Latest News

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Sandboxes added to 3D Model
02/07/2020
	Keith, our 3D CAD expert, has been busy and has added the sandboxes to the 3D model. The rear sandbox is bigger than the front 2 sandboxes as it provides sand to the rear of the centre driving wheel (for rear direction running) and sand to the front of the trailing driving wheels (for normal running). The sand filler pipes (square section) fit close to the boiler so the final welding of the filler pipe to the sandbox flange will only take place once the boiler has been fitted.
Centre Slide Machining
29/06/2020
	The bogie centre slide is now on its second machining stage. Here a 1 inch radius is being machined; the tool head will move downwards to complete the job. The 4 round bosses will need to be drilled for the oil lubrication pipes. Also, the reverse face from the bosses will have lubrication grooves machined into the surface.
Axle Centre Buttons
29/06/2020
	Into stock today are these axle centre marking off buttons. 2 are fitted into light drive holes in the frames either side of the axle and will be secured by a bolt. The small drill point on the other side of the button will be used as an alignment check to ensure that the axle centres are in a straight line. 2 are longer as they have to go through the thickness of the frame plates and the frame extension plates.
Trailing Feet
22/06/2020
	Most of the bolts that fit the cast stretchers to the frames have been installed. Pete has started work on the trailing feet which support the rear end of the trailing frame keep. The trailing foot has been pulled down hard onto the frames via the strap; the top 2 bolts are temporary bolts to hold things in place. The lower right hand bolt has been reamed out to final size and has been tapped in to check the fit. The bolts will be installed with the heads on the outside. 6 of the 12 bolts need to be longer as they need to go through both the frame plates and the frame extensions.
Rear Spring Hangers
22/06/2020
	These are the rearmost spring hangers part way through machining. This was a more challenging job as the design is specific to 71000 Duke of Gloucester and the lot 242 Clan Pacifics; no drawing was available in the Natuonal Railway Museum Archives. Therefore, we created our own drawing from measuring the spring hangers on 71000. These were then cast by South Lincs Foundry.
Fitting the Stretcher Bolts (1)
15/06/2020
	CTL Seal have started to fit the stretcher bolts which need to be a drive fit. Here is Pete from CTL Seal reaming out one of the holes after drilling out to undersize. Pete is using an adjustable reamer so he can make sure that the bolts will be a drive fit. The markings on the frame were the measure gap before we used a set of straps to pull the stretcher down on the the frames. This then closed the gap.
Fitting the Stretcher Bolts (2)
15/06/2020
	After the hole has been reamed its time to drive in the bolts
Hind Beam Gussets
15/06/2020
	Meanwhile, over in the fabrication shop are the 2 hind beam gussets. These reinforce the back end of the frame and transfer the weight of the rear of the locomotive to the trailing truck. The bolsters bolt on the bottom which is the left hand side of the left hand gusset. These are in the fettling area where they will be tidied up before transferring to the machine shop for the bolt holes to be drilled. In BritishRailways days, these were castings. As the shape lends itself to fabrication, we have fabricated them using full penetration welding.
Intermediate Rubbing Block
15/06/2020
	Also in the fabrication shop was the Intermediate Rubbing Block. This is bolted to the centre of the hind beam and faces backwards aligned with a similar rubbing block on the tender. The drawbar goes through the centre hole. Manganese liners have been welded to the curved plates and now need to be welded into place.
Water Valve Brackets
15/06/2020
	As we sort through our inventory in the tender, we have a chance to have a good look at the components we have in stock. These 2 brackets support the water valves which control the flow of water from the tender to the injectors. They are upside down in the photo. We were intrigued by the brackets which are bolted to the plates. The drawing details that only one bracket is required but the drawing shows the same holes on both plates. We will have a look at one of the Britannias to see what they have.
Fitting the Cast Steel Stretchers
08/06/2020
	On arrival at CTL Seal today, we found that the cast steel stretchers have been placed into the upside down frames. Here is John Hind from the Advanced Steam Traction Trust measuring the gap between stretchers and the frames. For 2 of the stretchers we are now assured that when the stretchers are tightened down onto the frames, the small remaining gap will close up. For the front stretcher (which is only a single pair of legs compared with 2 pairs for the other stretchers) there was a slight gap on one side. The stretcher was removed and we identified a slight burr that will need to be taken out. The next step is to fit the frame keeps to get the correct horizontal spacing and then tighten the stretchers down onto the frames so that the bolt holes can be drilled and reamed to size.
NDT Testing
08/06/2020
	We've got a number or parts that were procured sometime ago and where we don't have any paperwork. So this set of components is being sent off for Non-Destructive Testing. At the bottom is the front buffer beam, then the 2 hind beam rubbing plates, the hind beam itsef, triangualr gussets and flanges for strengthening the front buffer beam, the brake shaft carriers (circular at back), the frame cross stay brackets and one of the spring pads for the bogie springs