Latest News

Current news items are listed below. If the Acrobat icon is shown, then click on the icon to read the attachment. If an image is shown, you can click it for a full size image. You can find old news items in the News Archive.

Bogie Side Control Spring Beams
21/11/2022
	Before we stripped down the bogie frame assembly after the Annual General Meeting, we wanted to check the fit of the bogie side control spring beams. In the photograph, we are looking at the rear of the bogie frame, the beams are end on and fit round the horizontal spindle. They pass through the stretcher and the centre slide and engage with another spindle at the front of the stretcher. Between the 2 beams and fitted round the spindle will be 2 rectangular section side control springs. When the bogie starts to negotiate a corner, the centre slide will try to move outwards. If going round a right bend , the centre slide will try to move to the left. This pushes the right hand beam to the left thus compressing the springs. The springs help to stabilise the engine while running through the curve and also produces a smoother exit. The beams are 700mm long, 40 mm thick and 125 mm high at the ends. They have to be placed in flat and then rotated to the vertical position once in the right place. Then the spindles can be fitted. In the photo we are only using temporary bolts. The exercise proved that the beams fitted correctly.
Moving the Bogie Frame
21/11/2022
	We still had to fit the left hand frame plate to the stretcher so the bogie frame was turned back upside down and moved to the trestles. Anthony from CTL Seal is in control and Mike is providing a guiding hand.
Engineers Blue
21/11/2022
	The rest of the day was spent in fitting the left hand bogie frame plate to the central stretcher. First apply engineers blue to the stretcher. Then lower the frame plate onto the stretcher and lightly do up a couple of nuts and bolts to secure the frame plate. Then move the frame plate backwards and forwards a few times. Undo the bolts, lift up the frame plate using the overhead crane and look for the high spots. Work on the high spots with fine emery paper and repeat. Here Geoff and Mike are getting very close to a good fit. There are 3 places where the engineers blue has been removed showing that they are high spots.
Heating the Bearings
18/11/2022
	The bearings are a tight (interference) fit on the axle. To help get the bearings on the axle, South Devon Railway Engineering have an induction heater. This warms up the bearings and they expand. The bearings can be slipped onto the axle and they will shrink as they cool down, thus gripping the axle.
Checking for End Float Adjustment
18/11/2022
	The correct end float has to be set up on the bearings. Here Tony Wilson for SDRE is checking clearances to calculate how much to grind off the adjustment ring to set the end float
Checking Radial Clearance
18/11/2022
	With the bearings fitted in both ends of the cannon box, John checks the radial clearances to ensure that the axle is sitting squarely in the bearings
Wheelset Assembly (1)
17/11/2022
	Our bogie wheelset components are at South Devon Railway Engineering in Buckfastleigh for assembly. The cannon box and axle are placed vertically. Then the the parts that fit on the axle - the abutment ring, roller bearing and enclosure ring and flinger are expanded by heat on an induction heater and lowered one by one into position.
Wheelset Assembly (2)
17/11/2022
	The axle lowered into position looking down at the enclosure ring and flinger
Wheelset Assembly (3)
17/11/2022
	Now the adjustment washer, enclosure ring have been installed. Tony Wilson from SDRE then bolts down the end cover. This is a step on the way before assembling the bearing at the other end and setting the end float. Once this axle is complete, then the other axle will be assembled.
Moving the Bogie Frame
15/11/2022
	The bogie frame needed to be moved to a display position for the AGM. 4 of our team have been trained by CTL Seal to use the overhead cranes. Here Mike and Ian move the upside down bogie frame out onto the main floor so that Craig from CTL Seal can turn it right way up. Photo by John Hind
Bogie Frame Trial Assembly
14/11/2022
	Today was preparation for the Annual General Meeting to be held on Saturday 19 November at CTL Seal. The bogie frame has been assembled with loose fit bolts and placed on stands. Alongside are the bogie spring cradles - upside down in the photo (as they could be unstable right way up). The left hand bogie bolster has been fitted to the frame today. We will need to start drilling and reaming out the bolt holes next week. Also, bogie cannon axlebox assembly is due to start at South Devon Railway Engineering this week. We hope to get some pictures later this week.
Bogie Axlebox Guides
07/11/2022
	The bogie axlebox guides were fitted today for a trial to make sure everything lined up correctly. In the photo, the bogie frame is upside down. Although all of the 8 axlebox guide castings are the same, there are 4 outer guides, 2 left hand inner and 2 right inner guides. The difference is the fixing holes at the top of the inner guides. As you can see in the photo, the top 2 bolt holes (bottom in the photo) have deep countersinks so that the bolt heads (originally rivets) do not foul the spring cradle plates. The marking "To Fin" is to indicate that the final machining of that surface will take place with the axlebox guides fitted to the frames - so that the bogie cannon box is exactly at right angles to the frame and the guides on each side are in line with each other.
Fitting the Bogie Bolsters
31/10/2022
	With the arrival of the bogie bolsters from Furmiss and White last week, this week we started to fit them to the frames. The bolsters have a slot running lengthways which engages around the bottom of the main frames. This needs to be a snug fit so the bolsters were deliberately machined very slightly undersize. Today's job was to identify the tight spots then file the bolsters in that area. Refit to the frames and try again. In the photo, a tapered podger is holding the bolster in position while John checks fo gaps with a feeler gauge. As the fit improved we used the jack below to lift the bolster into position. The right hand bolster is now ready for final drilling of the bolt holes; the left hand bolster needs a bit more work to fit. The job of the bogie bolster is to transfer the weight of the front of the engine to the bogie. The bolster is lubricated by grease via the hole in the centre of the bottom section. The dome of the bolster engages in a bolster cup which is free to "float" on the arms of the central bogie stretcher.