NB*This was an intermediate newsletter on 4 sides of A4 to update members on Stowes future and action taken so far
AUTUMN 2001 NEWS SHEET
EDITORIAL
In Newsletter No.43, the hot news was the completion, so far as the Sunday gang was concerned, of 1638's tender. We are not a group to rest on our laurels, so what to do next? The choice was not difficult. The Society has received such tremendous financial support and encouragement since the purchase of "Stowe" (plus more new members than for many years) that the most obvious way of saying "thank you" was to make a start. It couldn't be the locomotive as there are others ahead in the queue but the tender was a possibility (and, having completed one, we knew about tenders).
Discussions with Keith Sturt resulted in the go-ahead being given and a start was made. You can read about the rapid progress so far in the Restoration Report below together with the latest news on 1638 and 847.
Ian Hawkins
RESTORATION REPORT
928 "STOWE"
Stowe 's tender chassis, after the tender tank had been dismantled, September 2001.
The good news is that, having completed 1638's tender, the working gang has taken on the overhaul of 928's tender and are off to a flying start. The two tenders were swapped over in early July. This means that 1638's is now under cover in the running shed and 928's is situated behind 1638's locomotive chassis in front of the works. Rapid progress has been made on dismantling the
Side 1
tender tank which was badly corroded in places - namely, in the baseplate, coal deck top, rear platework and the tops of raves. The extent of corrosion was judged too severe to warrant attempting a repair so full dismantling was the order of the day (this led to a comment from a member of the visiting public along the lines of "That's not preservation - they should be repairing it not cutting it up." Not quite sure where we were meant to make a start on the "repair" - Ed.). This was carried out swiftly in July/August to limit the period the tender appeared in an unsightly condition.
Many fittings and parts have been salvaged for re-use on the new tank. These include handrails, sandboxes, toolboxes, and cab doors. Melvyn Frohnsdorff has already started making up some new parts that are needed such as new front steps and various parts that will be required inside the tank. By the end of August, the entire tank had been dismantled - progress had been so rapid that one or two visitors thought that we had decided to take apart the tank we had just built for 1638!
Was 928's tender ever involved in an accident?
The tender that accompanies "Stowe" is actually number 714 which was built to accompany "Schools" Class No.914 "Eastbourne". The tender was swapped to run with "Stowe" at its overhaul in 1957. "Schools" Class tender bodies were of a solid, all riveted construction and the original platework was thick. When, a few years ago, we dismantled the tender bodies from the snowplough conversions, they were all unaltered and to the original construction. With the dismantling of the tender tank on 714, we have been surprised to find significant evidence of a major post war rebuild. Why was this? Was the tender involved in accident? Has anyone got any information on No.914 "Eastbourne"? We offer the following evidence for your thoughts:
The whole right hand side had been replaced -most likely post war -as it had been welded to the internal baffles whilst all the rest of the structure was of a riveted construction. As far as I am aware, welding was only introduced under Bulleid's regime, during and after WW2.
It appears that the base had been replaced at some stage. Inside "Schools" Class tenders there are splashers over the wheels. They were normally pressings that were riveted to the tender base (which was what we found when dismantling the snowplough tenders). On 714, the splashers on the front two axles were the original pressings but they had been welded to the floor. The splashers on the rear axle were a simple welded fabrication, also welded to the floor. If the tender base had been original, we would have expected to have found the splashers riveted to the base.
Under the tender, the back axle wheelsets have a different spoke section to the other two wheelsets. Adjacent to the back axle the guard irons and the tender steps showed clear signs of having bottom sections replaced as if the bottom half of these items had been damaged.
All these things led to the suggestion that the tender may have been involved in some form of accident requiring repair at the rear end, swapping of the back axle and replacing the right hand side. Does anyone have any knowledge of what may have happened? If so please get in touch with the Editor.
Anyway, back to the condition of the tender chassis. Prior to dismantling the tank, we were conscious that the front end was badly corroded. Once the tank was off, it became obvious that the front drag box and part of the front section of the frames would have to be replaced. In some places 3/8" platework on the dragbox had wasted down to 1/8" and what remained was distorted. In addition, the front sections of the inner frames have become so badly corroded that there are a couple of holes right through what should be 3/8" plate. Luckily the whole front area is made up of small sections of platework, riveted together with angle iron. So it will be a quite straightforward process to dismantle the areas that are wasted and put back together with new. The good news is
Side 2
that the rear end of the tender chassis appears to be in pretty good order and we may not have to replace the rear drag box which could save about 2 months work.
All the brake gear, vacuum brake cylinders and pipework have been carefully dismantled and labelled up to ensure they can be put back up correctly. Most parts seem in good order although some pipework may need to be renewed. Not surprisingly, some of it was rather rusted up and was somewhat difficult to dismantle.
As we go to press, we are hoping we can get the frames lifted from the wheelsets by the end of October. This will enable the rebuild of the front end to start.
As to the locomotive, a genuine ex "Schools" Class three feed hydrostatic lubricator has been obtained for future use. The original apparently "disappeared" from the locomotive at some stage before it arrived at the Bluebell. When restored to traffic in 1981, a mechanical lubricator was fitted which, whilst adequate for the job, is not as effective or reliable as the original hydrostatic design. Appropriate hydrostatic lubricators are hard to find and obtaining the right design for this essential bit of kit is quite a coup. We must thank Ray Bellingham for tracking down this item.
As yet there is no date set for starting on the overhaul of the locomotive itself. Other locomotives like 1638/847 are in front of 928 but tackling the tender is a good start.
A lot has been achieved in a short time, which is one of the reasons for issuing this News Sheet in order to keep members informed of developments. We look forward to publishing some pictures in the next magazine.
1638 - the tender
Construction work on the tender tank was completed in June with the conclusion of the work to fit beading round the top edge and erecting the front handrails. The beading was a very fiddly job requiring considerable patience to get the various complex curved sections right. A lot of effort went into the construction of the tank in order avoid getting any "ripple" along the sides. All in all, the finish has received warm praise around the yard at Sheffield Park for the quality of workmanship. The acid test was to determine if it could hold water. With no leaks apparent, it passed with flying colours.
One last remaining job is to fit a wooden floor. Rodney Packham has been looking at what is involved and hopefully this can be tackled before Christmas. Rodney made a good job of 847's woodwork so we know we can look forward to a quality job.
The tender is now in the running shed behind "Stowe". David Jones has started to paint its number on.
1638 - the locomotive
There are two major jobs outstanding here:-
Firstly the boiler. Hopefully there will be another visit to the yard by a road crane soon. One job being promised is to tip the boiler onto its back so the foundation ring can be taken out and the extent of work required assessed. This assessment will have a major bearing on when 1638 goes into the works. Meanwhile some boiler cladding, which had been in store off-site, has been delivered and the weekend gang has been cleaning and painting it prior to storing it ready for use.
Secondly the motion. After having the forgings made and machined there has been a bit of a pause as the last job, machining and fitting the bushes, has to be undertaken in the works to ensure an
Side 3
exact fit between the rods and the crank pins on the wheels. We are very pleased to announce that this skilled job will be taken on by Ray Bellingham who has carried out similar work, so competently, on all our other locomotives and quite a number of other Bluebell locomotives as well. It is hoped a start will be made in October and the expectation is that the work will last well into next year. Completion of this work will remove one of the biggest obstacles to getting 1638 back into traffic.
847
Rodney Packham, Mike Frackiewicz and others have continued with work to keep the locomotive looking presentable while standing out in the yard. However, no real progress will be possible until 847 has been fully dismantled prior to overhaul.
Next locomotive into the works?
We understand either 1638 or 847 will go into the works once 80151 has been completed and further progress has been made with the Dukedog. Work on 1638 or 847 will have to be fitted in around work on "Sir Archibald Sinclair" whose boiler is now in the works being overhauled.
Steve Pilcher
PUBLICITY
A good illustrated article describing all the work involved in rebuilding 1638's tender appeared in issue No.262 of Steam Railway (14th September to 12th October). We are grateful to Tony Streeter, the Assistant Editor, for again supporting us and publishing something about our work. We also hope to produce an illustrated article on the work undertaken so far on 928's tender, once the chassis is dismantled, so keep an eye on the monthly magazines.
"STOWE" - THE CONNECTIONS
We all know that "Stowe" is named after a public school but how many railway enthusiasts also realise that the school backs on to Stowe gardens, 3 miles north of Buckingham? These are maintained by the National Trust and are described as being the first and one of the finest landscaped gardens in all of Europe. We hope to put together an article on the school and the history of the gardens in a future edition of the magazine. Meanwhile, if you are in the Buckingham area, call in at the gardens for the Autumn colours, they really are special.
ORIGINAL PARTS OF "SCHOOLS" TENDER FOR SALE
We have kept to one side the two parts of "Stowe's" tender tank that had the number 928 painted on. One is circa 5 feet square - the other is approx 7 feet by 3 feet 6 inches. Being thick plate they need two people to move them and would require a minimum of a large estate car to transport away. We have also kept aside the two front steps (the back plate is wasted - not suitable for re-use again). They are approx 3 feet in depth and 18 inches wide, can be carried by one person and should fit into a car boot. We would like these items to go to a good home - rather than be thrown into the scrap skip - offers in the region of £40 each for the tender numbers or £20 each for the steps to the Treasurer on 020 7481 3390.
And finally, it just remains for me to thank all those who have helped either physically or financially to support the Society's work. With the dismantling of 928's tender chassis, there will be plenty of work for anybody who cares to join us, be you skilled or unskilled. You do need to be a paid up Bluebell Railway member (for insurance purposes) - otherwise please just come along on a Sunday and make yourself known to our group.
Steve Pilcher
