Engineering notes

By Tony Massau

The washout plug holes around the firebox have been tapped and new plugs fitted. The longitudinal stays are being fitted. The edge of the smokebox has been cleaned up in preparation for fitting the spacer ring for the joint to the boiler barrel.

The cab floor boards have been fitted. There is a bit more work to this job than might be initially imagined as each board has to be measured and then trimmed to be an exact fit in its place, they are not all exactly the same.

Machining of the opening windows of the front and rear weatherboards has finally drawn to a close. A prototype wooden window frame has been made for the sliding side windows. Brass corner pieces are also involved.

A pipe support bracket for the right hand side of the loco has been made.

Stop Press!

After several months in the making the full set of coupling rods has been finished and is on final inspection at "Somers Forge Ltd." in Halesowen (West Midlands). For some time we thought that we would not be able to find a competent UK supplier for these items, but we have been delighted with the support from both Somers and their machining contractor "The Boro' Foundry". The communication and involvement with the project has been first class and I hope that they will be able to support many other similar projects for the heritage sector. This is another major milestone for 2024 and I hope that we can add to this before the end of the year.