Final Week

The last bit of welding up of 4253’s steam pipe covers that could be done with them bolted in place was finished 

after which they were taken down, the final bits that couldn’t be reached were welded and then it was all dressed back 

and, later in the week, refitted once again.

The Lobo platforms round the loco were taken down now that all the cladding is finished with this shot giving an unrestricted view of the fireman’s side and just what a good job the team did in getting it all to fit just right.

The lubrication pipe cover that fits on the side of the smokebox had the holes marked and cut for the shut-off valves 

after which is was dressed back and then all the old paint stripped off.

GWR 4270 has finally been moved into the yard 

and work has started in preparation for removing the boiler.  All the lower bolts holding the tanks to the frames have been loosened, 

the snifting valves removed 

together with the cladding sections at the front of the cylinder block.  

This has enabled us to loosen the bolts holding the smokebox to the saddle along both sides and the front.  Just the rear to do now which will require more cladding removal.

Other jobs this week included the successful steam test of the 36-ton breakdown crane for the boiler inspector and, as one of the injectors was a little reluctant, that was subsequently stripped down to clean it out.

Also, we cleared the boiler house of everything and washed off the floor in preparation for repainting the floor next week.  

The original paint has suffered quite a bit over the years and, as we will soon be painting all of 4253’s new cladding sheets, we want to minimise the amount of dust floating around. 

Week Three

First job on Tuesday before it got too hot was to spray a coat of GWR green  on the 5164 bunker and it certainly looked good when finished.

While in painting mode, the back of 4253’s tanks were rubbed down and given a good coat of black as it’s been some years since they were first done and they were looking a little tatty.

Work started on the ashpan holding brackets the first of which was marked where the foundation stud holes are and then clearance holes were drilled to suit.

On Friday, the 36-ton breakdown crane’s boiler was refilled and a fire lit to give it a steam test prior to the boiler inspector’s visit next week.

The major event of the day was the final completion of the elephants ears and firebox top cladding which has consumed a huge number of man hours in the doing but the end result is that the team did an excellent job with every part fitting spot on.

We are having a new cover made for the lubrication pipes that enter the driver’s side of the smokebox on route to the splitter and this involved quite a bit of marking out and measuring.  

We also found a piece of scrap 2mm sheet and rolled it to the same radius as the smokebox so that Tom the metal man has something to work to when making the cover.

There were only five of us on Sunday, it being Father’s Day, but we managed to get the remaining small fill-in pieces for the  main steam pipe covers made and the covers were then bolted into place.  

Once firmly affixed, as much of the assembly welding as possible was done in situ so as to minimise the risk of distortion from the heat.

Next job was brazing on the second flange onto the brake ejector pipe to the blower ring and then annealing it.

The blower pipework was bent to the correct shape, cut to length and the end connections silver soldered on

and the last job in the smoke box was to make a template for bending the pipe to the splitter from the shut-off valve on the lubrication line then bend, put together and fit.

Week Two

First job this week was filling the 36-ton breakdown crane’s boiler between rain showers, lighting it up and bringing it into steam to test for leaks.  One of the large mud hole doors needed a bit more tightening to cure a weep but it’s now ready for its steam test.  Once passed. It will be ready to lift the boilers of 4253 and 4270.

The 5164 bunker had its final rubdown prior to being painted which we hope to do next week, weather permitting, after which it will be finished.

On 4253, the petticoat pipe had the mounting holes drilled out to full size and the lubrication splitter bracket’s holes marked and drilled

after which it was cleaned up and given a coat of heat-resistant paint.

It was then refitted together with the splitter which will now allow us to make the pipework from the smokebox wall fitting to the splitter.

The cover that fits over that pipework before it enters the smokebox on the driver’s side had some half-moons cut out of the edge to enable it to fit over the rivet heads.

The last sections of the elephants ears cladding were welded, 

dressed back and filled where necessary 

and then painted.  A final trial fit of it all next week and, hopefully, that task is finished.  The front fire bar bearer brackets were returned from machining, refitted and the bearer now fits much better.  

Another job involved the final trial fit assembly of the fireman’s side external steam pipe cover which, after some fettling and the cutting of some small ‘fill-in’ sections was positioned 

and then bolted into place ready for final welding.

Week One

The fireman’s side elephants ear cladding is now finished with the final welds being dressed back 

followed by a coat of primer.  The driver’s still needs a little work but, hopefully, not much and we can say goodbye to another very time-consuming task.

The brackets to hold the fire bar bearers were trial fitted at the front of the foundation ring 

but the slots need widening a little as the bar is too tight in them so they’ll receive a bit of remedial work next week.  The brackets for the rear were marked out for drilling to fit over the retaining studs in the foundation ring, 

were then drilled out and trial fitted with the bearer sitting comfortably this time.

The new petticoat pipe was hoisted up onto the blower ring so that we could mark where the retaining holes needed to be drilled 

after which is was removed again and all the holes hand drilled.

The lubrication splitter (seen on the wooden plank below) 

is attached to the petticoat with a shaped bracket so a template was made to get the curvature right after which the bracket was cut, drilled and then heated and bent to shape.

The brake ejector pipe had its second flange brazed on and was then fitted.

The external steam pipe covers were fitted and aligned 

after which they were welded to the brackets that bolt them to the side of the smokebox.

Finally, a reminder of just how far we’ve come, with this shot showing 4253 as found before work started.