Turn 78 - Cleaning the 4MT and a bit of spannering

Well, it's almost Christmas and the Santa services are coming to an end; today I am cleaning the 4MT for Third Man Jacob & Firing Inspector Joe, who makes it very clear that I am responsible for steam raising. The loco has not been out the previous day but there is a warming fire in it - there isn't much in the smokebox. It's icy in the yard and the coal has a delicate frosting: 

We load some wood on board and Jacob lights up, very quickly and successfully:

The fire is nice and thin and the coal ignites quickly. Once it's going, I add a bit more to the back corners and when the smoke is thinning Jacob starts on the cab cleaning; Driver Joe arrives and I go for tea.

On the pit, Driver Joe and I go beneath to check the axleboxes and remove the screens to prepare for hosing out the pan. Once we are done, I head back to the footplate to bring the fire on, test the injectors and operate the dampers for Fireman Joe and Cleaner Jacob, who are underneath probably getting a bit wet.

We go back for coal, and Jacob & I clean the pit. Once we are done, the loco comes back on the pit; the crew go to get changed leaving Fitter Alex and I to blowdown. I leave the loco with a full boiler and a bit too much pressure - I screw the dampers down, open the door and shut the blower as far as I dare - and it still blows off five minutes after Fireman Joe takes over the fire...

There's a signalman today so they can go off-shed without my help, though I switch the points in the head shunt to save them climbing on & off.

There's masses of rags in the store - bags and bags of them, and I spend the next hour sorting them out and binning stuff that is unusable - like waterproof coats for example. I'm saved from a morning of guillotining dead men's trousers by Fitter Alan , who comes down to ask me to remove the pressure gauges & injector cones from the WD:

It's a simple matter to disconnect the impulse lines and remove the gauges, which are held to their panels with wood screws.

The injector combining & delivery cones live under this cap. Like the gauges, these will be damaged if we allow water to freeze in them over winter:

Then it's bag to rag chopping duty, followed by a session on the lamps, many of which are damaged. I inspect them all, fit wicks where I can and combine parts to make as many working lamps as I can. 

The Terrier boiler is almost ready for hydraulic test:

Soon, the first train is back up with my breakfast:

With breakfast and a cup of coffee disposed of, I set about tidying up the oil store and picking up loose bits of coal about the yard. I complete the cleaning record to make sure we know what's missing so it can be ordered.

The train stays at Weybourne for over an hour on a Santa service. Here Cleaner Jacob is getting some hooking-on training from Firing Inspector Joe:

There's plenty of time to talk to visitors as it stops on platform 1 during run round. Driver Joe hauls some coal forward.

Nearing home time, I'm lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Inspector Joe chatting about my training schedule. There's a revision for 2022 which means I have two additional items to get signed off which I need to go through.

With the training schedule complete, we agree that I will arrange a Day On The Shovel with Joe before I can arrange my test, hopefully early in May 22.

Bring it on.