Shed Turn - Prepping for Part 1

It was a dull day here in North Norfolk, and after a couple of days plumbing the bathroom I'm back at Weybourne for another shed turn.

The BR Standard 4MT No. 76084 has done done most of the half term service and now needs disposing, so I don my dust mask and head torch and begin the first of several dirty jobs on my list for today, starting with the firebox:

You can shake most of that out with the drop grate, but I decided to climb in to clear the fixed bars down the sides. The toolkit is pretty simple:

I took a bit of care to clean all the way down to the foundation ring, just to let folk get a good look at the stays:

From my position in the firebox I could get a close look at the firebox tubeplate - my purpose was to look down the flues and prove to myself something that I heard at the recent boiler MIC - that you can see the end of the superheater tubes from here. And yes you can!

Once I had cleaned out the smokebox, the next job was to put a barrow load of wood on board for the next crew that light it up.

The weather was still awful.

The next job was to help Fitters Alex & Alex to get the Y14 ready for it's Part 1 boiler exam.

Boiler inspection is carried out by an independent certifying authority to confirm to the railway and to the railway's insurers that the loco boiler is safe for use. Inspection is directed by a Vehicle Maintenance Instructions document agreed between the railway and the insurer.

Inspection is divided into two parts. Boiler inspection part 1 is performed cold and unboxed and part 2 happens a maximum of 28 days later with the boiler in steam. Successfully passing both parts of the inspection results in a certificate authorising use of the boiler for a further 14 months.

So, while Alex & Alex were engaged pulling plugs and removing the safety valves & water gauges, I cleaned out the smoke and fireboxes ready for the boiler inspector.

On the way, I removed fusible plugs from the firebox and the last of the washout plugs from the smokebox. I made sure to brush over the walls so that the boiler inspector could see what he was doing without getting too filthy.

After tea, I spent the rest of the morning cleaning plugs, doors, and safety valve bits on wire wheel. We were done by lunchtime.

The afternoon was a bit more gentle and a lot let sooty - I stood in the cleaning hut for a few hours chopping sheets, curtains, shirts and trouser on the guillotine, filling up the rag bin. There's always something to do here:

Turn 128 - Third Man on the 4MT

This is going to be a short post, because there are never many pictures on a firing turn. 

Today, I'm out with Driver Steve and Fireman Cameron - I'm rostered Third Man, as there's only a few turns this month all concentrated into half term week. For a change I'm on shed first, at 06:00. I'm booked for eleven hours and fifty minutes today, one of the longest turns in the timetable.

Today we have the BR Standard Class 4MT, No. 76084 which is in it's last ten months of it's (extended) boiler ticket. It's a great loco for this railway. I clean out the smokebox, & firebox and light up.

To be honest, I probably put a bit too much coal on too early, as I had a bit of smoke out of the door - or maybe I could have left the scoop out a bit longer. Anyway, after a while a little blower had it sorted and we quickly made steam. Fireman Cameron cleaned the footplate and looked after the fire while I hopped up on the running plates and polished the boiler.

We were coaled, ashed out and the pit empty by 08:30, an hour or so early. Fireman Cameron went off to get changed leaving me to blow down and refill the boiler. Time to order breakfast and go and get changed.

The next couple of hours were quite relaxing as Fireman Cameron looked after the boiler for the first trip. I took over the shovel and a nice warm boiler for the second and third trips; we had the boiler over 200 psi and the water in the top quarter all the time. Two great trips. 

I handed the shovel back to Cameron at Weybourne on the third down, until we were back at Holt on the fourth up.

With the boiler full again, I fed the fire to keep it that way and fired fourth down to disposal.

A great day. 

Mutual Improvement Class - Boilers and Rules

Sunday saw a dozen or so steam crew attending a Mutual Improvement Class at Weybourne - in fact two, one on boiler design and one on firemen's rules - timely, as we all need to have our annual rules test completed by the end of March.

Before we start, we have a look at the splendid model of the planned Holt visitor centre, featuring the turntable, Reedham signal box, an underpass and what appears to be a vast display building. I hope I get to see it!

After some slides illustarting various aspects of boiler design and an intercative drawing session on the whiteboard, with studennts naming all the boiler components we moved into the boiler shop to have a look at some boilers in for overhaul.

This one is from LNER Class Y7 no. 8088, owned by the Y7 Preservation Society and usually based at the Mid Suffolk Light Railway:

This next one is from LSWR Class M7 No. 30053 owned by Drummond Locomotives Limited and based at the The Swanage Railway

And the last one we looked at was from Robert Stephenson & Hawthorne tank engine - and that is about all I know about it!

Outside the shop we looked at a much larger boiler, that of Southern Railway West Country Class No. 34010 'Sidmouth' owned by Southern Locomotives Ltd. It is expected that sister locomotive 'Sir Keith Park' will receive this boiler when it is next overhauled & the current SKP boiler will be overhauled at Weybourne for 'Sidmouth'.

These Bullied boilers feature interesting 'thermic syphons' which circulate water through the firebox:

Clearly, this area will attract solid debris and needs special arrangements for cleaning:

Another boiler that is currently outside is for the M&GNJRS locomotive 8572, our beloved LNER B12. Whilst we are all very familiar with this locomotive, it's interesting to see it stripped down:

I've included this picture as a matter of record - that square drive under the floor is for the drop grate on the B12. It's not used, since it's very difficult to get it up if you drop it.

The afternoon was spent going through various important rules relating to locomotive operations, where the fireman plays a role - like train protection in the event of loco failure and use of the waring arrangement.

For me, the next railway event is a third Man turn during the February Half-term holiday.

Gardening - Collecting leaf mould

No shed turn today, as I have attended the Volunteers Forum at the theatre last Saturday and I have a whole day training this coming Sunday, along with a meeting on volunteer recruitment this afternoon. In the interests of domestic bliss I shall be collecting compost - actually leaf mould - for Mrs H's allotment. 

But where to find leaf mould? The most interesting option is obviously here, at the sunny little oasis that is the railway's most Eastern outpost, Cromer Beach Signal Box.

The box is shown on the 1900 OS map as a tiny hatched box, bottom left:

Here's the back of the box today, still facing out over the remains of this once busy station - the remains of the engine shed, turntable, carriage sidings, coal and goods yard sleeping underneath Morrisons. 

This is the cattle dock, with the route of a second siding shown by the gravel path behind the box. Originally there were two cattle pens behind the platform, sufficient to hold enough animals to fill two vans. The slope in the background with the white gates is the cattle drove up to the main road. 

This is an interesting little widget - it's a detonator placer. In times of fog, it was common for 'fogmen' to strap detonators to the line to warn of approaching trains, for example, if a failed train was blocking a section. The approaching train would roll over the detonator and there would be a mighty bang, audible to the crew, who may not have seen a stop signal in the fog. 

Alternatively, a detonator could be placed in a fixed position using this device, operated by a lever in the box. Here, the detonators, represented by the two biscuits are in the unarmed position away from the rails:

If you look closely you can see that I have operated the lever to raise the detonators to the armed position:

Next, we have two Mutual Improvement Classes on boiler design and firemen's rules. 

Shed Turn - Getting ready for Half Term

 Well, I fully expected to be back on the 4MT today, and indeed after a cup of coffee I went underneath with a bucket of paraffin to loosen up the remains of last week's gunge. As I was getting ready, I heard my name called by Foreman Alan, with the request to go and check the axle boxes on the Y14 - something I've done before.

On my way, I found this widget - it's the attachment to allow the tablet to be delivered to the catcher at the station and to pick up the tablet for the next section, simultaneously. Apparently it's an M&GNJRS project - hopefully we will see it in action this season.

I've got my head torch, a big screwdriver to lift the lid of the axle boxes, a pair of surgeon's tweezers to pull out the trimmings and a sucker to draw the water out. The wheels are all in a suitable position but even so, it's hard to see the trimmings.

At each axle box, I used the sucker to feel for water in the oil. You can feel the pull necessary to draw fluid into the sucker - the oil is cold and quite viscous, so when you pull water into the sucker it feels much easier than pulling oil in. I pull out all the water, then inspect the trimmings - two have lost their tails but most are in great shape - I'm pleased with this, because I made these trimmings a while back.

I fill the low boxes with bearing oil:

With all the boxes done, I take my stuff back to the 4MT. Foreman Alan has other ideas - he wants the Y14 cleaned underneath. The topside is in the process of being polished up by the other guys, ready for the February half-term service. 

For the next few hours, I used my bucket of paraffin and multiple rags to clean up the motion:

Some of these bits are pretty hard to get to.

At lunchtime, we can have a look at the progress with the replacement of the crossover. Apparently Trackworks are a day or two away from leaving, though S&T have several days work to get all the track circuits hooked up again. Out in that picture, a number of our S&T guys are connecting up the point motors.

Back in the workshop after lunch I am on the 4MT again - Foreman Alan suggests I carry on cleaning it up, either underneath or topside - for a change, and to make sure I have something to show for the day, I elect to do the boiler and smokebox:

The secret to getting it to shine is to use your Rags progressively, finishing with a clean one take the last of the grime off and reveal the gloss. It doesn't photograph that well in the workshop:

Polishing up the apron sets it off, though I haven't time to do the running boards, the cab or the tender. It was almost going home time - it looks OK but would have looked ten times better if I had scraped the gunge out of the corners first. 

Next week, I have several railway meetings - so I doubt if I will get on shed; I have a third man turn in half term so I'll make a post then!