So Easter has come and gone, but what a weekend... Some of us would be looking forward to the Easter break, and with all the work achieved before the event, there may be a well deserved break afterwards for those who went above and beyond in the preparation for the long weekend, with planning and preparations around the site and the gargantuan effort to have 3016 and 6029 in steam.
The weeks leading up to Easter 2014 saw so much work done and some still to do. The 30 class boiler work was almost completed a week ago when tests were undertaken, but as always, there are things to be done after tests are completed. The 30 class needed the brick arch reinstated in the firebox, and the spark arrester to be refitted before any loads were attached. In railway service, the arches would have been made from specially shaped cast bricks which would have been easily installed following maintenance, but they have long gone, and these days, the common practice is to cast in place, meaning that you create a temporary structure from timber and then, like pouring concrete, mix up a batch of material and create the arch... Sounds simple,but working inside the firebox is never the easiest, and this job is no exception... Add to this also, that the arch has to be properly dry before you can make a fire, so this job was attended to very early in the week.
Alan took the opportunity to fit one of the Garratts pistons in order to check to the overall assembly procedure and to check the fit of the hard packing on the rod. Intent may have been to leave it in, but the packing is all going to need machining to suit the new size of the rod following its hard chrome restoration. It must be noted that the old rings are past due for replacement, and will all need to be replaced, at the cost of a mere $30,000 a set, so the existing rings will be only be usable for the purposes of testing and proving all the locos systems under steam, and for light engine trials.
Friday saw the steam spectacular start in earnest, 3016 was hauling shuttles to Queenbeyan and return all weekend with the help of 4807 in control of the return trip, 3112, a privately owned tank engine was on display along with 1210 and the CPH railcars. Most importantly, it was the occasion of the first public showing of the Garratt in steam. Percy Forrestor, one of our long term supportors, and in some ways the most important one as far as the restoration project goes, made the trip down from the warmer climates of Queensland and was on hand all weekend to pass on the knowledge he has of the 60 class. He was a driver of these machines when they were in regular service, and it shows... his knowledge will be invaluable as we once again have to learn how to use and maintain this wonderful example of engineering from days long gone.
The footplate was open to the public for the weekend and so many young children, and the young at heart took the opportunity to climb aboard and have a look around. Percy and others were on hand all weekend to answer the questions as they were posed, and for the lucky, there was even the chance to blow the whistle... you can be pretty sure that a good portion of Canberra knew we were here...
Even with the loco in steam, and the requirements of keeping the weekend rolling, some time was still found to perform work on the Loco.The fact that we had steam all weekend gave us a great opportunity to test many of the subsystems, with notes being made of everything we found not quite up to scratch. One of the important tasks was to get the rocking grate into order. Most of the parts were located, with the exception of one actuation rod, and bolted into place... Also missing, but soon to be located, I suspect in a carefully stored bucket, are the original pins, so bolts were used to hold it all together for now. All the systems that could be tested were tested and notes made of what was good and what needed work. After a tear down like we have done, there are bound to be some loose fittings and things that don't perform like they should. One of those things was the lubricator for the air compressor. It works, but sticks in one spot needing a hand to get moving again. Best guess is that a shaft has been bent in storage after it was rebuilt, so it is one of the jobs that wont take long to correct. Also on the list was a bunch of air leaks to attend to, not surprising really as this was the first time we have had the compressor running for any period and most of them were relatively minor.
We also had the time to throw a piston back in with a view to leaving it in. Alan had test fitted the same piston earlier in the week, and taken it back out for adjustment, so one task was to put it in and connect it to the cross-head. A relatively easy task, with the help of a few people and a little improvisation, and one which we will have to repeat a few times. We did however strike a minor issue.... The taper that connects the rod to the cross-head would not seat properly, so it needs to come our again... It is suspected that there may be a little extra material on the taper following the hard chroming process, so some investigation will be in order.
Andy has been busy also, running a temporary power line from the turbo to the front headlight. He has also fitted the new LED marker lights made by Mike Ridley and they look a treat. The loco was scheduled for a night photo shoot, and you can see below that it really has come along. The photo shoot was a fund raiser to help us finish the loco off, with quite a good turnout. In the early evening, 3016 and 6029 were moved to another location in the yard and a small display put on for the assembled cameras... There is one shot below by Howard Moffatt where you would swear the 60 class was leaving the yard... Have a look and see what you think...
As always, and yes, it is a broken record, we do need more money to finish the job. We are so close now that you can taste the celebration drinks at the end of the restoration, but we can not make it without a little more support, so dig deep and remember that you can secure a cab ride for the mere sum of a $500 donation. There is a growing list of people who qualify for the cab ride, so why not join them and get a real feel for what this machine is like in steam and working hard.
