Week Four

Tuesday started off with dressing back the previous Sundays’ welds on the side panels of the 541 tender tank

and then getting the rear top panel turned over and carried inside for cleaning.

The crinoline team were hard at work trial fitting the firebox bands

while others were fitting the flanges for the blower and brake ejector exhaust and drilling mounting holes in the various smokebox brackets made last week.  Thursday saw a trip to the Bluebell Railway to pick up the chimney and blower ring

plus the new header tank that we made for the GWR Railcar.  This shot shows it next to the life-expired original.

Friday’s main job was lifting the tender tank’s rear top panel into position which, given the lack of space, was neither a quick nor easy task.

With that completed, the side panels were given a coat of primer 

and the crinoline team made and fitted the first of the bracing strips on the top of the firebox.

Sunday was all tender tank work with the back sheet offered up and tack welded into position 

after which the rear top panel was moved into place which involved a great deal of jacking and the use of wedges to ensure there were no gaps between the panel itself and the angle on which it sits.  The closing wall for the coal space was then lifted into place and temporarily bolted to the retaining angle after which the top panel could be tack welded in with the following shots showing the result at the end of the day plus the view from the top rear of the tender looking forward to the coal floor.

Others meanwhile were fixing the coal shovelling plate into position at the other end of the tender.

Week Three

All the 4253 work this week involved parts that won’t be visible.  More of the crinoline bands were cut to length, 

shaped and trial fitted; these ones are for the firebox.

Also, we started making the various bits that fit inside the smokebox including the superheater header cover brackets and the shaped rod that holds the spark arrestor.  The parts were cut over-length and then heated 

and bent to the required shape 

and, after cooling and cleaning, were given a coat of heat-resistant paint.

And, finally, the doubling plate countersunk rivets on the top of the smokebox were ground back flush.

On the 541 tender tank, the long, side beadings were taken down again to de-burr and clean the holes after drilling in preparation for being riveted into place,

the countersunk rivets put in last Sunday were ground flush and the coal chute area was cleaned and given a coat of primer now that area is finished.

In fact, we had people in there in different areas welding, grinding and painting at the same time 

while the curved rear angles were being painted elsewhere.

Week Two

This week, the work on 4253’s boiler continued with more copper pipework for the lubrication lines and crinolines for the firebox sections being bent to shape, the latter against wooden buck patterns, 

and more of the barrel sections being made and trial fitted

All of this involves much heating, bending, 

welding together, 

drilling and tapping of each band 

with constant trial fits along the way.  We also countersunk the rivet holes for fixing the doubling plate inside the top of the smokebox behind the chimney before riveting it into place.  

With this done we can now fit the regulator box.

For the 541 tender tank, the remainder of the holes to attach the side beading were drilled 

and then countersunk on the outside of the plate and the last rear curved section was also positioned and drilled.

The stainless rod for the water gauge was extended to the required length by welding two sections together 

and the brackets in which it runs were then riveted to the side sheet.  After that, the two front lifting eyes were riveted in which involved the entire team with people positioned outside, on and in the water space simply to pass the hot rivet from one to another, get it into position, hold it up and then knock it over.  As a result, there was no one spare to take any photographs.  Finally, the rear grab handles had the threads cleaned up and were then given a coat of primer.

Week One

On Tuesday, work started on positioning one side of the 541 tender tank side beading, working from front to back, pulling it down as needed then drilling the rivet holes and bolting them up.

After that, the second side was lifted into place and pulled down into position ready for drilling.  The back sheet was rubbed down and the exterior given a coat of primer

and the front strip for the water gauge float retaining bracket was cut up ready to be drilled and fitted later.

On 4253’s boiler, more of the crinoline sections were cut and joined to the ‘toilet seat’ round the safety valves.

and all the washout plugs were numbered, stamped accordingly and fitted together with the mud hole doors.

On Friday, the crinoline work continued with the straps round the firebox being shaped and trial fitted.

and the position of the lubrication shut-off valves on the side of the smokebox were marked out for drilling with the associated copper pipework annealed and a start make on bending it to shape.  The smokebox handrails were also given a coat of gloss.

For the 541 tender tank, the first of the curved rear beading sections had the radius adjusted to match the platework prior to welding on the new ‘T’ section.  At some point this had been welded onto the old tank rather than riveted so had to be cut off and a new section fabricated – that section can be seen laying on the table.

On Sunday, we drilled the holes for the shut-off valves 

and then bolted them into place to give a starting point for the final shaping of the pipework.

More crinoline sections were cut, shaped and welded together, the new handrail ends were drilled 

and then tapped to accept their fixing studs.  On the tender, the second curved section of beading had the ‘T’ piece welded on and was then clamped into position for drilling.

The remaining long, straight section has all the rivet holes drilled, the front end, now finished, had a coat of protective primer applied and the water gauge float had it’s retaining bracketry shaped, drilled and test bolted together pending final fitment.