Tyseley: A Chilly Day...

Hi everyone. Today was another most enjoyable day volunteering at the former 84E: Tyseley Locomotive Works. I arrived at around 10am in chilly weather. The Winter is really biting at the moment and creates little more than a distinct longing for Spring. Todays activities again centred around 7029 "Clun Castle"; the 1950-built Swindon 4-6-0. "Clun" is gradually nearing the end of an extensive overhaul and it has been my privilege to help with some of the ongoing tasks in recent weeks. Below, we see an unusual view inside a locomotive firebox: the lead-lamp hanging up on the tube-plate creating an impressive image...

"Through The Firehole Door" - Great Western Castle

As can be seen, the locomotive firebox is made up of several hundred rivets and stays. The small tubes we can see are the Smoke Tubes, whilst the larger tubes are the Flue Tubes which will later surround the superheater elements. One very noticeable missing feature is the brick arch. The arch protects the tubes and flues from incoming waves of cold air which access the firebox through the firehole door. The arch is also inclined so as to divert the hot gases up into the combustion area towards the crown. Naturally the engine will also have a fire-grate and an ashpan when complete. However, it is only with back-to-basics views like the one above that we can appreciate the construction methods involved in steam boilers. All this helping out at Tyseley has proved a fantastic learning curve so far and I am very much enjoying it as there is always something new to get involved with - I should have done this years ago. Best Regards, Sam...