SIX-WHEEL-DRIVE ‘JEEP’ GETS NEW TYRES FROM AFRICA
LMS (NCC) ‘WT’ 2-6-4T No. 4 is to receive a new set of tyres manufactured in South Africa.
After operating the RPSI’s Dublin-based Santa trains, the ‘Jeep’ was due to return to Whitehead on December 30, working the homeward leg of a ‘Mince Pie Special’. The new tyres will be fitted in the spring, during other maintenance.
Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Compound 4-4-0 No. 85 Merlin was booked for the first weekend of the Whitehead-based Santa trains, before heading south for a spell at Dublin Connolly shed, by hauling the outward leg of the December 30 train.
Meanwhile, Dublin & South Eastern Railway ‘K2’ 2-6-0 No. 461 was set to come out of traffic when its boiler certificate expired at the end of December. A decision will then be taken whether to re-tube the engine, but an overhaul would be required, including lifting the boiler.
Electronic testing of No. 461’s cylinders in October (SR487) eliminated valve setting as a possible factor in the locomotive’s steaming difficulties.
RPSI Locomotive Running Officer James Friel said: “Two items are suspected: one is the Schmidt single-ring piston valves, an early, leak-prone design.
“Most locomotives now use several rings on the piston valve head. We would like to hear from anyone else who still uses the Schmidt design on their locomotives.
“The second item is the boiler, which is a replacement fitted in the 1940s with only 75% of the heating surface of the original, having fewer smoketubes and a shallower firebox.
“While the Schmidt valves could possibly be updated with a more modern (1930s!) design, we are stuck with the boiler.”
The cylinder tests were a first for the RPSI, and Mr Friel thinks it might be a preservation first in the British Isles.