Work in Progress
Rivetting 1. As part of the Lottery Heritage funded work we have a project to develop skills in hot metal riveting. We are replacing some sections around the rear drag box - buffer plate and cab foundations and the rear frame stretcher which have suffered badly from wasting over the years of service and since. Much of the wasted metal has been removed, new material purchased and the parts fabricated - we are retaining as much original material as possible and fitting new to old - this does mean we have to match old and new dimensions of steel with some "shaving" of the new.
We are ensuring the integrity of the frame structure by removing and replacing parts in sequence rather than all at once. The photo shows the new cab floor structure in place and the new frame stretcher with (temporary) bolts holding it all together. As soon as the current restrictions are eased, we will arrange volunteers workshops to progress the riveting and ensure these skills are developed and passed on to a new generation.
The buffer beam itself will be replaced - a number of the rivets have been removed but enough left in place to hold everthing together, the new one is ready and waiting. The photo shows Tina at work on removing the rivets - and the extent of the wastage can be seen.
The drag box itself is badly wasted and needs replacement - we are currently sourcing a new one - the approximate cost of this particular component is £4,000. We are in negotiation to hire a pattern and have a casting made.
Rivetting 2 We have in progress the fabrication of a complete new cab - this will also be used to develop rivetting skills. The work here is also at the stage of awaiting a relaxation of restrictrions to allow volunteer workshops. The principles involved are similar to the work on the frames but with much smaller rivets and thinner metals being joined together the techniques will differ.
Work Planned
Axleboxes - these have all been cleaned and checked, the next task with these is to match individual boxes to axle journals. All our journals were machined as part of the wheelset overhaul to remove any wear marks and ensure true round - the matching of boxes to journals will allow us to get the maximum wear from the boxes and minimise the remedial work that will be needed. Until this matching process has been concluded we will not be able to accurately estimate the costs involved. We do know that we will have to source a number of underkeeps - several went missing over the years in Barry! We are always on the lookout for any that may come available.
Horn Guides
Before we can reunite the wheels and frames, we need to do some work on the horns - indeed we may need to source some new metalwork as a number are showing signs of excess wear - we do know that these are the originals from 1918 as in later years a different metal was used. The picture shows one of the horns.
We identified this area of work for our fundraising in December 2020 through "The Big Give" and exceeded our target of £4,000 to pay for this work.
Cylinder Boring Last year we completed the boring on the valve chests and paved the way for the work on the cylinders by removing the covers and pistons. We will need to engage a specialist contractor to carry out this work and we are currently seeking estimates from those willing to come on site and involve our volunteers.
Steam Fountain. Although it will be some time before we are at a stage of needing this item, we had the opportunity of joining a "bulk buy" for a casting at the very good price of around £500. The casting was delivered in March - we will now sort out the necessary machining ready for when we need the finished article