Stop Press

We are delighted to report that the boiler cradle was lifted off the engine units this morning. Howard Moffat was on site and we should have the photos on the blog in the next few days.

This is a significant point in the project as it is quite literally full steam ahead to the next stage (steam test the boiler), after we have completed any repairs on the cradle we can then lower the boiler into position. Again if we can get a good turnout for the next few work days(please bring paint brush) we should be able to complete the preparation work to ensure we can meet this significant milestone.

A big thankyou to all who have helped up to this point and another big thankyou to Gavin who who comes along to our workdays as a volunteer. As you know, funds are tight and it is membership renewal time again.Could I ask you to dig deep and help us put 6029 back in traffic sooner rather than later.

Keep Steaming

Alan

Sunday 18 January

It is pleasing to report that the first workday for 2009 was well attended and in fact we achieved over 100 hours of work for the day. Preliminary work was completed to facilitate removal of the boiler cradle with the end result being a full set of stands to enable the cradle to be set up level and gain easy access to all of its nooks and crannies for inspection and repair. We anticipate lifting the cradle onto the stand in the next few weeks. Mike and Marc fitted the internal steam pipe into the boiler and it was pleasing to once again actually see components being fitted rather than taking them off. The next part of the steam circuit fit out will be the header and work has commenced with the assessment and associated repairs. Mike Potter once again made good use of the over head crane and the front tank has been moved into position to allow easy access for the anticipated weld repairs. With the fine weather conditions the painting of the hind engine unit commenced with excellent results. This also included the strip down and undercoating of the headstocks. The last job of the day was the removal of the injectors and associated piping off the boiler cradle.

News received from Ron in Eveleigh is that he has almost finished painting the interior of the cab and work will start soon on the corrosion repairs as required.

Help needed:

As we are no moving in the assemble stages of the project we are asking for help to paint this 260 ton monster, no special skills necessary just a willingness to help out and put up with the projects managers silly jokes.

Alan Gardner

A message from Alan

Dear 6029 friends... 

Please note that our first workday for the year is this Sunday the 18^th  of Jan. We now have access to air tools on site and we can therefore move onto the fun jobs of painting and the like.  One fun tool that  we now have is the needle gun and from now on it will be in use on every workday. This will be very handy for the crud that the steam cleaner would not lift.

 This year we will continue with the fit out of the boiler and boiler cradle if we can get some good numbers of volunteers we anticipate having the new boiler in the cradle soon after Easter.  However towards the end of 2008 numbers on our workdays fell significantly the end result being a slow down in work. So again if you want to see the boiler in steam after Easter we need you NOW!!

 Please remember a lot of work now needs no trade skills, just a willingness to get dirty, do repetitive work, have a happy disposition, willingness to learn and paint stuff.    

 See you Sunday!

 Alan Gardner

Saturday the 6th of December

Once again  we enjoyed  a sunny Canberra  day working on Australia’s largest steam locomotive. Mark finalised the strip down of the old boiler by removing the last of the crinoline bands and the superheater support brackets. He then moved onto the tedious task of cutting out the last of the blanking plates out of the smoke box on the change over boiler. Howard and Barry started the assessment and preparation of the crinoline bands for the  fire box  cladding sheets. While under the firebox Alan spent all day on his back drilling out the broken off fire bar bracket studs. 38 have to be drilled out and re tapped to 7/8 BSW. When completed all the brakes can be fitted and in turn the fire grate will be installed. Further to this Bruce is machining a full set of bolts to facilitate the attachment of the ash pan to the fire box, thanks again Bruce.

Future work will now address the change over boiler and cradle. The  list of works is as follows.

 Drill and tap 3/8 x 7/8 BSW stud holes in foundation ring.

Lift boiler cradle off engine units and set up on ground.

·     Make new 2 x reach rod brackets and install.

·     Install remaining crinoline stand off’s.

·     Hand rail brackets, fit to boiler.

·     Assess and repair boiler cradle as required.

·     Repair smoke box wrapper as required.

·     Grind flush super heater bracket mounting plates.

·     Super heater mounting bolts,  make new.

·     Install smoke box floor and associated fittings.

·     Repair smoke box door hand wheel and dart bar.

·     Assess and repair super heater header and throttle  and associated  fittings as required.

·     Install main internal steam pipe.

·     Install super heater header and throttle vale.

·     Install blast pipe and nozzle.

·     Install Smoke stack.

·     Install boiler centring bracket  

·     Install all pipe work and fittings in smoke box

·     Lift boiler onto cradle.

·     Drill and fit all smoke box to cradle bolts

·     Install expansion  brackets

·     Install all boiler feed pipes and fittings.

·     Install fire grate.

·     Repair and install ash pan.

·     Steam test boiler.

We anticipate lifting the boiler cradle off before Christmas and set it up level on the ground to facilitate the assessment and subsequent repairs.

Alan Gardner

hey..look at me now..

Nearly three thousand hits, nearly two thousand unique hits..that is a lot of interest in our blog, and more importanly, a lot of interest in our project.

To every one, a big "thank you" your support is a great help to us.

NEXT WORK DAYS

Canberra Railway Museum

SATURDAY 6 December
SUNDAY 21 December

given that it is now getting warmer we will start at 0800, finish early..hats, water and suncream compulsory options!

Sandstone-Estates.com

If you are interested in the preservation movement in South Africa,  click here 

This a great site, that seems to have something for everyone!

Sunday 16th November

The day started bright and early at 7am as we had planed to complete some critical work on top of the change over boiler before the weather got to hot.  Now that we have repaired/ replace  most of the broken studs and fittings we have started to fit all of the brackets to the boiler. The preparation of the crinoline bands has started and at this stage we will be fitting the firebox area only. After the first steam test we will fit the cladding sheets as this will facilitate the fitting of the cab.  

Strip down of the old boiler is now almost complete as Mike , Mark and Howard removed the dry pipe and associated fittings. The Baker family removed the last of the fire bar support girders and brackets. When funds permit the old boiler will be sandblasted and primed to prevent damage to the outer surfaces. A preliminary inspection supports that fact that this boiler is repairable and when time permits we will begin the removal of the tubes to enable access to the inside of the boiler to assess the predicted damage. In the afternoon Howard  and Peter Gleeson mounted up the regulator pivot housing and associated bits. Mark continued to sort out all of the hand rail mountings as we will have to fit the hand rails to facilitate the fitting of the blower and controls for the steam test. Barry Peffer worked on the shelving for the container as he is still recovering from an operation he needs to avoid getting to dirty, great to see him back and on the mend. Our next workday will continue to see work on the change over boiler particularly at the smoke box end  as we need to finish removing all of the blanked off plates in preparation to fit the superheater header and regulator. And yes after the header is fitted and completed bring on the steam test. 

Alan Gardner 

On Saturday we completed the strip down of the smoke box in the old boiler . The morning commenced with removing all of the caps on the Superheater header. With no surprise all of the 7 valves were seized in the closed position and with the aid of the oxy torch we gently heated all of the valves and gradually freed them all up. The next stage was the remove the gland and stuffing box that protrudes outside the smoke box. This allows connection two the linkages along the boiler and onto the cab and regulator lever where the driver sits. Again the oxy torch was used, however this time stubborn resistance was encountered. We allowed it to cool down and subsequently enjoy lunch courtesy of Bob Hall’s snags. After lunch the whole assembly yielded to our efforts. We then moved onto the cam shaft and with much jiggling and swearing we extracted the five foot long cam. The header to our surprise gave no resistance and was easily removed with the assistance of the fork lift. With some attention of the steam cleaner an initial inspection revealed it to be in excellent condition. In the next few work days we will crack test and if all is well the vales will be reconditioned and re lapped and reassembled. The subsequent installation into the change over boiler will be our focus over the next month or so. When installed the regulator and linkages will be hooked up in preparation for the steam tests. All three safety vales were bolted to the boiler, a big thanks to Mike Reynell for rebuilding at his Sydney workshop. The last job for the day was to install the fire hole door, this is a half types as it allows space for the stoker shaft to the fire box. A temporary plate will be made to cover this hole for the steam test. With the door in place we should prevent the blackening up of the bronze fittings on the back head.

As mentioned our next few workdays will focus on the smoke box in the change over boiler. A new floor is ready to be installed and when completed the superheater header should be ready for installation. We can also report that the boiler cradle is ready for lifting off the engine units, as the estimated weight is about 15 tons we can use our 30 ton crane to complete this task. It will be set up level in front of the change over boiler to facilitate the installation of the change over boiler as funds permit.


Alan Gardner

Click HERE for the latest photos of the project.

Ron has also made some good progress at Eveleigh, here is his note and a pic of the cab...

Hi Guys,

I finished the exterior painting yesterday and have ground off rusted parts in the arch on the tender side. I also removed one of the bent safety rails and started to grind off one of the rusted sills above it.

Looking forward to seeing the 59er steaming up here this week.

Cheers,



Ron Denholm

NEXT WORK DAY REMINDER

1000 till about 1600
Near the overhead gantry
CANBERRA RAILWAY MUSEUM
Saturday 1 November

ALL WELCOME, workers especially so!

New Photos

Howard Moffat has just uploaded some photos from the early days of the project, check them out here to see how far we have progressed in 12 months.