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.

Peter Lawne joins the Team
07/02/2023
	The Standard Steam Locomotive is pleased to announce that Peter Lawne has agreed to join the team and will look after our finances. Peter spent a lot of his career working for Shell and is a Chartered Accountant. Left to Right - Bob Ife, Ian Henderson, Stephen Loeber, James Baldwin, Peter Lawne, James and Judith Spenceley and Geoff Turner
Bogie Axlebox Guides (1)
30/01/2023
	We have now started the process of building up the bogie axlebox guides. The axle box guides are steel castings that will bolted to the bogie frames - 8 in all. To these we need to manufacture steel liners that will be bolted to the axlebox guides. On the inner surfaces of the steel liners, we will weld manganese steel liner plates. Manganese steel quickly forms a very hard wearing surface. We need to end up with the correct working clearances between the manganese steel liners on the axlebox guides and the manganese steel liners on the cannon boxes. Here John starts the process by using a 1962 ex Crewe Works internal micrometer to confirm that the cut out in the bogie frames is the correct dimension. These would have been used on steam locomotives at Crewe Works. All dimensions were correct!
Bogie Axlebox Guides (2)
30/01/2023
	The next job stated today was to "fit" the axlebox guides to the frames. By "fitting" we have to ensure that the axlebox guides fits closely to the surfaces of the frame plate. You can see the engineers blue on the edge of the frame which is used to identify the high spots. The podger is used to get the bolt holes correctly aligned before we secure with a temporary bolt. Most of the bolts securing the frame plates to the stretcher are temporary bolts and will be replaced by fitted bolts. The top nut is one example where a fitted bolt has been installed secured by a Philidas nut.
Bogie Wheelset Assembly (1)
25/01/2023
	The tyres have now been fitted to the bogie wheelsets at South Devon Railway Engineering in Buckfastleigh, Devon. SDRE have a special tyre fitting pit. Here the tyre has been fitted into the pit and gas burners are installed around the circumference of the tyre. The tyre will be heated so that it expands.
Bogie Wheelset Assembly (2)
25/01/2023
	The wheel set assembly is lowered into the pit and into the inside of the tyre. The challenge is to heat the tyre just sufficiently so that it slips over the wheel. The assembly is then left to cool. The tyre will then shrink onto the wheel.
Bogie Wheelset Assembly (3)
25/01/2023
	Here is the final assembly after both tyres have been fitted. The next step will be turning the tyres to give the correct diameter and profile. The pictures were taken by Dave Davies who is one of our members who lives near the South Devon Railway. Dave is planning to write an article for the next edition of Hengist Herald, describing the process in more detail.
Roll of Honour Board
10/01/2023
	We have a new Roll of Honour Board in the assembly shop at CTL Seal. Why not help us build Hengist and get your name on the board?!