Work has continued on the overhaul of Furness Railway No. 20 where preparations are being made for an out-of-frames steaming of the boiler on the 16th November. In deference to the fact that the boiler is sitting on Dave Watkins’ lowmac, we will be doing our best not to set fire to its wooden decking! The first stage to protect it was to remove the wooden packing beneath the firebox (old sleepers) and replace it with a purpose built steel trestle. “A ten minute job,” said an optimistic Adrian as he rolled up with the new trestle, but if truth be told it took a good 25 minutes for Ade, John and Tim to jack up the boiler and fit the new trestle into position, exerting a fair amount of ‘grunt’ along the way.
John Dixon has continued his work in preparing new and second hand dome headed bolts for fitting to FR 20’s chimney, smokebox and frames. The are seen here neatly painted and laid out ready for action.
Alan, meanwhile, has been applying some emery paper to clean up the recently machined valve seats.
Work on refurbishing the dome cover has also progressed, with Fred seen here finding a great way to self-isolate whilst cleaning the internal surfaces!
Keith, continuing his work on 5643, is seen here undertaking the less glamorous job of de-crudding the firehole door support. Keith has also been working with Andy Booth to identify any suspect stays that can be replaced whilst the loco is sidelined for maintenance.
Finally, we must not forget the continuing efforts to rejuvenate Fluff where Phil and John Davis have fitted the new front cab sheets this week.
The latest Lockdown restrictions, which come into force on Thursday, do not preclude people from volunteering. It is expected therefore that some essential work will continue during the lockdown period. Details will be briefed at the Wednesday working party.