Week Two

Work on the front cab window hinges of 4253 continued with the hinges drilled, countersunk and fitted to the frames 

after which they were clamped to a section of angle to check that the window could swing freely.

The stud holes in the foundation ring for attaching the ashpan were cleaned out and measured so a set of studs can now be made 

and, in preparation for fitting the drop grate, the fire bar carrier brackets were extracted from storage and moved into the shed.

A start was made on removing and labelling all the new pipework 

plus removing some of the backhead fittings and cladding sheets so we can get at and remove the rear tank holding strap.

This is all in preparation for removing the tanks to allow us to start fitting the elephant’s ears to the front of the firebox cladding.

Work on the 5164 Bunker included offering up the lifting eyes to be bolted on prior to riveting but, to no-one’s surprise, only two of the three holes lined up so one hole on each side had to be welded up, 

marked and redrilled.

The centre, rear lamp bracket holes that were welded up last week were dressed back, the bracket positioned in alignment with the two outer brackets, marked and then new holes drilled.  All three brackets plus the remaining baffle were then all riveted into place.

The lower coal floor had the joining faces coated with sealant after which it was lowered into place, bolted up and the holes reamed through.

It was then tack welded along the front edge and down onto the baffle plates

followed by riveting up the fireman’s side.  After that, the upper coal floor was lowered into place 

and bolted up along the rear and side faces.

Week One

Work on 4253 this week started off with shifting the fireman’s side tank over a little 

so we could engage more of the retaining bolts to get it in its final position and then drill the last hole in the tank’s fixing plate.

The retaining strap that holds the tanks together at the front was hauled up into position to check its fit now the cladding is all in place and this showed we needed to make a couple of spacing plates to raise it a little to prevent it rubbing.

More cladding in-fill pieces were made 

and washout plug cones fabricated and added.

New, stronger hinges are being fitted to the cab windows which require some fettling to fit 

and we also fitted the water gauge on the fireman’s side to make sure the window would open without fouling it.

The shaped panels that will fill the gaps between tanks and cladding were delivered, offered up to check the fit which was good and then given a coat of primer.

The final bits of the cab pipework were made

 and trial fitted and it just remains to solder ends to some of them after which it can all be taken down, annealed and then cleaned up and polished.

On the 5164 bunker build, the rivets put in last week were cleaned up and given a coat of primer and the toolbox shelf was bought in and given the same treatment.

The baffles were checked for alignment, clamped to pieces of angle to ensure they stayed in place and were then tacked together and onto the floor angle.

The lower coal floor was then lifted and slid into place (easier said than achieved!) 

to check the fit with the baffles, side panels and angle on the front panel all of which was satisfactory.

It can now come out again to have all the joining faces cleaned and painted before going back in for reaming and riveting.