Tyseley: Dragbox Of The "Earl"...

Hi all. A very brief one from today. My day involved another pleasant few hours spent at Tyseley Locomotive Works. Efforts were again focused on Castle Class 4-6-0 No5043 "Earl of Mount Edgcumbe", whos overhaul to main line standards is now gathering pace. I was given the job of cleaning out the "Earl"s dragbox ready for painting. The dragbox is a reinforced section of the locomotive where the tender is connected. Thus, all the weight of pulling the tender and a train is held onto the locomotive by the dragbox. Naturally however, being just below the footplate and coal space, the dragbox can quickly become covered in associated coal dust, ash and general grime. I first had to brush out the dust and then scrape off any thick stuff. The area was then thoroughly cleaned, ready to be painted at a later date. This is one part of the locomotive that is very rarely seen when she is in operational condition...

It was quite a dirty job but very worthwhile. Down in the running shed area, I was surprised to see sister Castle No7029 standing on four road. When you get used to seeing something stood in the same position all the time, a bit of variety really throws you off! The title image of this post sees "Clun" standing on four road. With the turntable still under restoration, she has yet to be turned to face the 'usual way'. Regular readers will know that the Tyseley engines usually always face towards Birmingham. That's it really folks; not a lot else to report from today. Another worthwhile volunteer Saturday at the former 84E. Take care and stay safe...

Tyseley: On The Handle...

Hi all. I've had myself a quiet little February, steam-wise anyway. With the wedding slowly creeping up and plenty to do around the house, I've found myself either at work doing overtime or sleeping in late at the weekends! However, today, I managed to drag myself along to a sunny but chilly Tyseley for another volunteer Saturday working party. Efforts today were surprisingly not centered around pampered 1950-built Castle Class 4-6-0 No7029 "Clun Castle", but around her elder sister. "Clun" was still sitting in the same place in the running shed area on 'Five Road', pushed up against the Hall and "Kolhapur". Having been thoroughly polished and cleaned over the last few weeks to remove the last of the York muck, "Clun" is now immaculate again...

Up in the main workshop, elder sister No5043 "Earl of Mount Edgcumbe" is now ever so slowly reducing in bulk as her overhaul starts to gather pace. I don't usually post progress shots of the engines as it isn't my business to share this news, but on this occasion a very recent shot of 5043s condition was published in the railway mags so it's not news anymore! As we can see, the "Earl" is looking a lot less herself with bonnet, handrails, steam pipes etc all removed. I believe she is pretty much ready to have her boiler lifted when time and workshop capacity allows...

One of my tasks today involved the "Earl"s regulator handle. I was to clean this up (not that it was ever particularly dirty!) and then apply a protective coating ready for it to go into storage before eventually being refitted to the engine. I've had the pleasure of briefly driving the "Earl" on a couple of occasions, although I must admit that holding the regulator is much more fun when there is an engine attached to it! Knowing my luck, this is the closest I'll get to any handle this year...

The final results of my cleaning efforts on the regulator are seen above. I believe it is an original, but I'm not sure what it came off. It's nice to see the beautiful "Earl" getting attention again; she is a fine machine. "Clun" is fabulous: don't get me wrong: but the "Earl" holds a special place for me as this was the first engine I travelled on the footplate of on the main line. Roll on the return of the "Earl"...