A different train of thought .

[plastic orange]

It's a huge amount of work restoring and maintaining a steam loco. I'm following a full rebuild on an Ivatt class 2 mt 46464 (Log in to Facebook ) that is local to me and it's taking years. The owner was basically doing it in his back yard adjacent to Bridge of Dun station, and it's moved for final part of the build to Aviemore. I visited a friend who stays at Bridge of Dun and he showed me where the build had taken place, and the guy also has 3 0-6-0 saddle tank locos waiting in line - a life's work.

Pete

 

[Chuffer]

It's a huge amount of work restoring and maintaining a steam loco. I'm following a full rebuild on an Ivatt class 2 mt 46464 (Log in to Facebook ) that is local to me and it's taking years. The owner was basically doing it in his back yard adjacent to Bridge of Dun station, and it's moved for final part of the build to Aviemore. I visited a friend who stays at Bridge of Dun and he showed me where the build had taken place, and the guy also has 3 0-6-0 saddle tank locos waiting in line - a life's work.

Pete

Lucky to own so many loco`s but I hope he has very deep pockets ! I was part of a group of volunteers on the Severn Valley that years ago rebuilt sister loco 46443 that took several years and it wasn`t even in scrap condition when we started . Cracking little locos , we called them `Mickey Mouses`s ` down here . . I was then a project co-ordinator on the total strip down , restoration and rebuild of Ivatt 4MT 43106 . That took 9 years , even with a sizeable gang of us working on it ! It was immensely satisfying driving it once we had finished it in 2009 .

 

[Chuffer]

Pete ,
Just looked up that facebook page . Some really good work going on there , especially fabricating the new hopper ashpan and dampers . We had to do all that for 43106 as the ashpan had rotted away to next to nothing in many places .As it is the only survivor of its class we could not copy from another loco. I contacted York Railway Museum to ask if they had any drawings in their archives but they had nothing for an Ivatt 4MT . I had to take loads of measurements and work out angles and shapes from the wrotten original and having trained as a draughtsman I made up a full set of working drawings for fabrication of a new one . The same applied to the tender drag-box that is a very heavy and complex steel fabrication . After ordering up all the steel plate and flame cutting all the sections to rough size , the parts were machined and drilled for the many rivet and bolt holes . I held my breath when we craned the complete assembly into the tender chassis . It all lined up and fitted like a glove .
Referbishing Wakefield mechanical lubricators is very theraputic too , rows of little piston pumps inside the oil box that are ratchet driven by a linkage from the reciprocating parts of the locos valve and pistons motion . Every revolution of the wheels indexes the mecanical lubricator a partial turn thus moving the pumps up and down to feed a constant supply of oil to the axle boxes . Another similar lubricator constantly feeds much thicker cylinder oil via an atomiser that produces a fine `mist` of oil with each injection of steam into the locos cylinders . It will be intersting to follow their facebook page as work progresses .

Mike.

 

[plastic orange]

Yes, it's interesting seeing The Carmyllie Pilot coming back to life. When it was withrawn from BR, for some reason it was placed in a shed in Dundee Harbour and sat there for years. My brother who worked in the harbour told me about it and I was intrigued from then on. Incidentally, my last trip on the main line was in a 2MT at Errol on a ballasting train. I asked for a cab ride and they took me from Errol to Inchture and back again, dropping me off lineside, what a great experience. This must have been around 1965 when I was 11. My mate in Bridge of Dun is a former US marine who was based in Edzell on his final posting and still runs American cars - he's got 2 trucks at the moment, but had a nice C4 vette a few years ago which unusually was a manual.

Pete

 

[Chuffer]

Yes, it's interesting seeing The Carmyllie Pilot coming back to life. When it was withrawn from BR, for some reason it was placed in a shed in Dundee Harbour and sat there for years. My brother who worked in the harbour told me about it and I was intrigued from then on. Incidentally, my last trip on the main line was in a 2MT at Errol on a ballasting train. I asked for a cab ride and they took me from Errol to Inchture and back again, dropping me off lineside, what a great experience. This must have been around 1965 when I was 11. My mate in Bridge of Dun is a former US marine who was based in Edzell on his final posting and still runs American cars - he's got 2 trucks at the moment, but had a nice C4 vette a few years ago which unusually was a manual.

Pete

What a treat never to be forgotten for an 11 year old , the old steam days men were generally very agreeable breed . Todays H&S police would have a hissy fit , especially being dropped off lineside !! What a magnificent part of the world you live , I really enjoyed travelling by train from Edinburgh to Inverness some years ago . Aviemore Station is beautifully restored . Your mate sounds an interesting gut too .

 

[plastic orange]

Yes, was a great experience. I used to get to go on the footplate when they were shunting in Errol Station yard - coal and farm produce, but it was pretty quiet generally. Plenty main line action, particularly the black 5's putting on a show. However, the state of some of the locos was apalling. My Ex US marine mate has plenty stories to tell about his life - latterly in the listening station at Edzell. He's our go to guy for any info we need on yank stuff as he's had quite a few over the years.


Pete

 

[Oneball]

Westons Cider Mill.

 

[Chuffer]

A handsome looking machine , very nice . Where is Westons Cider ?

 

[Oneball]

A handsome looking machine , very nice . Where is Westons Cider ?

Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Nice drive out that way. Cider shop and a little cafe.

 

[Chuffer]

Sounds good Oneball , and Herefordshire certainly has nice drives . We usually drive through that area on the way to visit friends in Mid Wales . Will have to make a detour one day as rather partial to a flagon of cider or two . Can drool over that lovely Invictor road roller too .

 

[Oneball]

Sounds good Oneball , and Herefordshire certainly has nice drives . We usually drive through that area on the way to visit friends in Mid Wales . Will have to make a detour one day as rather partial to a flagon of cider or two . Can drool over that lovely Invictor road roller too .

They do a tour of the mill/factory too.

They’ve got shire horses as well one of which is about the height of the steam roller.

 

[Roscobbc]

I have a buddy with a steam roller - he's based in SW Essex - he and his missus used to connect-up a period working cabin and do the 20 mile or so trip to the Enfield Pagent every year. It would take him about 6 hours or so to do the journey and how ever many tons of best Welsh coal. If we think that we're hard done by with Super Unleaded and £100 bills for just a ride-out - theirs was many times that.........

 

[Chuffer]

What a liesurely and fun way to travel and p*ss off lots of motorists too ! Steam quality coal is now running at about £290 per ton !!! That`s why it a cheap day out to travel on a steam hauled train these days , and that`s before you add on all the other overheads .

 

[Chuffer]

I can well imagine that guy shovelling his heart out on the P2 , what an exprience ! It was really quite an advanced design when built in 1934 . The A1 Locomotive Trust that completed the modern replica of A1 Pacific `Tornado` in 2009 is now building a replica of the P2 . That will sort the men from the boys when it goes out on the national rail system , provided we can still get the coal ! Tornado is a real beast itself with lots of power and very smooth running on roller bearing axles . The cab is a cross between the flightdeck of a 747 and the bridge of the QE2 with so much old and new tech crammed in . It has dual braking systems , one for old fashioned combined steam / vacuum brake sustems and one one for modern air brake train systems . There are controls panels for modern automatated train protection and warning systems , steam generated electricity for running lights , cab lighting , inspection lighting under the loco for oiling up and preparing the loco in the dark and even a mobile phone charging point and 2 way radio for communications with Network Rail Area Control Centres !! I lucky enough to drive it when it was `fresh out the box` . A big moment for me . Here I am waiting toback onto the train at Kidderminster and then on the 1 in 100 climb up Eardington Bank . View attachment 14357View attachment 14358

Had another day working on our current project loco at Loughborough yesterday . Sad to see Tornado in the workshops as she has been prematurely withdrawn from main line operations due to wheel flats on the driving wheels and tender wheels after `slides` caused by brake applications on damp leaf strewn rails on its last outing . As the steel tyres on the tender wheels are close to minimum allowed thickness they cannot be turned on an in situ wheel turning machine as is the norm so will have to come off for new tyres and and macining . She was due for general overhaul in 2022 anyway so the decision was taken to withdraw her now and start all the work early . That will be contract work for the paid staff in the engineering department though .

 

[Chuffer]

The the last two sessions in the loco workshop has been a contuum of the unglamerous side of steam locomotive restoration and overhaul . That means hours of scraping and washing off with parafin , the years of oil and grime build up thickened with copious amounts of coal dust and ash that collects inside the frames , axles , suspension and brake components . At least access has now been made a bit easier after after a mega shunting session of all the other locos receiving attention at Loughborough workshops so that Sir Lamiel now sits over one of the inspection pit roads . And what a pit ! Over 75 metres long , enough to take three large locos end to end . Imagine how many Corvettes you work on over a pit like that ! The cleaning and descaling has revealed a number of interesting `issues` . Two being a substantially large cracks in the main frames (ie : the chassis ) that have been welded up in times past but at least appear to still be sound with no further signs of stress fractures . Also shown in the images is twin lines of circular indentations that have been `hammered` with great force over the years by the heads of the massive rivets along the lower edge fire box where it joins the ashpan . This particular area is always a close fit between the frames on all narrow firebox design locos but in Sir Lamiels case it clearly demonstrates that the boiler was not sitting fully square within the frames . The construction technique dose allow for some free movement as all loco boilers are only mechanical fixed at the smokebox ( chimney ) end to allow for expansion movement over the boilers length from a cold state to full working temperature . This can be as much as an inch growth in length . The next job will be to needle gun all these areas to get down to sound , clean steel and assess the frames conditions before painting with primer ready to accept undercoat and gloss red at a later date . A red paint finish has historically always been applied to the inside faces of loco frames along with the axles for generations as it proved the best colour for showing up any cracks developing as oil and dirt will seep into the cracks and be more easily spotted by the driver as he went about his daily task of oiling up all the axle boxes and inside valve and pistons gear if so fitted .

 

[Roscobbc]

I seem to recall one of the American car/steam guys recalling a story many years ago how much he 'enjoyed' driving his engine over Tower Bridge and deliberately stoking-up with tar preserved telegraph poles or sleeper for that 'added' bit of extra black smoke going over the bridge.

 

[Chuffer]

I seem to recall one of the American car/steam guys recalling a story many years ago how much he 'enjoyed' driving his engine over Tower Bridge and deliberately stoking-up with tar preserved telegraph poles or sleeper for that 'added' bit of extra black smoke going over the bridge.

Sounds a fun thing to do ! In my early days of being a fireman on the Severn Valley Railway we used to make `Clag Bombs` withempty 1 litre plastic coke bottles filled with waste locomotive oil and chuck it the firebox at any location where there were linside photographers . It produced an instant pall of dense black smoke that the photters loved . But we kept getting told of by our Locomotive Inspectors if you were spotted and were banned from using them .

 

[Roscobbc]

As time goes by and I guess car and truck exhausts get cleaner and cleaner I've become very sensitive to smells. Following a car in front where the driver or passenger has just lit up a fag (or even worse 'weed') is instantly noticeable. As is following the infrequent knackered, oil smoking old banger. For me the very worst thing is following a knackered or poorly maintained diesel. I detest the smell of diesel exhausts - especially the 'country' ones where perhaps someone has mixed some paraffin or red with it.
Quite how the 'Septics' over there in the 'States can watch (and breathe - in the fumes) from diesel drag racing amazes me.........filthy things

 

[Chuffer]

Didn`t need ` Glag Bombs` on 45157 and 45110 departing Glasgow Central Station on 31st May 2000 with the return leg of the `Laird of Stranraer ` three day railtour from Crewe to Glasgow , Glasgow to Stranraer and return , and Glasgow back to Crewe . I was on 45110 and the clag is down to good old fashioned steam coal . The fireboxes had been banked up well for the climb out of Glasgow Central up to Eglington Street Tunnel and the route southwards through Carstairs.

 

[Chuffer]

As time goes by and I guess car and truck exhausts get cleaner and cleaner I've become very sensitive to smells. Following a car in front where the driver or passenger has just lit up a fag (or even worse 'weed') is instantly noticeable. As is following the infrequent knackered, oil smoking old banger. For me the very worst thing is following a knackered or poorly maintained diesel. I detest the smell of diesel exhausts - especially the 'country' ones where perhaps someone has mixed some paraffin or red with it.
Quite how the 'Septics' over there in the 'States can watch (and breathe - in the fumes) from diesel drag racing amazes me.........filthy things

I totally agree Ross , diesel oil is the spawn of the devil . I don`t think my lungs ever recovered from one of my main line forays back in 2002 when I was on the footplate of A4 Pacific ` Union of South Africa ` . We were working the loco from Kidderminster up to Carlisle with our support coach in tow ready to work a southbound charter train over the Settle & Carlisle line the next day . We were being piloted by two Class 50 diesel electric locos that were then going to run south from Carlisle to London to bring the charter train full of passengers up to us for run south over the S&C line .( still haven`t fathomed Network Rails logic on that one !! ) . We entered Old Hill Tunnel on the Stourbridge to Birmingham line which has a fierce gradient uphill all the way through the tunnel of 1in 45 easing off to just over a mile of 1 in 51 . Were were crawling through at 25 mph due to a temporary speed restriction for engineering works . The stink from those two diesels was far worse than the smoke from our loco and me and my mate were gasping and our eyes streaming long before we came out into fresh air . I had a packet of Extra Mints in my pocket and we polished the lot off over the next few miles trying to get the taste of diesel fumes out of our mouths . It`s a wonder I am still normal !