Up to date information regarding the restoration of steam locomotive 6029 in Canberra, ACT Australia. Beyer Garratt 6029 is an EX NSWGR locomotive and was a member of the largest, and most powerful class in Australia. The restoration to full working order is being undertaken by volunteers in Canberra.
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
Mar 21, 2011
Sunday 20 March 2011
With the boiler in place, and after a quick check for clearance, the expansion slides were fitted in preparation for the expansion brackets. They could not be bolted down as some of the studs will have to be replaced. The exhaust steam ball joint that attaches to the blast pipe was checked and it comes as no surprise that some major surgery will be required.
After lunch some of the guys were treated to a ride around the yard on locomotive 1210. It was a pleasant change from eating grinding dust. With all that out of the way, the team started to piece together the remaining crinoline bands. As the name suggest these bits are the frame work that holds the cladding sheet metal in place. Some of the lower parts of the bands are rusted out so new sections will be made as required.
Looking forward, and the next few months should see the cab returned to Canberra for final fitting. With the boiler and cab in place the steam pipes and fittings will be hooked up for the eventual steam test. We are asking for everyone to make that extra effort and attend the next few workdays as the big move is on. Come April, we see 6029 shunted into the large shed to facilitate the fit out of the lubrication system, cab floor and anything else that needs doing. We will also need all hands on deck to help clean up the large shed before 6029 moves in.
Alan Gardner
Mar 20, 2011
Ok.... so we didn't expect this!
From Boiler in |
Mar 8, 2011
Saturday 5 March 2011
The first job was to screw down the two large tension bolts that form part of the self adjusting pivots. They are designed to be pre-set at a tension which allows the pivot to self adjust for any wear. The adjustment of the screws required the combined effort of Paul, Tony and Andy utilizing four foot long pipe on the end of a four inch AF spanner. After about an hour of grunting and groaning both screws were at the required tension. For the record, a gap of 11/8" is called up on the manufactures drawing. The male pivots on both engine units had accumulated some minor surface rust and David soon cleaned off the offending iron oxide and applied a liberal coat of cylinder oil.
All this activity was leading to the project milestone of once again having the three major elements of the two engine units and the boiler cradle back together. Both the engine units were positioned to approximately the correct distance from each other. The boiler cradle was gradually lowered onto the engine unit’s, one end at a time. The end result of seeing the locomotive back together satisfied the crew to no end.
With the boiler cradle off the ground, the opportunity was taken to give the site an overdue clean up. The clean up will facilitate the long anticipated lifting of the boiler onto the boiler cradle. With only some minor prep work to complete it is anticipated that the boiler lift will take place in the next few weeks. This has only been made possible with the generous donations made recently by our project supporters, thanks to all who have contributed.
Our next workday is Sunday the 20th of March 2011
Alan Gardner
Mar 7, 2011
Stop Press
More info, and more pics very soon!