Update - 3rd Septamber 2007
Well I think August has been a fairly successful month, with a number of jobs either progressed or started.
Boiler
Work has at last began on the boiler.
Most of the outside has now been de-scaled and painted to prevent it corroding again.
A few last washout plugs remain well and truely stuck, but other than that and the regulator head removal, the boiler is all but ready for it's thorough inspection. (Hopefully in the next couple of months).
Chassis
A production line has began in the workshop to make the new spring pillar guide brackets.
The brackets, which secure the spring reaction bars against the frames were badly worn and I am about half way through milling eight new ones out of 2" x 2" solid steel bar. The procurement of a mini band saw has aided this greatly, bringing the time to cut through the stock steel from 45 minutes to about 2!!! (And a lot less arm work!!!!!)
New lower spring hanger pins have been ordered from an engineering company in Derby and these should arrive in the next couple of weeks.
With all but three of the new top pins turned, there isn't a lot left to do before the springs and hangers can be reassembled onto the frames.
The horn guides have taken a bit of a back burner. All four of the rear ones were fitted a while back, but the front ones need reaming out and new bolts fitting. I have made a tool to press the guides hadr against the frame plates and this has proved to work, so now I just need to put time into reaming and turning new bolts!!!!!
I have finally bitten the bullet and written off to a number of companies to get quotes for the new journal bearings to be machined. Hopefully one big bill and it's another job off the to do list!!!!!!!!!!
Tank
It has finally seen the start of work on the tank.
The chimney had to be cut free from the tank to allow repairs to be carried out. The pettycoat casting at the base of the chimney is siezed solid and so there was no way to withdraw the two parts separately! The tank therefore had to be chopped and the entire assembly removed as a whole (Along with a core from the tank!!!).
Thanks to my old man who supplied and assembled a scaffold tower to lift the chimney clear of the tank.
The tank was rolled over onto it right hand side in order for the welder to get access to the bottom of the tank. The external patches which had been welded on a number of years ago were removed and the whole sorry state of the tank became apparent
The entire left hand side was then systematically chopped out ready for new material to be welded in.
New angle iron has been delivered to be wedled in as the main 'back-bone' of the structure and new plates are already being rolled to be fitted.
The front plate of the tank was also found to be badly wasted, and I was able to puch two holes through the metal by hand, using a fairly blunt chissel.
This has already been chopped out and new platework weleded into place.
Work has stopped the last few weeks, but at least progress is being made!!!!
General
Well, I think that's it for the Augst update. I though you might be interested in seeing some prgress made on other RRM locomotives, so here is a pisture of sister Barclay BSC No 2 (AB1931/1927), the day the boiler arrived back from overhaul... watch the railway press, she should be back and running in the next two months!!!!!
