This edition is different to all the rest. Presumably as a cost cutting attempt, this edition was produced on A4 sheets, photocopied. This means of course that the photos are very poor quality reproduction, despite being of good composition etc. I have included the photos for information and reference, and also to convey something of how the original looks.
1618 outside Sheffield park Workshop, 3/9/87. M.Frackiewicz
In this edition click to go further to:
Financial Matters or Engineering Report or Future of 830 or Maunsell Coaches
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M.Frackiewicz |
Publicity
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55 Rectory Road, Woodmansterne,
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S.Pilcher |
Newsletter
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52 Thomas More St.
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J.Ambler |
General Member |
75 Blenheim Road, Horsham,
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D. Jones |
General Member |
22 Manor Road, Hampden
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G.Binns |
General Member |
21 Barnfield Close,
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Ray Bellingham |
Chairman |
7 West Point, Newick
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R.Packham |
General Member |
132 Church Road,
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F.Cope |
General Member |
Feldor, Grassy Lane,
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Mary Bellingham |
Treasurer |
7 West Point, Newick,
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Writing and producing the Society's Newsletter can be a very time consuming task. One of the joys of it is being able to report the continued good progress with the Society's loco's. 1987 must rank as one our best years. 1618 returned to steam and we now have two locos working for the first time ever! Excellent progress has been made with 847 (especially considering our limited resources). Its boiler passed its hydraulic test and is now back in the frames. 847 now looks like a loco again.
Finally it remains to thank all our members for their support over the year and to hope you will continue to support us. We certainly require your support to complete 847, membership/donation forms are enclosed! All subscriptions etc. should be sent to our Secretary. I would also like to take the opportunity to wish all our members a pleasant and successful New Year.
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1618 made a successful return to steam on Saturday 5th September, in time for the Bluebell Railway's Vintage Weekend. The engine went well and it looks a treat in its lined green livery. It has emerged from the workshops without its smoke deflectors and in the editor's opinion it looks better without. I appreciate that this is a controversial issue, one Bluebell driver has been heard muttering that he will put some cardboard ones on instead if the proper ones are not put back!
Whilst it has taken some time to overhaul 1618, a thorough job has been done despite the other distractions the workshop staff have been involved in. We are therefore grateful for all their efforts and those of other volunteers. It is a credit to all concerned.
Among the jobs carried out that have not been mentioned before are:-
The replacement of a Wakefield mechanical lubricator with a new Detroit hydrostatic lubricator as this will give improved lubrication.
The vacuum brake ejector has been replaced with a Gresham and Craven Dreadnought combination unit with a graduated steam brake. This should be a more efficient unit and is in keeping with the original design.
A new steam turret has been made and all the motion was rebushed and remetalled.
The construction of the new ash pan and grate was briefly mentioned in the last report. This was a lengthy and involved job but will be greatly appreciated by loco crews when when they have to dispose of the loco at the end of a turn of duty. If the moguls had remained in service longer with BR one wonders whether BR would have carried out this modification. The U and the Q appeared together on the East Grinstead electrification day celebrations in September and looked a fine sight. 1618 is not due to appear again in traffic until next Spring.
Since the last report, we have concentrated on getting the boiler ready for its boiler hydraulic test, certification and installation back in the frames.
Fortunately Melvyn Fronsdorff (who carried out the welding work on 847's tender) has been able put in a large number of days to help us. With assistance from our Sunday volunteers he has completed the outstanding tubing work on the boiler. He has had a fair bit of practice having retubed 73082 'Camelot's boiler earlier this year, virtually single handed! His skills have therefore been invaluable to us and we are grateful for his help.
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It has also been necessary to remove a number of corroded (or broken) studs from various pads on the boiler and refit new ones. Sometimes this involved delicately drilling out the old studs, tapping new threads and the manufacture of new studs and washout plugs. Blanking off plates have been made to cover orifices for various fittings in order to carry out the hydraulic test. All time consuming work and we are grateful to Ray Bellingham, Melvyn and all the volunteers who have helped with this.
The copper firebox seams needed caulking in order to keep the firebox watertight and our thanks go to Keith Sturt for doing this job.
The work on the boiler has absorbed a lot of our time and we have not been able to undertake the renewal of the cab roof yet - a nice "in doors" job for the Winter no doubt! We have however cleaned up the cab hand rails to a good finish and they are now back in position.
We have obtained castings for the X10 injectors - these require machining. The clack valves castings have not yet been ordered and we also require a new steam turret. New cladding also needs to be ordered.
STOP PRESS: 847'S BOILER PASSED ITS HYDRAULIC TEST AND WAS LIFTED BACK INTO THE FRAMES ON 6/12/87. OUR THANKS GO TO THE BLUEBELL RAILWAY'S CRANE GANG FOR CARRYING OUT THE LIFT.
541 ran well in 1987 and is now in the workshop in preparation for its routine 5 year boiler hydraulic test. It is also having a repaint as some of the paintwork was a little shabby.
M.Fronsdorff working on 847's boiler. S.Pilcher
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14 members attended the meeting which was held in the upstairs bar of the Bluebell Railway's Buffet at Sheffield Park.
Ray Bellingham outlined progress with the restoration of 847 and the work to 1618. Details are in this edition's engineering report.
The purchase of 830 was discussed. The article in this Newsletter gives an in depth background to this.
The accounts were discussed and accepted by the meeting. It was noted that the £2,000 members loan had been formally converted to a donation, we are therefore grateful to the member concerned who wishes to remain anon. This item will therefore not appear in the accounts again.
It was agreed that the subscription rates should be increased from 1 January 1988 to £50 for life membership, and £5 for annual subscriptions.
Election of Directors. All the Board were re-elected unopposed.
David Jones was thanked for preparing the excellent article about the Society which appeared in the Autumn Steam Railway magazine.
The starting time of the AGM was discussed. It was noted that it was inconvenient for some members, however it was explained that this was the only time it was possible to obtain use of the venue in the Summer. Alternative venues and times would be considered for the next AGM.
The age old favourite subject.
Would members please note that we have closed the 847 Restoration Fund account and have just retained the Maunsell Locomotive Society Ltd account open. This is simply to avoid paying two lots of bank charges and to cut down on book keeping. Other than the routine expenses of running the Society all funds raised are used for the restoration of 847 anyway.
Now that 847 is well on the way to returning to steam we would like to try to raise 2,000 to help purchase the boiler cladding, pipework etc that are required to finish the job. We require our members financial support to keep the restoration momentum going. The more jobs we can complete ourselves the sooner it is likely 847 will go into the works. If every member gave on average 10 each we should have a comfortable balance to draw upon. Larger donations would of course be most welcome!
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The recent purchase of 830 excited a fair amount of interest from our members. The loco was moved on 20 September and arrived at Sheffield Park on the 23rd. The move had been delayed partly due to problems with the haulage company's lorry. The loco was initially positioned in front of the workshop. We have spent a bit of time tidying it up by blanking off the dome and painting the boiler with bitumastic to protect it. The chassis is covered in best BR muck grease and grime which is usually a pretty good preservative so we've left that alone!
As mentioned in the previous news letter, the purchase of 830 was financed by one member and he have supplied the following article to explain his objectives:-
Now that 30830 has arrived at Sheffield Park, further information concerning the background to its purchase can be passed on to the membership.
Some months ago, it became known that this last S15 at Barry would probably be in line for cutting up as the group holding the reservation was unlikely to purchase, even though fundraising had gone on for several years. The idea of our society purchasing it as a source of spares was considered, but obviously it would be very difficult to attract money for such a scheme as even raising money to restore 847 to working order is not easy.
At about the same time, it was realised that a number of the parts on an S15 could be used on the proposed Brighton Atlantic, especially the bogie wheels, driving wheel axleboxes and hornguides. The chance of acquiring such parts for the H2 at a fraction of the cost for new components was too good an opportunity to miss so the necessary reservation procedure was instigated resulting in the engine being secured by our Society on behalf of a member who has an interest in the Atlantic scheme. Details of the breakdown of costs for the individual components of 830 has not yet been worked out, as the main aim was to purchase it quickly to prevent it being cut up. However it will now be possible for the Maunsell Society to purchase spares from the loco, especially the boiler, without the need to buy the whole engine. This is something which Woodhams would not now permit.
Obviously the above action will attract criticism in that an S15 will be
"lost", but the following points should be remembered:
(i) There will still be 4 Maunsell S15's, Nos 825, 828, 841 &
847, together with the two Urie examples Nos 499 and 506, all will
eventually return to working order.
(ii) Any group seriously interested in acquiring 830 to restore has
had 19 years to purchase it.
(iii) Once the boiler is the property of the Society, the long term
working future of 847 is assured if any defect should one day be found in
the existing one.
(iv) As the S15 boiler is identical to that used on a "King
Arthur", if ever the one on "Sir Lamiel" failed we would be
in a strong position to influence the working future of No. 777.
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It is hoped that the above answers all of the queries raised at the AGM and also privately on various occasions at Sheffield Park. In the final analysis it is felt that a good compromise has been obtained in providing 847 with a long working life, and ensuring that continued progress is made with the building of the Brighton Atlantic.
I trust members will appreciate that 830 is a private members project rather than a Society project. No doubt there will be those who object to the thought of 830 not being restored as an S15. I too have always had reservations about the ethics of pulling engines apart to use as spares for others. In this case, I think it has to be remembered that the end is virtually nigh at Barry and nobody else has come forward with a viable alternative. I therefore consider that the proposed way forward makes sense. Surely it must be better to see what remains of 830 put to good use as a source of spares for other schemes rather than see it scrapped? Some members may well ask why the Maunsell Society did not take on 830 as a restoration project. The simple answer is that our own three loco are already a large commitment for our very limited physical resources. Restoration of duplicate engines are not often very popular schemes and we have enough trouble fundraising for the restoration of 847. If we are to ever consider taking on another engine it would have to be a different class of loco to those already in our care in order to stimulate sufficient support. How about taking on the "Lord Nelson" if that ever came up for a change of caretakers? - There's a provocative thought! Seriously though, if members have any queries about 830, I will be pleased to answer any letters sent to my address shown, on the inside cover. Steve Pilcher Editor
"S 15" 830 at Barry scrapyard 20/9/87. D.Jones
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Sir Lamiel went to Ilford Carriage Depot in the Summer for its wheels to be turned and it was then towed to Hull Dairycoates for a complete overhaul. This is understood to include work to the firebox which has suffered from leaking stays. It is hoped that 777 will be back in traffic in 1988.
As mentioned in last Winter's Newsletter this is at Brightlingsea and requires a new boiler. It is understood that work has yet to start.
Continued progress is being made with this loco, unfortunately I have no details.
Apparently running well on the North Yorks Moors Railway. Unfortunately BR refused to pass it for main line running in Summer 87 and it has therefore not ventured out from the NYMR as was earlier hoped for.
"S15" 841 at Newtondale Signalbox, NYMR, 12/4/87. J.Giles
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Still based at Carnforth and in need of major work to its firebox before it will appear again on the main line.
No change from last years report. Not in working order, it may appear on occasional display at the NRM.
Still out in the States. Can anyone inform me of its location/condition etc?
In 1987 Stowe again put in good service on the Bluebell and it should be back in service in 1988. Its smoke deflectors were temporarily removed for a few weeks in the Summer; they have now been reinstated.
Steady progress is still being made with this loco's restoration on the Mid Hants. Currently its bogie is out of the frames being overhauled.
The asbestos lagging was recently removed by specialist contractors, on site, at Sheffield Park. It was essential that this work be carried out before restoration could take place.
Both these engines were in active use on the Mid Hants in 1987.
31806, 30120 & 31874 at Ropley, 13/7/83. M.Frackiewicz.
Page 9
Someone at the AGM asked that we publish details of preserved Maunsell coaches. The Bluebell Railway is host to a number of interesting Maunsell design coaches and I will try to produce a series of articles giving their details. I will then attempt to review those Maunsell coaches that are at other preservation sites.
To start the series let us look at those two classic Maunsell liveried coaches that are running on the Bluebell; open third 1309 and brake composite 6575.
1309 won the ARPS "Coach of the Year" award in 1984 following it's restoration and return to traffic that year. It is a 56 seater open saloon (divided into 3 sections) and is often used on the regular service trains as well as the "Cutler trains". It was completed in 1935, the body being built at Eastleigh and the chassis at Lancing carriage works. It survived in use until 1963 and was then converted to a mobile office. It was purchased in 1973, in poor condition, with little of it's original interior. Its restoration involved many hours of labour and it must rank as one the best restored coaches on the railway. It is my favourite coach on the railway and I would be pleased to have it on 847's return to steam train!
6575 was completed in 1929 and being older than 1309 it has a number of detail differences in its construction. The most noticeable is the wooden window surrounds (instead of flush steel) which gives it a more of a vintage appearance. The coach has 4 second class compartments and 2 first class. It seats a total of 48 passengers. It was withdrawn in 1959 and it was one of the first coaches purchased by the Bluebell Railway. It was well used in the sixties and had to be withdrawn for a major overhaul which was completed in 1981. It has since been in regular use and is popular with the public and film companies. I believe it recently appeared in part of the recent major feature film "Hope and Glory".
Open third class coach 1309 at Sheffield Park. S.Pilcher.
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It is with great pleasure that I can report that our oldest active member, Felix Cope, was presented with the Bluebell Railway's Freddie Webb Memorial Award in November. This annual award is given in recognition of unstinting work with unglamorous tasks on the Bluebell's loco's. Felix has often been down to Sheffield Park at least three Sundays out of four, whatever the weather for many years. He is a very popular active member and has put in a lot of effort on cleaning and painting 847 and other tasks. He has been a great encouragement to our other volunteers and we often wonder where, at the age of 81, he gets his energy from. Felix usually puts it down to being based on a good cooked breakfast and the exercise from working on 847! Congratulations on the award Felix, it was well deserved!
541 & 928 on Freshfield Bank, 10/5/87. P.J.Howard
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21 YEARS AGO - STEAM TOURS ON THE SOUTHERN
A4 60024 Kingfisher at Nine Elms MPD 27/3/66. D.Idle
"U Class 31639 at Salisbury MPD 3/4/66. D.Idle
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