"Blue Circle" Steals The Show...
Today was 'just another day' at Shackerstone, my standard gauge concern. I signed on at 10:15am before heading down to the shed with a few of my collegues. As the small side-door opened, the first sight was the tender of the massive LNER B1 No1306 "Mayflower". Behind her was the frames of the ever-changing Peckett 0-6-0ST "Sir Gomer" (1859 of 1932) and, finally, the quaint Aveiling & Porter 2-2-0 "Blue Circle". Today I was to, as usual, be working on "Sir Gomer" and aiding her return to service. "Blue Circle" meanwhile was to undergo a test steaming. This was carried out to allow checking of the safety valves. The little engine was rolled, by three of us, out into the open before being "screwed down". Her smokebox and tubes were then cleared before her fire was lit. It was then a matter of playing "the waiting game". Meanwhile, I was underneath "Sir Gomer" cleaning the brake rigging, leaf springs and axleboxes with a parrafin mixture and a scraper. This resulted in a lot of slimey muck being removed from the stated areas and a much tidier "bottom end" would result. Elsewhere, the engine was also being needle-gunned. This was to remove any final paint from the rear bufferbeams which will later be primed & then painted. Finally, the last two rods which remained red on the firemans side were being paint-stripped and rubbed down. This created the "burnished" effect that has been achieved on the driver's side.
So, "Sir Gomer" is coming along 'slowly but surely'. Now, a little about the unusual "Blue Circle". The first thing to note is that this is NOT a traction engine, it is a railway locomotive! Well, actually, everything is virtually the same as a traction engine, apart from the wheels of course! "Blue Circle" was built by Aveiling & Porter in 1926 to a design which dates back to the 1860's. Therefore, the engine was, effectively, already over 60 years out of date when she was built! She worked at the Blue Circle Cement works at Snodland, hauling trains of heavy cement, before being withdrawn in 1962. She was then presented to the Bluebell Railway in Sussex and was named "The Blue Circle". After many years derelict she was repaired and later moved to the Northampton Ironstone Railway Trust's base. She did however return to the Bluebell in 2004 and hauled a short freight train for photographers. After that she went to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre before, in March 2005, moving to the Chinnor Railway. She visited Shackerstone (as a registered "Fergus" Thomas Character) in October 2006 and later became resident in November 2007, after leaving Chinnor. Since then, the 2-2-0 has been in steam at Shackerstone many times, whether it be as "Blue Circle" or as "Fergus"! 
After around 3 hours the engine had some steam on the clock and began to quietly 'tick-over' outside the shed. The above image shows the cab controls clearly. The handbrake can be seen to the left and the reversering lever can also be seen on the opposite side. The two water gauge glasses can be clearly seen, as can the central pressure gauge. The lever at the top of the image is the gear lever (for neutral or go!) and just to the right of that is the regulator. Also, attached to the gear lever is the whistle string. The circular control above the left gauge glass is the steam feed for the injector. "Blue Circle" also has a mechanical water-pump which operates when the engine is in motion or ticking over. The 2-2-0 is apparently a 10 horsepower locomotive and is a 'single' (only one cylinder). The fire can clearly be seen through the slightly-open firehole doors. The engine can easily move herself on around 10psi(!!) and can also tick-over before steam even shows on the gauge...not bad!! "Blue Circle" ticked over all afternoon before moving back into the cosy shed under her own steam. She was then left to cool down and with my cleaning jobs on "Sir G" complete, I left with my collegues, signing off at 5:20pm. Meanwhile, 1306 "Mayflower" lay dormant and untouched throughout the day. More posts coming soon!
Today was 'just another day' at Shackerstone, my standard gauge concern. I signed on at 10:15am before heading down to the shed with a few of my collegues. As the small side-door opened, the first sight was the tender of the massive LNER B1 No1306 "Mayflower". Behind her was the frames of the ever-changing Peckett 0-6-0ST "Sir Gomer" (1859 of 1932) and, finally, the quaint Aveiling & Porter 2-2-0 "Blue Circle". Today I was to, as usual, be working on "Sir Gomer" and aiding her return to service. "Blue Circle" meanwhile was to undergo a test steaming. This was carried out to allow checking of the safety valves. The little engine was rolled, by three of us, out into the open before being "screwed down". Her smokebox and tubes were then cleared before her fire was lit. It was then a matter of playing "the waiting game". Meanwhile, I was underneath "Sir Gomer" cleaning the brake rigging, leaf springs and axleboxes with a parrafin mixture and a scraper. This resulted in a lot of slimey muck being removed from the stated areas and a much tidier "bottom end" would result. Elsewhere, the engine was also being needle-gunned. This was to remove any final paint from the rear bufferbeams which will later be primed & then painted. Finally, the last two rods which remained red on the firemans side were being paint-stripped and rubbed down. This created the "burnished" effect that has been achieved on the driver's side.
So, "Sir Gomer" is coming along 'slowly but surely'. Now, a little about the unusual "Blue Circle". The first thing to note is that this is NOT a traction engine, it is a railway locomotive! Well, actually, everything is virtually the same as a traction engine, apart from the wheels of course! "Blue Circle" was built by Aveiling & Porter in 1926 to a design which dates back to the 1860's. Therefore, the engine was, effectively, already over 60 years out of date when she was built! She worked at the Blue Circle Cement works at Snodland, hauling trains of heavy cement, before being withdrawn in 1962. She was then presented to the Bluebell Railway in Sussex and was named "The Blue Circle". After many years derelict she was repaired and later moved to the Northampton Ironstone Railway Trust's base. She did however return to the Bluebell in 2004 and hauled a short freight train for photographers. After that she went to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre before, in March 2005, moving to the Chinnor Railway. She visited Shackerstone (as a registered "Fergus" Thomas Character) in October 2006 and later became resident in November 2007, after leaving Chinnor. Since then, the 2-2-0 has been in steam at Shackerstone many times, whether it be as "Blue Circle" or as "Fergus"! 
After around 3 hours the engine had some steam on the clock and began to quietly 'tick-over' outside the shed. The above image shows the cab controls clearly. The handbrake can be seen to the left and the reversering lever can also be seen on the opposite side. The two water gauge glasses can be clearly seen, as can the central pressure gauge. The lever at the top of the image is the gear lever (for neutral or go!) and just to the right of that is the regulator. Also, attached to the gear lever is the whistle string. The circular control above the left gauge glass is the steam feed for the injector. "Blue Circle" also has a mechanical water-pump which operates when the engine is in motion or ticking over. The 2-2-0 is apparently a 10 horsepower locomotive and is a 'single' (only one cylinder). The fire can clearly be seen through the slightly-open firehole doors. The engine can easily move herself on around 10psi(!!) and can also tick-over before steam even shows on the gauge...not bad!! "Blue Circle" ticked over all afternoon before moving back into the cosy shed under her own steam. She was then left to cool down and with my cleaning jobs on "Sir G" complete, I left with my collegues, signing off at 5:20pm. Meanwhile, 1306 "Mayflower" lay dormant and untouched throughout the day. More posts coming soon!
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