Stowe away at Quainton Road
Chassis of Bluebell ‘Schools’ gets attention by Buckinghamshire contractor.
THE overhaul of SR ‘Schools’ 4-4-0 No. 928 Stowe took a step forward on June 23, when the chassis departed the Bluebell Railway’s Sheffield Park headquarters for attention by a contractor based at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.
The loco is to receive attention to its cylinders and valve chests by J M Steam Engineering Limited. This will be followed by the fitting of liners to the outer cylinders and the installation of new piston heads and valve heads.
Volunteers from the 4-4-0’s owning group, the Maunsell Locomotive Society (MLS), have been progressing the overhaul for several years. The chassis has been stripped down; the driving wheels sent away for tyre turning; axleboxes and journals refurbished; and the bogie overhauled. The whole chassis was reassembled in 2018.
A new cab roof was fabricated and fitted by MLS team members, along with new cylinder claddings.
Many boiler fittings have also been overhauled. The Covid-19 pandemic inevitably delayed progress. Regular working parties have continued when they were permitted, making steady progress with rebuilding the cab floor, repainting inside the frames, cleaning up some of the smaller motion parts and a host of other tasks.
The boiler is currently away with contractors HBSS, on Merseyside where it is undergoing major work to the firebox.
In the weeks prior to the chassis going away to Quainton Road, the rear covers on the left hand and right-hand cylinders were released to facilitate machining of the cylinder bores to accept new liners. Having not been removed since BR days, the rear covers required some careful work to heat and release the nuts without damaging the threads on the studs. Fortunately, both covers came off without any issues.
Steve Pilcher, MLS treasurer said: “It is regrettable that the chassis has gone away for the work to be undertaken. Unfortunately, however, there are just too many projects trying to use the limited workshop space at Sheffield Park.
“A radical solution like this is required if we are to conclude Stowe’s overhaul. The work will be undertaken by Frank Boait, an experienced engineer, who undertook some of the piston and valve overhaul work on SR Maunsell Q Class 0-6-0
No. 30541 this spring.”
In the meantime, there is no shortage of tasks for volunteers to aid the completion of the overhaul on the Bluebell Railway. These include sorting through the copper pipework to identify what can be kept, fettled up and reused; what needs to be replaced; checking over the boiler fittings; and making a start on sanding down the tender paintwork prior to getting it repainted.
Anyone interested in joining the MLS team as a volunteer should contact Mr Pilcher by email on jstevepilcher@yahoo.co.uk.