Super Week November 2012

Super week started early Monday morning with the usual cup of tea and a chat. It was pleasing to see some of the old faces and even some newcomers.

The first job for the day was to move 6029 out of the shed as this would allow the fork lift close unrestricted access to the locomotive. The team spent a good hour cleaning and oiling up 6029 to ensure a trouble free shunt. Diesel locomotive D25 was fired up and with little effort, 6029 moved gracefully out of the shed. The team was delighted to see the motion and valve gear rotating and oscillating as it should...a tribute to all who were involved.

Once outside, the power reverser mounting bracket was lifted and attached on the driver’s side of the boiler. Next the power reverser itself but it was soon realized that the centre actuating lever would have to be fitted first, so the reverser was lifted off to fit the lever. Back on again and with some gentle alignment the assembly was soon complete. It took some time to find the pins that connect the actuating lever to push and pull rods (being a Garratt is goes both ways). Once found in the store all was well, a after a quick clean-up, and a few drops of oil, the pins fitted snugly into place. These pins must be a good fit with only minimal clearance as any lost motion would compromise the valve setting and the operating efficiency of the valve gear. Believe it or not this is the first stage of the all-important valve setting. The first step is to establish true mid gear from the reverser down to the expansion links x 4. Again no lost motion is allowed in all pins and bushes. After a quick check it was confirmed that all was well.

The smoke stack was assembled along with the petticoat pipe however this whole assembly was too big for our forklift and a crane contractor was called in to complete the lift onto and into the smoke box. Once lowered into place, the alignment of the smoke stack to the blast pipe was checked and some extra work will be required to complete this task in the future.

The main steam pipe that delivers live steam from the smokebox to the hind unit was lagged and both lens rings that join the pipe at either end were given a final lap. The finished pipe assembly was fitted into place on the outside of the boiler cradle. This pipe is connected to an expansion section that includes a sliding joint. This section has been in storage for a few years and once located it was stripped for a final paint in all over basic black.

The stoker feed screw and delivery sections were next on the list for attention. The stoker trough was set up on stands to facilitate cutting out the worn through sections with new sections. It was soon realized that all was not well and the further the job progressed, the more rust was found. The obvious decision was to cut out the trough and replace it with new. The castings will be kept including the reduction gear box that makes up the trailing end. Every rivet was cut off and punched out with the sledge hammer.

The remaining castings were cleaned up in preparation for painting. The gear box was eventually stripped down with a bucket load of black gummy grease oozing out once the rear cover was removed. The state of the grease indicate that this gear box has not been cleaned out for many years however it has done its job as the gear train is in good condition. Many of the parts will be washed clean and reassembled as time permits. A new stoker trough will be sourced and once on site the stoker trough will be re assembled.

Saturday was dedicated to a site clean-up and a general go slow as the team was feeling the effects on working six days straight. Oh well back to the office next Monday.