Locomotive 1795 Restoration

Where do I begin....or the dignity of labour.....

I think first of all by gathering all the bits up, then we shall see whats knackered! It's actually very complete but in a dismantled state. Much of the heavy [and expensive] work has been done to a very high standard, including most of the boiler work. The first big job is get it back into the Northern Hemisphere.....This was the result of the trip to Northants; a trailer and car full of bits and a few more pictures of the engine.

I'm very pleased with the condition of the bits and how complete it is.

The next job is label it all up and set out a programme for the restoration....

30/04/06: The first major job was the rebuild of the smokebox door. I got on with this as I was waiting for the loco to be moved into place outside the workshop. The door was original to the new boiler in 1950 and has the works design/order number 5739 stamped into it. The bottom was rotten but the rest of it was in good order. I welded a strip into the bottom then fabricated and fitted a new baffle plate and spacers, held into place with the correct carrot bolts. Then painted into primer.

W/b 01/05/06: Currently making sense of the cab fittings and cleaning up the injectors, one of which is new. Making sure new studs are fitted to all the flanges. Spoke to Tony Filby at the NRM to get the BS number and have ordered the paint; BS 381 C 632 'Dark Admiralty Grey'.

26/05/06: Been very busy this month mainly doing other stuff [earning money to pay for all this etc...]. I got the CAD work done for the cab lower half following a monster measuring and digi picture session. I will get the drawings to the fabricator next. Unfortunately with the exhorbitant price of steel at the moment this may be a painfull process! Next update at the beginning of July; More images, and some more links to suppliers etc. Updates will be monthly after that. Unless something really exciting happens.

10/7/06: Been cracking on in the last month. Loco finally outside the workshop at Middleton - Thanks Steve and Peter. Got to work on the axle boxes first. The idea is to get the chassis rolling ASAP. The boxes and horn guides had already been planned square but had lost a good deal of metal in the process. Having spoken to a very learned collegue of mine [thanks Rod] I decided that welding shims to the horn guides was the way to go. So I jacked her up and squared the axles up by measuring from the back machined face of the cylinders. The measurements as predicted were the nearest inch to square up; 36" to the front axle centre and 102" to the rear. I triangulated the frames at the same time and astoundingly they are only 1/8" out of square! The shims required are a diffrent story ranging from 3/8" up to 1/4". I then stripped the boxes and guides out and they are now waiting for the shims to be cut and welded in place.

10/9/06: Managed some progress but not as much as I wanted. Axlebox shims cut and drilled and waiting for me to weld them into place. I have also decided on a centralised lubrication system for the axles instead of the old gravity system. I now need a four or six way lubricator which will be connected to axle boxes via braided hose, it's modern but it works. Boxes to be painted before they go back in along with the frames and wheels as it's the last chance to do this.

Spring is in the air, and up my nose and everwhere else! Stripping and cleaning springs is a really grotty job. Done one manually; rest are off to the shot blaster this week. Pictures to follow.

12/11/06: managed to persuade wife to give me a hand with painting the frames. Got on well and it looks good in new mid grey livery.

13/12/06: Finally an update; springs nearly re assembled having been blasted. Axleboxes machined square and shims welded to hornplates. I'm going to have a damn good go at getting it back on its wheels over Christmas weather allowing. Should have some pictures of boxes and machining before they go back in. Also now got most of the boiler tubes so will get them picked up next week.

Christmas 2006: Mostly spent on my back in the wet under loco! Wondering why I bother.... Back on wheels and moved in big shunt on 28th December. Axle box shimming a complete success as tollerences are spot on. Need to get springs and retainers in but am abandoning it until Easter as the weather is crap.

January: Spoke to boiler inspector and he is happy with boiler. He will produce an interim report saying all it needs now is tubes and fitting up.

20/3/07: Thinking about it again - next job springs on and rusty areas on frames to be needle gunned, ground, welded and painted. Some pictures of restoration work posted on photos page.

Summer 2007: A waste of time - will it ever stop raining? Confined to workshop cleaning and priming stuff.

1/9/07: Progress on big bits! Some needle gunning and priming done. Started fitting flexi hoses for axlebox lubrication system. Began making and fitting footplate bearers and supports. Pictures on photo's page. Hello again Nick!

2/11/07: All the small bits still getting fettled. I have found a pair of proper coupling hooks that mount onto the dragboxes, as originally designed, rather than the buffer beams. Springs fitted...hooray - nearly broke my bloody back doing it! Seems to work OK but a bit light on the LH rear corner. I need to sort that by shortenning the opposite rear corner before I fit the straps to the frame bottoms.

3/12/07: Finally in possesion of the magic boiler report and its all good. When I'm ready all I need to do is tube it and fit it up ready for hydraulic test. The biggest problem will be the worn firebox tubeplate. The holes are bigger than the front which will mean I need to fit ferrels - more expense!

2/1/08: Buffers - got a pair of 08 buffers for the rear. They are not ideal but are in good order and will do until I can source something more original. Having said that you can hardly see them under the the extended cab floor. Also got a new volute spring for the other front buffer thanks James. The front buffers are Peckett items as are all four buffer heads. A couple are a bit bent but will straighten with the hot spanner!

I have the backs for the steps at Middleton which need cleaning up. I have made new treads which need welding on.

14/01/08: Next job is fitting buffers and the other running board angle. I also need to level up the rear springs by shortening one of the pushrods - this is a horrid heavy job. The cab floor needs profiling out as I have now got a sheet of chequer plate for it. Jobs at home include cleaning up the brake gear. Hopefully at the end of this stage I will have a safe rolling chassis with brakes and buffing gear - this makes it all much easier to move around. More pictures added on Photos page.