Grit blasting, protection and Christmas arrives early!

John Bratchell-Hunt sealed the footplate ends of the tank and blanking plates were made to cover the injector and balancing pipe openings to stop grit entering. The underside of the saddle tank was grit blasted on the 27th of August and moved indoors to 4 road.  2 coats of primer, 1 of grey undercoat and a finish top coat of gloss black was applied over the next 3 weeks to protect it. The rest of the tank will be done as soon as possible depending on the weather. Alan worked on making the ejector pipe assemblage which is taking a new path into the smokebox. The left-hand step had been bent during the inverting of the tank and was returned to its original position with some heat. 

Then this week (w/c 7th September) Santa made an early Christmas delivery with some parts for us to assemble! Firebox, smokebox, foundation ring etc.

LH plate back on with blanking plate.

 Nick grit blasting.

Underside of tank grit blasted.

1st coat of primer.

Finish top coat in black!

 

Alan soldering part of the ejector pipe. 

Part of the ejector pipe under the running board.

Left had step.

Christmas has come early!

 

Does what it says on the steel!

No 9's new firebox.

Another view of firebox.

Smokebox next to No 9.

Door blast plate and rings.

The tank will be turned over and grit blasted when the weather allows. It will be filled to check it is water tight. As soon as the other parts arrive I will post another update.  

 

Wash-out, new baffle plates etc

Having removed all the old corroded baffle plates Tyler replaced them with new and, making sure all the tools were removed, the tank was given a thorough wash-out. The water ran clear through the water inlet and, to make sure, another wash-out was done. Wooden blanks were made to cover the equalising/balancing pipe holes and the injector ones, to stop any grit getting into the tank when it is blasted. John Bratchell-Hunt is welding the replacement ends back in, along with the bracket to attach the tank to the cab. The last rod was attached to the radius link and an oil pot for the piston glands was given a coat of 20C40. The chimney will need some attention, including welding in a broken piece, and Nick cut off the bolts and drilled a centre pilot hole so that Nathan can burn them out.

 

Water running clear.

New baffle plates in. Thanks Tyler.

RH bracket and opening welded back in place. 

LH opening partly in place. Bracket still to go on.

Blanking plate on injector valve.

Blanking plate on balancing pipe.

All rods attached to radius links.

Oil pot for piston glands in 20C40!

Nick drilling the bolts on the chimney. The piece needing repaired is by Nick's left knee.

Watching the weather now for a dry spell to grit blast the tank - and quickly prime and protect it!

Removal of old baffles & clearing out of detritus!

To facilitate work on the inside of the saddle tank the footplate ends were partially removed. These were corroded where the water is fed to the boiler and were needing replaced. New plates have been fabricated and will be welded back into place. This allowed Tyler Playfair to gain entry and has completed the removal of the old baffles and cleaned the rusted detritus from the tank. This was a great effort by the only human on site that could access the innards, being small, agile and fit enough for the task. An extractor fan provided fresh air at all times. I did get into the tank but was unable to even turn over! Hoovering removed the detritus from the water point on the bottom/top of the tank. The baffles, which were rusted and corroded, were removed and will be replaced with new one. We did discover one hidden baffle on the top which Nathan passed as acceptable on seeing photos. Shot blasting the tank is what is required now - weather permitting.

LH side cut out. This is of course upside down! Access now possible.

 

RH side with Tyler ready for work. 

One of the 6 baffles that were removed.

Extractor fan providing fresh air. Another baffle gone. 

Some of the detritus being hoovered via the water inlet.

The hidden baffle at the top of the tank.

All 6 new baffle plate primed.

Alan preparing the new tank end.

Where the detritus was pushed out - the water inlet.

                                               

A tight fit on the last baffle on the RH side!

 

Tyler 1 - tank 0! 

   

Smokebox, eccentric sheave and tank!

 The smokebox will mostly be replaced but items such as door hinges, support brackets, dart crossbar brackets have been removed for re-use. The area around the chimney seat is about 1mm thick! The new kit of parts is due to arrive soon. The final eccentric sheave, returned from RPSI after white metalling, has been fitted to complete the motion. Further painting the injectors and oil pots in midnight blue.The tank was removed and inverted onto the wooden supports we made in April 2023 and placed on a wagon! New access points will be fitted to allow easier removal of detritus, an attempt was made to hoover out, with only partial success.

Alan using heat to loosen the nuts.

 

All bolts & countersunk rivets removed & replaced both top & bottom for now. Notice the crossbar brackets removed. See next video!

Plasma cut through 3 plates in door ring.  

The final eccentric in place.

  

RH injector with delivery pipes attached. Same on LH.

Ready for tank removal. Telehandler in position.

Looking like an engine again.

Inverted on wagon. New access points - and removal of detritus from inside should be easier.

Crossbar brackets & door hinges primed.

7 oil boxes in 20C40 Midnight Blue.

 

Brackets removed from smokebox primed.

Oil feed pipework will be one of the next jobs. There are 16 feeds from one of the mechanical lubricators and each will have numerous bends. Delicate work.

Saddle Tank measuring and injectors.

On the 4th of June Nick & I spent the day measuring the thickness of the saddle tank walls, both on the outside and on the underside next to the barrel. Only 2 areas were what would be described as needing  some attention which was very pleasing considering the age of the engine. The debris inside will need removing and this will be achieved using various methods. Both injectors are on and we trial fitted some of the delivery pipes. Alan has fitted the ejector under the running board on the RH side. More photos to follow soon. Work on retrieving parts of the smokebox.

Measurement figures on the LH side of the tank. 

Figures on the underside on the RH side.

A secure platform to take measurements underside looking back.

LH injector in midnight blue.

RH injector.

Water feed pipe & valve trial fitting. 

Alan has fitted the ejector under the running board.