Turn 42 - Third Man on the 9F

COVID-19 restrictions have meant a number of changes to the railway, and today turned out to be the last NLE of 2020 as Norfolk went into Tier 4. Travel restrictions have also meant changes to the roster and Fireman Paul, who lives in Lincolnshire has been unable to travel this past month. Today in Paul’s place we have Inspector Mike acting as fireman who has been working on the NNR for over 40 years. I’ve not met him before, but fortunately I was armed with Mince Pies and Rocky Road today so there was an apple for the teacher. By way of introduction he asked for my training schedule and I knew the day was going to be a bit different.

The service was four Santa trains, which run from Sheringham, wait at Weybourne for an hour and run back to Sheringham and then a single Norfolk Lights Express which runs non-stop from Sheringham to Holt. Because this entails a 17 hour day there is a crew change while the train waits at Weybourne on the third Santa trip. We were the second crew, which meant we took over the train at Weybourne, crewed it for the last Santa run and the NLE trip and then disposed at the end of the day, about 22:00.

We climbed aboard, and Mike immediately taught me something new. He got the bent dart out of the tender tunnel and built the back of the fire up until it was encroaching on the door and then left it - we went to get the lamps and bags, to talk about injectors and have a look at the ground frame. Mike also asked me about emergency procedures used when getting help and protecting a train failed in section.

When we returned, the bank of coal under the door was well alight and Mike used the bent dart to push it over the grate, and the engine started to make steam. Mike continued building the fire as we headed down to Sheringham and said “it’s all yours” when we arrived. There wasn’t too much to do straight away, but we needed to take on water:

I made the mistake at this point of not pulling any coal forward, and paid the price when firing up as I had a lot of dregs and water from the bottom of the coal space so the firing was more of a struggle than it needed to be. We left the train at Weybourne and carried on up to start up the generators. This gave me a bit of time to pull some coal forward and get my act together.

The furthest generator from Weybourne is above Averies curve, on the way to Bridge 299. I fired down from there to pick up the children and their parents from Santa’s Grotto at Weybourne but of course the COVID-friendly Santa experience takes a while and when I had the loco ready to go at departure time one of the platform despatch staff came and told us we would be ten minutes late. I shut the dampers and the blower valve and started an injector as she was at full pressure and fit to burst, or at least, perform an unplanned safety valve test. We were 25 minutes late in the end.

Back at Sheringham it was time to get ready for the Norfolk Lights Express, which was to turn out to be the last of the season. We ran around and took on water and I got the boiler filled and a good fire fire built up against the back of the box; we left the loco to go to the loo and get some tea. Driver Grahame went into town for chips; Fireman Mike was in the signal box with General Manager Andrew which left me 45 minutes to have a sandwich, warm some mince pies and get some coal pulled down for the run up.

This is a shot from last year, when I must have been cleaner on this service - I had shovelled all the coal into the front of the tender, If I had done the same thing this year life would have been much easier. At least the train looked good lit up:

Despite not preparing the coal well enough, we were ready to go and had a good run up. Nearing Bridge 299 we were a bit light on water - Fireman Mike tapped the glass and looked at the driver. It was low, but not as low as it appeared since we were braking at the time. A comment appeared in my Training Notes later...

At Holt the weather was dreadful, pouring with rain and with a 45 mph northerly. Squatting in the four-foot to unhook, in a puddle caused by many other crews squatting in the same place, my boots and socks were soaked through. The run down was uneventful though it was wet and cold for the crew; I wasn’t too bad except when observing since I was on top of the fire and frantically searching for coal which was hard to reach, wet, and full of little bits. We arrived a bit low on water but that would be fine as we would take on water before the Light Engine trip to switch off the generators which would give me time to build it up again.

We ran around but I was a bit surprised when the Driver picked up speed as we approached the box - normally you are slowing down ready to stop and back up on the water crane when the points change but no, this time we decided not to water. I’d managed to fill the boiler but in doing so I had allowed the pressure to get very low - it had dropped to 160 and now I had no time to recover or pull coal forward.

Fortunately, the 9F is a very powerful locomotive capable of pulling 2000 tons of freight train, and we were Light Engine. I was more concerned with arriving on shed with enough fire to refill the boiler after the run, so we struggled up at 160, recovering slowly, with me shovelling madly and trying not to throw too much water on a cooling fire.

Inspector Mike climbed off at each of the three generators to let me sort the fire and the boiler out and we eventually arrived on shed full of water and with the boiler pressure at about 180, which would do nicely.

Throughout the trip, there had been a lot of water and coal dust thrown around the footplate and I had washed it down twice already. The crew left me to dispose the fire and give it another wash down and that was it for the 2020 season.

Despite what I though was a pretty difficult turn, Inspector Mike signed off three more boxes on my Training Schedule and gave me a good report. Of course, these difficult turns are the ones which provide the experience for the future - for example, I think I will close the tender doors and shovel coal forward next time I am on this loco with the tender half empty, or perhaps when I take over any loco halfway through the day. All I have left to sign off now is the Sheringham and Holt ground frames, all three signal boxes and the the trip up with the guard; and one more thing - ‘driver incapacitated’, which is where the driver pretends to have a heart attack out on the road and you have to fire and driver the train into the next station.

Now that will cause a flutter!

Turn 41 - Third Man on the 9F

It’s Wednesday and it’s back to work for me - volunteer work on the railway that is. Today is quite unusual in that if all goes well it will be the first footplate turn on the 9F for a year. Here’s a general view of the office:

For office work we will of course need a briefcase and some tools, so I have my prep bag and my crew bag, and my shovel. I’m the sole cleaner today, so its the usual lighting up routine.

I’ve read the report from yesterday, so I expect to find the fireman’s side water gauge drain valve leaking and indeed it is. Fitter Bob changes the seal before we go and shows us how to adjust it for next time.

The smoke box checks out OK, there are no water leaks or bits coming loose so I brush out the ash and scoop it into a barrow below, trying not to drop it all over the running plate, draw hook and vacuum bag.

Next, I take a look at the firebox with my torch and it too looks dry and the three fusible plugs are clean and show no signs of damage, so I take the lever clipped to the backhead and proceed to drop the two halves of the old fire in the ash pan. The firebars are now free of ash and there is no clinker to speak of, so I can build the fire.

I decided this time to build the fire around the edges and under the door, a departure from my usual practice of laying it thinly all over the grate, which I think will get it going quickly with all the air space similar to the way I light the WD. 

Fireman Phil is obviously concerned, though he lets me know I did it wrongly in his usual tactful fashion and I fill in the middle until we have a raging fire. The only problem is, with no pressure in the boiler we have no draught and the fire blows back through the fire hole while we are getting the flame scoop in. This could have caused an accident. Someone told me that you can prevent smoke in the cab by lighting a large fire under the brick arch (and away from the door), so I think I will try that next time.

Anyhow, there is nothing to do now but wait, so I head outside to have a look at the paint. Phil has put the yard hose in the tender and I think I can improve the loco for the photographers by giving the boiler wrapper & buffer beams a going-over with oil & kerosene. While I do that, Driver Bryan and Fireman Phil work their magic with the oil can and the fire and before long she has over 100 psi on the clock and we are ready to go on the pit.

Though I had only gone over the boiler wrapper and the buffer beams she looked quite presentable when she was done:

Once Driver Bryan had made his checks underneath and I had got a couple of lamps on board and filled the oil cans, Fireman Phil hosed out the ash pan while I prepared for blowdown. The glass was half full, so I continued to feed the fire and add water until we had a whole glass. We pushed back for coal while Fireman Phil and I cleared the pit so that we could blow down without spraying ash everywhere. With the pit clear, Driver Bryan brought the big loco back and I returned to the footplate to blow down with Fitter Alan, using the whistle to let him know when to close the valve. My toot was a bit pathetic - note to self, push it harder next time.

With the blowdown complete, I raised steam & filled boiler while the crew went off to change.

On an NLE turn, the first job is to go up the line and turn on the generators for the line side lights and displays. None of this is in the diagram, so the 20 minute trip has to be squeezed in at the beginning of the trip. I left Bryan & Phil to do this while I went to change.

Passing through the yard, we see the winterised B12 and a saddle tank and chimney. It’s from Wissington, which is in the shed with a volunteer working on her paintwork. Her boiler is in the welding shop for it’s ten year overhaul and through the winter off-season, which this year will not be interrupted by the February half term, we will be rebuilding her ready to go out on hire on hire in April. Her saddle tank sits in the yard out of the way.

With my best togs on and shovel & drivers bag in hand, I joined loco at the platform for the run down to Sheringham. Before tying on, we stopped to take on water and with the loco tied on and the steam pressurising the train heating pipes I went over to the station buffet to make some tea.

On this diagram, you are there for 90 minutes or so to warm up the train. Forty minutes before departure, Phil built up the fire ready for the trip up. We’d talked about turns on the 9F and determined that none of us had had a trip out on it for at least a year so we were a little concerned at how to fire it on this timetable, which is made difficult by the very slow speed running required which requires the engine to use a lot more steam than normal. Worrying about blowing off, Phil showed me a technique which I had not seen before - making a hole in the fire with the shovel, to allow some additional cold air in:

Arriving at Holt, I hooked off and we ran around. I took over the fire at Phil’s suggestion and fired down, reminding myself, as he had, that the 9F is difficult to fire without burning yourself and the suggestion Bryan had made while we still on shed - I was putting a round on with my rubber cleaning gloves on - was a good one. Early on in my footplate turns I fired with gloves on a few times, but it is a very bad idea because you have no idea how hot the gloves are until they are too hot. I was glad of the extra two inches I put on my shovel handle.

The run down was uneventful, but I was mindful of running low on steam last week and of Fireman Paul’s view that the boiler should be full and the gauge almost in the red zone at all times - a bit extreme perhaps, but it guarantees that the driver can have as much steam as he wants and it’s probably a good idea on an unusual timetable. We took on water again at Sheringham, while I raked down some coal for the trip up.

Typically on a turn with Phil, I fired the rest of the turn. I protested a bit - just a bit - saying he always did all the hard work when I was out with him, but he rebuffed my suggestion saying I would never learn unless I did it. We ate Bryan’s mince pies from the warming plate..,

I fired up & down on the second trip, and we took on water again at Sheringham. During the turn we made sure to thank the happy passengers coming off the train and I had a chat with a potential volunteer, encouraging him quite firmly to come and join us.

I fired up & down on the light engine trip to switch off the generators, making sure I had filled the boiler to the top of the glass. I was more generous firing down than usual, out of a desire to see how much fire I could safely leave in the firebox for disposal. We arrived making steam gently and with the water past the top of glass and Phil handled the ground frame to let us into the yard. He gave me the choice - handle the ground frame and switch on the lights or help Driver Bryan take the loco in, and of course as I had not done a lot of disposal on my own this is what I chose.

On the pit, I used the bent dart to rake over the grate under the door and in the back corners, pushing the fire towards the front whilst Driver Bryan made his checks underneath and Phil started to wash the ash down through the four access doors either side. By the time I was done, the dart was starting to glow and I threw it into the coal space to cool off. Next, I used the pricker to go over the rest of the fire, though even with that it is difficult to get to the front corners with the heat pouring out of the fire hole.

By the time we were done and back at the stabling point the fire was dying. I used the last of it to add some more water and when I had passed the crew bags and shovels down to Phil in the yard, I cleaned the footplate with the slacker pipe. The last job was to stack some wood for the morning and make sure all the controls were set for stabling.

Another cracking day out. I must make sure that I have a pastie for tea next time and some mince pies for the crew. 

Turn 40 - Third Man on the 4MT

After a six week break I returned to the railway in jubilant mood, like finding a favourite old jumper at the bottom of the linen bin. It was a late start for we were to run two trips of the Norfolk Lights Express and as it’s rostered we have quite a lot of time to prepare an engine that is only seen in the dark. Cleaner’s Mike and Lewis were already on shed when I turned up and the smoke box was clean and the fire lit. I ambled about chatting - quite a departure for me as I’m usually the quiet one getting stuck in!

Fitter Bob showed me the lights we fitted in the pit, which he had finished and someone had made some mesh guards for - the Class 20 was on the pit. Wissington, whose wheels had just been refitted when I was last there had had it’s saddle tank removed as it’s boiler ticket has run out and the boiler needs overhaul; Ring Haw has it’s buffer beam off and valves & pistons removed for inspection. The WD is in the shed as the spare engine; the 9F is in the shed awaiting some rope lights to allow it to act as the alternative NLE loco. Y14 and B12 have been winterised.

So today, the Pocket Rocket 76084 is our weapon of choice. My first job is to sort out the pit hose to fill the tank, since it’s arrived on-shed with only 2000 gallons left. I take a look at the fire and add a little coal with the beast of shovels, my new Western pattern shown in the picture below next to the 4MT’s ‘company shovel’:

It’s certainly a beast and whilst its quite hefty I think I will be happy with it. 

I cleaned the footplate, until I heard someone teasing Cleaner Lewis for trying to fill the tank without the tap turned on. Admitting my guilt, I was treated to a training course from Fitter Alan in how to turn taps on so that the water will come out, promising that I wouldn’t hear the last of that. 

Finishing my job I went off to make eight cups of tea whilst Fireman Graeme and Driver Bryan settled in, and Lewis & Mike cleaned the boiler, tender and buffer beams. I’d got about 150 psig on the clock by and it was time to get onto the pit, for the driver to make his inspection. Lewis & Mike fitted the ash pan screens while I tested the injectors and brought the fire on to prepare for blowdown - Fitter Alan helped us blow down a full glass and she was still making steam with the blowdown valve open. The world disappeared in clouds of vapour. We blew down another half-glass and then moved off the pit leaving Lewis and Mike to clear out the mess.

First job on an NLE turn is to go up the line to turn on the generators, which gives you a couple more miles then it’s down to Sheringham to warm up the set. We were there about 90 minutes before the crowds were on board and we got the ‘right away’ from Guard David. Fireman Graeme was on the shovel on the first trip, with me doing the token, hooking on, and handling the water crane at Sheringham - we had a bit of topping up to do after my incident with the yard hose earlier.

At the top, Fireman Graeme let me know that I was firing the second trip and we were pulling in to Sheringham before I had a quick look in the box to see hardly any fire and only a third of a glass - there was a brief involuntary exclamation which brought a ‘what did I do’ look from Graeme, who was setting up a challenge for me. We had forty minutes to get ready for the return trip, and he and Bryan handled the water crane - all I had to deploy was to deploy the Western pattern JCB and rebuild the fire.

The foundation ring was becoming exposed so the sides were built up first, followed after a few minutes by the back and front, then some more back, then sides, front, more back until we had only twenty minutes to go and I had the blower running, the dampers cracked and I was able to get some water in it. A little later I started to fill in the middle, though not too much as closing up the hole in the middle brings this engine around very quickly. I still needed to add water, but by the time we got the 19:00 ‘right away’ I was  in the top quarter and the pressure was well over 200 psi. 

We moved off, and I collected the token and relaxed into the fireman’s seat for a couple of minutes whilst we moved the train over the crossing. On the way down the 1:333 I filled up the middle and front to let her go up Dead Man’s Hill and pull some air through my fire. Cresting the hill, I put the injectors on again to top up as we descended the 1:100 down the other side.

I’d been watching Graeme on the first trip and realised that he had fired completely normally, despite the extra 10 minutes scheduled on the diagram. I followed suit, firing and watering as I saw fit and we romped up the hill - or ‘struggled’ as Graeme put it, who by now I had realised spent most of his time with tongue in cheek.

However, adding another round at Bridge 299 raised an eyebrow and taking my eye off the fire as I dropped the token on the catcher at Holt, she blew off. “You just didn’t need it” says Graeme, proving to be, as most of the guys are, a valuable teacher.

Going down is usually quite easy for the fireman, since the only uphill bit is the 1:100 up to Bridge 304. I took it very easy, adding bits and adding water as I went down, but by Weybourne I was in trouble with only 160 on the clock and half a glass. Graeme opened the door and put his hand to the hole, demonstrating that there was no heat - I had already turned off the train heating to conserve steam and a couple of rounds were needed to get it going again. By the time we were in Sheringham I had 200 on the clock again.

A valuable lesson. Steam heat uses steam. Who knew?

Graeme fired the trip up to turn off the generators, and we were up to 30 mph on the 1:80 - going like the clappers. A magical end to a first turn back after six weeks.

More next week. 

Norfolk Lights Express - Getting Ready

 Well, it's two days until we start another month (minimum) of lockdown. The railway will be closed, and we should have been starting our Norfolk Lights Express service on November 17th; that is not going to happen, but the service will be extended into January so perhaps the income stream will not be hit too badly.

Have just finished 'normal' Autumn services, we have to get the set ready for the NLE trains, which means fitting the set with lights. The loco will be fitted at Weybourne, and the generators will be put into the CCT using the loader down at Weybourne shed as well.

Soo today, we assembled a group of volunteers in the rain to turn the five suburbans into a Norfolk Lights Train

We are going to install nets over the carriage roofs, to which light ropes have been tied - these will be operated from a controller in the brake coach.

Signalman James waiting for the next net to be sent over from the landward side:

Unrolling nets along the coaches:

The nets were tied down to the carriage running boards using cargo straps:

The display includes several woodland scenes, power from generators and controlled from the train. a short goods train is loaded up with equipment and waits for the Class 20 to haul it up the line:

Turn 39 - Cleaning the 9F, and pit lights

Another Saturday turn, promising to be a gentle day cleaning. Rostered today is the BR Standard 9F 92203 'Black Prince', one of the largest locos on the railway and quite capable of hauling trains of well over 1000 tonnes - our trains are more like 150 tonnes. Here's the firebox during my inspection - I was on my own, with Fitter Bob, to light up and raise steam.

And here's the smokebox, looking equally leak-tight despite the fact that the water gauges were below half a glass:

I laid a thin fire all over the grate and lit it up with a lot of wood and rags. By 07:00, she had 20 psi on the clock and the blower was going - a very satisfying start to the day:

Where the paint is in good nick, she shines up well with oil & paraffin:

We took her down to the pit in plenty of time. She has a hopper ashpan which you don't empty in the morning, to allow the cold ash from yesterdays fire to protect the pan, so there is not so much to do. You have to wash the ash from the upper parts of the pan into the bottom through four small hatches, but that's it.

Time for a moody blowdown shot:

Fitter Bob, waiting for the whistle from Fireman Alan to tell him to close the blowdown valve:

While waiting for Driver Nick to complete his inspection, I had wiped down the wheels with oil & paraffin. Doing this right before the blowdown leaves this emulsified mess:

She scrubs up well though, and the sun came out to show her off:

Driver Nick goes off shed in clouds of steam. She's still cold and the cylinder drain cocks are open:

One of the locos visiting the workshop for the past year or so is the LBSC 'Terrier' A1X class locomotive 32670. It belongs to the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Here's a picture of it:

There are some details here. However, as you will know if you read those details to the end, the boiler ticket ran out in 2016 and she is here at Weybourne MPD for overhaul. 

She's in bits at the minute, the chassis in the shed and the tanks and boiler outside:

Here I'm standing between the frames looking forwards to the smokebox saddle, blast pipe and the crosshead slides.

One of the frame stretchers was cracked. The guys in the weld shop have made a new one.

Some of the horn guide rivets have been replaced.

She's a slide valve engine as you might imagine - here's the front of the cylinder block and the valve chest.

The wheel sets are ready to go back in. You can see their axleboxes waiting for the frame to be finished; Weybourne MPD will refit the wheels, paint the inside of the frame and the back of the wheels and then it will be collected by the customer.

Here's the boiler out in the yard, waiting it's turn in the boiler shop:

I've shown pictures of the boiler from 34010 Sidmouth, an SR West Country class and one of Oliver Bullied's light pacifics, before - in this post. This is the new firebox tubeplate on the mill:

And this is where I spent the rest of the day, after the 9F had gone off-shed - in one of the pits, installing lights with Fitter Bob.

Turn 38 - Third Man on the 4MT

Saturday dawned warm and bright, the last day before we in the UK revert to Greenwich Mean Time, which means after this 05:00 start we get an extra hour in bed. Fitter Bob is on shed when i arrive, and we spend a few minutes chatting in the mess room before I go down to the loco. We've got the BR Standard 4MT today, since the expected B12 has been failed with a broken spring - successfully repaired yesterday, but not in time to get it warmed up for today.

This is A Good Thing, because this is an easy engine to fire and i am a bit tired, having spent the week shovelling coal, manure and gravel.

So, we set about preparing the engine starting on the smokebox. Fireman Phil arrives, and tells me it's all mine and I am to get on with raising steam; I finish the smokebox, close up and go and inspect the grate and the firebox. The stays and fusible plugs look good, the brick arch is no worse than the last time I saw it but there are a few tired looking bars which I expect we will be changing within the next few months.

On the pit

If I've learned anything over the last few weeks it is that the temptation to over-fire is very strong. I always want to be tinkering with the fire and the result is that I'm always at pressure sooner than I need to be and I'm usually blowing off in the yard. So, to temper that enthusiasm and put a bit of space between me and the shovel, I go and get a bucket of oil and paraffin and clean the boiler barrel which doesn't take long on this little engine.

I head back to the fire and put the flame scoop in, and build up the sides and back a little and step off again to clean the buffer beams.

With the boiler pressure heading towards 100 psi, we go down to the pit to ash out and fit the spark screens. Fireman Phil goes down, the first of many dirty jobs he does today, while I manipulate the dampers and the ashpan hopper doors.

Pushing back for coal

I test the injectors, starting with #1 which starts easily. I understand from Driver Matt that this will work at 80 psi. I struggle with #2, and eventually ask for help. Driver Matt asks what pressure I have and tells me that it needs 120 psi to work.

I need to get these running, since despite the fact that the loco would have been disposed with a full boiler, the boiler is only showing half a glass - and I need to blowdown a full glass. Anyhow, I get a bit of fire on, fill the boiler, Fitter Bob blows down and we refill the boiler again, by which time we are ready to go into the platform.

I go off to change, as time is running by; on the way I notice this valve which I have not seen before - it's the valve that operates the pilot operated cylinder drain cocks.

So, we go off shed and I fire down to Sheringham for the first train:

On the way down to Sheringham, Light Engine

In fact, I ended up firing for the whole day - three round trips and fire to dispose. To start with, I made the fire gently down to Sheringham and just kept building it around the edges. You can see that I have a hole in the middle which I used to keep it cool while we waited for departure:

With about 10 minutes to go, I filled this hole in, hoping that we would get off on time. We did, otherwise I would have been on the injectors and closing the dampers and firehole door to try to slow it down. Once we were over the crossing, I fired again, and again a few minutes later building up steam for Dead Man's Hill. Once we were up, it was on the injectors again and I fired again on the way down. 

I continued firing and adding water whenever there was less demand for steam, and I also fired just before the hills when the driver would use the steam I had made to get a good draw on my fire - I wanted the draft, but I also wanted to make sure the fire was not going to be pulled into holes.

We had three good runs up the bank, each better than the last - with one in second valve at 28 mph - lots of happy passengers, and the grins coming from Phil & Matt was a highlight of my firing career so far.

That last turn didn't quite go to plan though, at least at the beginning. I use an old electric 'Swatch' on the railway, as it is waterproof and more robust than my usual antique mechanical watches. With about twenty minutes to go, we had finished our tea and Cherry Bakewells and I was slowly building the fire for the run up. Matt said, seemingly innocently "10 minutes to go" which made me jump - I looked at my watch and realised it had stopped - I had to bring it round in a hurry. Sensing my panic, Matt and Phil encouraged me to pile the coal in quick - using small bits and gradually adding it to the front and then the back, and filling the middle in. The boiler came around very quickly and we didn't lose any time - this is a splendid engine.

There had been one close call, but I had fired the whole day and still hadn't cause it to blow off!

One thing I haven't mentioned to far: quite early on in the day, Phil had suggested I use his ex-BR shovel. Now, i spent one trip recently using Fireman Joe's cast steel Carter shovel, which is a long and heavy thing, which I self consciously clanged into the firehole door ring several times before handing it back with a red face and going on to the company shovel - this was on the B12, which is the hardest loco to fire in the NNR fleet.

Phil's shovel was a revelation - it is long, light and very well balanced, a superb thing that made a huge difference to my day. Next time I see him I shall be measuring it to see if I can get a similar one.

Alongside firing, I tried to do all the fireman's duties including the tablet exchange, observation, calling signals - though I only did the tablet exchange on the fireman's side.

I did no tying on either - Phil and Matt handled that, and that makes a huge difference to the effort you have to put into your day; I did switch a few points on run around in case you were thinking I spent the whole day in the cab, helping out with watering as well.

Shunting the set into Platform 1

But, all good things come to an end and we need to dispose the engine at the end of the day. Firing to dispose starts with the trip down from Holt - you need to feed the fire carefully to arrive on shed with enough fire to fill the boiler and stable the locomotive, but not so much that you are making steam on shed.

I made sure that by the time we arrived on shed, the boiler was already full, so all I had to do was riddle fire after shaking it through on the rocking grate. Phil removed the ash pan screens - he did all the dirty jobs that day. 

By the time we had finished, there was no fire left and the boiler full. A grand day out.