Aladdins Cave?

Perhaps not Aladdin's cave, but certainly a place where wonders can and do happen. Those who have been following the restoration for a while will remember the wonders that Ian Senini performed on the Lubricators and the back head cladding. Ian has been at it again with the stoker motor, turning what was a rusty mess back into a near new work of art. The stoker motor started out, suffering from exposure, and neglect. It had been been damaged at some point also, with the crank case breather being broken off.





You can see from the photos some of the stuff Ian had to deal with, including the broken breather, wear and tear and the years of service and exposure. The results speak for themselves, and we can expect years of troublefree operation with the new hard chromed piston rods and the TLC that Ian puts into every job he tackles.

Saturday 2 February 2012

Anyone who has restored a steam locomotive knows that it all becomes worthwhile when things actually start to work. It may be as simple a bench test of a minor component through to the first turn of the wheels.Today realized one of those moments with the successful partial test of the Westinghouse brake system.

After weeks of blowing clear pipes, testing components and chasing down air leaks the brake system was charged up to the prescribed values. The independent brake valve was placed in the slow application position, the brake cylinder gauge sprung to life and a familiar clunk could be herd as the brake blocks kissed up against the driving wheels.

This may not sound like much but for the team it is the beginnings of an operating locomotive. No, she is not moving under her own steam but it’s a significant start. We still have to complete the testing of what is called the automatic brake valve, but this will take place when the air compressor is fired up during the steam tests.



Having a good turnout of volunteers for the day meant we could tackle some of the awkward pipe work with the boiler feed lines fitted up to the clack valves. Theses pipes deliver the water at high velocity from the injectors to the boiler via the clack vales. The guys also installed the two ladders that allow access to the top of the boiler and even fitted the hand rails to the boiler.

Over in the cab area the timber and steel floor was being pieced together. This will allow safe access into the cab and the fitting of the valves and handles that protrude through the floor.

The hind unit fit out is progressing well with the last main steam pipe fitted along with the long reach rod that sites above it. The timber packing’s that the bunker sits on were fitted and screwed into place. The hind unit is now ready for the bunker to be installed however the all-important stoker trough is not yet completed.

A bit of late breaking news, as of Tuesday, the stoker trough has been bent by a very generous local fabrication company and is being delivered tomorrow and will no doubt be fitted to the castings and readied for reassembly over the coming weeks, a very big step towards the completion of the bunker assembly.



News like this would be complete without a reminder that donations are how we fund this restoration, and we need to find some more cash to fund the purchase of new piston rings for the cylinders and valves. The original ones, fitted to the loco in the 1960's are no longer serviceable with no tension in the bores, meaning they must be replaced. The cost of getting these made is, well, not cheap. One estimate has it at around $14000, yes, that is fourteen thousand, or somewhere between $300-600 a ring, and there are quite a few rings required.  We still have to keep the dollars coming in for the many smaller jobs however the whole projects critical path centers around this purchase. It is pleasing to see the piles of stored components dwindling and as each work day comes to an end 6029 is looking better for our efforts.

Saturday 19th January 2013

As previously reported the off-site teams have been beavering away over the Christmas break.Yours truly has been working on the Gantt chart identifying what tasks still have to be done and in fact what we have missed. Some of our Sydney based members have been over to the state archives sourcing many original drawings that will help answer those questions we still have.

The rebuild of the stoker motor is now complete at Ian’s home workshop. The guys were also onsite from time to time evaluating and fitting the system of pipes that from the steam circuit for the stoker motor.

The screw and elevator system was assembled in preparation of the final fit under the cab floor.It took a few goes to fit the screw into place and in turn bolt up the pivot that takes the coal up into the fire box. The stoker trough dis-assembly was completed but only after the oxy torch had cut through three layers of patch repairs. It seems his railways had several goes at patching up the rusted out sections.

An all new welded trough will be ordered when funds permit and once one site it should go back together with relative ease. We estimate that the new trough will cost about $4,000 and we would love to hear from anyone who can help out. All donations are tax deductible. Thanks to our gold supporters Goodwin Alco, the boiler cladding sheet metal was ordered from a local specialist sheet metal contractor. All of the sections we pre-punched and rolled on a CNC machine. Thanks to modern technology the sections bolted together with relative ease.

The systematic fitting and testing of the Westinghouse brake system has commenced starting at two main reservoirs. The approach is to blow through and prove each pipe and yes the soapy water works a treat to detect the smallest leaks.

The museums training branch has now completed the first draft of the training manual. The manual forms part of the initial training of the ARHS crews. Further to this, a risk assessment has been completed in accordance with rail safety legislation. The training manual and the risk assessment are both linked, as many of the risk mitigating controls identified are for training of the crews.

As each week passes 6029 is gradually looking more and more like the real deal. With the boiler cladding in place, the injector feed lines and hand rails will be fitted in the coming weeks. The hind unit and the stoker system now forms part of the critical path assembly. The rear bunker cannot be put into place until the trough and associated assemblies are completed and fitted.

Saturday the 19th saw the Garratt shunted out into the sun, and back under the crane, to have the stokers elevator tube lifted into place. As the cab is already in place, it was necessary to undo one of the railways many in service modifications, and cut out a panel in the rear of the cab structure to facilitate the re-installation of the elevator tube. This panel was originally built as a bolt in item, that for one reason or another was welded in place while the loco was in service.

After some effort and a little grunting, the elevator tube is now back in place, and it wont be long before the cab floor will be fitted around it. Other things achieved today were the refitting of the injector lines on the fireman's side of the loco and the timber bearers for the bunker have been completed, clearing the way for the bunker to be refitted when the stoker trough is completed and refitted.

With progress like this, it wont be too long before the Garratt again see's a fire in her belly. It is really just a case of a bit more time and a bit more money to get it all done. Remember that donations are always welcome and that without the support of people all around the world, this restoration would not be possible and 6029 would still be rusting in the yard.

The blog may be quiet but...

While most of us have been partying and in general relaxing, some real, visible progress has been made on the garratt, infact it is really starting to look the part.

With the help of Goodwin Alco, boiler cladding has been manufactured and fitted over the break and really looks a treat... have a look at the pictures and you can see that we really are not that far from getting this thing done!



You will notice that the stoker trough has received a lot of attention and when the new plate work arrives from a local engineering company, it too will go back together pretty quickly.

It is also worth noting that the workdays have changed back to the first and third Saturdays of the month...Come along, get involved and help get this machine back on the rails... Not too far to go now

Things are still happening!

Its been a few weeks since we had any updates on the progress of 6029, but rest assured, things have been happening...

Over the last month the Saturday work days have resulted in a number of milestones being achieved.

Firstly, the cab windows are almost completely remounted, including the round porthole windows at the front of the cab that had been previously blanked off by the NSWGR. Andy has labored hard and delivered some highly polished brass window mounts, great wood work around the side cab frames and completed the mounting of the small gutters running along the roof line. Andy is now off on a well earned Christmas holiday back in Manchester, maybe he might meet some of the people who originally built 6029.

The fireman's side of the hind engine unit has now seen two major milestones being achieved. Firstly after much heating with the old faithful oxy wrench, the split pins holding the rod union pins in place were finally extracted allowing the team to reassemble the complete set of valve linkages.  All rods had to be located and where necessary, either re-polished or polished for the first time - the Canberra weather does create problems for bare unprotected metal. Some manual labor was needed to lift and lock in the expansion link and the associated bearing housing. Of course the bearing housing has specific length bolts that can only be seen to be in the wrong hole after tightening with the rattle gun - this makes for good practice on the gun and a great lesson learnt... "all things are numbered for a reason" !

All paint on the frame (actually ancient grease and muck) behind the driving wheels on the RH engine was stripped and then red oxide undercoat applied followed a week later with the infamous black top coat - it takes some 24 hours for the oxide paint to dry hence the delay of a week in apply the top coat. We await quality inspection to determine if another coat is needed or areas were missed.

The driver's side hind became the focus for the afternoon of the 8th. Three of the team were able to commence grease and muck removal from the frame behind the driving wheels and with the able assistance of Ryan and Patrick there only remained one section of frame to clean out of four sections by end of day light. delicate moving of the engine 50 centimeters forward and back allowed access to most parts of the frame. Naturally moving an engine this size tends to squash anything left on the rails which was demonstrated admirably by an air hose...it  found out much to its detriment it was no match for a bogie wheel!

Part of the valve linkage was also re-assembled - the valve crosshead, combination lever, union link and lifting arm were all located, polished and assembled. The valve cross head and associate bearing surfaces were cleaned and polished before installing - quality inspection will reveal any areas of rework (see Wikipedia for a description of the valve rods and assembly).

The next major hurdle will be moving the two large and naturally heavy connecting rods to a place were they can be polished and then mounted. We may even need to pinch bar 6029 a few meters - moving such a heavy machine with such a small effort is really a credit to Mr. Levers. We await the forklift drivers comments on where he can move the rods to.

Naturally over the last few weekends things have not always gone to plan and this time round it was split pins - very strong tapered steel pins that are inserted into holes in the valve assembly rods either end of a link pin to hold it in place. These are in short supply so Alan is sourcing some more. When located these will be inserted into each link union and this will complete the assembly.


Regards

David

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.

6 and 7 October 2012

Work on the leading tank and engine unit is now almost complete. The team finished off fitting the myriad of split pins that are part of the bolt assembly securing the leading tank to the engine unit. The piping that runs the water from the tank to the engine units was fitted with all new bolts and fixtures. This also included the flexible pipes that bridge the engine units to the boiler cradle. These 10 inch diameter flexible pipes are in fact are very hard to line up and screw into place. After a few hours of pushing and pulling the pipes were in place and ready for use.



The cab work continued with the fitting of the windows to the cab side doors. Safety glass has been ordered for the leading windows including the two round port holes that the NSWGR blanked off many years ago. The re en-statement of these windows is part of the overall plan to out shop 6029 in its 1950's configuration as far as practicable.



On Sunday work commenced on the fit out of the smoke box with the installation of the blast pipe. With the blast pipe fitted the next job will be to fit the smoke stack aligned and secured home. The steam pipes and elbows that deliver steam from the super heater header to the the cylinders were taken out of storage ready for fitting. These pipes are bolted together with convex lenz rings that allow for any mis-alignment. The rings will have to be lapped in by hand and we are looking for volunteers who have the willingness and patience to complete this vital task.

An overview of work to date

After five years of toil through freezing winters and hot summer heat waves we are now at a point where we are now have to consider how we will operate 6029. From the teams perspective we have to actually pinch ourselves as we have come so far from that first workday in August 2007.

6029 now resides in the museums large shed in preparation of the final paint job over summer. The myriad of smaller components that have been stored, ready for use, are now seeing the light as they are fitted on to the locomotive proper.

The leading tank is now in place and the valve gear on the leading engine unit is almost done and dusted.
Our last workday involved the laying out of the pipe work for the smoke box including the blast pipe with all of the small bore pipe work.

The off-site teams have now almost completed the rebuild of the stoker motor and power reversing gear.
This all means that yes, we are heading in the right direction towards throwing that first match in the firebox.

Having said all that we need your help now both financially and with man power. Our workdays are now held every Saturday. If you would like to donate to our appeal, all donations are tax deductible.
2013 is now shaping up to be the year of 6029 and yes you are most welcome to join us for the ride.

Alan Gardner

1 September 2012

The re assembly of the left leading valve gear and coupling rods
continued with the fitting of the coupling rod. As this rod is very
heavy, a chain block was used to lift it into position. This task is
not easy and requires a specific sequence to be followed as the crew
found out. Yes you can fit the roller bearing around the wrong way
and no, you cant fit the tapered sleeve to match.



The 18 fitted bolts that secure the front tank to the main frame were
taken out of storage and cleaned up with the wire brush. These bolt
assemblies are unique as the are fitted with a spring that the
prevents the nuts loosening off. Having said that it also makes is
hard to fit. The crew still had to make more timber packing to
fits between the tank and the main frame, so it was off to the timber
store to find some hard wood.

The cab timber lining received another coat of clear varnish and the
support strapping was painted in gloss black The next work day should
see all the roof work finished and with this done, the electrical
conduit will be next.

Our workdays are now held every Saturday and as the weather is now
warning up we are planing to hold a super week in October
(accommodation available). Date to be advised.

Alan Gardner

Sunday 15 July 2012

6029 was towed out of the workshop by locomotive D25 (one of those diesels) to facilitate the placement of the front tank onto the leading engine unit. It was pleasing to note that the large mass of 265 tonnes gave little resistance mainly due to the free running roller bearings.

Once in position the team took the optionality to pose for the camera and it was pleasing to see the locomotive basking in the sun. The front tank was carefully lowered into place by a specialist crane contractor and again, there was a slight pause for the cameras. The crane was utilised to remove the hind bunker to facilitate the next stage in the rebuild program.


D25 pushed 6029 back into the shed just in time for lunch. After a good feed the crew jumped back into the fitting of the leading coupling and connecting rods. The valve gear re-work continued with the team progressing well with the polishing and re-fit.

The overall work plan is to continue with the fitting of all the motion components (coupling, connecting, valve gear) and with the rear bunker now out of the way, the hind lubrication system.

The hind bunker stoker motor system including the screw trough will be the next major task in the coming months. Significantly this represents the last of the of the major rebuilds and once completed the hind bunker will be lowered back into place.

The obvious question is when will the steam trials start. To keep a long story short, its basically up to our ability to raise funds and the continued support of our volunteer work force. In real terms we are about 80% through the project and if we can increase our volunteer work force with just a few more regulars we will be lighting the first match later this year. If you haven't been on site for a while or even if you are a new face you will be most welcome.

Work days are now every Saturday and the third Sunday of every month.