Turn 117 - Firing the 7F: Silver Driver Experience

 Well, I must admit I was a bit nervous about this one. The Silver Driver Experience is an evening service offering two round trips to two paying visitors. The idea is you have one visitor driving and one firing on the first round trip, and then you swap over for the second. It's all light engine and there is nothing else in service, so there is no hooking on or running around, and the boxes are open at Sheringham and Weybourne so your firing visitor can do the token exchanges as well.

We picked up the 7F from the day crew on their 4th down - the fire had been raked through which was a bonus but not so good was that the tender was full of ovoids.

We trundled down to Sheringham, putting a bit on the back to keep the heat going and hooked off. 

I spent the whole evening helping our two guests, John and Howard, fire the loco and very good they were too. Howard was more cautious with the regulator than John, with the result that we had a lot of heat on the second trip and a bit of blowing off. The workshop had reset the safety valves after the last washout, and they now reset within 5 psi of blowing off, which is ace. They used to need about 20 psi difference to reset.

Challenges? With four people on the footplate you can't easily see around box, and you have to rely on others to place coal. This is tricky - you end up with holes that you can't see and you have to ask your visitor to get out of the way while you fix the problem. This is a good lesson - I can remember people doing this to my fires earlier in my railway life.

The other problem of course is that footplate visitors distract from your fireman's duties - whilst coaching the visitor on the second down Driver Christian came over to my side to retrieve the token I had forgotten!

At the first stop, we took on water and asked our visitors to light the lamps. Day Driver Joe had thoughtfully left us a gauge lamp, which for once was very good until someone knocked it off.

Back in Sheringham, it was time to say goodbye to our visitors and do a bit of shunting to prepare for the morning, moving Set B from the loop into platform 2.

Driver Christian and Guard Seb handled the shunting using radios, so I had a few minutes to build a decent fire for the trip up. My boiler was already pretty full but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of heat to dispose the loco, and so it turned out. We were full on the pit, but I used the ashpan sprinkler to wet it all down while Driver Christian did his inspection. As usual, I stayed to clear the pit out while Christian stabled the loco. It builds good biceps.

So that was a highly enjoyable turn - another new experience on the railway. I'll be quite happy to do more of these and to look after Third Men - which I haven't done yet.

Next turn? Another yellow service next Wednesday with Driver Graeme.

Turn 116 - Firing the WD

Well, let's get the apologies out of the way - there aren't going to be too many pictures in this post. Excuses:

• we were very busy
• it was chucking it down 
• I was doing a lot of concentrating

Last night, I wandered up to the railway to see if the blackboard which customarily sits outside the ticket office at Sheringham could be seen from the station car park, because it would tell me what engine had been in service that day and would hint at what we would be rostered to today. It could, and it did - it showed the 7F, 53809.

So it was with a bit of a surprise that I found we were rostered to the WD, and that the 7F was assigned to the lunch service. No worries, I had arrived in plenty of time and set about preparing it for service. The grate was nice and clean and so was the smokebox - no worries there, but why was the grate clean? Eventually I twigged that she hadn't been out the previous day and there hadn't been a warming fire lit, so I added to my heap of wood and got her going as usual, adding coal and wood as needed to build a decent fire.

She took ages to come around - she often is a bit slow. I tried using the dampers but adding primary air at the back caused a lot of smoke, especially from the fire hole - Driver Alex later suggested that if I had waited to put the flame scoop in until I had enough pressure to work the blower, I could have used the dampers without the smoke from the door.

Ho hum. Every day is a school day.

I had about 20 psi on by 08:00 or so, way too late really. We managed a bit of a blow down, but not the full glass Fitter Bob was after; one thing worth watching at low boiler pressures is the blower valve - just crack it if you don't have much steam, you can waste a lot of steam through it if it is too wide open.

With a tender full of ovoids, we went off shed at 09:55 - with the first train due out of Sheringham at 10:00. I fired heavily on the way down, we were full of water and eventually got the first train away at 10:20 - we hadn't had a drink since 07:00 and hadn't ordered any breakfast, but RO Josh had it sorted for the second trip.

I'd fired pretty thoroughly through the first trip, such that we had 180 psi and a full glass by the time we got to Holt, ready to turn around and come straight back. We were catching up.

I kept on it all the way down, and we ran around in Sheringham stopping long enough to pick up our breakfast and by the time we were back in Weybourne, the DMU was waiting for us and the signalman had our token ready, so we were only there for two minutes. By the time we reached Holt we were on time.

Driver Alex is a busy chap who doesn't do many turns, and was keen to fire. As it was raining, he decided it would be good experience for me to try driving with wet rails. I drove the 2nd down, the whole third trip, and the 4th up. I took the shovel again in Holt for the 4th down to prepare for disposal.

Now, I'm getting the hang of braking a train - it's made easier, as Driver Christian told me once, if you keep your eye on the vacuum gauge as you will not have enough experience to do it be sound and feel alone - but there are procedural things I need to get in my head, things like easing couplings, and opening the blower religiously before you shut the regulator. I'd like to write up the driver's instructions for these daily tasks: 

• Driving light engine 
• Approaching the train and hooking on 
• Moving off with the train 
• Stopping and restarting the train 
• Stopping the train and preparing to unhook 
• Watering

Another fun thing we had to contend with was a temporary speed restriction of 5mph around the up distant into Weybourne, in both directions. It was there all day until the 4th up, which we did with a bit more gusto.

I must learn the speed limits:

• Normal line speed 25 mph
• Sheringham - 3 mph while running around at Otterndorf Green
• Crossing the AOCL - 10 mph
• Weybourne - Sheringham end crossover, both directions:
• 10 mph through platform 1
• 5 mph through platform 2
• Holt - Weybourne end crossover, both directions
• 5mph into platform 1 
• Entering a terminal platform - 15 mph (entering a through platform is 25 mph) 
• Shunting - 5 mph

The other thing to remember is that a speed restriction applies for the full length of the train, so you must watch the end of your train through the end of the limit. 

Other useful stuff I picked up:

• Use reverser to get the loco moving if the valves stop in wrong place
• Operate reverser notch by notch to find optimum running position 
• Regulator is just a two port on/off valve - use the reverser to control speed.
• Use the curves, points and slopes to slow you down and speed you up. You don't always need the brakes, and you may find enough pressure in the steam chest to start you moving 

Back to braking again, it's tricky to know exactly how far your loco will roll and how quickly it will stop - getting the loco in the right place for watering, when you are light engine, seems to be more difficult than stopping in the right place in a station, though you must remember stopping lengths and positions for the length of your train.

This is the Gresham brake valve & ejector fitted to the WD. The big hexagons are the access plugs for cleaning the ejector cones, and the little lever on the left operates the small ejector. Vertically down is off, and vertically up is the running position. The big lever on the right applies the brake - it is shown here in the normal running position; push it up towards vertical and it will start the large ejector; pull it down and it will apply the brake.

You keep the vacuum handle in the full on? position when running light engine (i.e. vented train pipe) to guarantee that when you hook on or off the train wont move. No vacuum in the train pipe will also bring the steam brake on. Need to check this paragraph! 

When you arrive at the end of your trip, you bleed the vacuum reservoir using that red toggle while you wind the reverser. This is to ensure that the whole vacuum system is vented and that the brakes are on all along the train - you don't want the train to move while you squeeze up. When you've done that, you can give the regulator the merest squirt to move the loco a little and then get straight on the steam brake. Leave everything as-is whilst uncoupling. 

I'd been talking to Driver Alex about the ovoids off and on through the day and had mentioned how they clinker, so I was pleased to see him get the bent dart out at Holt on the 3rd up and pull it through the back - and there was the usual plates of clinker which he broke up on the grate. This paid dividends later - the loco was steaming well and there was hardly any clinker on disposal.

Next challenge? A Silver Driver Experience in two days time.

Turn 115 - Firing 4270 - Steam Back to the Forties

 It’s gala time! This weekend was the first post-COVID 40’s weekend - called ‘Steaming Back to the 40’s’ and I was lucky enough to have a firing turn - my first gala turn as a Passed Cleaner. 

Sign on for me, Fireman 6, was at 12:50 - Driver Christian and I relieved the first crew who had been on since 04:45. I arrived early and spent the time mooching around the station with a cup of coffee and chatting to Signalman Robert.

Now here’s a stroke of luck! Today I’m rostered on a visiting engine, GWR Class 4200, in fact 4270 from the Gloucester Warwickshire Steam Railway:

She's quite a beast. This was my first turn on a visiting steam engine, first on a western engine, and first on a tank engine.

Fortunately Minder Andy was there to talk us through the controls and to tell me how to handle the fire. He also did 90% of the raking! The GWSR looks like a great railway on the edge of the Cotswolds. We must go down there sometime:

With this loco, whose firebox looks a lot like the 7F, the drill is to fill the back up to the door to give yourself a bank of heat while you wait, and fill the front in as well, just less thickly. It will thin in the middle, so you can use this to control the heat - just fill the middle when you go. The 7F will let you play this way as well - let it go in the middle and pressure will fall. 

My first up trip was from Weybourne to Holt, using part of Fireman Steve's fire and adding to it from Minder Andy's instructions. When I was back in Sheringham ready for my second trip, I discovered that you shouldn't put too much in the middle as it will make a lot of steam - I had it blowing off most of the way up Dead Man's. We were using bituminous coal which makes a lot of heat very quickly.

As a tank engine, 4270 fits neatly under the water crane and you can just leave the bag in the filler and let it flow. It's got a 4" balance pipe between the two tanks, which take a while to even up - so you have to slow the flow down to match that of the balance pipe if you are to fill both sides. It takes a while, so you have time to watch the entertainment.

Coming back into the cab, I was getting the hang of what she needed and the third up trip was much better - she's an easy loco to fire, though I found the damper controls a bit awkward. Talking of controls, let's take a look around the footplate. These are the two injector steam valves:

Boiler pressure and steam heat pressure gauge, with the single water gauge and the two test valves. That water gauge has a handy bracket for the gauge lamp:

Here are the two water valves and the handbrake, with the shutter for the coal hole between them. Yes, you do get coal all over the floor and your back is considerably less bent on a tender engine:

Here's the pole reverser and lubricator. That wooden handle is the blower valve, and the steel handle below the lubricator is the cylinder cocks lever. See the shiny mushroom head and nut at the end of the reverser rack? That's a foot rest to help you when you want to give the lever a proper heave.

Back to the trip, and a struggle with the platform starter meant I had to visit the signal box to find out what was going on - I took this picture on the way back to the loco, having collected the token.

Once the starter finally cleared we were on our way back to Sheringham for the last time, and as usual I prepared the fire for the light engine trip, filling up the boiler and building a decent fire to get us back up and to replace the water on the way. We topped up the tanks once more, as Driver Christian had the loco the next day, and I was very happy to get the opportunity to drive the loco back to Weybourne and put it on the pit.

The fire got a good raking through when we arrived, but as we had been on bituminous coal all day it was pretty clean with none of the clinker we get with ovoids these days. Good job really, there is no drop grate on this engine.

Here's the smokebox and screens: 

Now, western engines have a reputation for being a bit unusual, and here's an example - there is no steam brake. The loco brakes are vacuum operated (there is a good diagram of the system in the Black Book) and you have to blow up the vacuum before you use the brakes. Here are the brake controls - the two wooden handles in the middle are the brake lever (left) and the ejector (right):

Here's another part of the system - instead of two ejectors, this western engine has a vacuum pump driven from the driver's side crosshead. It's hard to see on the 42XX because it's essentially mounted under and behind the lower part of the side tank:

The pump operates all the time the loco is moving, maintaining the vacuum. If you've stopped and destroyed the vacuum, you'll need to use the ejector.

This view is from under the back buffer beam - that's the brake cylinder.

Big isn't it.

So that was another grand day out on the railway - another day of firsts - first tank engine, first firing turn at a gala, first turn on a visiting steam engine (I'm not counting the Beyer Peacock Class 25 I drove a few weeks ago), and I got to drive it too.

And not too many cock ups!

Turn 114 - Firing the WD

Yard lights are the order of the day as the Summer draws to a close. Today Driver Paul and I are rostered to the WD 'Austerity 2-10-0 90775, a loco with which I am very familiar, though we have an odd time timetable that involves 5 round trips between Sheringham and Weybourne due to a track defect at Holt - hopefully this will be fixed for the weekend in time for perhaps the railway's premier event, 1940's weekend.

So with nothing in the smokebox I can drop the old warming fire and build a new one, with a lot of wood and a little coal. Heat is the name of the game, to get the old girl breathing though that long boiler and those meagre dampers. She goes easily with little smoke. 

I stay on the footplate and build the fire, starting the process of cleaning the footplate when there is no more black smoke emanating from the firehole. This done, I progress to the boiler and give that a dry wipe which comes up well.

On the pit, it's time to ash out. Unfortunately, yesterday's warming fire must have been mostly ovoids, and there is dry ash everywhere despite Driver Paul and Fitter Alan washing the pan down before we drop the hopper door - there is just so much of it, all over my nice clean loco. Fitter Alan kindly hoses it off the running boards while I go and get changed.

Nearly ready to go, Driver Paul draws my attention to something in my fire - there is a dead bit at the back. I have a look.

This was one of those things that gives you pause for thought - it was the remains of the warming fire - I thought it would perk up again as I ladled new coal over it. It didn't, and just produced a cold spot in my grate.

I attacked it with the fire irons, which was hot work as my fire was ready to go and managed to clear it all out.

As usual, the boiler was a bit cool first trip - it was dropping below 180 as we finished filling it coming down Dead Man's but once she had warmed up we did four other good trips. Driver Paul helped me out with a lot of raking from the back of the tender, and operated the driver's side injector whenever I needed it - if you recall, the driver's side water valve on this loco is under the driver's seat in the most awkward place for avoiding embarrassment.

At the end of the day, I was pleased that I had learned to fire to the conditions - once it was hot, I was using very little coal to keep it hot. I didn't blow off and I didn't touch the dampers - I was adding more coal for the up trips than I was for the down trips, but after the first trip the boiler stayed over 200 psi all day. I was firing when I new there would be a demand for steam, and I was firing when I had already used the previous charge to bring the water up, so I wasn't firing and adding water at the same time. 

I was firing wherever I needed to, a routine which would be different when there is danger of lineside fires. in those situations I would fire more in the safer locations, and perhaps change the way I added water, perhaps leaving more space if there was a vigorous fire that needed controlling.

One thing that Driver Paul pointed out, as I swore for the umpteenth time about the handbrake column, was that the shovel I was using (my tin Carter shovel, with the cranked blade that I use on this and the 9F) was very long - he suggested using the company shovel:

It's 6" shorter in the handle, and flies in and out of the firehole so smoothly... That Carter shovel is going to be trimmed. However, the Carter shovel is good, in that it is well cranked and has high sides that retain the coal better than the flatter company one. It'll be the best of both worlds when I am finished with it.

There was a Fish & Chip crew taking over from us so we hauled out the clinker, and there was a lot of it, to give them a clean fire to start their service. The boiler was full.

With the sun setting and Driver Paul needing to get home early, I stayed behind to clean the pit and have a look at the loco that I will hopefully be firing at the weekend.

I'll tell you about that next time.

Turn 113 - Firing the 7F - Fish and Chip

 It's Wednesday and I'm back on-shed, expecting one round trip on the Fish & Chip service - but when I arrive, the shed crew are standing around discussing a problem at Holt, and joking that I am not going anywhere. There is track damage at the crossover apparently.

I also discover that the chalkboard loco roster suggests I'm on the 4MT - but the WTT says I'm on loco B, the 7F, and here she is.

The day crew have left her ready for me to take over - there is a level fire, 180 psi on the gauge and the boiler is full though the tender is well down. The only problem is she is making steam, so I stay on the footplate to keep it from blowing off - I don't fire, but I have to run the injector a little and I minimise the water I add by giving the footplate a good clean.

Since we have had a failure, I'm uncertain about whether we will follow the timetable, so I let the fire die down a bit - though of course I still have no water space. After eventually getting the RO on the phone - there's a lot going on - Driver Bryan tells me that we will go down to Sheringham as planned but that we will make two round trips to Weybourne rather than one to Holt. 

Well, I didn't fire on the way down as there was far too much water in the boiler, until I realised the pressure was dropping like a stone and the fire was deceptively cool. I didn't want to overdo it though, as we had over an hour to go and the last thing I wanted to do was get it too hot, so I fired very sparingly on the way down.

Unfortunately, I ran the pressure down too far - a lesson for next time. You need more than 100 psi on this loco otherwise the vacuum will start to drop and the steam brake won't work - this loco is a real test for me, but I am getting the hang of it.

I recovered OK for the first round trip to Weybourne, and the rest of the turn was fine, though it was dark for the second trip and not making much steam on last one. When I cleaned the fire, there was loads of clinker in the back.

I must get the irons in myself next time, just to make sure the grate really is clean when I take it on - then at least I will know if the clinker is mine or if it is hanging over from the day's running.