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!

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

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

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

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

Sunday 21 November 2010

With the majority of the bogie overhaul work completed, some of the team has now moved onto the connecting and coupling rods. Some high tensile pull rods have now replaced the mild steel ones that failed last workday, and have proven up to the task of helping the strip down.

As a result of this all of the coupling, connecting rods and valve gear has now been stripped off the leading engine unit. There are now many hours of cleaning and crack testing for the crew to undertake. The magnetic particle crack detector will help speed up this process, but only after the years of 60 class road grime is cleaned off. Every pin and bush will be measured, recorded and assessed for fit and limit of wear. A painstaking task, but when completed we will have an accurate record of the motion, and a picture of what work is ahead of us for the first half of next year. As this type of work cannot take place out doors, the stripped motion is now off site and out of the weather.

Unfortunately, our resident photographer Howard Moffatt could not attend our last workday so we only have a few pictures to show and will just have to wait until the next workday to see where we are at.

Alan Gardner

Saturday 6 November 2010

The early morning light revealed to all that the leading outer bogie was almost ready for final installation. All it needed was the fitting of two Nathan four way oil distributors. The two outer bogies are about 6 inches longer than the inner bogies and this means that much of the associated bracketry is subtly different. Our first attempt to reassemble this bogie resulted in a tactical retreat when we found that the available overhauled assemblies of oil distributers were of the short type from the inner bogies. Thanks to Ian for overhauling a long set set in record time. Once the correct ones were fitted and the bogie turned over to the correct orientation (right side up), all of the bolts and split pins were double checked for tightness and proper fit. Well worth the effort as three split pins were missing. A final few dollops of black paint and we were good to go for the final fit.



The leading engine unit was lifted clear of the temporary wooden blocks and the bogie was pushed into position. A few grunts and groans later and yes she was in place. The flexible oil lines were connected up and the air operated grease gun delivered a few pumps of grease to each point on the bogie. There are only about 228 grease points on the entire locomotive… There are plenty of things to remember when preparing the locomotive for service.

After the bogie was back in place, the guard irons were bolted up with all new bolts fitted. While we were at it, we had a good look at the leading steps. It comes as no surprise that the fireman’s side step had a twist that looked unsightly. The decision was made to remove it and send it out to be straightened. A 200 ton press soon sorted out these issues and a fresh coat of paint will be applied before it is re fitted.

After lunch (thanks to this week’s chief cook Lindz) the strip down of the right hand leading coupling rods commenced with vigour. The crew has never done this type of work before and soon learnt about the fine detail points regarding disassembly. The main driving bearing is the same type roller as fitted to the big end. The extra-long strong back rods (3/4 all thread from Bunnings) could only hold to about 20 tons of pressure and being mild steel, snapped like carrots. It was worth the try, but four high tensile rods will be ordered before the next workday.

Back over at the cylinders, David Clark continued with the drilling out and tapping of the ½ inch BSW holes and yes each one is almost glass hard. David is slowly getting through this hard task but he advises that he spends more time sharpening drills that drilling holes.

Ian Senini dropped in to show the first of the overhauled Nathan mechanical lubricators. To say that the end product is magnificent is truly an understatement. It will almost be a crime to fit them to the finished locomotive as they look better than new. A separate report will be posted shortly featuring the overhaul of the mechanical lubricators.

Our next workday is Sunday the 21st of November. Work will continue with the coupling rod strip down. All motion and valve gear enthusiasts are welcome.

Alan Gardner

Sunday 17 October 2010

Work on the leading engine unit continues as the highest priority. Andy Hayes and David Clark continued to drill out the broken set screw that attach the sheet metal cladding to the cylinders. The screws that are closest to the valves would not un screw and in most cases snapped off. Drilling the broken screws has not been easy as the drill bits are losing their edge very quickly and the team has had lots of practice sharpening drills. The completed holes then receive a dot of pink spray paint and the cylinders seem to now have pink spot fever. The leading drivers side cylinder is all most completed...only three to go guys.



Ian reports that one of the four mechanical lubricators is now completed. As previously reported Ian has been doing this work in the comfort of his home workshop. Well done Ian, again only three to go.

Alan and Jack Barker continued with the front tank by drilling out two broken bolts that mount the electrical conduit to tank. The bronze plate with the numbers 6029 was refitted to the leading fireman's side. Not a high priority job but satisfying all the same.

The rebuilt bogie lateral control springs are now on site and were fitted to the hind inner bogie. This bogie was found to be in the worst condition out of the four. This can be attributed to the fact that it is located directly under the coal conveyor's screw. It is now looks almost like new, minus about four wheel barrow loads of coal dust.

Thanks to David for cooking lunch.

Alan Gardner

A brief interlude...

It is pleasing to report that it is now three years since we first started work days on site at the Canberra railway museum. As far as the project goes we are well past the half way stage and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter after each work day. It seems like it was only yesterday that a small group of enthusiastic volunteers was standing in front of 6029 ready to get their hands dirty. Since that day we have achieved many milestones but more importantly many new friendships. To date we have registered 73 people who have helped out. A heartfelt thanks to everyone.

A direct result of the project success has been the willingness of many other groups and individuals who have offered both in kind and finical assistance. Without this help we would still have many years ahead of us. The many individuals have been mentioned in past reports and again thanks goes out to them. Our greatest supporters are our old mates at Goodwin Alco and in particular Steve Preston and Bob Gioia. Their help has been significant to the project’s success but again lifelong friendships have been forged. An ironic note is that Goodwin Alco were the manufactures of diesels, so it could be suggested that they look at becoming Garratt- Goodwin Alco! Naturally steam always comes first!

Saturday 2 October 2010,

Work continued on bogies 3 and 4 , the last bogie frame was cleaned down and standard grey primer as applied. Three lateral control springs are all that stand in the way of the final assembly of bogies 3 & 4. The springs have been rebuilt by an external contractor and the final buckling will be completed in the next few weeks.



Now that the bogie work is coming to an end, some of the team are now focusing on the leading engine unit. Andy Hays is methodically drilling and tapping out 68 cylinder cladding bolt holes(per cylinder) in preparation of the fitting of the sheets. Our newest team member Andrew Bridger started the strip down of the leading engine unit valve gear and motion. The big end bearing puller tool has proven its worth with both con-rods removed with no fuss. All roller bearing are in good condition but will be pressed out to facilitate the NDT and polishing of the rods. David Clark started the rebuild of the king pin locking mechanism for the hind inner bogie.

Our next workday is Sunday the 17th of October.

Alan Gardner

Sunday 20 September 2010

A quick check of the weather radar confirmed that all would be well for the up coming days work. The rain fall in the past month has help ease Canberra's water shortage but it hasn't helped to progress of work on 6029.

The initial job of the day was to have another go at extracting the first of the four connecting rods. The pin at the little end was knocked out with little resistance but the hydraulic pulling tool was required to complete the extraction of the big end. The roller bearing is in good condition but it will be pressed out to facilitate the crack testing and polishing etc.

Andy Hays started to drilling out the broken bolts that secure the cylinder cladding to the cylinders. We anticipate many hours of fun here. Andy will also strip down the old cylinder covers to recover some of the more complicated tin work.

The leading outer bogie was once again lifted out following on from the first trial fit. One of the horn keep plates was removed as it was twisted, we suspect as the result of a derailment in government service. A replacement keep was fitted and all is now well. This bogie is almost ready for its final fit.

Mike Ridley continued with the strip down and assessment of the brake/electrical systems. As predicted some of the pipe work is full of grease and grime and as a consequence of this Mike has rigged up a flexible cleaning snake.

As the temperature is steadily increasing our attention will again re focus on painting, be it all over black.

Alan Gardner