Turn 85 - Third Man on the 9F

 We are nearing the end of March, the weather is warming up and today was the first day that I didn't need the yard lights. It's 06:00 and Fitter Alan and myself have signed on with two new Cleaners Brad and Tom, along with Passed Cleaner Lewis. The 9F is warm, having been out on a Driver Experience the previous day so we set about preparing it for service.

With the smokebox and firebox clean, Lewis lights up and with Passed Fireman Christian we are soon on the pit where we drop a very full ash pan - this coal makes a lot of ash apparently, as the pan will have been cleaned last night.

Cleaner Brad and I clear the pit ready for the loco to come back on and blow down. I go and get changed.

Since both Christian and Lewis have both done less than ten turns in their current grade, they are obliged by the Rule Book to make the first trip with no footplate passengers - i.e. no distractions - until they are happy with each other. I take my breakfast on the cushions for the first trip up.

Fortunately, Lewis has more than five turns in-grade so he's not obliged to fire all day, and I take over the shovel on the second trip down. I fill a few holes and remind myself how to operate the injectors, but I don't have to do much.

Back at Sheringham, we run around and take on tea and sandwiches while I build the fire for the next train. Having re-read my notes on this loco, I know I am prone to leaving holes in the corners just short of the front so I make sure I have a decent coverage here, leaving a pressure-controlling hole in the middle, as many do, until reprimanded by driver Christian. Whilst a lot of folk do this, the down side of no fire is that you can't re-light this area quickly, whereas if you keep it very thin it can make heat on demand, when you want it. I keep it covered for the rest of the day.

By the time we are ready to go I have a full glass, a blazing fire and around 220 psi on the clock and we sail out of the station and over the crossing with no further attention, until we get to the top of Dead Man's where I put a round on and top up. 

As a result, I'm being very careful with it while we wait the six minutes at Weybourne!

On the fourth up, I take it a bit easier and go up at around 200, arriving at about 180 psi, which is much more relaxed and is helped by Fireman Lewis pulling down some decent sized lumps from the tenderful of dusty coal. I'm so relaxed in fact that I forget myself and get distracted chatting to a spectator at Weybourne, and while I see the guard give the 'right away' I don't announce it to the driver - who has to ask. Black mark right there.

Next, it's run around and back up to shed. I've been keeping the footplate pretty clean and I try to arrive on shed with as little to do as possible. There's very little fire left and Lewis, who drives the Light Engine back up the hill, is gentle on the regulator.

I've got the water well up in the glass and have no problem with the level when we are on the pit. The fire cleans easily, but the pan needs Lewis and Christian underneath prodding the ash to get it out and into the pit.

So, another turn comes to a close. That will be it until the Spring Steam Gala cleaning day in a couple of weeks, followed by the gala weekend itself. 

Turn 84 - Third Man on the Y14

 Today was a turn with a difference - a Third Man turn, but with no firing. It's a Sunday, an unusual day for me to be on the railway but in March we are running weekend only services, so here we are. It's a Green service today, which has one steam hauled train and the DMU, and we do four round trips. Additionally, there is a special train for Driver Chas, who passed away some while ago and whose ashes will be scattered by the 9F, his favourite loco. 

We need to make the locos look their best today.

Why no firing? I'm rostered with Driver Paul and Passed Cleaner Pip; Pip has only completed three turns in grade, so he is obliged by the rules to do all the firing until he has completed five turns and to refrain from swapping sides until he has completed ten turns.

We have 564 again, the GER Y14 and you might remember that I made a complete hash of lighting this up last week. My mentor Driver Paul is in early with me today, and I won't be allowed to cock it up again!

I climb aboard and make very sure to do the pre-lighting up checks thoroughly. I clean the smokebox and the grate while Paul goes to get changed. By the time he is back, I have put a few shovelfuls of coal on the grate, with holes everywhere. It is very thin indeed but Paul says that's enough, and to get lots of wood on it to get it really hot - that will get the draft moving through the holes. Last week, when I also put lots of wood on (I always do) the grate would have been clogged with fresh coal. I light it and let it go while I put the yard hose in the tender.

As predicted, it gets hot quickly and with very little smoke. I feed it with half-shovels on the sides, very gradually, filling in holes as they form and we are off the stop and fizzing, and she is showing 10 - 20 psi after 45 minutes, and we can still see across the yard.

When Pip arrives, Cleaner Brad and I make with the car polish and get the old lady looking clean and shiny until it's time to get on the pit. I take a bit of extra time to coat the smokebox and the chimney with oil & paraffin, to bring it up shiny black.

With the ash pan hosed and raked out, I go and get changed. The shed has completely changed since I was last here a week ago:

The 4MT is in for winter maintenance - she will be hauling Cromer services again this year. I would really like to get on one of those as Fireman.

The 7F is having various valves repaired and some attention to its brake cylinders.

Ring Haw continues to be dismantled for boiler repairs.

These next three pictures are of the K&ESR ex LBSCR Class A1X 'Bodiam', number 32670 which is coming to the end of it's time at the NNR. The boiler is close to hydraulic test and the connecting rod bearings have been replaced, so the chassis is almost ready to receive the boiler.

Paintwork which will be inaccessible once the loco is back together is being done by the guys from the KESR. This ochre colour is the LBSCR livery applied to these little 'Terrier' locomotives; it's not dissimilar to the M&GN livery.

When I get back to the loco, Driver Paul accosts me with a question, asking what is wrong with the lamp I have put on the loco. Having been through all the lamps recently, I realise what I have done immediately - I have given him the one with the red filter missing. Since the primary use for this lamp in the hours of daylight is to use as a stop signal if the loco breaks down, it's imperative that we get a better one...

And with that, we are off for a day of hooking on, hooking off, tablet exchange, making tea and watering the loco. 

Occasionally I throw some coal in or operate the injectors while Pip takes a leak or something but most of the time is spent amusing each other with the general abuse and friendly bickering that is a feature of every day that Driver Paul and I are on the footplate together.

Fireman Pip gets his feet wet...

Fireman Pip confuses the passengers while attempting to keep the dust down...

Disposal is pretty straightforward, ad we are off shed by 17:45. Next week will be much the same, with Passed Cleaner Lewis and then I have a two week break before the Spring Gala and after that, three turns and my firing test.

It's going to be busy in April.

Turn 83 - Third Man on the Y14

It's March, just, and that means weekend running with a steam hauled train and a DMU. It's 06:00 and I'm on shed with Fireman Sid, Fitter Alex and new cleaners Brad and John, who are here for their Steam Induction Day. We are rostered to the GER Y14.

It's wet & windy but we are prepared with thick coats, overalls and multiple layers of underwear - there is no way I'm getting cold today! On the running board, Cleaners Brad and John get stuck straight in with a smokebox full of ash from the last run. That's soon sorted, and I demonstrate lighting up - which looks like it has gone well until, despite optimistic popping and fizzing from the boiler the gauge fails to lift.

By this time, Brad and John are polishing the tender and I know something is amiss when one asks "is it OK to polish the cab sides when this overflow is going"...? I look to the injector water valves, which are closed, but it's Fireman Sid who closes the Driver's injector steam valve and it transpires that when I boarded the loco to run through the safety checks with the new cleaners, in my haste to get lit up I didn't complete the routine. The steam heat valve and the small ejector were both open as well, which will all have prevented the boiler pressure rising and the blower working.

But, the steam pressure still wasn't rising - at Sid's prompt I ran the dart though the fire to get some air into it but really the problem was at the back - I had not put enough coal under the door.

Anyhow, we were still off-shed at 08:40, polished up and ready to go though I was feeling a bit of a chocolate fireguard - my contribution was just about limited to cleaning the yellow paint in the cab - Sid had worked his magic on the backhead and brass:

She did look lovely, as she does. She's becoming one of my favourite locos.

Sid fired the first trip, and with a hearty breakfast inside us I did all the hooking on & off, tablet exchange and watering. Since we would have footplate passengers for the third and fourth we couldn't swap roles, so Sid had his only drive of the day on the second trip while I fired.

The second round trip went OK, and I fired more softly than Sid had done - he keeps it at 150 virtually all the time somehow. I started out at 120 with a fair bit of coal on and that had soon recovered by the time we got moving up Dead Man's, and whilst being well under control I blew off leaving Weybourne through being being ready to depart to soon and again coming down, through not having enough water space - leaving the small injector on too long.

The third and fourth trips saw me climbing the steps and going between, when I wasn't trying to avoid the howling gale and rain coming off the sea. Driver Mark likes to use the regulator - we were in second port most of the time and had a particularly spirited light engine run back up to shed. Fireman Sid had the footplate clean on the fourth down, everything tidied away by the time we left the train in Sheringham and we had completed disposal and signed off by 17:20 - a text book example of how to do it.

I haven't mentioned the highlight of the day. In addition to feeding us a fine breakfast with the promise of lunch if we wanted it (Cornish pasties), the buffet team had made some fudge - and very fine it was too.

Next week - another Third Man turn, currently expected to be on the Y14 again, with Driver Paul and Passed Cleaner Pip. Hopefully the weather will be a bit better.