"The Boiler's Back?!"...Then..."Off To Shack!!"...
Hi all. Today it was off to Shackerstone again, for another hard (yet enjoyable!) day in the loco works. Many of you will know that our Peckett, 1859 of 1932 "Sir Gomer", is coming out of the other side of a heavy "10-year" overhaul and has been, since February 2009, without her boiler. The boiler has been at the very good Llangollen Railway boiler-shop's for repairs, which have included a new lower firebox and a full retube. After worrying about the engine's upcoming deadline for a return to service, due to the lack of a boiler(!!), our prayers were answered on Friday morning when we were notified that the large 0-6-0's boiler had been returned safe and sound. AT LAST! I was so happy to hear the news that I even took along my camera to record the event for posterity! At least I can look back and assure myself that I wasn't dreaming. I must admit, the work done by Llangollen is fabulous. The tubeplate, new firebars and stays looked fantastic...
As you can see, the new bars looked a treat...until muggins' here got the job of going into the firebox and lifting them all back out...yes...all 14 of them! They're just so cumbersome and heavy...complete dead weight. But, with some very welcome help from Dave, who was out on the footplate, we managed to shift all of the days from the firebox, to the footplate, to the floor, to outside! What a job that was...PHEW! Next job was to help 'Big Andy' bolt the front end of the boiler to the frames and running plates. That again involved more bending and crumpling of the body to fit in between the now tight (due to the boiler) frames! Oh well, another few jobs done. Later I was assigned to needle-gunning and priming some platework that had been cut from "Sir Gomer"s footplate floor. It was basically corroding so need cleaning, wiping and then priming to assure that the same would not happen again. No doubt that it hasn't been done since it was built in 1932! The boiler, now reinstated to its rightful place on the Peckett's frames, is seen below...
The engine has now made a vital leap towards completion (finally...the boiler is back!). Once back in service, she will hopefully provide 10-years good service to the Battlefield Line, whilst also being side-lined for vital washouts, repairs and checks. I'll certainly be glad to see her turn a wheel again (under her own steam of course). We're hoping for early May or, at the latest, late May. Once the boiler has been clad, the Saddle Tank and Cab will be refitted. Once this is done, we only need to fit the brick arch, smokebox floor, ashpan and the various piping before "Sir Gomer" can move. She will then need careful running in and checking over before being released, at last, back into revenue-earning passenger service...leaving service back in August 2008. "Come on guys, keep at it...we're nearly there!". Thanks for reading folks. Next port of call (next visit!), is a short trip out to see a railtour, hauled by A4 Pacific No19 "Bittern", which is due to fly through Nuneaton next Saturday! Thanks folks, evening all...
Hi all. Today it was off to Shackerstone again, for another hard (yet enjoyable!) day in the loco works. Many of you will know that our Peckett, 1859 of 1932 "Sir Gomer", is coming out of the other side of a heavy "10-year" overhaul and has been, since February 2009, without her boiler. The boiler has been at the very good Llangollen Railway boiler-shop's for repairs, which have included a new lower firebox and a full retube. After worrying about the engine's upcoming deadline for a return to service, due to the lack of a boiler(!!), our prayers were answered on Friday morning when we were notified that the large 0-6-0's boiler had been returned safe and sound. AT LAST! I was so happy to hear the news that I even took along my camera to record the event for posterity! At least I can look back and assure myself that I wasn't dreaming. I must admit, the work done by Llangollen is fabulous. The tubeplate, new firebars and stays looked fantastic...
As you can see, the new bars looked a treat...until muggins' here got the job of going into the firebox and lifting them all back out...yes...all 14 of them! They're just so cumbersome and heavy...complete dead weight. But, with some very welcome help from Dave, who was out on the footplate, we managed to shift all of the days from the firebox, to the footplate, to the floor, to outside! What a job that was...PHEW! Next job was to help 'Big Andy' bolt the front end of the boiler to the frames and running plates. That again involved more bending and crumpling of the body to fit in between the now tight (due to the boiler) frames! Oh well, another few jobs done. Later I was assigned to needle-gunning and priming some platework that had been cut from "Sir Gomer"s footplate floor. It was basically corroding so need cleaning, wiping and then priming to assure that the same would not happen again. No doubt that it hasn't been done since it was built in 1932! The boiler, now reinstated to its rightful place on the Peckett's frames, is seen below...
The engine has now made a vital leap towards completion (finally...the boiler is back!). Once back in service, she will hopefully provide 10-years good service to the Battlefield Line, whilst also being side-lined for vital washouts, repairs and checks. I'll certainly be glad to see her turn a wheel again (under her own steam of course). We're hoping for early May or, at the latest, late May. Once the boiler has been clad, the Saddle Tank and Cab will be refitted. Once this is done, we only need to fit the brick arch, smokebox floor, ashpan and the various piping before "Sir Gomer" can move. She will then need careful running in and checking over before being released, at last, back into revenue-earning passenger service...leaving service back in August 2008. "Come on guys, keep at it...we're nearly there!". Thanks for reading folks. Next port of call (next visit!), is a short trip out to see a railtour, hauled by A4 Pacific No19 "Bittern", which is due to fly through Nuneaton next Saturday! Thanks folks, evening all...
2 comments:
Thank God every thing went on well and the work done by Llangollen is fabulous.Without the boiler how could you do the work?
Very very true Sir. The boiler is fantastic now, much better than ever before. It's hard to imagine how hard it is to keep a boiler that is, not only 78-years old, but also shot to pieces due to many years of hard, unwashed-out toil on colliery lines with 1000-ton trains. We're lucky to even have it in one piece really! Thank you for commenting, great to see a new username on the blog! Sammy.
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