Last Wednesday saw the successful transfer of FR 20’s boiler from the FRT shed to the RSR running shed where it can be steamed for the boiler surveyor. Both Keith and Ade were assisting Ribble Rail last week and we see Ade here at the controls of Ribble Railway’s Sentinel Progress during the shunt.
Fluff had to be moved out of the way and is seen here being shunted with Keith on board.
The boiler was then released and moved to the west of the site.
Alan is seen here preparing the dome to receive the valve seats after machining.
Back inside the FRT shed John Dixon has been cleaning and painting the base of FR 20’s chimney.
John then set about making new domed bolts that will secure the smokebox to the frames.
Fred has now finished cleaning old paint from the engine’s valances.
Tim has been busy hand-sanding the dome cover ready for painting.
There has been more work on Fluff including work by John Davis to prime the front cab spectacle plate.
Over at Embsay work has been taking place on the FRT’s ‘Austerity’
0-6-0ST Cumbria in readiness for its 14 month cold boiler inspection which has been brought forward to the 9th November. This is to enable the loco to operate the planned Santa Special programme of trains there. The rear buffer beam has been re-painted.
A similar refresh is seen here being carried out on the front buffer beam.
Finally, a couple of our volunteers have recently sought guidance about travelling to Preston to volunteer during the operation of the three tier Covid-19 restrictions. Recent Government advice supports voluntary work such as that carried out by FRT members and the following extracts are shown for peace of mind:
“At all three alert levels whilst providing voluntary services:
you are exempt from social gathering restrictions;
you can travel within and between different local COVID alert level areas to volunteer.”
This is all subject to the availability of Ade who is assisting Ribble Rail this week. Ade is pictured here trying his hand last week with the RSR’s recently acquired four wheel drive fork truck.
Work has continued on some of the smaller jobs on FR 20. Tim has finished painting the modified spring hangers and has also done some careful refurbishment and priming of the tender buffer beam so as to retain appropriate signs of age and work use. John Dixon has straightened up the smokebox lamp bracket.
John then set about giving the bottom of the ashpan a much-needed clean and paint.
Keith has taken advantage of some better weather to cut some more metal from Wootton Hall‘s tender tank.
Paul Balshaw has continued buffing up 5643’s rods whilst Phil and John Davis have been busy painting new steelwork for Fluff.
Finally, Paul Newton has at last managed to put some gloss paint on the slats for the formerly derelict platform seat.
The cleaning work inside and outside the frames of 5643 has been completed which has allowed work to focus on the valves and pistons. Both pistons have now been split from their respective crossheads and examined by Keith who determined that new piston rings were required. Keith is seen here dressing off one of the rings prior to fitting.
The heavy work involved in releasing and re-installing the pistons required additional assistance which was provided by George, who came up from Derby on two occasions over the past couple of weeks, however, both pistons are now back in place and connected to the crossheads.
Work on cleaning up and repainting the cab floor steelwork continues which is Fred’s forte. Fred and John Dixon are seen cleaning up outside the shed on Friday after Fred’s latest work which saw off yet another cup wire brush.
The end of the main thrust of cleaning on 5643 has enabled Phil, John Davis and Paul to return to the overhaul of Fluff. Phil and John are seen here with yet another new sheet of steel.
We were pleased to see the return of Ed after a short spell in works. He spent a very busy day tidying up the garden area and cutting back undergrowth that was coming through the adjacent fence.
Meanwhile, Alan has cut two new joint rings for the cylinder covers which have been carefully fitted.
Alan and Ade then spent most of last Wednesday struggling to fit the left hand cylinder cover, finally succeeding after discovering that one of the studs hadn’t been properly screwed in and was not square with the rest.
We are pleased to report that, after much fine tuning, the new springs are now in place.
The annoying slight bulge towards the front of the right hand valance has been removed with the aid of some carefully applied heat and the use of a clamp to straighten the metal.
Finally, the ashpan has been cleaned, painted and the ejector ring repaired and re-fitted by John Dixon.
Finally, Ade has also spent some time freeing off and adjusting the nuts on Caliban‘s brake rods. Incidentally, contrary to what you might think from the photo, we can confirm that Ade has now had his post lockdown haircut!