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

A variety of new advances!

 Over the last month or so the remaining reaming to the frame and the springs etc has been completed and the reverser weighshaft has been returned to the frame. After trying to source new angle (26ft + long x 2) for the running board supports, the original ones have been repurposed, needlegunned, primed and undercoated. Brake rods have also been refurbed and are all in good condition. The brake cylinder, which we put back on the frame, had to be taken off to attach a cover for insulation. Robin Taylor has been making all the pins for the springs, the old ones were past their sell by date! Part of the inside of the frame has been given a 1st coat of signal red and looks great - another step forward. One other big step forward is the wheelsets have been sent to Riley's for re-tyring etc. They arrived there on Tuesday 1st October. Thanks to Nathan for getting that through!

Nick on lifting duties with the reverser weighshaft.

Weighshaft in place.

Another view of the weighshaft in place!

Angle supports for running boards in undercoat grey. 26ft 9".

The brake cylinder with cover for insulation purposes.

Spring, hanger and new pin. Marked to relate to both - 12.

3 sets of springs.

 The die tool repairing the damaged threads.

Brake rods with protective primer and grey undercoat.

Brian Warrender applying a coat of signal red to the inside frame.

Alan French checking out the new paint scheme.

Another view of the frame.

Wheelsets on lorry ready to go to Riley's.

Brake shaft back in!

 A day to celebrate as the first major piece of the No 9 jigsaw is put back in place. The brake shaft was lanquishing in the shrubbery at the back of the Shed since its removal on the 3rd August last year. Needle gunned, primed, protected with a coat of light grey and greased up ready for its return to the frame, Alan Nick and I, with support from Rory on the telehandler, raised it up on the gantry and lowered it into place. Adjustments by podgers and the bolts were secured in place. The moment the shaft swung down on the bearings when I tightened the last nut was very pleasing and satisfying!

The brakeshaft bearing in the washer showing works number 7097 and NCB blue paint.

Nick steading the brake shaft as Alan lowers it into the frame. At this point it was the wrong way round and needed turning.

Adjustments with some podgers.

A couple of bolts in but still with support from the gantry.

The brake shaft has turned!

The reverser weigh shaft with one bearing that Robin made adjustments to.

Reaming in preparation for re-assmbly.

 The measuring continued and was completed successfully, including the axle boxes, allowing work to progress with their eventual refitting. The cylinder covers were examined and no "nasties" were found. Further cleaning, grit blasting, and painting took place and we moved on to reaming out all the holes in the frame, brake hangers, springs etc. With much appreciation from all of us Nathan produced a torque wrench with a multiplier to reduce the speed needed to reem out the 50 plus holes which was accomplished. Robin Taylor will make all the new pins as the existing ones were to say the least, loose. A couple of videos are available in this section to watch the reeming of both frame and springs.

A separate section will follow next on the re-installation of the brake shaft on the 29th August by Alan, Nick and myself, ably assisted by Rory on the Tele-handler.

Alan measuring the axle box.

No "nasties" found in the front cylinder box covers.

Cleaned out and ready for grit blasting and protecting.

Hand reaming was brutal and only 2 holes were achieved.

Reaming out spring hangers on the vertical drill.

Springs being reamed.- 15 on these alone.

Brake shaft and weight shaft needle gunned and primed. These were lying out side at the back of the Shed since being removed last August.

Cylinder and slide valve covers protected.