2003/04 Overhaul Archive - May 2004

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May 29

Being a Bank Holiday weekend there was a lower turn out than normal. But none the less good progress was made in two key areas.

The first of these areas was finishing off applying the first layer of insulation to the boiler. The heavy duty foil used should keep some heat in and will also serve to keep damp insulation off the metal of the boiler and firebox. In daily service with the loco always hot any damp insulation would rapidly be dried out however in preservation with only sporadic use and a lot of time spent in store out in the open the insulation can stay wet for weeks on end. This is not conducive to keeping the boiler and firebox as free from rust as possible !

Pete Archer applies the foil insulation and water protection layer the fireman's side of the firebox. May 29 2004

Steve Underhill (left) and Martyn Bane mid-way through foil wrapping the boiler. May 29 2004

One oven ready King, for best results cook for two weeks at gas mark 8. With the foil lagging applied to the boiler and firebox the Kaowool ceramic insulation can now be put in place. May 29 2004

The other area concentrated on during the day was preparing the cladding sheets for their first coat coat of paint. A few other bits and pieces were also prepared for painting.

Leon Salter (left) and John Salter flat down a cladding sheet. May 29 2004

Keith Clarke at work on yet another cladding sheet. May 29 2004 © John Salter

Tim Watson spent more time filling the top of the fire iron tunnel to get a good smooth surface on which to paint. May 29 2004 © John Salter

Having already received a top coat of paint, with more to come, some of the cladding pieces are starting to look fit for museum display. May 29 2004

The tender has also received its first top coat. May 29 2004

Leon Salter regularly stopped work to talk to some of the visitors at TLW. May 29 2004

Clearly all the exertions shown above were too much for Leon Salter who was found asleep on the front of the loco ! May 29 2004

May 22/23

Reassembly is continuing nicely.

The ashpan doors have been refitted. Only the new mechanism for the hoppers is required to complete the ashpan.

Lubrication pipework which sits under the boiler cladding has been refitted to enable work on lagging the boiler to commence. In addition may of the backhead fittings have been put back in place.

Steve Underhill (left) and Huw Button at work on the pipework which sits under the insulation and cladding. May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

Steve Underhill (left) and Huw Button work at fitting the first layer of insulation - a layer of heavy duty aluminium foil. This should not only improve insulation but will also keep the potentially wet Kaowool away from direct contact with the boiler barrel. So we hope it will be less corroded the next time it all comes apart ! May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

The backhead with the foil in place along with some of the backhead fittings and lubrication atomising steam pipework from the W valve back in place. May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

The tender has started to receive a new top coat of paint following problems with the original batch of paint. The boiler cladding sheets have continued to be rubbed down and painted prior to going back on the loco. Work also continued on preparing the cab roof for a repaint.

Bob Robson (left) and Brian Dodd flat down a piece of cladding from the top of the firebox. Note the lapped in superheater elements bottom right. May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

Ron Smith (left) and Roger Fox rub down a piece of boiler cladding. May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

On the motion all the lubrication corks have been checked with several being replaced.

In the week the superheater header and element faces were lapped in preparation for refitting the old elements soon.

Angie Hailwood enjoys the nice weather and the site of everyone else working hard ! May 23 2004 © Colin Henderson.

May 15/16

The race is now on to get everything back on the loco ! A good start was made this weekend.

A lot of work has taken place in the smokebox with a lot more to do....

Richard Jones (left) and Huw Button work at removing the superheater header blanks fitted for the hydraulic and steam tests. May 15 2004 © Colin Henderson

Most of the bolts attaching the smokebox to the smokebox saddle have been re-fitted. Only a few at the front remain to be done. May 16 2004

Steve Underhill reams out the bolt holes in the smokebox so as to line up perfectly with the saddle holes. This section of the smokebox is new. May 16 2004

There aren't a huge number of odds and ends to rub down anymore but one big item did get some attention for the first time.

Dave Fuszard rubs down the cab roof. May 15 2004 © Colin Henderson

Leon Salter paints the smokebox numberplate whilst in the background Chris Brown paints some cladding pieces. May 15 2004 © John Salter

General cleaning and tidying took place on the loco and where the boiler has been resting since February 6 2003.

Kevin Blake cleans up the regulator stuffing box. May 16 2004

Tim Watson fills some of the low spots on the fire iron tunnel. May 16 2004

The cab spectacle plate has been refitted, but before it was the first section of new insulation was put in place.

The first bit of insulation is in place. Heavy duty foil comes first, then a layer of Kaowool followed by an outer layer of foil. May 16 2004

Work has recommenced in earnest on getting the tender painted. Some other places have also received attention.

Graham Hopes flats down the tender ready for another coat of paint. May 16 2004

Mick Carr paints one of the eccentrics. Or should that be eccentric Mick Carr paints ? May 16 2004

Brian Dodd sets himself up to try and paint something he couldn't see ! May 16 2004

May 11

The boiler was lifted back into the frames today. This followed the refitting of the rear driving wheels and coupling rods over the preceding two days. A series of photos follow picturing the major stages in this difficult job.

Leon Salter puts graphite grease on the ashpan studs. May 11 2004

A few bits of the ashpan needed touching up. Again Leon Salter was the guy for the job. May 11 2004

To stop the smokebox door swinging open the dart was put back in position thus allowing the door to be screwed shut. May 11 2004

More shunting was required to get the frames from the wheeldrop road in the works into position to be rolled underneath the boiler.

Back as a 4-6-0 6024's chassis sits ahead of Porta modified, Kylpor exhaust fitted, Austerity 0-6-0st 'Fred'. May 11 2004

With the road clear the chassis was shunted down the yard towards the turntable. May 11 2004

The chassis had to be turned. Coupled to shunter 13029 there was just enough clearance around the turntable ! May 11 2004

Keith Lines complains about the lack of boiler pressure.... May 11 2004

Crane driver Steve Lester brings the TLW steam crane into position for the lift. May 11 2004

With the crane in position the first lift of the day could start. May 11 2004

Left: The first lift was to get the cab roof off. May 11 2004 Right: Lots of tea was, of course, drunk. Huw Button goes to get some more. May 11 2004

Once the cab roof was off the crane was moved up the yard alongside the boiler to allow the boiler lift to commence.

It took a few attempts to get the boiler balanced nicely. This is one of the early attempts - almost right ! May 11 2004

With the boiler suspended in the air the ashpan was moved underneath for fitting. May 11 2004

With a little persuasion the ashpan finally went back into place ! May 11 2004

However some last minute adjustments to the new sections of the ashpan were required for a good fit. May 11 2004

With the ashpan secured the crane brewed up to lift the boiler to allow the frames back underneath. May 11 2004

A few more feet were required to clear the airbrake stand. We got there eventually ! May 11 2004

A view from the side at roughly the same time as the above was taken. May 11 2004

Almost..... May 11 2004

Even closer.... May 11 2004

With the lifting tackle slack the boiler was back in the frames ! May 11 2004

6024 heads for the turntable again. May 11 2004

And back in the 6024 shed ready for another couple of months of reassembly. May 11 2004

The final job, other than tidying up, was for the crane to lift the cab roof on to the bogie the ashpan had been on. This was then wheeled down to the shed.

Mick Carr and Steve Underhill wheel the cab roof down the yard. May 11 2004

May 08

Preparations are in hand for the rear driving wheels to be returned to the frames very shortly. Once this is done, the springs are set and a bit of shunting undertaken the boiler can be lowered back into the frames. At last we will have something approaching a locomotive again ! Watch this space for news and photos of these operations - hopefully this week.

In the meantime as much as possible has been prepared to go back on the loco once the wheelset and boiler are back where they should be.

All copper pipes have now been annealed so are ready to be refitted. Hopefully someone will polish them shortly too ! May 08 2004 © Colin Henderson

Having been thoroughly messed up during the steam test all the backhead fittings have been polished (again). May 08 2004 © Colin Henderson

Huw Button (left) and Steve Underhill work on the rear coupling rods. In the background Keith Clarke cleans one of the backhead fittings. May 08 2004 © Colin Henderson

The repainted nameplates have now been re-united with the letters and in the correct order ! Certain other names have emerged in the last few months but the details are perhaps glossed over ! May 08 2004 © Colin Henderson

To enable the chassis to be pulled out of the workshop once the wheels are back in place three hours of shunting TLW yard took place ! Most things are now where they need to be for the big day.

Steve Underhill operates the TLW turntable during the shunting tour de force. The tender is now back in our shed at the rear where it needs to be. May 08 2004 © Colin Henderson

During the week something rather important arrived at Tyseley from overhaul at Rampart's in Derby. The long awaited water wagon is now ready to go. Removing the headaches of water stops will be an important contribution to risk reduction so this vehicle should be welcomed by steam enthusiasts who wish to see steam remain on the mainline for as long a possible.

May 01

Work has continued getting the boiler ready to go back in the frames. Painting has now been finished off.

John Salter finishes off painting the boiler barrel. May 01 2004

With the backhead fittings removed it was possible to clean the soot off and give the area a final coat of paint. May 01 2004

All the backhead controls have been removed to allow the painting to be finished and for them to be given a good clean.

Leon Salter cleans rust from the face the blowdown valve seats against. Once done the face was covered in WD40 to prevent further rusting. May 01 2004

Once the rear driving wheels are re-fitted major progress can start to be made. It is hoped to re-fit the wheels in the coming week. Prior to this work has continued on preparing the various items which can do back on the chassis. The same has happened with various boiler cladding pieces etc as we also hope to lift the boiler back into the frames very soon.

Pete Archer rubs down one of the external steam pipe cladding pieces. May 01 2004

A rubbed down part of the brake rigging prior to a coat of primer being applied. May 01 2004

The refurbished rear driving axles springs arrived during the week. We have three - two to go on the loco and one spare. Now these are with us everything required to turn the chassis back into a 4-6-0 is on site !

The rear drivers are in the works now. The first top coat was applied during the day. May 01 2004

With the refurbished rear driving axle springs back on site they are in the process of being re-hung from the axleboxes. May 01 2004

The spare rear driving axle spring as it arrived from be refurbished. As can be seen several of the leaves have been renewed. The new leaves are a different colour to the old ones as they have yet to rust ! May 01 2004