60163 Tornado temporarily withdrawn.

You are correct. Page 63, where PNT recalls " 60157 - six broken stays were found in the throatplate area. In renewing these, more adjacent stays were found to be fractured and a total of 30 were renewed." He goes on to say they received a 'rocket' from Doncaster for renewing so many stays with an instruction that if 60157 suffered ONE more it had to be shopped immediately. At 197,000 miles she suffered a broken stay and missed her 200, 000 between overhauls.

 

I sometimes wonder on this thread if there is a sensitivity leading to conflict between those who have a vested interest in Tornado and others who see it as just another loco - sweeping statement!. Maybe that is driving some of the less than polite comments and sharp retorts

 

Less than polite comments and sharp retorts?

Just another day on the UK steam scene, IMHO. Very sad to say.

Anyway, and back to topic, only a couple of days before Meiningen staff end their holiday and can help get this incredibly popular loco back in service again. I wonder if many of the Meiningen staff headed south to Bavaria for a few days...........LOL!

 

I wonder why that would be

 

South in Bavaria - or south with the serv................. oohhh!!!!

 

The A1 trust site has recently been updated with progress on Tornado.

Quote:-
Saturday, 24 July 2010 20:33
Engineers from The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust have now completed the removal of over 150 stays (out of a total of more than 2,000) from the side and back of Tornado's firebox above the foundation ring in the rear corners. This has been undertaken as a precautionary measure.



Whilst no broken stays were discovered, five stays have been found to have minute cracks which caused minor leakage through the tell-tale safety holes in the centre of each stay. Metalurgical analysis has shown that this has been caused by fatigue, commensurate with the amount of work the boiler has done so far. The tell-tales are a modern safety feature unique in the UK to Tornado’s boiler and have ensured the safety of personnel and equipment – meaning that there has been no further damage caused to the boiler. This has been confirmed by Non Destructive Testing (NDT) assessment of all boiler plates and welds.

Etc..

Full story here:-

http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=123

After all the rumours and scaremongering on here it is nice to see that now that the A1SLT have had a chance to look into the stay problem that they have updated their site to keep people informed of progress.

Neil.

 

So if im understanding this right (which i doubt i am)

The current stays have lasted what? 2-3 years? of fairly relaxed use (by steam days standards), does this mean 60163 is going to have to undergo a partial restay at least twice per ticket? let alone what will need doing at overhaul?

If this is the case this loco is going to be a very very expensive machine to maintain.

I know locos with normal fireboxes break stays but this only happens very occasionally. Some locos even manage to go a full 10 years + limited extensions without any broken stays operating at a similar tempo (or in excess of Tornado).

How much is all this additional work to Tornado costing? or is it a warranty repair?

If all this additional work now has to be factored in on a 2-3 yearly basis how can the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust justify thinking about building a P2 with a similar style boiler that could also end up needing major surgery for similar issues every other year?

Do the Germans have these problems with there new build boilers from the same works? and is 3801's boiler being constructed in a similar fasion?

 

The tell tale stays are not unique to tornado the s160s that run in the uk have them fitted as do the yankee tanks iirc

 

I am no boilersmith, but I am not sure that repalcing even quite a significant number of stays counts as "major surgery".

The latest update reads as though they are considering the option of allowing tme for stay remewal in the maintenance process. Unusual and perhaps a change in stay material may allow longer period between need for renewals.

Steven

 

Update today confirms the boiler passed its hydraulic test with no problems. Steam test within the next few days.

Good news

 

Here's the update .. http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?op...hydraulic-test&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=123 ...

 

I wonder if a test run will be carried out. The Surrey Hills would be the best option.

Mike M. (70c)

 

Maybe a circular of Kent with 13 coaches on a route taking in Martin Mill and Sole St banks ray2:

 

More good news from the A1 site ........

Sunday, 01 August 2010 14:14
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is pleased to announce that Tornado's boiler successfully passed its steam test today (Sunday 1st August) at 13:30hrs at Hither Green depot. Tornado is still expected to re-enter service as planned with 'The Cathedrals Express' on Saturday 14th August, promoted by Steam Dreams.

 

Good news indeed !

 

very good ews maybe she'll take back her spots on the Torbays before long too then, although the Duke did make a nice change

 

Having looked at the A1SLT website I have a feeling of unease over this as it seems to raise more questions than providing answers. I've seen somewhere that the original stays were to specification, so have 160-odd stays been replaced with more of the same? If so, I foresee the problem returning. On the other hand, has the specification been changed? In this case we will just have to wait and see.

While raising steam slowly is all well and good, has it been taken into account that when starting off and running with a train there will be a rapid rise of temperature in the firebox when the loco's own draughting system takes effect? This has to be or the boiler simply won't generate steam. In this situation due to the extra heat the firebox is going to expand more, and quickly, relative to the rest of the boiler.

I hope for their sake that this work will solve the problem, but I'm not uncrossing my fingers yet.

 

A test run down to East Grinstead on Saturday and/or Sunday to make at least a token appearance at the Bluebell anniversary gala would be a nice touch...