LMS Patriot Project Updates

A new axle is been provided by riley and son engineering for the rear drivers and as gav said 1 pair has already been welded on at rileys workshops and not forgetting a nearly complete boiler at H.B.S.S. to be trial fitted with superheater header and regulator dome, And the reversing gear screw completed by roach engineering. so things are moving forward a bit now

 

Not a terribly good record but it's hardly new news that there had been some really bad missteps along the way. I hate to ask what many may already be thinking but let's hope this is the last skeleton in quite a large cupboard and they are now on the road to recovery.

 

I think the astonishment was not at the events (which have the meaning you give here), but at the need to have them happen.

Well, hopefully that sad (for several entities, unfortunately) period is now past...

Noel

 

My concern is that such sentiments have been expressed before. I agree that hopefully this will be the last major obstacle but they do seem to have been a very unlucky project.

Sent from my SM-G770F using Tapatalk

 

Agree, absolutely horrendous. One thing I have hated all my career as an engineer is picking up after some previous poor workmanship/design .I always question "what else is there?" You have to try and think how the originator was thinking ....Anyhow things are now progressing in the right direction.

 

The problem is once you start to doubt the quality of the work done previously you have to in effect start from scratch again, because you then take everything apart again and check and re check whats been done and having to create a snag list of things you would have expected not to do.

 

The only way now for L.M.S. Patriot group is forward once these driving wheels get welded rait and mainline certified and bogie frames to original stanier pat
design and valve rod bearings get remetalled correctly (then i would say there on a winning role to get this new pat nearer to steaming)
Davo 56F

 

Sadly as an engineer these things rarely are to do with "luck" or indeed the lack of it and involves competence and not forgetting that dirty word 'management'. That's not to say that things will always go perfectly (they won't - been there got the T-shirt) we should all now hope they can move forward in a much more smoothly and less haphazard way.

 

I think there's a good chance of that; the new management of the Unknown Warrior group seem to have gone through all the existing chassis/running gear/etc pretty thoroughly, as have the very competent PRCLT group, so hopefully they've combed out all the issues. Since HBSS have been doing the boiler all along (and a good job they seem to have been doing, too), that should be OK too. Fingers crossed!

Noel

 

Just a point of correction the boiler was started at crewe, inner firebox was completed there as was the barrel assembly and other components.

 

I'm so glad the boiler wasn't started at Llangollen...

Richard.

 

Nothing wrong with Llangollen boiler work I think you will. Find... Lot of misinformation available out there and rubbish being spoken

 

By the same people i believe who went on to form HBSS

 

Not particularly a comment on their boilerwork, but on some of the other things on 5551 which they managed to lose / manufacture badly / damage. Such as cutting pieces out of the Fowler Tender frames to make a temporary bogie pivot washer. Not good practice at all. With those issues in mind, I am glad they didn't start the boiler... There were odd things going on at that point in time, and a mistake with the boiler, whether deliberate or by accident, would have been exceedingly costly.

Richard.

 

I think that the photo of Morayshire's new flues at the firebox tube plate, prior to their recent removal, would argue your statement.

 

I ended up as lead engineer for a new measurement train, after the previous team fell by the wayside, and with hindsight it had serious issues that should have killed it there and then. Trouble is there is pressure from on high to deliver it and do it safely. Looking back now I can't believe we actually got it to a point where it could be tested on the line, including adding two more motor cars for tractive effort, but we did. Those legacy issues couldn't be overcome unfortunately and it will probably be scrapped in the New Year having languished in a depot since summer 2015.

At least the Patriot has momentum behind it to overcome these issues, albeit with additional cost and delay implications. Fingers crossed that there are no more nasties lurking in the loco chassis. The current team have certainly learnt a lot of valuable lessons and seem to be picking up momentum again.

Regards,

Dan

 

Oh, right, now that you mention it, that comes back. Crewe's announcement on that was one of the first sign of the change at Crewe, IIRC.

The Warrior certainly had 'bad luck' with its contractors...

Noel

 

You have to feel sorry for those who have contributed to the patriot project financially, many of whom are no longer with us. No signs of apology from those in charge for any mismanagement, but a lot of blame for contractors.

 

And your view is qualified by?

 

Well, the boiler inspector's view would be a good start. What's your's