401 winter maintenance update

Work hasn't stopped on 401 over the past week...volunteers have been busy removing the locos blastpipe in order to burn out the carbon. This photo shows the plates that fit around the blastpipe in the smokebox successfully removed

Showing where the plates pictured above are fitted, here the blastpipe base/flanges are exposed prior to hoovering the remaining ash/soot

Michael underneath. Unfortunately, the nuts and bolts that hold the blastpipe in place were fitted with the nuts underneath, thus began a very long drawn out battle with the seized nuts and bolts...

This photo and the one below show the space in which we had to work underneath, making it very difficult to hammer seized bolts out. Both of these photos were taken after the blast pipe was re-fitted, hence why there are bolt heads fitted in these photos

The successfully removed blastpipe was taken outside to have its carbon burned out

It was first burnt on its side, as shown, and then lifted up vertical to finish it off

The base after it had been cleaned up

Blastpipe back in place

Michael uses a plumb bob, or plumb line, to ascertain the blastpipe is properly in line with the chimney

View from the top

The before photo, showing the blastpipe full of carbon build-up. And the after photo of it nice and cleaned out

One of the other winter maintenance tasks has been to make and fit all new worsted trimmings at all oiling points

The drain cocks have also been off for some attention

Dismantled and cleaned, the taper plug was then lapped into the body and polished up before being reassembled and re-fitted to the cylinder

The drain cocks control rod was bent down at its end slightly to allow it to have some more travel, which in turn hopefully allows the drains to shut better

Michael turning a new pin for the rod pictured above

Re-fitting the drain cocks and linkages to the LHS cylinder

The weekends cleaning party, here Jean and Katie are cleaning the bottom end and Joe up top is polishing the tank

Rob cleaning the other side

Michael dismantling the RHS gauge glass drain valve which wasn't fully closing, causing the boiler to very slowly lose water

The eccentric cam that is fitted to the valve spindle...

...the cam lifts the valve on the right onto the face on the left. The valve itself had a tiny lump of grit in one of its flutes, this was removed, the valve rebuild and it is now fully closing successfully

Another task, Michael makes a slight adjustment to one of the centre firebars that was jamming on one of the rear firebars when they were being operated, which was preventing them from fully rocking