Regular working parties have taken place nearly every Sunday down at Sheffield Park. Work has concentrated on cleaning and painting various parts, for example the driving wheel spring pads, all twelve of them, have been taken apart, cleaned and rubbed down and painted up from red oxide to gloss black. Quite a task in itself and the restored items are a big improvement from the state they were in when taken off the locomotive.
The driver’s glare shield has received attention with an electric wire brush and has been painted. The boiler cladding at first sight appeared to be in poor (rusty) condition, however once Phil and Mark, two of our regulars, got to work with the electric wire brush and sanders, the deterioration proved to be superficial and now two complete sections are finished with red oxide.
The welding repair to the chimney at Slinden Services has been finished and this item and the repaired ejector exhaust ring were collect early in July and returned to Sheffield Park. In conjunction with the Mid–Hants Railway (for their Standard 5 73096), six new 6’ 2” driving wheel tyres have been ordered for Camelot. An expensive buy, leaving little change out of £20,000 for the complete job, but essential as our existing tyres are close to scrapping size, having seen many miles of service. So clearly lots has been going on, whilst we waited for the lift of the frames off the wheels.
The big day came at last on Thursday 21st May. Many Camelot stalwarts turned out at short notice to work alongside our close friends and fellow preservationists in the Maunsell Locomotive Society to put their S15 847 back on her wheels and take Camelot apart; placing our frames in the space vacated by 847 in the yard at Sheffield Park. Quite a task! We turned up at 8.00 am and already the impressive crane had arrived and was ready for action. By lunchtime 847, after an initial reluctance of the front driving axle boxes to go back in the frames, finally stood back on the rails. A real milestone for the Maunsell Society.
Earlier in the morning we had unbolted the axlebox horn stays and shunted the loco. into place next to the crane. The actual lift could not have been easier, any fears of jammed wheelsets in the frames were dispelled as the frame lifted cleanly into the air, leaving a bogie and three sets of wheels behind. The loco. frames were placed on jacks and packing and the wheelsets were rolled into place, just to the side of the frames. The bogie was taken off the rails and also placed alongside. All was finished by 5.00 pm, a big step forward for the overhaul.
However we do not rest on our laurels and the task of cleaning the frames started the next Sunday. The wheelsets are being water-jet cleaned to remove grease, prior to been sent to the South Devon Railway for fitting of new tyres and profiling. Some concerns have come to light concerning the sideplay of the cannon boxes between the wheels on two of the driving wheelsets (main and trailing) and this is being looked into with a view to sorting out the problem before the wheels are re-tyred.
The bogie has since been dismantled with the wheelsets and compensation beams being removed in early July. The cab has been removed from the frames and placed on timbers so that we can work on it more easily.
We welcome all the new working members who have rallied to the cause and are helping out. At times we have had as many as seven people working on the frames. Why not give it a try? There is a lot to do and no great technical skills are required, just a willingness to get a bit dirty and perhaps make the tea! A boiler suit or overalls and, importantly, steel toe-capped boots are required. We will be working most Sundays, so come and see us at the Park or email to chairman@73082-camelot.com .
