New Southwold Blyth ‘now halfway’ to completion
THE £300,000 project to build a replica of 3ft gauge Southwold Railway Sharp Stewart 2-4-0T No. 3 Blyth at North Bay Railway Engineering Services in Darlington is 50% compete.
Depending on funding and any coronavirus pandemic shutdown, the new Blyth should be completed on time for spring 2021, said the company.
The finished wheels were delivered from Ringrollers in South Africa in February and their accuracy was such that they could be immediately fitted into the pre-made axle-boxes with only a final cut on the bearings that was expected. The wheels have been finished in Great Eastern blue.
Crank pins have been made and were to have been shrunk in, but this process has been delayed because of the ongoing medical crisis.
Curve handling
The Adams radial gear for the leading axle is the first time something of this size has been manufactured for around 125 years and again fits well with the axle, and the movement it allows over tight curves can be seen by the sideways movement it facilitates.
The brake rigging and pull rods have been completed and to finish is the handbrake column, plus a steam power brake will be added – a feature that the original Blyth did not have.
The chassis is currently upside down and once the brakes have been set up, will be turned the right way up. The connecting rods, the first part of the motion, was being finished.
Once the motion has been completed and the valves timed, the boiler will be fitted to the chassis, along with the regulator input plumbing. It is hoped the chassis can be run on air to check things through.
Completion of the locomotive is dependent on funding. Anyone who is prepared to donate to the project is invited to visit www. southwoldrailway.co.uk/trustprojects/2-4-0t-no-3-blyth/
Also being manufactured in the
North Bay workshops is replica 1863 Ffestiniog Railway George England 0-4-0T Mountaineer, for which the construction of the boiler was finished on March 24.
Next new-builds
Discussions are in place for another two replicas, one standard gauge and one narrow gauge. Both are now subject to contract and funding.
Three other boilers are being made by North Bay and another four are ready to start when these are completed. The company’s welder has been working with a major preservation society on the group’s welding requirements on a boiler restoration.
The Llanberis Lake Railway’s Hunslet 0-4-0ST No. 849 of 1904 Thomas Bach is nearing finishing with a new cab constructed at Darlington. Depending on the Covid-19 issues, the locomotive should be back in Wales in May.
In conjunction with Naledi Ringrollers of South Africa, North Bay is acting as agents for the manufacture of railway wheelsets, including the manufacture of large driving wheels. Quotations are in hand for these, and they can be finished as wheels with tyres complete, or fitted to axles and ready to install.