RESTORATION REPORT
As we go to press, Stowe's tender chassis is
getting close to being re-wheeled and Ray Bellingham is striding on with his
work on 1638's motion.
1638
Last year, the locomotive
chassis went into the works and now the boiler has joined it so, for the first
time, the whole locomotive is now in the works.
Since the last report the following steps forward
have been made:
| i) |
Ray Bellingham has machined the new valve heads
and new rings. |
| ii) |
Valve and piston bores have been thoroughly
cleaned out. |
| iii) |
Valve and piston components have been assembled
and installed back into the cylinder block. Piston rod and crosshead joined
together. |
| iv) |
One old combination lever cleaned up, machining
of new combination lever and new anchor links completed, new bushes and pins
made and fitted. All four components then fitted to the chassis. |
| v) |
Expansion links machined and cleaned up to remove
rusting, work started on fettling up the radius rods, which also need quite a
bit of work to rectify corrosion incurred at Barry. |
| vi) |
Melvyn Frohnsdorff has fabricated six new axlebox
covers to replace old badly corroded ones. |
| vii) |
Cylinders lagged with fibreglass insulation and
the previously repainted cladding put back up. |
| viii) |
Inside of frames cleaned up and re-painted, as
required. |
Ray Bellingham's work on the motion is to a very
high standard and it is, indeed, a joy to behold. I have been a bit premature
in my previous predictions about when the work will be completed - let me just
say it will be well worth seeing when it is finished.
When Ray has finished the motion he will move on
to tackling the overhaul of the cab and boiler fittings etc. As mentioned
below, he is currently working on Stowe's tender wheel sets in order to
help get the tender chassis re-wheeled soon.
1638's boiler went into the workshop in April,
when the Dukedog's boiler passed its steam test. As mentioned in previous
reports, the boiler does require some major replacement of the outer steel
firebox platework, as well as work to the copper inner firebox. Frank Glue has
put in quite a bit of time recently drilling out defective stays - it is a long
old job, and his patience is to be admired. It is all very necessary as part of
tackling the essential reconstruction of the firebox area.
Hopefully once work on the Dukedog is complete, it
will be possible for some more workshop time to be spent on 1638's boiler in
order to push this project forward to conclusion.
For those with an eye for financial detail, we
recently calculated that the Society has so far contributed over £92,000
towards the restoration of this loco (847 cost approx £50,000). This is a
good indication of how much more work has had to be done on 1638, compared with
any of our previous restoration projects.
Stowe
Melvyn Frohnsdorff and the Sunday
gang continue to romp along with the work on Stowe's tender chassis,
which is now very close to being ready for re-wheeling. The following tasks
have been tackled since the last report:
At the beginning of the year, Melvyn completed the
work on replacing the steam heat and vacuum brake pipework. The buffers and
handbrake have been dismantled, cleaned up and re-assembled. New side valances
have been fabricated and bolted back up onto the tender frame.
All the various components for the spring
assemblies (ie spring hangers, springs and pockets) have been cleaned up and
painted, as appropriate, and re-assembled onto the chassis. The underkeeps that
hold the axle boxes in place were significantly worn and have had to be built
up with weld and new fitted bolts made.
We were lucky in having a whole new set of crowns
for the axles, as the original set needed a lot of work to bring them up to
scratch. Ray Bellingham machined the new crowns in May and hand scraped them to
bed them down precisely onto each axle journal.
The faces of the steel horn guides were examined
and were found to be so badly worn that they have been scrapped. Melvyn
Frohnsdorff spent a number of hours dismantling all twelve of them and new
steel has been obtained which Ray Bellingham is soon to machine. Since there
are twelve, and they will take at least a day each, it is delaying both the
re-wheeling of the tender and Ray's work on 1638. However, we want
Stowe's tender to be in first class order and fit to run without much
attention for a significant period of time so time spent now will ensure it
needs minimal attention when operational.
One final item that is being looked into,
literally as we go to press, is to obtain some spare springs for this chassis
and 1638's. Two of Stowe's tender springs are decidedly "suspect" so we
are currently trying to negotiate the purchase of up to 6 spares.
These are likely to cost a few hundred pounds,
an additional cost for which we had not planned. Can you help fund
this?
Whilst Ray Bellingham has been busy sorting out
the axleboxes and horn guide faces, Melvyn Frohnsdorff, with help from the
volunteers, has been tackling the construction of a new base for the tender
tank. New steel plate arrived in April and Melvyn has cut it all to shape and
drilled it ready for bolting down onto the chassis. He cannot finish off this
task until the chassis is re-wheeled - then expect to see the internal
framework start appearing at a rapid pace as he has already fabricated quite a
lot of the component parts. We already have the whole piece of rolled plate for
the rear of the tender on site. This will be the next large item of the tender
tank to go up on the chassis. New platework is also on site for the coal space
so, if you visit during the Summer, expect to see the inside of the tender tank
starting to take shape. By the end of 2003 there should be something quite
impressive to see.
Storage Container
A small
group led by Simon Allen has taken on and completed the job of giving some
tender loving care to the container owned by the Camelot Locomotive Society. We
have stored and continue to store many bits from Stowe's tender in this
container. This was our way of saying "thank you".
We need to thank the usual Sunday regulars of
Simon Allen, Clive Bean, Ian Hawkins, David Jones, Heidi Mowforth, Paul
Skinner, Barry Smith and Paul Thorp.
And finally, a big thank you to Keith Sturt and
his workshop colleagues for all their help, advice and support in the last few
months, which is so essential if both projects are to progress.
Steve
Pilcher
STOWE SALES
In this issue we bring you information on a couple of
tempting new sales items. The first is a print of Stowe in action on the
Bluebell. Matthew Cousins, who produces the delightful artwork for the
Bluebell's timetable, has painted a charming colour picture of Stowe
emerging from West Hoathly tunnel on a rake
of Maunsell coaches. It is a super image and comes supplied on a
green mount suitable to fit into a standard 24" by 16" frame. The cost is a
very reasonable £15. It is not planned to post this item so collection
will have to be made from Sheffield Park on a Sunday.
The second item is a full size Stowe replica nameplate.
Unfortunately, they are quite expensive to produce but for those of you with
deep pockets and who like using Brasso we can supply a brass version for
£250. Alternatively there is an aluminium version for £150. Due to
their size and weight, they will need to be collected from Sheffield Park.
In the longer term, Matthew has been asked to produce another
painting, this time of 1638. This could be available by the end of 2003.
MAUNSELL’S
IRISH MOGULS (OR THE WOOLWICH
LOCOMOTIVES OF C.I.E.)
Grateful acknowledgement is given to the
Irish Railway Record Society (IRRS) for permission to re-print the following
article by the late R N Clements. The article appeared in print many years ago
in IRRS Journal No.23 having first been presented as a paper by Mr Clements to
a meeting of the IRRS.
Continued from Newsletter No.46
In spite of the general similarity, there are
considerable differences from the Swindon boiler; the latter had a long coned
ring with a short parallel one in front whereas in the Ashford boiler the coned
and parallel rings were roughly of equal length. The Ashford boiler was
smaller, its outside diameters were 4 ft 8 inches and 5 ft 3 inches where
Swindon had 4 ft 11 inches and 5 ft 6 inches but it was 12 ft 6 inches long
against Swindon's 11 ft 0 inches with another foot in the length of the
firebox, 8ft 0 inches against 7ft 0 inches, giving a grate area of 25 sq ft
against Swindon's 20½. The back sloping firebox crown and sides sloping
inwards were another Swindon feature, rare then though common enough now.
Maunsell's influence appeared in the superheater
(21 elements against Swindon's 14) and his patent header but probably it was
Pearson (Note 6) who persuaded him to reduce the length of the elements so as
to give only 203 sq ft of superheating surface (even less than Swindon's 216 sq
ft). As has usually happened when this feature of Swindon policy has been
transferred elsewhere, the superheating surface was soon increased becoming 285
sq ft.
So far no mention has been made of Clayton's
influence, but this was very apparent in such non-essential details as were
left to the drawing office on their own. Thus the cab, both in profile and
arrangement of spectacles, was pure Midland, the tender too might have come
from Derby, as might the smokebox door, and the chimney, though its large
diameter shows Swindon influence (Note 7), was very much of Midland shape.
Clayton could have been responsible, too, for the engine number, 810, appearing
only on the buffer beam and in large figures on the tender; the rectangular
plate on the cab side, with the letters "SECR" was somewhat reminiscent of
Inchicore, but it could be no more than coincidence that the engine appeared in
the unlined grey livery that was adopted by Inchicore about the same time. An
unusual detail, for which I cannot suggest any particular origin, was the use
of single slidebars.
At an unknown location, Irish Mogul Class K1A
No.393 is seen at the head of a rake of very clean coaches. Photograph MLS
collection.
Though work on the design started in 1914, it was
not till late in 1917 that the first engine was completed (Note 4). It was then
subjected to lengthy trials before the decision to build the next batch, which
appeared in 1920.
APPENDIX 1 continued - Comments by Mr H
Holcroft
Note 4 - Robert Surtees was still Chief
Draughtsman in 1914 and J Clayton came from Derby as Leading Draughtsman with
the specific task of outlining the new types as laid down by Maunsell and
Pearson. When Surtees retired later in the year Clayton was appointed in his
place and he then took charge of the office and got his men going on with
details, but this was soon checked after the war broke out. As the Germans
swept through Belgium as much as possible of the Belgian rolling stock was
evacuated behind the French lines, but spares and drawings had to be abandoned.
In order to provide spares to put the stock back into traffic, samples of the
various parts had to be sent to Ashford Works, where new drawings were made
therefrom, so that the shops could manufacture the spares. All this further
delayed work in connection with the N and K Class prototypes, and they did not
appear until 1917.
Note 6 - The reduction in superheater surface to
203 sq ft was not due to Pearson. The elements were not shortened but were of
the short bend return type. Instead of being carried as far as the smokebox
tubeplate, the loops only extended halfway there, the front end having little
superheating value. I think this was put forward by The Superheater Co.
Note 7 - The original chimney was not influenced
by Swindon. Later on, larger diameter chimneys, based on Swindon practice, were
fitted on some engines of the Class. (From about 1937 on, most of the GSR
engines were also given larger diameter chimneys - RNC)
STOWE HOUSE
AND GARDENS (and our locomotive)
Why is there a leaflet for Stowe Gardens included
with this Newsletter, you may well ask? A very good question. It is the result
of a fruitful expansion of our contacts.
Stowe is named after the famous public
school near Buckingham. Stowe House, once the mansion of the Dukes of
Buckingham and Chandos, is set in 750 acres of landscape garden and parkland.
This splendid honey coloured Georgian building is currently undergoing an
extensive programme of external repairs. Compared with some other public
schools, Stowe is a relatively recent foundation receiving its first pupils in
1923. Notable old boys include David Niven, David Shepherd, Richard Branson and
George Melley.
Begun by Sir Richard Temple in about 1719, the
adjacent landscape garden is the largest, grandest and most important in
England and took over 130 years to create. Here, the talents of artists like
Lancelot "Capability" Brown, William Kent and Sir John Vanbrugh were used to
very good effect. Transferred by Stowe School to the National Trust in 1989,
the Gardens are open from March to December each year. The inspired landscape
includes a number of architectural features and follies. Well worth a visit if
you are in the area.
Late last year, Amanda Pickard, the National
Trust's Site Manager, contacted the Bluebell Railway with a view to visiting
and seeing Stowe and to establishing contacts between our Society and
Stowe Gardens. As a result of this meeting and a follow up held at Stowe,
Amanda and the Stowe Gardens Shop Manager have agreed to display and sell
copies of our replica Stowe nameplates and the print of Stowe in
action on the Bluebell. For our part we agreed to draw the attention of Society
members to the Gardens and to invite you to sample the delights of this part of
the Home Counties for yourselves.
PHOTOLINK
On the rear cover two photographs, kindly
provided by Deryk Swetnam, show trains at Byfleet Junction on the South Western
main line.
The upper photograph shows Mogul A612 on the
slow line. Built at Brighton in July 1928 and shedded at Guildford In its early
days, the locomotive still has its Derby pattern chimney snifting valves,
piston tail rods and 3500 gallon fiat sided tender It was in the mid 1930s that
the U Class locomotives acquired smoke deflectors, lost their piston tail rods
and were fitted with typical Maunsell chimneys. In the case of A612 (by now
1612), it exchanged its 3500 gallon flat sided tender for one of 4000 gallons
with a turned in top in November 1938 From this, it would appear that the
photograph dates from the late 1920s or early 1930s.
Turning to the lower photograph, Urie N15
No.750 "Morgan Le Fay" is on the fast line. This locomotive was built at
Eastleigh in October 1922 during the last days of the LSWR. As with the Mogul
snifting valves are in evidence. Also to be seen are the Maunsell chimney and
Urie pattern smokebox door The Urie NI5s acquired Maunsell chimneys during
1927/8 while Urie pattern smokebox door consisting of crossbar and dart and
locked by a central handle together with four bolts along the bottom, was
replaced by the Maunsell pattern (no central locking but with six bolts and
lugs spaced around the entire circumference) in the mid 1930s. So, again, the
late 1920s or early 1930s appears to be a likely date.
The Editor would be pleased to hear from any
member who is able to provide more information about these two photographs
(including the meaning of the route indication discs and duty numbers).
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