Final Week (30th)

This week it was the turn of 4253 to have all the boiler cladding removed starting at the firebox end 

and moving forward 

until it was all off, 

marked up and stacked in the boiler house.

This enabled the holes to be drilled for the injector pipe holding brackets 

plus the final bits of trimming back that were needed.

After that, we started spraying on another coat of primer 

plus the first gloss coat on the backhead cladding.

On 4270, the cladding sheets, expansion brackets and various other bits removed last week were all given a good steam clean, labelled and moved to the storage container.  In the smokebox, we started removing the various studs that will need replacing and, without exception, they are putting up a fight as expected.  Half of the regulator box studs are now out after welding nuts to them 

but others have either sheared off or are refusing to budge so more work needed there.  A start was also made on making gaskets for all the blanking plates that will be needed for the boiler’s eventual hydraulic test.

Week Four

During the week, we removed the cladding and insulation from 4270’s boiler.  Both 4253 and 4270 had to be shunted out into the yard to allow the roadrailer access to remove the wheelsets from Marcia so we had plenty of room.  The intention had been to see how difficult it would all be to remove but the first piece came off so easily that we just kept going.  

The motion was covered with plastic sheets, the insulation dampened to keep the dust down and, by the end of the day, all the cladding sheets were off, 

all the insulation removed and binned, the boiler hosed down

and the loco back in the shed.  While they were both in the yard we also took the opportunity to clean out the long pit.

More bits from 4270 were cleaned up, labelled and put into storage 

and, with 4253 back over the pit, the ashpan retaining brackets were trial fitted to the foundation ring studs.

More work was done on making the bracketry for 4253’s blow down valve linkage with the sanding lever bracket removed and drilled as some of the new platework will be mounted on that.

Sunday’s work included removing one of 4270’s sander operating rods so we could access the boiler’s expansion brackets which were then removed along with the rear wedges, removing the lubrication shut-off valves from the smokebox which were cleaned and stored 

and drilling out and re-tapping one of the cladding mounting bolts in the crinoline that had sheared off.

and a new cover plate was made to fit above the superheater header.  Due to the cut-outs required for it to fit round the main steam pipes, this was first made in thin wood then marked out on steel plate which was cut, 

drilled and trial fitted.

Week Three

Main job this week was moving both 4253 and 4270 out of the shed and trial fitting the tanks to 4253 after all the cladding had been finished and removing the tanks from 4270.  For 4253, there were no problems with everything fitting OK so they were lifted off again followed by those from 4270. 

All four tanks were then transported to sit in a row in the field 

leaving the locos one step nearer to boiler removal.

The task of prepping 4253’s tanks for their final painting was started

 and, once back in the shed, the last of the foundation ring studs to hold the ashpan fixing brackets and the fire bar supports were fitted.

The blow-down valve was temporarily fitted to the boiler to check clearance with the eccentrics (close but workable) 

and a start was made on designing and making a linkage to operate it from the cab.  Mounting plates were cut

 and drilled for fixings 

before being temporarily clamped into position.

Back to 4270, with the tanks off, the remainder of the cab floor was removed together with the cladding retaining bands, some of the oil lines to the intermediate axle 

and more removed parts had all the oil and muck steam cleaned off.

One other job undertaken this week was to make some beading for the edge of the coal bunker on Marcia, drill and bolt it into place 

and then rivet it on.

Week Two

This week started with removing the regulator box from 4270’s tube plate which involved levering it off the studs onto the digger’s forks and then reversing the digger back to extract it from the smokebox.  

After that it joined more bits of removed running plate to receive a good steam clean and check over. 

The atomiser was found to be blocked so was removed (with some difficulty) for overhaul.

More of the cab floor was taken up enabling us to get at and remove the blowdown valve and pipework,

All the nuts and bolts that have been removed thus far were inspected for condition and the ones that were deemed re-useable, cleaned up, labelled and stored away.  The removed oil boxes were also given a good clean up before joining all the other items in the container.

The final bit of cleaning up of the top of the blast pipe and the jumper ring was completed 

and it now looks a lot more respectable.

The remaining jobs in the smokebox were the removal of the blower pipe flange where, after some heat application, the three retaining nuts finally came undone, 

and the removal of the fitted bolts holding the smokebox to the cylinder block saddle.  Sadly, this wasn’t as successful as, even when using a 1” drive pneumatic nut gun to try and spin the bolts while hammering them from underneath, there are still quite a number that are refusing to budge.

On 4253, the cab window frames with their new, larger hinges have all been trial fitted with closing mechanism fettled where necessary and were than given a coat of primer.

Week One

Work on 4270 has mainly been at the front end where the smokebox door has been removed to give us better access, 

the running plates in front of the valve covers have been taken down 

and given a good steam clean,

and both valve and piston front covers have had all the retaining nuts loosened.

The last line of bolts holding the smokebox to the saddle at the rear were removed.  Also, the bolts holding the front support bars to the smokebox were undone and then driven out.

The regulator box showed no signs of willingness to come off so an Enerpac was placed between casting and tubeplate and a little hydraulic pressure succeeded in breaking the seal.  We shall get the digger forks in there next week so it can be pulled off the studs and taken out.  

Others were cleaning up all the parts that have been removed before they are stored away in the container, inspecting them and, where necessary, effecting repairs such as on the brake ejector pipe’s flange that needed a little building up.

The top section was finally parted from the blast pipe after the retaining bolts had been drilled through and then blown out with the gas torch.  All the openings were totally clogged up with carbonised oil, so it was first needle gunned to remove the majority of it,

after which it was placed on fire bricks, filled with wood and then set alight to burn off the remainder.

On 4253, the received the newly machined studs for the foundation ring which were put in place,

the new window hinges were fitting to the frames then offering up in the cab where new holes were marked, drilled then tapped and the first window bolted onto the cab platework.

The main steam pipe sections that were built up and tacked together in situ have been taken down and moved so they can be fully Tig welded.