THE ROSTER
LOCOMOTIVES IN FOCUS
GWR & CONSTITUENTS
4612: Following a lengthy period in the workshops undergoing repairs to firebox cracks, the Bodmin & Wenford Railway’s ‘8750’ 0-6-0PT passed its boiler test on July 18, returning to service on July 25, just in time for the summer holiday timetable.
Publicity officer Jimmy James said: “This is very welcome news for the BWR. ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 75178 has been the railway’s only operational steam locomotive for the whole of 2019 so far [SR493] and 4612 will now provide much needed backup and operational flexibility.”
A second pannier, ‘64XX’
No. 6435, is “four to six weeks behind 4612”, he added, while the objective is to complete the overhaul of ‘Small Prairie’ No. 5552 by the autumn in time for the ‘Santa Specials’. 5542: The ‘4575’ 2-6-2T will be operated and maintained by the South Devon Railway for the next 30 years, under a long lease agreement between the line and the locomotive’s owning group 5542 Ltd. Concluded on August 1, the agreement also covers BR Class 04 diesel shunter No. D2271, Hawksworth autotrailer No. 233, BR Mk 1 BSK No. 34991 and former Class 117 DMU centre coach No. 59493.
In a statement, 5542 Ltd said: “It means that not only our steam locomotive but also our other rolling stock currently located on the SDR will be maintained and, if necessary, restored using their resources. The deal means that 5542 in particular will be guaranteed a long period of activity, potentially on railways all around the country.”
The ‘Small Prairie’, which currently wears GWR ‘shirtbutton’ livery, is currently on hire to the Battlefield Line, and will take part in that railway’s 50th anniversary gala on October 18-20. 5239: After successful hydraulic and steam tests (SR495), the boiler of the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s ‘5205’ 2-8-0T ‘Goliath’ was lifted back into the locomotive’s frames at the East Somerset Railway on July 28.
The locomotive has been undergoing a two-year contract overhaul at the ESR, overseen by the line’s chief mechanical engineer Steve Masters, who has also since been appointed workshop project manager at the DSR’s Churston works.
There, he said: “We are well into the overhaul of 4277 which is having very similar work carried out to that done on 5239 at the ESR. Both locomotives had suffered from cracks in the frames and extensive corrosion to the dragbox and other structural components. We will soon be ready to grind the axlebox horns using our own design of horn grinder which we developed – which Rory Edwards [formerly the DSR’s boilersmith] now takes out as a service on other locomotives as part of his Leaky Finders business.”
Also under overhaul at Churston is ‘45XX’ 2-6-2T
No. 4555, which is due to go on hire to the ESR for a two-year period once complete. Said Mr Masters: “We are hoping the boiler will return from Tyseley in the next couple of months, leaving just the final assembly to complete.”
7802 : Following its failure at the West Somerset Railway on July 7, when its right-hand piston rod broke and the cylinder was damaged (SR495), Bradley Manor was moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works on July 30 for assessment. It joins the Erlestoke Manor Fund’s other Collett 4-6-0, No. 7812, which is undergoing its ‘ten-yearly’ overhaul at the former 84E depot (see below).
The EMF has acquired one of No. 7802’s original cabside numbers at a Great Central Railwayana auction, although there are no plans to put it back on the locomotive.
7812 : Work on the boiler of Erlestoke Manor at Tyseley is currently focused on repairs to the firebox lap seams, with sections being cut out for replacement. On the locomotive’s frames, a crack above one of the axlebox horns has been ground out and repaired after testing identified a flaw in a previous welding repair carried out in the 1960s.
SR & CONSTITUENTS
21C123 : Construction of the replacement inner firebox for ‘West Country’ Blackmoor Vale has commenced at South Devon Railway Engineering. It is the latest in a production line of new Bulleid ‘Light Pacific’ fireboxes to be made at the Buckfastleigh workshops (see also SR472); another that was recently completed was for Blackmoor Vale’s Bluebell Railway stablemate, No. 34059 (see right). 34059: Sir Archibald Sinclair’s frames and wheels have entered the works at Sheffield Park on the Bluebell Railway for a full overhaul of its valves and pistons, axleboxes, driving wheels, bogie and trailing truck. Work continues on drilling the stay holes in the rebuilt ‘Battle of Britain’s’ replacement firebox, constructed by South Devon Railway Engineering.
35011: Stripping of ‘Merchant Navy’ General Steam Navigation commenced in earnest with a working party at its new Swindon & Cricklade Railway base on August 3/4. The top of the ex-Barry engine’s smokebox was removed,
allowing access for the extraction of the boiler tubes, while the reversing screw assembly, righthand slidebar and left-hand valve cover were also taken off. On the latter, it was reported that “with the nuts not having moved in over 50 years, they put up a fight.”
LMS & CONSTITUENTS
42085: Last steamed in November 2012, the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway’s stalwart Fairburn 2-6-4T has reached a milestone in its overhaul, with its boiler having successfully passed a hydraulic test following extensive work.
A new smokebox, ashpan and bunker are being made, using a combination of original LMS drawings and measurements from the existing components.
However, LHR director Stephen Maher said: “There is much work still to do on the chassis, with a full overhaul of the motion and all the wheelsets. Removal of the driving wheelsets will provide access to rivets that allow removal of the steam brake mount stretcher and the rear horizontal frame stretcher, for replacement with new fabrications.” These stretchers have suffered from corrosion because of their location underneath the cab floor. 46428: This ex-Barry Ivatt ‘2MT’ 2-6-0 could be back on its driving wheels at the East Lancashire Railway by the end of the year, as its restoration by the Bury Standard 4 Group gathers momentum.
Publicity officer Harry Taylor said: “After a (very) short break, basking in the success of the completed restoration of 80097, the group is now well focused on the restoration of our Ivatt. This new impetus has brought in several new working members.”
Work commenced last year with the stripping of the pony truck, since when the axlebox guides have been machined and the pivot bracket straightened. The frames have been sandblasted and painted with primer, while parts including the sandboxes, blowdown valve and cylinder end covers are being refurbished.
“Some of the team were members when the Ivatt was brought to Bury in 1987,” said Mr Taylor. “Our aim is to finish preparing the axles, drop the frame onto the driving wheels and get the assembly into our workshop and under cover before winter weather sets in.
“The timescale? Well, no one thought that 80097 would take 34 years, so we’ll just crash on with the Ivatt and see how it goes!”
46441: Work has commenced in earnest on the Beet family’s Ivatt ‘2MT’ 2-6-0, which moved to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway last year (SR479). The boiler was lifted from the frames on July 17 and sent to a contractor. LHR director Stephen Maher said that this is initially for “a detailed assessment, but we’re hoping for a full repair. Assuming the assessment is positive, work will start at Haverthwaite on replacing the tender dragbox.”
BR STANDARD & WD
75014: A replacement right-hand cylinder has been cast for the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s ‘4MT’ 4-6-0, after the existing cylinder suffered from cracks.
The problem dates back to September 1995, when the Riddles engine blew out the end of the cylinder at York while on its way back to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway following a season on the Fort William-Mallaig ‘Jacobite’.
The cylinder was repaired by stitch-welding – but, explained DSR workshop project manager Steve Masters: “Earlier this year, further cracking adjacent to the weld repair was spotted during a piston and valve exam and it was decided to plan for a replacement to be made and fitted over the next winter maintenance period (which isn’t a very long time on this railway!).
“Stewart Robinson has recently replaced the cylinder on his ‘Standard 4’ tank 80078 and so has kindly given us permission to use his pattern CAD data to get a poly pattern made. Premier Patterns has now made the pattern and the cylinder casting is complete. The machining of the cylinder will take place at Tees Components in August. New valve heads, rings and fitted bolts were all made beforehand in preparation. It is hoped that the major task of swapping the cylinder will be complete in time for the start of the next season.”
75029: Taking the place vacated by ‘S15’ No. 825, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s BR ‘4MT’ 4-6-0 has entered the works at Grosmont for overhaul. Its driving wheelset has been dropped out of the frames to allow the axlebox horns to be taken off and a buildup of rust between them and the frames to be removed.
Work is already well under way on the Riddles engine’s boiler, with welding repairs to the firebox foundation ring and copper inner firebox sheets completed, and new stays machined and fitted. New platework has been fitted to both the inner firebox and outer wrapper.
90733: Withdrawn from service in December 2017 (SR476), the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Trust’s WD 2-8-0 has been dismantled for overhaul. Andy Simkins, one of the volunteers who maintains the Riddles ‘Austerity’, said: “The boiler and wheels are out, and the locomotive is pretty much stripped. The boiler has just had the flues and tubes removed to progress the examination prior to agreeing a scope of works.
“We have started to overhaul the fittings as time permits. The next job is to start to measure up the horns and axleboxes to see how much we need to do there.”