It has been a busy winter working on 27 with the rear drag box & buffer beam complete and riveted in place for the close of the year. The cylinder block has also been split ready for final machining & the second wheel set has also entered the works over winter…
With the 150th anniversary of Stroudley’s famed “Terriers” fast approaching in 2022 an in-depth evaluation has been started on first of the class Fenchurch, by the Bluebell Railway’s Locomotive Works, with a view to returning her to steam for the anniversary…
We have just received back from Statfold barn our refurbished valve rods which where sent away for metal spraying and re machining of the working surfaces back to original finish size! The finish is absolutely superb and will complement the new block when they come to be fitted…
To the casual observer maybe not much has changed but with over 400 holes previously drilled we have slowly been setting up the frames over the summer carefully aligning the various frame plates, reaming through and countersinking the various holes…
Over the first week of July we had a small team of volunteers from Network Rail spending the week undertaking various tasks helping with the ongoing restoration of No 27 Primrose as well as helping with preventative maintenance & remedial display presentation…
Fenchurch over the pit ready for its deep clean by NR volunteers pending its next overhaul…
With a week’s annual leave booked some of the team spent the week making a start at riveting the frames! Both of the two frame stretchers have now been riveted home as well as the six running plate supports with the front two needing to be in place prior to the new cylinder block being fitted! Attention was then turned to making a start at fitting up the rear buffer beam and drag box and preparing this for riveting next! Offsite at Statfold Barn the cylinders, now completed, where duly collected on the Friday of the working week despite the best efforts of the British motorway system & exceptionally bad congestion’s but the effort was worth it! Thanks must go to Statfold Barn for the excellent work that they have done machining our cylinder block, the guys taking the week off to work on 27 and Stuart & Paul for there valued help with riveting at the beginning of the week…
It’s been a little while since our last engineering update but despite the weather we have slowly been moving forwards on many fronts! Work has focused on setting up the frames and getting them square ready for riveting! Also whilst the weather has been against us we have been busy making a start on re-furbishing various parts of the motion cleaning, inspecting & re-machining where necessary. Off site the cylinder block is progressing well and should be ready for collection with’in the next month or too…
