6029 is owned by the Australian Railway Historical Society, ACT Division and the restoration is proudly supported by their tourist operations and by the generous donations of members and public supporters.
The society operates rail tours out of Canberra with our heritage fleet of steam and diesel locomotives and rolling stock every few weeks.
To travel in style on any of our tours, or to learn more about our collection and operations, go to Canberrarailwaymuseum.org

Dec 29, 2010

What is the best way to find something you have misplaced?

At the last work day, it was found that spacer that is part of the lateral control assembly could not be found... Now I ask you... What is the most reliable way to find it?

Make a new one! And that is exactly what has been done. Al had a new one made a day or so after the last workday, so we can be sure that the original will be staring at us the moment we finish the assembly of that last bogie... Murphy's law pretty much guarantees it!

Dec 22, 2010

Sunday 19 December 2010

Following on from the efforts of the team at Eveleigh on Saturday the guys at Canberra started bright an early for the last workday of 2010.



The leading engine unit was once again lifted to allow the leading inner bogie to be rolled out clear. Four new ¼-½ inch BSP nipples were fitted to replace the worn out brass type. A trial fit of the flexible hoses confirmed all was well with the grease lubrication system to this bogie.

New replacement packing plates for the centre pivot bowl had been ordered in the past week and were on site ready for fitting. It was decided to replace the old 3/8 liner with the same as we may have vary the packing when the locomotive is being weighed. After the packing was in place, the composite low friction liner and locking ring was installed with an easy tap in fit. With a final check of all clearances the bogie was rolled into place and the engine unit was lowered into place with all being well. The flexible grease pipes were installed and fresh grease pumped through. The four inch diameter king pin was lowered into place, the locking plate and split pin fitted and finally we could say job done. Now onto the hind unit! Thanks to Paul Nowland, Graeme Kidgell, Shaun Barker and Marc Miller.

Pater Reynell washed down some of more gummed up components of the hind unit. This is in preparation for the removal of the hind unit draft package. The draft package is directly behind the headstock and is attached to the shank of the coupling. In essence the draft package absorbs most of the in-train buffing forces and from past experience we expect hours of fun here. When Peter has finish with the external clean up of the hind unit, the draft packaged will be dropped out for full inspection.

The day came to a sudden end at 13:30 hours as the rain set in for the rest of the day. Yes the joys of working out doors.

Alan Gardner

Dec 19, 2010

Saturday 18th December, Cab Progress

The last workday for 2010 at Eveleigh saw a lot of progress, yes, a lot! Just the two Mikes(Reynell and Ridley) got stuck in to it and the pictures show what can be done when a plan starts to come together.

First order of the day was to build a frame to support the entire cab and to hold everything square. You can see from the pictures that the frame is more than a few sticks of timber. The frame will remain attached to the cab until it is reunited with the boiler cradle.Once square and rigid, the work became much easier as it was much easier to create the required reference points and to reattach each component.



Some more parts were collected from our old mates at R&L Wall in Lidcombe on Friday and today saw them all fitted without too much problem. The new rear quarter panels still require a bit of bending, and a few pieces welded in, but overall, everything went together very well and it was well worth the effort of replacing the badly damaged panels.

You may also notice that the spectacle plates have been replaced. The old ones had suffered badly in places, as had most of the cab. Full points must go to Ian and Chris from R&L Wall, as they not only made the new ones, but also did an amazing job of saving all the fittings from the old panels without damaging any..... Thanks Chris!

There will be little adjustment required to the panel above the fireman's window as well, a problem that was only revealed as the surrounding panels were reattached. No problem however, as the generous application of heat and a swift whack from a large hammer should see the problem corrected at the next workday.

The next workday should see all the panels in their final positions and the cab ready to be riveted as required.... Now wont that be nice!

Mike Reynell

Dec 8, 2010

Saturday 4 December 2010

The leading engine unit is now staring to look like a complete locomotive. Andy Hays and Howard Moffatt spent a few hours going over the last bits of the grey primer. The trailing end of the leading unit was given a final coat of black in preparation for the fitting of the leading inner bogie. This bogie has been finished for some time now, but could not be fitted as a new centre pivot bush was being manufactured. The new bush was completed by a contractor early on in the week. The female pivot on the bogie was full of water due to Canberra wet spring and as a result of this some surface rust had to be cleaned off before the bush could fitted. Lachlan took out the water and cleaned out the surface rust. The bush was fitted with a good size for size fit and some long tack welds were also applied to ensued that the bush will remain properly fitted. The leading engine unit was lifted and the bogie rolled into place with no issues. There is nothing more pleasing when a plan comes together like clockwork.



Andrew Bridger and Graeme Kidgell continued with the strip down and assessment of the hind unit valve gear and motion. It all looks to be in good condition but the years of grime will see endless hours of polishing.

From an overview perspective the fitting of the last two bogies to the hind unit will be the top priority but before this can take place, many components that the bogies stop access to will have to be addressed. Items such as the coupling and draft gear will have to now be dropped out. Hey haven’t we done this before, oh yes....its a Garratt. Twice the loco and twice the fun!

Alan Gardner

Dec 6, 2010

Saturday 4th December

The Sydney Chapter...
While most went to Canberra to work at Garratt Central, the two Mikes (Reynell and Ridley) spent a very productive day at Eveleigh, fitting some of the long awaited replacement panels to what was left of the Cab.

The first thing to be done was the fitting of the panel above the window. This panel had so much damage from corrosion that some parts were totally gone, a product of years in the weather and the corrosive nature of soot that has collected between the joins in the metal. Once the panels above the windows were fitted, the rest of the replacement window frame was prepared and carefully fitted, before being welded in.

With the window frames reconstructed, the cab sides were again stood up and positioned so that the rest of the cab can be reconstructed and temporarily bolted together, before our friends from the powerhouse museum come in and rivet the whole thing back together properly, a milestone many of us will be glad to see come and go. That milestone is still a month or two away however, as we are still waiting on a few of the panels, and with only one workday before Christmas,time is going to get the better of us.

Mike