Latest News

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Work Continues of Firebox Support Stretcher
06/12/2021
	The place where the main frames are fastened to the frame extensions is a critical area made more complicated by also having to fit the firebox support stretcher in the same area. A key interface is where the bottom of the main frames and the frame extensions sit on the firebox support stretcher. CTL Seal have got out the engineers blue to identify the high spots. A solid steel bar has been placed on top of the 2 jacks to get the upward pressure from the jacks distributed as evenly as possible. The job is apply engineers blue, jack up firebox support, release firebox support, identify high spot, lightly grind high spot, repeat. Slow going but its got to be right.
Trailing Feet
30/11/2021
	The trailing foot is a heavy casting that is fitted to the rear of the frames. As you can see on the far side, 6 fasteners secure the foot to the main frames - 4 inch long bolts and rivets - and 6 fasteners secure the foot to the main frames and the frame extensions - 5 inch long bolts. Like other bolt holes in this critical area, the holes have now been reamed out to ensure that the hole is a constant diameter throughout the length of the hole. Geoff is now measuring the internal diameter using a bore gauge. We will now order light drive, fitted bolts which will have shanks turned to match the diameter of each hole. The bosses around the bolt holes will be machined with a counter bore to ensure that the bolt heads have sufficient flat surface to bear on. For the eagle eyed amongst you, the frame keeps still need to be machined to final dimensions and are currently bolted upside down to close the hornguide gap.
Visit from Newcastle College
17/11/2021
	Diamond Rail recently hosted a visit of students from the Rail and Civil Engineering course at Newcastle College. The students are studying engineering management and visited Diamond Rail to understand suppliers and to investigate cost benefit analysis and sustainability pressures. Jenny Dempsey, Business Development Director, is on the right. Of course, they took the opportunity to see real railway engineering in the form of 72010!
Bogie Wheel Tyres in Stock
16/11/2021
	The tyres for the bogie wheels are now in stock at the South Devon Railway in Buckfastleigh who will assemble the wheelsets. We understand that the axles are in transit from South Africa. We need to get the cannon axleboxes machined and the internal components manufactured. The wheel bearings are in stock at CTL Seal
New Bogie Cannon Axleboxes
15/11/2021
	The bogie cannon axlebox castings have been delivered from William Cooks and have gone through our goods inwards inspection today. The one nearest the camera is the right way up. We only need one breather in the centre of the tube; the originals had 2 to avoid the central BR(W) Automatic Train Control bosses. You can see this on the first photo on the Construction > Build > Bogie page. The ATC system went out of use in the 1970s so the bosses are not necessary. We will need the AWS system which which is a different system and is still in use.The bosses at the ends of the nearest axlebox will need to be milled out to accept a spring cup - the ends of the bogie spring cradle will rest in these. On the far axlebox, the smaller bosses are for the drain plugs. These axleboxes were originally designed for oil lubrication. We are finalising the machining drawings; the next job is to get the castings machined to final dimensions.
Destructive Testing of Cannon Axleboxes
15/11/2021
	South Lincs Foundry initially cast the bogie cannon axleboxes but surface cracks were identified in non destructive testing. It was not possible to establish how deep the cracks were so we agreed with SLF to reject the castings. SLF and ourselves wanted to establish exactly how extensive the cracking was so it was agreed to put them through destructive testing. The axleboxes delivered to CTL Seal where they were cut up into sections. Then one of the sections were put onto a horizontal boring machine for the ends to be cleaned up. Here Geoff and Sam from CTL Seal discuss the machining requirements. After that it was cut into quarters (vertically along the yellow line) on a power hacksaw. From this we established that there was a 3mm/4mm crack where the box of the axlebox meets the tube of the "cannon". This confirms the decision to scrap the castings.
More Trial Fitting of Bogie Components
15/11/2021
	The circular item in the foreground is a spring cap. The spring cap engages in a recess under the stretcher "arm" - Keith, in the centre, is testing the other cap for fit. The boss on the top pushes up into the central hole and is welded into place. We found that the cap was too tight a fit in the recess so Jack from CTL Seal - on the left - eased it slightly so the spring caps are now a good fit. The bogie leaf springs are inverted and the central buckle of the spring will engage with the spring cap.