Like a house of cards

Saturday morning saw Mike Riddley, Mike and Peter Reynell turn up to take advantage of the comfortable work area in the Eveleigh large erecting shop.

Today saw more than a little progress on the cab. In the past, nearly all the work has concentrated on removing years of built up corrosion and muck from the panels so that the damage can be identified and assessed.

We finally have given up trying to do the repair work in situ, and the decision was made to reduce the cab to smaller sub-assemblies so that the panels can be repaired properly and the corrosion that has until now been trapped between the riveted components can be removed properly.

With a few rows of rivets and bolts removed, the cab quickly fell apart like a heavy house of cards. The rear panel of the cab took five or six people to lift onto trestles.

The roof vents were also liberated from the roof panel so that they can be repaired separately before being refitted to the new roof.

Over the next few weeks, replacement components will be arranged so that the corroded areas can be removed and new metal welded back in. There is a new roof to be cut and rolled, the angles that mount the cab to the loco frame will need to be replaced, and some paneling around the windows will need attention.

It seems like a lot of work, considering that it just a cab, but once it is finished, I doubt it will need to be touched for another 20 or 30 years.

Sunday 21 June 2009

The start to the day was significantly delayed due very wet conditions that did not clear until midday. After the weather cleared David and Alf salvaged the useful parts off the unserviceable super heater elements.

Barry Peffer having returned from his overseas work, was reunited with the needle gun on the boiler cradle. Shaun Barker continued with the strip down and assessment of the front pivot. Gavin and Paul jacked up and removed the first of the four bogies revealing many years of grime and rust. As a result of this the leading unit is now a 4,8,0 and will soon be an 0,8,0. As suspected the lateral control springs will have to be send out for reconditioning.

Peter went out on the local steam train to Bungendore to sell raffle tickets, thanks Peter! Bruce drove down from Sydney to measure up the compressor bores confirming that they are within specification. Bruce also gave us a look at the great work he is dong with the power reverser and has promised some photos for the blog.

Our next work day is Saturday the 4th of July and Super week will start on Monday the 6th of July.

Alan Gardner.

Attendees...

Alan Gardner

Peter Reynell

Gavin Woolf

Paul Quinn

Shaun Barker

Jake Barker

Barry Peffer

David Villiers

Alf Spiteri

There has been some new content added to the history channel...Check it out here

a nice shade of grey..

The contractors have been in and completed the sandblasting and priming of the bunker, and what a difference it makes!

Progress report..... Saturday 13 June

AT Eveleigh; in the Large Erecting Shop, "Cabin Boy" Ron Denholm and I liberated some 55 year old rust from the area around the Firemans side door and window where the outside plating had buckled from the internal pressure. Fortunately the frame work has not deteriorated as much as has the plate work, so repair will be relatively easy.

IN Canberra the rear bunker has been sandblasted and undercoated in a trendy shade of grey by a contractor, so there is another painting job.

Photos when they come to hand.

Next Canberra work Day SUNDAY 21 June

Saturday 6 June Canberra workday

Another fantastic turnout, another productive day..although the wind chill factor in the afternoon reminded us that it IS winter, and that 40 degree celsius summer is now behind us.

Tasks undertaken included:

• more pressure washing, now about half way finished on the front engine unit; thanks again, Roger
• more painting, thanks Stu
• cross compound air compressor dismantled, with some challenges, including the b*****y thing creating a vacuum which made the removal of one piston a challenge; thanks Ian, Shaun, Shane and all the other expert advisers.
• removal of the pivot bearing at the front end of the boiler cradle; thanks to Marc, Kyle and John [and again, more experts]

AND , to show that we do not only pull things apart, the compressor was test fitted to the smokebox to prove that the new support plate will work.

In attendance:
Alan Gardner
Al's mate Graham Kidgell from the little railway near Melbourne
Peter Reynell
Shane Bollard
Shaun Barker
Ian Senini
Marc Millar
Mike Ridley
Stu Edwards
Kyle Rollinson
John Kempton
Roger Maynard
Also on site were Lindsay Richmond, who made lunch, thanks Oldmate; Paul Quinn, vibrating on a bogie frame;
Andy D, Jack Barker, Gav W. ; Dave and Keith Malcolm lighting 3016 for todays' Bungendore train, and David Villiers as cleaner and polisher.

Next workdays

• at Eveleigh..Saturday 13 June...contact peter@project6029.com for access and job details.
• at Kingston [Canberra Railway Museum] Sunday 21 June

The next Superweek is planned to commence on the 4th of July, the anniversary of the first workday, and then 6-10th of July.

MHG Workvan

Barry Peffer has been working to clean up the MHG brake van to prepare it for our use as a work and breakdown van. Here are a few pictures showing his progress. The pictures as usual are taken by Howard Moffat, our staff photographer, who is doing a great job of recording the faces and progress being made on this project.

Thursday 28th May 2009.

The quiet achievers. 

Work has been progressing between our weekend workdays at a steady pace. We now have 30 brand new superheater elements installed thanks to Gavin and Ian. David Malcolm  has arranged to borrow an element tester from our friends at the RTM. This will facilitate the high pressure testing of the required 20 elements that will have to be re conditioned. This  will make up the complete  set of 50. We will also take the opportunity to repair and test the spare elements while we have the test equipment on site.

Ian has also completed the rebuild on the bottom smoke box front plate and has now moved onto the replacement bracket and plate work for the air compressor mount. If this is not enough Ian is also making the new the sheet metal pockets for the wash out plugs at home. Well done and a big thankyou to Ian.

Between his bus driving shifts, Stuart has been dropping in to apply the many coats of paint required on the boiler cradle. Thanks to his efforts and the weekend crew  we should see the boiler cradle work completed in June. A great team effort.

After the boiler cradle we intend to start work on the four bogies as we are already  aware that the lateral control springs will require a rebuild. Typically when bogies are stripped down all of the working components tend to yield a lot of work for all concerned. So we anticipate many hours of crack testing, weld repair and even replacement of some components.

The air compressor strip down has commenced with the bottom cover removed. Again 20 plus years of inaction has every bolt resisting until the last turn. It was planned to send out the two piston rods for hard chroming, however a close inspection has revealed that the railways applied this previously.

The regulator rod will be sent out for hard chroming shortly, as when the fitting of the  superheater elements is completed the regulator will have to be fitted to facilitate the  planed hydrostatic and steam tests.

Our next workday is Saturday 6 June. Yes winter already.

Alan Gardner

Workday Report 18 May 2009

Work on 6029 progressed rapidly this week as we completed three consecutive days on the project.

Friday 15 May.

Gavin and Ian held their regular Friday session with the installation of 10 new superheater elements. Lindsay Richmond also helped out with the heavy lifting, thanks Lindz. The last job for the day was to lift the smoke box front plate into position.

Saturday 16May

The Eveleigh work team removed the life expired roof off the cab revealing many years of rust and subsequent damage. Mike will complete a full set of CAD drawings to outsource the construction of new roof sheets.

Sunday 17 May.

The installation of the smoke box front plate was completed by Ian and old mate Alan Kent. The bottom plate attachment was yielding some problems, however Ian has assured us that it will be sorted out next week. After the last of the new elements were removed from the storage van, Marc started to clean of each ball end for installation next Friday.

The donated workbenches were reassembled and we now have four workstations that will assist with the repair and rebuild of the many small components. Gavin has sourced a six inch vice that we can install on one of the benches. Wow!!

The Boiler cradle is staring to look like a new one as Stuart, Howard, and just about everyone is having a go with the re paint. Gavin and Peter removed the water delivery pipes revealing some active corrosion that will require some major surgery.

Our next work day will be Saturday the 6th of June and work will continue on the boiler cradle.

We will now be holding weekly workdays every Friday, so if you have the time to help out please come along . Lunch is BYO and Gavin will be supervisor for all mid week work and if you intended coming along please let him know in advance.

Alan Gardner.

The Cab in Eveleigh

These photos by Steve Preston, show that the cab is now without a roof, and its removal shows the corrosion and damage caused by years of neglect. A large amount of metal will need to be replaced before the cab is reunited with the frames, which should happen in a few months.