Turn 33 - Third Man on the 4MT

I've had a short break from the railway - well, about 9 days for my wife's birthday. Today is a Friday, and it's pouring with rain and we have gale force winds of about 60 mph. I'm on shed with Fitter Bob at 05:45 and we are going to prep the Standard 4MT for a green service of four round trips and a fish & chip train, shared between two crews.

I'm delighted to have my first Third Man turn for several months following the COVID-19 lockdown, and my first duty is to light up and raise steam. Of course, this starts with the safety checks and a firebox inspection during which I drop yesterdays fire in the pan. This is followed by the smokebox, and what a palaver that is. The wind is blowing from the North, and the smokebox door opens towards the south so the wind empties the box all over me and the loco - and there is loads of ash from this coal we have at the moment. I'm covered in it, much to the later amusement of the workshop staff as I take my hat off to reveal a pink forehead over a sooty face & sideburns.

Fortunately I don't have to be outside and can stay on the footplate and look after the fire. I light up from the front as usual and all is going well as Fireman Joe arrives. Joe is currently engaged in driver training.

It's still pouring.

With the fire lit I use the yard hose to put some water in the tender - it is way down and we will need to do a round trip before watering at Sheringham

I feed the fire and we are at 160 psig by about 07:30 - way too early. I could have brought it on much more slowly. Learning from last week, I test the injectors as soon as I get to 160 psig, and we push back for the pit. Driver Andy has arrived, and as a professional engine driver who has worked on the NNR in his spare time since 1988, he instructs Joe to drive and me to fire for the day. Brilliant!

I suggest that we ash out, then push back for coal while I clean the pit, then we will come back on the clean pit for blowdown and this is what we do. The pan is rammed with ash and we damp it down before opening the hopper doors and dropping the ash in the pit.

Next, Fitter Bob provides a bucket & a half of coal, which I attempt to avoid spilling over the footplate with my shovel. We go back to the pit for the water sample, and blow down a whole glass. During this time I have been managing the fire, building it up and adding water to keep the pressure under control and I've already blown off a couple of times - it's the story of the day. I go and get changed - my overalls and hat are sopping wet.

It's still pouring with rain.

Anyhow, the fire is in a good place, we have plenty of water and plenty of steam, and the Signalman has arrived to let us out of the yard. I fire down to Sheringham, fairly enthusiastically since I know that we are due out again at 10:00 - we leave the platform at 09:10, a bit early, and go down for breakfast. I call the signals on the way in and drop the token with the Sheringham West signalman and we stop at platform 1. I go between to tie on.

Leaving the station on time and with full bellies, we work the train slowly out of the station limits and towards the crossing. I pick up the token again, call the crossing and go to work on the fire. Cresting Dead Man's Hill, I add some water and we gain momentum down the other side, as I fire ready for the 1 in 80 up to Weybourne. Closing in on Weybourne I realise the pressure is not really where I want to be - it's about 160 psig and on reflection, we may have had holes in the fire. I add a bit more water on the 1 in 264 through Weybourne station which doesn't help the pressure though it's still holding at 160, and we are now in the new 5 mph speed limit through Weybourne. This has been introduced to prevent further spring breakages (5 in the last two months), as the points are very worn and replacement would cost £130,000 each. There are four worn sets - two here and two at Holt.

Fireman Joe, driving, struggles to leave the 5 mph speed limit and start the 1 in 80 ascent up to Windpump Crossing - the track is very slippery. Not twigging immediately why he is going slowly, it crosses my mind that the brakes might be coming on due to low pressure - a daft idea, I can see the brake vacuum pressure is fine. Driver Andy points out a couple of places where there are holes - he told me later that the presence of very bright flames is an indication that the fire in that location is about to burn through. He also says that when holes are forming you can see particles of ash rising which is useful.

Eventually, we get up the hill & down the 1 in 214 towards Aviaries - I add some more water. The wind is picking up and progress is slowed by a fallen tree:

We stop to remove it and carry on up to Holt, which has a power cut... The Responsible Officer organises for the points to be manually wound and authorises us to pass the stop board at the end, so we run around the train.

I've become aware that the loco has been blowing off rather frequently and that the pressure comes round very fast. I'm also aware that Andy has been spotting holes in my fire which I then fill, sometimes successfully. The times that are not so successful result in more coal going in to fill the hole, which brings the fire on even more and leads to blowing off - it's hardly the little & often the text books teach, though it's down to my skill at spotting the holes and placing the coal, which is coming. It is much easier on the way down the hill, since the engine draws less and I can see the fire. It occurs to me that this trip is one of the few times (maybe the first time) I have fired the first up train of the day.

On the way down, I'm glad that I have chosen to leave my hat at Weybourne with my dirty cleaning kit. It's up to 70 mph now and the wind is blowing from the North, across the railway. I shut the cab windows.

Arriving back in Sheringham, we sit in the platform for a bit while the passengers disembark. We have an hour here - the drill is to wait in the platform for 20 minutes, run around and take on water, then reverse onto the train and wait 20 minutes to go.

I sprinkle the fire with coal to keep it going, controlling it with the doors, blower and dampers. Closing the dampers and the door will starve it of air and slow it right down.

While adding water, I need to check the injector has picked up so I go to stick my head out of the window. It's shut and I bang my head.

It's still pouring with rain.

While we are waiting, I spot a valve I had read about but had not seen - the only continuous blowdown valve on a locomotive on the railway.

The purpose of the valve is to maintain water quality by draining off contaminated water from the firebox crown sheet, just as we do on a daily basis from the foundation ring. Here's how it works:

When we are ready to depart, the Responsible Officer appears. He says "I don't know if you have realised but you are not going anywhere!". "Why" we all reply in unison, and he nods his head up the line:

A tree has fallen and blocked the line. We are obviously not going anywhere, so we settle down and I go for tea and Bakewell tart for everyone. We wait, and soon a Permanent Way chap in HiViz appears with a chain saw. The tree is 8" around, but, an hour later he has the tree chopped up and cleared.

Next, we learn that another tree has fallen at Sandy Lane, Weybourne and the power supplies to the station have been lost - the signal box is down. Unfortunately, this means the Long Section Staff that we need for Single Train on Line working is locked in the box and we have no choice but to adopt Pilotman working for the Sheringham Weybourne section and again for the Weybourne - Holt section.

Two Pilotmen are appointed and appear eventually with their paperwork and armbands to give the formal instruction to the driver, explaining the section that is to be operated and which signals can be passed at danger.

So, we set off for Weybourne around an hour late - not too bad considering.  As it is so late and we have to stop at Weybourne to pick up the Pilotman, it has been decided that the crew change will happen on the up train instead of the down train, so on arrival we meet the relief crew and leave the loco in their hands. It's not going to be much of a day for them, as they will work the remainder of the up trip to Holt, work the down trip to Sheringham and, as the remaining trains for the afternoon (and the evening Fish & Chip train) were eventually cancelled, they would take the 4MT light engine back to Sheringham and dispose. 

Quite eventful really!

Turn 32 - Cleaning the Standard 4MT, yard work and some spannering on the WD

It's Wednesday so it must be a railway day. It's mid September, and I'm first to sign on at Weybourne shed and it's the first time this year that I've had to switch the yard lights on.

I'm Cleaner 1, and Loco A is the B12 but as luck would have it Fireman Robert has arrived early too, and he volunteers to prep the B12 himself - he will have it all day. That means I can prep Loco B, the Standard 4MT which is back in traffic after a spring change. This is a gift for me since not only is the second loco due off shed at 10:18, an hour later, but it is already clean after the ministrations of the two Cleaners Nick and Oliver who were on yesterday.

I climb aboard and do the safety checks, drop the old fire in the pan and go and have a look at the front, enlisting the help of Fitter Mark since, much to my embarrassment I cannot get the smokebox door undone...

No matter, we clean it out, close it up and I go and lay the fire. Soon I am joined by Fireman Gary - which is another excellent event since Gary will let me raise steam and look over my shoulder while I am doing it.

The fire is soon going nicely, but we have to be aware that it is only 07:00 and we have three more hours until departure - so we need to slow this lady down. The dampers are closed and I turn the blower down until it is just keeping the smoke out of the cab - I'll have to turn it down again as the pressure rises.

Gary shows me that I can keep the fire under control, and react quickly to a need for steam, if I fire around the edges and leave the middle to run to holes. He also shows me this neat feature:

Oil holes for the top of the firehole door! I didn't know they were there. These are to lubricate the firehole door runners and make it much easier to open. I go and get the lamps, trimming the wicks, checking the paraffin and making sure they work:

I look after the fire while Driver Ray completes his inspection over the pit; I open and close the dampers to allow him to check the content of the ashpan. While I'm on board, someone calls to ask if I have checked the injectors - there's a bit of urgency in their voice as we have both heard the safety relief valves starting to lift - I get injector #1 on before she blows off, followed by injector #2. 

Lesson learned - test the injectors before you need them in anger!

A couple of pictures of the fireman's controls:

We move back to take on coal. Driver Ray and I put our shovels, braced with our feet, in the shovelling plate:

That way, when Fitter Mark empties the load into the tender, it won't spill out over the footplate!

Next it's time to blow down the boiler, and I am glad that have the fire hot, the pressure high and the boiler full. We blow down half a gauge glass of water into the pit and for the first time ever, I blow the whistle to tell the Fitter to shut the valve and stop the blowdown.

The loco has two whistles - I use the chain as it is easier to get to.

The next part of the turn was a bit of yard work - tidying the crap out of the wood store, preparing barrows of wood for the morning, chopping more wood and generally tidying up. The B12 had had a couple of firebars replaced the previous day:

These, and the old flame scoop they are laying on, went in the scrap bin.

The WD has been in the shop for a few repairs, notably a large hole in the blast pipe. We're also replacing and reseating the injector steam valves - the driver's side valve is having a new body, which the fireman's side valve had last year and both valves are being refaced.

This is the driver's side. We've just removed the valve body and I am about to clean off the old gasket from the manifold flange and clean up the union nipple.

Here's the new body, after I had fitted it and taken it off again. The body is slightly larger than the old one and the washers foul the body - so in this picture, I have had a die grinder on the body to provide a little relief for the washers. In this next picture, I have coated the gasket - made by Fitter Bob - with Steam Seal:

Here it is finally in place:

Here's the stem, plug, gland and hand wheel from the fireman's side valve:

This will be back together next time I am at the railway, in 9 days time.

I finish the day tidying the ash pit and coal area, just to build up some muscle!

Turn 31 - Cleaning the B12, and a lot of yard work

Wednesday comes around again with a two-train green service. I'm Cleaner 1, and the B12 is Loco A. I'm on-shed at 05:45 and Driver Ray arrives shortly after me. We've never met, but he's happy for me to carry on and do my job preparing the engine. I have a look in the firebox and find the usual weeping stays in the middle right of the box above the grate, but other than that all is well and I close the firehole and go and clean the smokebox. Moving back again I climb into the firebox which is rather warm - there is 20 psi remaining in the boiler - and brush a lot of clinker and ash into the pan below.

Next, some light accurate shovelling, followed by wood and rags. I've really not got enough wood today, and I need to fetch some more as I light up with holes on both sides. Fireman Gary has arrived, and leaves me to raise steam in between cleaning the boiler barrel after I get the yard hose in the tender tank, which is well down. His advice is to watch the smoke and then add coal when the black smoke clears to grey, which brings the fire on and the pressure up quite quickly. When it is well established and the pressure has risen to almost 50 psi we throttle the blower back to slow the rising pressure. I revert to polishing for a bit.

Getting up to 100 psi is high enough for Driver Ray to test the brake pump, and for us to test the injectors. We are going to blow down a full glass today, so we need water and steam to replace the water after we blow down. We go down to the pit to ash out, but while preparing to wash down the pan the safety valves lift - we have over fired and made too much steam. I leave the pit hastily and put #1 injector on to bring the temperature and pressure down.

Once it's under control, I rejoin Gary and we clean the front half of the pan. Next, it's discs, lamp, and bucket and the loco is ready to go, so I walk back to the Signing On Point to collect the token and let the loco out of the yard - but it's gone, signed out by the signalman. I take another long walk to the signal box to ask him to let us out of the yard and to order four breakfasts from Sheringham buffet.

I have various jobs waiting for me - mainly catching up with yard work but I also need to check out the 4MT and Y14, so when I have had my breakfast I climb aboard the Y14. This is the spare engine at the moment, and has an old fire in it. This will be cleaned by the prep cleaner next time it is rostered, or by one of many rostered cleaners over the coming days, so I leave it alone.

The 4MT has a missing firebar. Locomotive grates are made from many replaceable firebars mounted on rails, and they can be replaced as they burn away. This is a new one:

The mounting bars are T shaped, and the cross bar of the T is relived at one end so you can slide the bars on. 

I shuffle the bars around to get the new one in, and rock the great to and fro to make sure it is secure.

In this picture, you can see that several of the bars are coming to the end of their life.

Next, it's time to prepare the barrows of wood for the returning crews so that they can put the lighting up wood for the next day on the footplate before they go home. I make two barrows full, and leave them near where the locos will be stabled.

Then, it's off to the cleaners store to chop up some rags. Nothing is ever simple, and I need to adjust the guillotine to get it to cut effectively.

I finish the day by cleaning out the lighting-up rag bin with Fitter Alan. This is where we put dirty rags and waste oil-paraffin mix, to leave us with a bin of soaked rags for lighting up. It's almost empty and the bottom is full of sludge - oil, water, and other mess. We empty it on the bonfire and steam clean it, before making a stainless steel mesh platform to raise the rags out of the sludge.

Turn 30 - Cleaning the Y14, and preparing the 4MT for washout

Friday brings a beautiful dawn at Weybourne as I arrive for another cleaning turn. It also brings a bit of a surprise, as we are to prepare the Y14 for the days green service (plus a fish and chip train), in place of the expected 9F which has failed with two broken springs on the loco driving axles. During the day it is moved on the pit, and I take a look - there is a crack in one leaf on two springs, very hard to spot.

Fireman Phil and I get to work on the Y14, and I take the lead lighting up.

As I've written before, the Y14 is a pretty small engine and it doesn't take long to get the smokebox cleaned and to climb in the firebox, lift a couple of bars and brush it all out. The coal we have at the moment is making a lot of clinker and not much ash. I shovel in a thin layer of coal, overloading the shovel as usual - this is a bad idea, because it makes it difficult to control where the coal goes and because my back is sore for days afterwards. With the damper a notch open, steam is raised relatively quickly and with a lot of polishing, raking out and coaling we are done - I sit with the engine for a while while Fireman Phil and Driver Stuart change out of their dirty prep clothes and clean the cab, pausing to add some water when I see the needle approaching the red line and to add some coal when holes appear.

The Y14 has a displacement lubricator, fed by steam from the boiler, which is cooled using a coiled tube on the cab roof such that the water displaces the oil. Here it is:

The valve at the top, just out of shot is the steam/water supply; the big nut in the top of the picture is the filler; the smaller nut below it is the drain. The drain is fed through a thin copper tube into a funnel. To fill it, you crack open the filler and open the drain - you will see the water draining out into the funnel. When it stops, the filler can be fully opened and the reservoir filled with the oil you put on the warming plate.

In operation, steam condenses to water and is introduced to the top of the lubricator under pressure and of course it falls to the bottom, pushing the oil upwards. The displaced oil passes through two jets, which are under those sight glasses, and whose flow rate is controlled by the two small wheels. Here's one of the jets:

As the oil flows out, you can see a drop of oil form at the tip, and then float upwards:

It's piped off to the cylinders.

My next job is to dispose the 4MT - it is due for washout but has been displaced to the pit by the 9F, which is having two springs changed today before returning to service tomorrow. I've spent quite a while in this smokebox.

After breakfast, fitter Bob gives me a new job - pull out all the plugs on the 4MT. Some while back, we did the B12 together, so I am pleased that I am trusted to do this on my own now.

Washouts are a monthly activity which involves 'unboxing' a loco boiler and removing all the sludge that has built up on the tubes, firebox crown and foundation ring. Blowdowns and water treatment help prolong this activity by holding the impurities in the water and removing sludge daily, but washouts still have to happen and when they do the loco is out of service for a few days. The first job is to drain the boiler using the blowdown valve, which is normally locked shut:

The mudhole doors have mostly been removed (there are four on the top of the firebox wrapper) but all the washout plugs are still in place and there are about thirty of them. I choose to start in the cab:

I pulled this plug out - only to realise the boiler had not been drained, so I put it back in and went to find the keys for the blowdown valve! 

Some of these plugs are tighter than others - I had a 3 ft extension on the end of this 2 ft wrench. You need to be careful you don't put it through a window...

The ones on the firebox wrapper and boiler barrel represent a different hazard - you need to be able to pull or hang off the wrench and maintain your safe grip on the handrails. These are less tight than the ones in the cab:

I finish up in the smokebox, where there are eight plugs on the tubeplate:

I know what caving feels like as I sit in a cramped space trying to undo these plugs, covered in soot while water swirls around my feet:

All in all, a grand day out.