Overhaul update
Only three member were able to attend today, and work concentrated on the frames with the inevitable of one cleaning and degreasing, another painting and the third drilling out riveted securing the hind buffer beam.
This is the right hand leading coupled wheel. Normally inaccessible behind the slidebars and crosshead, it is difficult to clean with the engine in service so requires a huge amount of scraping to find the surface. The small section of tyre and three spokes depicted here represent about three hours’ work!
Our expert at the long job of drilling through the rivets. A small pilot hole is drilled through first, this is then opened out by a larger size bit. The hole all the way through then allows an oxy-acetylene burning torch to do its job of eliminating the rivet to free the buffer beam.
A close up of the drill in use.
In the boiler shop, similar work but on a larger scale continues. The is the right hand rear corner of the firebox, with stays having been drilled through on both the backplate and firebox lower side sheet.
Close up of the drilled stays and burned through rivets in the lower right hand side.
The situation mirrored on the left hand side.
At the other end of the boiler, rivets securing the front tube plate get the drilling out treatment.