the gleaming new copper tubeplate waiting for minor adjustment of around 1/16" after the first trial fit. The subject of my visit was the likely need for a new front tubeplate as more defects had been found in it. Fortunately LMS believe in ordering components in batches and have a few in stock, ready to fit, and gave an attractive price for the job. This also gives extra clearance for bringing riveting gear into the boiler when fitting the firebox tubeplate.

    The works were very busy; last time I visited I saw the boiler off an RSH tank with the firebox stripped to the crown and foundation ring. This time the lower side sheets had been formed and were in place and a new welded inner box was ready to fit; it looked to be a very neat piece of work indeed.

    Tim
     
  14. Hirn

    Hirn Member

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    Would I be right to assume the new inner box would be steel?
     
  15. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    The inner box was steel.
     
  16. clinker

    clinker Member

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    I'm a bit lost, if the firebox is steel, surely it won't be having a new copper tubeplate? and I'm sure that the front (smokebox) tubeplate wouldn't be copper, I must be missing something, is the inner wrapper steel and the endplates copper? or are You dealing with 2 boilers?
     
  17. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    if you re-read the posts, you will see that the copper tubeplate refers to the boiler of the Duke and the steel firebox refers to an RSH tank loco.
     
  18. brennan

    brennan Member

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    Work has recommenced at Bodmin General on ex Port of Par 0-4-0 Bagnall Saddle Tank 2572 Judy with the ashpan being fitted. The next job is to drill the rolled plates for the smokebox wrapper. An order for a new smokebox door will be placed when things return to something like normal,
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2020
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  19. clinker

    clinker Member

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    Thanks, It's Me not getting My head around things
     
  20. oldmrheath

    oldmrheath Well-Known Member

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    The Knotty Coach Trust has purchased Robert Heath No.6 for restoration to work with its restored Knotty coaches. Current focus is on drawings for manufacture of a new front tubeplate, plus new springs . An appeal has been launched. The story is covered in Steam Railway Issue 507, and for more details please see:

    https://knottycoachtrust.org.uk/robert-heath-no-6/

    Jon
     

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