A busy 3 weeks for No 9.

 Lots of work on various parts of Austerity No 9! The big end bearings that we white metalled have been machined and are ready. The spring hangers which had given us some problems have been sorted, new bushes made by Alan French and pressed in by Nick Thompson. After a lot of trial fitting the rear draw hook has been put in which has a valute spring - in the past some inter-change has happened on the engine as the front draw hook has a conventional coil spring. Both were originally valute springs. The mechanical lubricator that Alan refurbished (see June 2024 blog) had been put on the running board. The front cab sides that were trial fitted in the last post have been rivetted to the angle iron, the rivets ground flush and primed by Brian Warrender, and will be put back on for good. Only 20 rivets this time! Brian has also been putting the finishing touches to No 9 that have been "scuffed" or missed. This will happen again as parts are put back on. The reverser frameand handle are back in place but need connecting to the other components. A very rewarding and enjoyable 3 weeks! 7097 is coming together.

Big end bearing on lathe.

 

Machined by Nathan.

Some of the spring hangers and bushes.

Alan positioning the bush in the hanger.

Nick pressing the bush into the spring hanger.

Bushes inserted.

Rear draw hook - still to have cottar pin inserted.

Mechanical lubricator - still to be raised & fixed in place.

Cab side rivetted to angle iron.

Rivets ground flush & primed. Brian grinding of the ones on the other cab side. Sparks flying!

The jigsaw puzzle!

The reverser frame & lever.

Coupling rods, handbrake and cab sides.

 After the high of the wheelsets being reunited with the frame work continued on other important parts of 7097. The handbrake handle was fitted on top of the running boards on the left side of the cab and connected to the brake shaft underneath. On the last day of July the coupling rods were trial fitted and all were good. Excellent! They were removed over the weekend of 2nd/3rd August and checked - put back on for good. The two front cab sides, having been restored, were trial fitted to the angles on the cab floor. Nick drilled the holes in the angles with the smaller of the 2 Mag Drills and they fitted well. Both the cab sides and the angles will be removed and rivetted together, much easier to do away from the engine. They will then be bolted to the frame. Another big step forward in No 9's restoration in her 81st year.

 

Nick & Alan admiring the newly installed handbrake!

The handbrake connected to the brake shaft.

LH coupling rods put on. The "Backworth" step was removed to facilitate both the rods being connected with the pin inserted from the back, near impossible to do with the step in place.

RH coupling rods on!

Mag drill, supported both by magnetism and gantry, drilling holes in the angle iron. Photo Nick Thompson.

Both cab sides trial fitted - will be removed along with the angles for rivetting.

Nick's photo - viewed from the front of the frame. 9F 92219 in the background. 

Wheelsets on!

 On the 9th and 10th July 2025, Austerity No 9 (Works no 7097) was reunited with her wheelsets. On Wednesday her frame was moved from 2 road in the Engine Shed to the C&W shed and raised on the jacks with sufficient clearance to allow the wheels to be rolled under. On Thursday the horn guides and brake hangers were oiled and greased.The wheels were delivered by the Plasser & Theurer crane to the doorway and each set rolled under the frame. Lots of checking by Nathan to make sure everything was in the correct position prior to lowering the chassis. Each axle had a person checking to make sure that it correctly slotted into the horn guide. Keith Holyland was in charge of the jacks and the process was completed smoothly. The rolling chassis was then moved back to the Engine Shed, paying particular attention as she rolled over points. One comment was overheard "she's running very smoothly". More work will continue allowing the coupling rods to be attached.  See video page for movements to and from the work. Huge thanks to all involved both on the day and in the preparation. A timelapse video has been added.

The space No 9 has occupied for sometime - empty!

 

Frame raised - bogies and chain pull still in place.

Ready for her wheelsets.

Wheelsets in place. Photo from Nick Thompson.

Nathan checking everything is ready - Shed Dog Nigel checking on Dad!

Down & free of the jacks.

Wheelsets back in place and ready to roll!

Outside C&W.

The crew! Brian Thomson, Nick Thompson, Nathan Lightowler and Nigel, John Bratchell-Hunt, Roddie McRae, Alan French, Keith Holyland, Brian Warrender and Colin Boyd.

Alan French keeping an eye on the movement over points.

Preparation for re-wheeling

 One of the last things that we want to do once the wheelsets are back on No 9 is to paint the frames behind them! This is awkward to say the least and near impossible to do it properly so all frame surfaces and any that face the frames have been given the top coat of midnignt blue. All the steps are ready to go back on and the sandboxes are already on, again with the facing surfaces finished. We also have white metalled the big ends, brake cylinder attached to shaft, primed the original cab sides and put a top coat of signal red on the coupling rods which will go on at the same time as the wheels. Again thanks to all who helped. The next post will hopefully see a running chassis!

Left hand cab side primed.

 

Alan & Nick examining the old bunker angle - to be replaced!

New bunker angle.

Brake cylinder attached to brake shaft.

Left and right leading coupling rods - of course!

Heating the big end bearing so that the new white metal will bond.

Big end bearings white metalled.

Left hand frame with top coat and sandbox. Ready for wheelsets!

2nd coat of signal red on driving coupling rods on the 3rd of July.

Riveting stuff!

 The "48 Club" tackled the riveting of both running boards and cab footplate floor to the frame of No 9. 229 rivets in all. This was done by using a jamback (of various lengths) to hold the rivets firmly in place under the frame, put in by the "Rivet Boy", whilst the rivet gun forms the flat top. This has been helped by Alan French's stabilising tube welded to a plate (see photo) keeping the head of the gun in place and not allowing any lateral movement. In all, only 4 rivets went rogue and were replaced. To keep the rivets hot the furnace had to be between the frames as anywhere else would have allowed them to cool too quickly. William from the Rudolf Steiner school also helped being "Rivet boy" on a visit. Nathan has been working hard on the axleboxes making sure all is correct. The next stage - the frame will be rolled out to the C&W shed in due course where it will be lowered onto the wheelsets. Thanks to all who participated in this big move forward.

1st rivet in! To be ground flush.

Stabilizing tube and jamback. 

100 rivets on left-hand running board.

Under the front left with 6 rivets in place. Shorter jamback needed due to bracket. 

 

Left side rivets ground flush and plates primed by Brian Warrender.

Confined space under footplate. Furnace needed to be close at hand.

29 rivets in cab footplate.

Under footplate - awkward things brackets & brake cylinders!

Nathan & Rory working on axlebox, springs & horn stays.

Nick having a rest between gunning!

The "48 Club" riveting squad!

The furnace.

The last 2 "rogue" rivets. No space here for a jamback - lever with dolly on end.

Riveting completed.