46447 Overhaul

Now that the exchange of locos between the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the East Somerset Railway (Ivatt 46447 and E1 110) as reported elsewhere on this forum is complete I will from time to time report here on the progress of the overhaul of 46447.

Both the loco and tender have been moved into the workshop. The loco frames and wheel sets having been restored previously we will initially check that all settings and wheel centres are to specification. The boiler will soon be removed from the frames (it was installed for transport from the Island) so that it can be worked on. Work has also commenced on the tender to separate the body, frames and wheel sets. Little or no restoration has been done on the tender since it was rescued from Barry.

 

6447 and 2968 went to Barry coupled together in April or May 1966. I have a photo of the pair at Worcester station en-route within the SMF Archive. PM me an e-mail address and I'll forward you a copy.

 

Youtube video of start of restoration.

EAST SOMERSET RAILWAY - YouTube

 

Great video of 46447. Thanks for posting, 32110.

 

I'm a bit reluctant to do that: the photo is copyright of the photographer, although he has allowed the SMF permission to use it in-house. I've stretched the point a bit by forwarding it to the 6447 Group under similar conditions, but making it public on a website might be pushing it a bit!

 

LMS2968 - While recognising that you are obviously an LMS fan shouldn't the Ivatt, the subject of this thread, be referred to as 46447 rather than 6447 as it was built in 1950?

 

In days of yore, when I was a lad (and, I guess, so was LMS 2968), 6447 meant 46447, just as 5593 meant 45593. You never bothered with the first number when saying or writing these things down unless there was likely to be confusion with those funny western locos.

 

Yep, that's how the enginemen of the day would regfer to the engine, in this as case sixty four, forty seven.

I wasn't borm early enough to work on BR during steam days, but did so in 1973, when the men of the steam era were still around, and the conversation - possibly surprisingly - was often about their work with steam locos. I probably picked up the habit there. But I feel we should also preserve practice from the times as well as the engines, so I always drop the '4' when referring to an LMS (derived) loco.

 

Yes. There's even a specific way to say the number. Thus 45407 would be referred to as 'fifty four, 0 seven' or 'fifty four nought seven' and 46220 as 'sixty two, twenty'. When you got to the BR standards, it would be (say) 'nine, twenty two, nought three'

 

London Midland Region shed roster boards always used four numbers. The 4 was omitted.
Then we have the classic Piccolo Pete Johnson story. He was instructed by the Crewe South running foreman to take 2848 (Crab 2-6-0) for a train of empties to Stoke. Upon arriving at the loco he noticed GWR 2-8-0 2848 was stood next to it. Pete, being a man of fun, took the GWR 2-8-0 off shed and picked up the train. He departed for Stoke, but was stopped at Alsager signal box. Control queried why he was driving a Wessie on the Knotty. He replied that he was instructed to take 2848. Control replied, you've got the wrong 2848, hook off and fetch it back to South shed. Of course, he got a rollocking the next day from the Shed Foreman.

 

Some photos taken last Wednesday, 14/11/12.

 

Once the tender tank was removed the extent of the rot in some of the cross bracing became evident. Much of this has now been cut out. The replacement steel was delivered today. Tender axle boxes have been removed and degunged ready for painting. Springs and hagers were also removed, I was surprised on how easy it was to knock out the pins when one thinks they were put in by BR, say, 50 years ago!

Start has also been made on the boiler. Smokebox was very thin/rotten in places and this has been removed for scrap. Start has been made on removing flue and small tubes. See attached photos - did BR ever washout this boiler?

 

Reply to The Saggin' Dragon post #4. The photograph appears on the uklocos.com database against 46447.

 

Similarly there was a tale of somebody at Toton shed getting into trouble after fitting a 'joke' cardboard nameplate to s modest LMS 0-6-0 4F as a jest towards LNER 4472 "Flying Scotsman" celebrity status. The 4F 4472 spent its life in the Nottinghamshire coal fields and was built in June 1928 a month after its LNER numbersake hauled the 1st non stop Kings Cross to Edinburgh so the story seams plausable.

I am sure I have come across a clash of numbers between two preserved locos somewhere (i.e. not an obvious one i.e. such as 1-100)