Thursday 26th November saw the wheel sets loaded onto a lorry and delivered to South Devon Engineering on the following day. These were grit blasted along with the frames so they are better for the contractors to work on – the picture shows them being checked for loose weight rivets – a tap with a hammer shows any problem. Our contractors will ensure these are all secure before they return.
The work at South Devon will involve:
- the removal and replacement of the outer tyre,
- placing on a giant lathe to turn the tyre profile to an exact shape,
- checking all the axle journals and machining these to ensure they are perfectly round
- machining all the thrust surfaces to smooth out years of wear and tear
Once the work is complete, the wheelsets can be matched to the axleboxes and the these can be prepared to ensure a good fit.