8th November 2009
Poetry in motion!
Well in truth ut is highly unlikely that such prose would be uttered whilst concentrating on sorting out and setting up such things as valve gear and paving the way for the motion to be added, but work is certainly progressing and that is always good for newsletter prose!
The cross-heads are now up in place in the slide bars and pistons are back in the cylinders. New valves rings are on order and hopefully the valves can be re-assembled soon too.
It is hoped that the loco chassis might be able to go into the works for a short period, once the overhaul of the E4 is completed, to allow the coupling rods and connecting rods to go up on the chassis.
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The Boiler
The new casting for the blast pipe has arrived from the foundry and it is hoped that machining can start, before the year end and then another job can be ticked off the list. |
On the boiler, further riveting work has taken place around the foundation ring, this has enabled a start to be made on tapping out the stay holes and sizes determined, so that some new stays can be obtained. There are 600 stays to replace, so it will be a long old job. 
The tender
Meanwhile the tender has not been forgotten. The split on the left hand side has been welded up and David Jones has “touched in” all the rust spots etc, and then the tender will be fully rubbed down and repainted, in the latter stages of the loco’s overhaul. In the meantime the whole of the coal space and the area behind has been fully cleaned up and re-painted and a start made on cleaning and re-painting the interior. This will be quite a long job, and can only be tackled when it is dry and not too cold, otherwise there is too much condensation inside. Work has started on making a new wooden footplate for the tender.
...and there you have it. Call in anytime to see us at the park and take a look at 1638 which remains in active service (after having had its wheelset driving pin sorted out, which had temporarily laid her up. The pin was the one repaired at overhaul which had slipped in its driving wheel recess, but is now a secure fitting again)
27th July 2009
Side splitting fun!
Yes everyone is a good one at the Park and particularly at the moment. The respite from the rain at the swapmeet offered the chance to get a new take on restoration progress with 847. Our S15 is rewheeled of course, as reported earlier but the next steps are already underway. For a start the tender has been receiving attention. When originally restored, the tank received new side sheeting (the whole sides were redshaped and reskinned in truth). Anyway the tank latterly suffered from a weeping seam joint where the side sheets were welded to the main framework of the tank. Doing a proper fix for what was really a minor issue had to wait until the right time. That is now! Melvyn has cut a hole in the top sheeting to get access to the problem, and also allowing easier access for a good look/see inside the whole tank itself. The pictures here are pretty self explanatory. The tank needs bracing at the seam which you can see from both inside and outside in the photos here. The rest of the tank seems in reasonable shape although it might not look a pretty colour to you!... it is substantial enough. This weakness was the only problem for the tank which when you consider the weight of potentially 5000 gallons of water being rattled up and down the line is not bad at all!
There have been other minor pieces of tender work going on too, such as the pipework (shown later) that ducts the length of the tank. You are looking at it by a sanding box at the footplate end.
The frames themselves are now on their wheelsets of course. I present for you then a view across the top of the frames showing the axles in place and some of the shiny non-ferrous metals to be seen on the axleboxes. Also in the pictures you can see Mel and Jo taking a break from some of the tender renovation work. Want to come and share the tea and biscuits? then get yourself down to the Park on a Sunday at 10 with overalls... easy as that.. and the engine will be back in service faster too!
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Inside the tank.Might look grim, to you, and crawling around it isn't a bundle of laughs, but its quite tidy. |
Frameset rewheeledThese are now standing outside the front door of the Bluebell workshop |
New bits and pieces for the tender
...and in this case this means some pipework to replace the old
A moment's pause on a sunny day!
These are the days to remember when its indoor working stuff only in January. A splendid day at the Park to do a bit and watch the engines move in and out of the station from time to time, making for a great tea break!
Boiler
..and so my friends, to the main event of the moment. Lets not be coy here, the boiler is the single biggest obstacle to reassembly of the whole locomotive. The stay work is extensive and ongoing, if not somewhat expensive given the number of these stays that have to be replaced. For the uninitiated the stays (and there are hundreds of them) brace the inside firebox (made of copper and entirely containing the boilers coal fire), from the external (water containing and surrounding) boiler shell. The copper conducts the heat to the fire directly though the heat is drawn down the tubes in the boiler barrel to give a greater contact area with the water. Given that the whole thing runs typically at 200 psi the bracing needs to be robust to say the least... hence the shear number of stays to do this. The safety of crew (and beyond) dictate that the stays are in excellent condition. Lesson over.. what does this mean in reality? Well, save for one or two areas (that will be fixed later too),
the inner and outer fireboxes aren't bad and the foundation ring (steel ring that seals the edge of the firebox as well as providing extra bracing) isn't going to be removed. The stays near it though are. What you can see in the pictures that follow are new rivets in the foundation ring to replace well work ones, and stays removed. The old rivets get a pilot hole drilled in the them to make burning them out with the oxy acetylene easier, and then the rivet hole is reamed to size before a temporary nut and bolt is put in, to hold the inner and outer boxes exactly in place pending the preparation and fitting of new rivets. As you can see the new rivet work along the foundation ring at the firebox side looks good. The holes above are awaiting the fitting of the new stays. These copper threaded bars are individually set. Sizing can change from the original 1 inch diameter to possible oversizing to 1 and 1/16th inch, dependent upon what we find. 
Doing one or two of these is fine.... but consider the time needed to deal with the hundreds or them them that have to be done!
A look at the firehole door area, from the inside shows one or two other issues yet to be resolved. The over lapped copper plates are thin and corroded in the corner. These will get replaced or built up by a specialist copper welder. The rivets will also be renewed. The steel doorway itself needs its fixing holes rebuilding too.
...and finally from 1638 and 847I add on here a picture of 1638 for no other reason than she looks good! Set alongside 847 by the Sheffield Park shed on swapmeet day she was out of service but looking the part. Its hard to think that already 3 years have elapsed since she was put back into service. Time flies. Well in that time she has seen lots of active service. There are some maintenance issues to fix as you would get from any engine that has flown the flag for Bluebell as well as ours has, but nothing that cant be fixed in due course! Get down to the park and enjoy a ride behind her soon! |
Yes its true, after months of anticipation, the next big step on the way back for 847 has been taken. 847’s frames were re-wheeled on Thursday 21st May after much hard work by Tony Funnell, assisted by Ray Bellingham, working on overhauling the locomotive’s axleboxes and horn guides. The bogie axle boxes were also overhauled, which did add time to the job, but has ensured a “very thorough” job has been done.
hand then the frames can go inside and work start on fitting on the motion components. One of the best things about an overhaul as opposed to a restoration like 1638 was, is that we have all the bits so the major hurdles of making new parts for the missing ones are not there... just replacing the worn out ones! This continues apace as we make 847's overhaul a truly comprehensive one that will last her well. Her frames rewheeled are shown here. The identity of the person who seems to have adopted the late George Nicksons role of getting "in shot" is unknown!
At the time of writing, the workshop staff had been able to make a start on riveting up the foundation ring, as and when it was appropriate in between jobs on the E4 boiler and the P class boiler. Once this is completed Melvyn Frohnsdorff and Frank Glue can start tapping out stay holes to the required sizes for new stays. Expect to hear more about this in future; there are a lot of stays!
Stays are the name of the game at present. Both 1638 and 847 have fallen foul of this one. In 1638's case, some lower stays remained from the boiler overhaul that had initially been passed as sound. This it would appear was optimistic as they are now playing up so into the works she went. Meanwhile 847s boiler is already in the works and undergoing continuous and extended surgery. There is progress here though for Melvyn Frohnsdorff having recently received help from volunteers Frank Glue and Simon Allen are now just three days away from completing the drilling out of the 600 stays on the sides of the firebox, below running plate level that had been earmarked for replacement. The next job is tap out the threads and start to order up and replace the copper stays. This in itself is a major piece of work but a turning point has been reached and we all feel better for that!
Tony Funnell has finished machining the axle boxes and has spent extra time on fettling up the hornguides and wedges to ensure the boxes are a good smooth fit with the frames – see photo. All that remains is to individually “bed in” all six driving wheel boxes onto each individual axle journal. Unfortunately this has not been possible in recent weeks due to U class 1638 going into the works (see below) and occupying the space we had wanted to use for working on 847’s axles.... but at least it is our own engine so we can hardly complain too much now can we?! As things stand we should still not be held from our ambition of re-wheeling 847 around about this Easter.
The loco went into the works at the beginning of November and by the end of December the defective stays had been removed, new stays procured and most of them were in place and the workshop staff were “beading them over”. The boiler inspector is due to visit in mid January and hopefully the loco will be re-assembled and passed fit for traffic by the end of January.
Now I know that this isn't strictly speaking a restoration update topic , but doesn't this shot of our 2 U class engines 1618 and 1638, just outside the shed at sheffield Park, look great!
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To get rewheeling done most of the recent effort has of course gone into axle box preparation. This is timeconsuming. Whitemetal has to be applied to the contact surfaces, then machined in the Bluebell workshop at Sheffield park so that a match of surfaces can be done. A 100% perfect match though can only be done after this stage when a physically match up and final adjustment takes place. The picture you can see here then shows an axle box machined and ready for match up. The wheelsets stand in the workshop ready for this purpose.
The other big work is the boiler. This is extremely timeconsuming and has Melvyn fully occupied. The literally hundreds of stays have to be removed. For the uninitiated a "stay" is a copper dumbell type bar (kind of!) typically 6 inches or so in length (but varies) that is threaded at either end. The thread secure the stay into the inner and outer firebox so that the middle of the bar is in the water jacket of the boiler. When fitted the copper stay ends are then beaten to create a steam tight seal. This is all well and good but getting out a copper stay (soft metal) out of a copper firebox (also soft metal!) without significant damage means that one has to drill the centre of the stay through as a kind of pilot hole and then using a centre punch or similar drift tool hammer the scrap former stay into the pilot hole away from the firebox metal. The picture nearby shows the remnants of the previous stay removed. Note the stays higher up the firebox, all drilled out and ready to be worked on. Got that? Reckon you can beat Melvyn's 15mins per stay?... Mmm reckon you can repeat the process say 500 times? Yes?... you are hired! Seriously, your Maunsell team has made terrific progress on this. They need to as well as, as stays are removed the exact size of the replacement isn't known (eg: an oversize can be needed to varying degrees... this being 
annotated to the firebox inner as you go so you know which of the hundreds of stays goes in which hole). Once all sizes are known then the replacement stays can be ordered (and paid for... please give generously!). 
Finally, from time to time you get to see faces appear on this update. They are maunsell team members, the people who contribute to the restoration and overhaul of our engines by giving up their time, usually on Sundays (but other times are possible too). This shot is of Ben Coughlan, one of our more recent and younger recruits inspecting one of the links from the motion of 847 which has been cleaned up checked and stored awaiting reassembly. You now have a name to the face. If you are ever at Sheffield Park come and talk to us be it Ben or anyone else in the team. A warm welcome will be assured from anyone in the society you meet. 
To the left are wheel sets in the workshop ready for the task of matching up the machined axleboxes to the axle journals, and the final fitting in that this involves.
We must thank Henry Mowforth of the workshop staff who took the lead on removing the 180 old crown stays. This was difficult and unpleasant task in a very confined space. They are now all out and Chris Shepherd, the Workshop Manager, is looking into how to order up replacements. Meanwhile two of our volunteers Frank Glue and Clive Bean have also provided some help to the workshop staff who are removing the copper side stays, below footplate level, with over half out on the right hand side already. This is a slow gutty job, but where care is required in order not to break drills, or drill out of alignment. Hopefully it will not be many more weeks before this job is completed and re-staying can start.
Tony Funnell is maintaining good progress with the axleboxes. The thrust faces and crowns have had new white metal cast in place and await machining meanwhile Tony is drilling and fixing a new set of bronze side faces.
Its now just over a year since we started our “fast track” overhaul of the Society’s ever popular S15 847. We have two skilled engineers each working two days a week on the project, we have usually around half a dozen people working on a Sunday, other volunteers down midweek and the workshop staff have now taken on the overhaul of the boiler. The Society is committed to putting a substantial 5 figure sum into the overhaul. So by working jointly with the Bluebell Railway workshop staff we hope to “fast track” the overhaul through to completion within another 18 months.
The cleaning and repainting of the frames will continue to conclusion.
The most complex and time consuming job on most loco overhauls is work on the boiler. The good news since the last report is that the boiler has undergone an ultrasonic test and passed with flying colours. We are very pleased to have established that it will not require any replacement of any areas of the outer steel boiler and firebox. This means that the overhaul will be much less protracted than envisaged.
Melvyn Frohnsdorff has made a good start on fabricating a whole new smokebox. He has cut out a new front face from new steel and has riveted on a length of angle to enable it to be joined to the sides, in due course. Ray Bellingham has overhauled the door and hinges and fitted a new sacrificial plate on the rear. The door has now been fitted to the front. Clive Bean has helped by grinding various components to shape.
After a
good cleanout of some surprisingly large objects - achieved by the use of
pressurised air, water, fire and torches on sticks - the most significant event
of the last few weeks has been the ultra-sonic tests on the boiler. Thankfully,
it has passed - saving us many, many hours work. Significant progress has been
made with the tedious, but rewarding, task of removing grease and grime from
the framesets, which have now started to be painted, both inside and out. The
wheels and bogie were also cleared of grime and gunge, and were sent to the
South Devon Railway on 8 March for re-profiling. The 5 wheel sets are due back
in late April. 
Ray has been
busying himself overhauling the motion - the drop links and union links are now
complete. He has also removed the valves and split the cross-head - these will
be further dismantled, but the slide-bars will most likely remain in-situ. The
cab floor has been dismantled and removed. Unfortunately, much of the wood was
rotten, and new wood will be sourced. The fall plate will be cleaned up and
re-used. We have called on the services of 2 colleagues outside of the usual
MLS working group - Tony Funnell, to re-metal the axle boxes; and Fred Bailey,
who has created the technical drawings for 847's new driving axle and bogie
springs. The springs will be ordered shortly. Ian Collins has spent a good
number of hours creating the back plate for the boiler. This may sound simple,
but on close inspection, its wonderful curved edges and shape make it a true
masterpiece, that will look very fine as part of 847 (you may recall the
fantastic work he did on cladding pieces for 1638 such as thedome cover and
Our PMV continues to progress well, and is fast becoming
fully weatherproof on all sides with a few new doors, and all windows now
fitted. There are many other small, but crucial jobs that are also in progress
or completed - including the tidying-up/painting of the cab roof, grinding of
the smoke-box tube holes, removal/cleaning of bogie splashers,…
As mentioned in the latest
Bluebell News and Maunsell Locomotive Society magazine the boiler is out of the
frames. The frames were lifted from the wheels before Christmas and the boiler
grit blasted and painted by a professional firm, which has saved us lots of
time. The Sunday gang have been on site every weekend through the Autumn, over
Christmas and New Year and into January and have been busy with the following:-
Removing the smokebox, (it had wasted thin in places) and stripping off the
superheater header to allow access to the main steam pipe for inspection. The
regulator and regulator rod have been removed from the dome and access gained
to inside the boiler to allow lots of scale to be removed from inside the
boiler and some scale raked out from around the foundation ring. Melvyn
Frohnsdorff and Frank Glue have been busy removing rivets from the foundation
ring, which all require replacement. Another group of volunteers have got stuck
into the tedious, but essential task of scraping large dollops of gunge, filth
etc. of all the wheels, and only when that had been done has it been possible
to have a really good go with the new steam cleaner, which has worked wonders
to get them up to a condition that is fit for re-painting. The bogie is ready
to be dismantled to enable the wheelsets to come out. We do however await the
red fork lift truck to be repaired so the job can be tackled.
What next? The firebox area needs
a good wash out and then an ultrasonic testing of the thickness of the external
boiler platework carried out to determine how much might require replacing. 
We
pleased to announce that 847's boiler was successfully lifted from its frames
on Thursday 19th October and a firm of contractors is due to grit blast the
boiler in early November. 
The tender is in good
condition having had major platework replacement when first restored. Initial
impressions of the condition of the motion is favourable. The loco was fitted
with new cylinder liners when restored. A keen and experienced gang of
volunteers is being led by the Society's Chairman, Ray Bellingham, who has
overseen the restoration of 4 ex Barry locos. The overhaul of the loco will be
a joint project with the Bluebell Railway, with the Maunsell Locomotive Society
shouldering the bulk of the stripping down work and the Bluebell Railway
helping with the re-assembly stages. The Society's Chairman has already
overhauled all the loco's cab and boiler fittings. Subject to the condition of
the boiler the Society hope the overhaul can be completed in two years. 847 is
the very last 4-6-0 built by the SR and entered traffic in December 1936 and
was withdrawn from Feltham in January 1964. The MLS purchased the loco from
Barry Scrapyard in 1978 and completed the restoration of it in 1992. It clocked
up over 30,000 in 5 years on the Bluebell Railway but was stopped due to expiry
of its boiler ticket and need for tyre turning. Changes in the basis of
agreeing the 10 year boiler ticket, part way through the first restoration of
the loco led to it only having five year's of operation. It was a reliable and
popular loco and will be a welcome addition back in Bluebell's fleet of locos. 
Finally,
the PMV van is not forgotten and the picture here shows some paintwork looking
fresher following close attention
For a
number of years, the Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club has been running an
annual award scheme for applicants who have completed a transport related
restoration project in February of the year in question. Normally the project
has to be based in the county of Sussex. There are five categories, namely
industrial buildings, road vehicles, rail vehicles, water transport and air
transport. The winner of each category receives a cheque for £500 and a
brass plaque mounted on a wooden backboard. The Bluebell Railway, being a well
known historic transport centre, has received a number of awards from the
scheme over the years, and indeed we of the Maunsell Locomotive Society won a
Highly Commended plaque in 1993 for the restoration of S15 Class locomotive No.
847. Each year, all winners of the five categories go forward to the Overall
Award which is selected by members of the EHVC, rather than the judges which is
the case with the individual category winners. Last year the Overall Award went
to the Bluebell based Stroudley first class carriage No. 661. 
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