Valve connecting rods

 After publishing an update yesterday I thought this very important move forward deserved its own page! The valve connecting rods, along with the radius links were put into the frame on the 30th January and is the first part of the motion that will make No 9 a living, breathing engine. A lot more connecting to do but a big step in her restoration. Also a photo of the cottar pins securing the slide bars, each one a different size. Well done Alan!

Cottar pins securing the left hand slide bars.

Nick raising the RH valve connecting rod.

Alan positioning the RH valve connecting rod into the guide.

Both rods in place in the guides.

RH radius link in place. LH connecting rod turned to allow the link to be inserted more easily.

Both radius links in place.

The valve connecting rods through the guides.

Viewed towards the rear of the cylinder block.

Plates and painting and motion preview!

 The cylinder block that we worked on last month needs protection and insulation both top and bottom and plated were cut, using the old ones as templates. The top plates were easier than the bottom ones as they already had the tapped holes for the bolts. On the bottom new holes had to be drilled and tapped, a hard job pushing a drill up into cast iron! And 1 tap down - sorry! That done insulation was cut to "size" and held in place while the plate was moved into place. The left hand plate on the bottom still has to be done and heat resistant paint applied on all some surfaces. Brian has continued the painting work on the buffer beams and the frame, making it look very smart! We also started work on the motion by doing some positioning work on the reverser weigh shaft. This for the next blog coming soon!

Old as template used for new plate being drilled.

RH plate with steam pipe in place to check fittings.

Top plates in place and painted.

Bottom RH plate - looks awkward but it worked - eventually! Alan & Nick pushing the insulation into place.

Alan tightening a bolt on the bottom RH plate.

Brian applying the midnight blue to the corner of the LH buffer beam.

And a first coat of signal red to the buffers and beam.

Weigh shaft being supported by the gantry.

Reverser weigh shaft lever. Key & pin still to be inserted. Reverser held horizontal on gantry.

Eccentrics, concrete and oil!

 The last few days of 2024 and one of 2025 were busy with eccentrics and straps, preparing the big end bearings for new white metal, and to clean out old oil. See the video section for some oil being expunged! The top of the cylinder block was filled with concrete. This protects the block from damage as we found water ingress when we were dismantling her. Plates will go on top of this also. The cylinders were cleaned out and oiled to protect them, and the eccentrics painted and put back on the driving axle.The eccentric straps were gritblasted, one showing the LI and 7097 markings, which, along with all the parts of No 9 prove their originality.

Cylinders protected with oil.

LI and 7097 marked on the eccentric strap.

Eccentrics getting a coat before being put back in place.

A coat of midnight blue for her wheels!

Eccentrics - now you see why they were painted before being put back on!

A wash for the valve and big end.

Kiln dried sand on top of block - concrete next.

Concrete to protect.

Applying heat to remove old white metal and oil from big end bearing.

To be correct all the bolt heads are aligned and the buffers are back on! A good start to 2025!

Boring the cylinders on No 9.

 The cylinders on No 9 needed boring as they had become worn after many years of hard work. There was a score line in the RH one which required skimming. N.L. Engineering Ltd came up from Wigan to do the job. They completed the work over 3 days between the 3rd & 5th December. The boring machine is an amazing piece of kit and John and Jake have done an excellent job. The cylinders are as smooth as.........! There are some videos in that section of the Blog for you to enjoy. Apologies for the length of this Blog but it is a very important part of No 9's restoration. Most of the photos credit Jake Morrow.

To start the covers on the rear of the block had to be removed. The nuts looked as if they were going to give trouble but after heat was applied to each a sharp tap from a hammer released them!

Alan applying heat to the RH nuts whilst Roddie removes the ones on the LH one.

LH cover about to come off.

LH cover off and marked to show its position on the block.

Covers off - boring can begin!

Boring out LH cylinder.

At the rear of the cylinder block.

Part of the machine.

An overhead view of the boring machine.

The 2 cylinders bored out.

RH cylinder.

A view from the rear of the block.

The nearly finished job. Just the removal of the skimmimg to do!

And a wee reminder of what they were like!

Wheels, brakes, slide bars and underkeeps!

The big news is that the wheelsets have arrived back from Riley & Son. All 4 brake shafts have been put in place with the leading one having to be lowered down between the newly inserted slide bars. Ah - the story unfolds! Work on boring the cylinders by N.L. Engineering on the 3rd to the 5th December meant that the slide bars, along with the rear cylinder covers, had to be removed. Aligning the axle boxes with the wheelsets was completed successfully and the buffer beam cleaned, along with all the bolts and nuts. New underkeeps have arrived and are now being soaked in an oil bath. A separate post will follow with info about the boring of the cylinders.

Wheelsets returned on the 14th November! John And Alan checking them out!

Leading shaft being lowered in between the slide bars - soon the be removed for boring work on cylinders. Photo credit Nick.

Levelling the wheels and aligning the axlebox.

Right driving axlebox.

Buffer beam wirebrushed along with frame and primed. Cylinders now accessible for boring.

Some of the beams bolts gritblasted, primed and run through a die.

New underkeeps. Look good enough to lay your head on! Now soaking in an oilbath ready for the axlebox, not the head!

Wheelsets primed and undercoated, ready for the 20-C-40 Midnight Blue.

                                            

Paint, paint, axle boxes, slide bars & more paint!

 Another productive month with the inside frames getting a signal red finishing coat and the outside a 1st coat of NCB Midnight Blue. The brake cylinder, put back in place, will be fitted with the insulation and new cover.  Axle box trial fitting and the 8 slide bars was completed with lots of measuring for both, and shims being fitted. All the slide bars, along with their bolts, were all marked. This allowed for easier fitting. The front buffer beam has been removed to allow the boring of the cylinder(s) and this uncovered some areas needing cleaning. We don't know when this had been removed before (probably before arriving from NCB in 1976) but the bolts had been put back in the wrong way round!

Alan Coulson on the red!

Brake shaft in black.

Brake cylinder being lowered into place.

Brake cylinder back in place.

LH side front leading horn guide.

LH side front leading axle box in trial fit.

Trial shim. New ones will be aquired.

One of the original slide bars.

All 8 slide bars back in place. Adjustments and shims still to be made.

Buffer beam removed and cleaned.

All 6 springs ready to go back in. Pins all renewed by Robin Taylor.

Brian Warrender -1st coat of Midnight Blue 20C40. 2nd Nov '24