Winter maintenance on 401

Winter maintenance continued on 401 today with the removal of the chimney seal ring to replace the packing after it had been reported to be passing at the chimney base over the past few months

The ejector exhaust pipe was also removed to allow easier removal of the seal ring, this gave a good opportunity to give it a good cleanout. Carl can also be seen in this photo making a new gasket for the pipe

The chimney seal fitted with new rope packing after it had been cleaned up with a wire brush. What is left of the old packing can be seen just above the ring

The inner firebox side sheets, tubeplate and firebars also received a sweep/cleanout

It was also reported that the LHS cylinder lubricator was passing steam at the joint, this photo shows where the lubricator is fitted to the cylinder. The lubricator itself is pictured below

The lubricator wasn't particularly a tight fit and had damaged threads, therefore adding more washers, unfortunately, didn't give a tighter fit. A collar, or extension, is also fitted to this lubricator, which presumably is from a repair made some years ago

The task has been given to our volunteer machinist, George. Seen here removing the thread extension with a plan to make a new one soon