Latest News...
26 & 27 January 08 - GWS, Didcot
A steady rate of progress continues to be made on the jobs at hand with most of the major jobs well underway. On the cylinder cover repair all the motion on the right hand side has now been removed, along with the front cylinder cover and the piston. Both the eccentric rods have been removed along with the left hand expansion link. Once the right hand expansion link is taken down they will both be sent away for new die blocks to be manufactured. Also going away will be the left hand eccentric strap of re-metaling. In the smokebox, the floor is now up and the blastpipe ready to be removed. Once this is out we will get a better idea of it's condition.
These items represent the "big" jobs so to speak, but there are several smaller jobs to turn our attention to while items are away. Sunday saw a visit by our Vehicle Acceptance Boby representative to discuss several matters, meet people and give the loco a look over. Everything proved to be satisfactory at this point ready for the next stage in the process towards re-certification.
As usual, here are some photo's from the weekend...
19 & 20 January 08 - GWS, Didcot
Another excellent turnout of working party members means we're slowly chipping away at the list of jobs to do. Work on taking down the drivers side outside motion is underway with several of the lads getting the cladding off the cylinder and splitting the piston & crosshead ready for removal. Work in the smokebox continued with most of the concrete floor taken up in order to release the blastpipe casting which needs examining & possible work. Also the air pump exhaust pipe has been removed to be replaced. The locomotive's valve gear is due some attention during this maintenance window and this work also got underway with the removal of both reach rod die blocks and the left hand eccentric strap & rod.
On the bolier side of things, Martyn Bane has written some more on his finding this weekend, here's what he had to say and some photo's from the weekend...
“The internal inspection of the boiler found all to be in order. Internally the boiler surfaces did not look especially different to how they did when last examined on 01 July 2007. This can be explained very simply – the initial phase of “dramatic” descaling is more or less at an end. That is the easy to remove and not especially old or hard scale has been almost completely removed, what remains is old, hard and relatively resistant to removal. In time this will be removed by the action of the water treatment leaving the boiler scale free. How long this will take is hard to predict but things are moving in the right direction. The scale samples collected the previous weekend (during the washout) included a good number of thick chunks of the sort around the base of crown and other stays so this scale is slowly coming away. During the inspection it was found, when hitting this type of scale (where still in place) that most would not come away from the stays but some did. No deterioration through the action of corrosion was recorded, as would be expected. The almost total removal of oxygen from the boiler water by the Quebracho tannin (which also inhibits caustic embrittlement, as demonstrated in the USA in the 1940s) coupled to the relatively high concentration of sodium carbonate (also known as soda ash or washing soda) ensures corrosion is inhibited.
The boiler surfaces show different levels of grey/black “protective” material deposition. This material being one element of the corrosion protection mechanism. The current unevenness is not unexpected at this stage of the treatment. However as it further develops the covering will become much more even and complete. It is worth remembering the treatment is not yet into its second year of application. No water treatment is an overnight, quick fix. Even the best systems take a while to reach optimal performance and each case is different. For example 5 years into the application of Porta Treatment to FCAF No.3 ‘ Camila’ (in Argentina) old scale was still being removed from the boiler, this being a function of the awful condition of the boiler prior to the treatment’s implementation. Thankfully 6024’s boiler was already in relatively good order before the treatment started but the irregular use of the loco (unlike the daily use at FCAF) means the descaling process etc is slower than it would otherwise be, however it is important to point out that the treatment continues to work when the boiler is cold but at slower rates.”
12 & 13 January 08 - GWS, Didcot
The winter maintenance programme got underway on Saturday with the cleaning of the smokebox, firebox & ashpan. This also included the start of removing the brick arch, which had come to the end of it's life after just over 3 years.
On Sunday, the main task at hand was the boiler washout. As well as being a regular activity, this was the latest chance for Martyn Bane to check on the progress of the Porta Treatment in use in the boiler. Martyn was very happy with the results of the washout and the progress of the treatment. A small update report is include below from Martyn, while a more detailed report will come after further inspections inside the boiler are conducted this coming weekend. Elsewhere, the removal of the brick arch was completed and also all of the loco's gauges have been removed ready to be sent away for their annual re-certification.
Here's Martyn's report and some photo's from the washout...
"The loco was washed out on Sunday 13 January 2008 for the first time since 30 June 2007. The water showing in the gauge glass, when running, suggested the treatment was performing well so expectations were high for the washout. Whilst a full inspection has yet to be undertaken the optimism seems to have been fell founded. No sticky or adherent mud was found in the boiler at all. When the drain valve was opened water flowed freely, immediately, and with a strong chocolate brown colour (given by the tannin used). The water which drained was laden with fully mobile mud which simply washed out under gravity and that which was left in the boiler washed out with no more than water pressure. At each successive washout on the treatment regime the amount of scale removed has decreased as the amount to remove decreases and also much of which remains is older, harder to remove scale. Small, brittle and broken up pieces of scale were sat on the foundation ring to the height of one stay from the ring all the way around. This scale washed out with water pressure, in other words it was not hard packed or causing a significant water circulation problem when in steam. Its nature suggested under steaming conditions much of the scale would actually have entered suspension as the boiler water rapidly circulated, which was suspected during the last few months again based on what was showing in the gauge glass"
5 January 07 -Bescot TMD - Great Western Society, Didcot
On Saturday, 6024 moved to the Great Western Society's Didcot base for it's winter maintenance programme. Just the engine and water wagon undertook the move, with the support coach going away to Derby by road later this month for specialist work.