Work has continued on the frames but the winter weather has made it very difficult to maintain progress. In the bad weather, when we have been able to get to the Park, we have worked on smaller parts (cleaning and painting) in the Workshop
The new pins and bushes for four of the flexible stretchers have been made up and are ready for re-fitting. The left hand centre hornguide has been removed and James Kidd has repaired and tidied this up. Tony Funnell found that the holes in the hornguide for the pins in the flexible stretchers were slightly oval so, as the hornguide was off the frame, he was able to put it up on the borer to make them round again. This hornguide should now be back on the frames and the other one removed for similar treatment. The rust behind the first one removed was considerable so taking them off was the only option.
The drawing for the rear dragbox has been obtained so we will be able to get some quotes in for fabricating a new one. This will be done as a contract job in order to save time.
I have recently received a quote for a pressed front tubeplate for the boiler, so that is yet another option to consider as up to now we thought that fabrication was the only choice in terms of cost. A pressed tubeplate (how it was done originally) may be the preferred option as it is likely to last longer than a fabrication.
The driving wheels are still at the South Devon Railway and, along with our Secretary, Steve Loeber, I paid them a visit back in January to discuss progress. Now that one driving wheel is off, the sticking point has been removing the bearing from the axle: this is necessary in order to get the cannon box off so that it can be repaired. We have agreed that the work needs to be finished soon so South Devon Engineering plan to complete it during April. The worst case scenario is that two new bearings might be required if the old ones have to be cut off ( they are still available at a cost of around £3000 each) but we are trying our best not to spend that sort of money if it can be avoided. The bearing that can be seen looks as good as new so it would be a great shame to have to scrap it.
As usual, we could always do with more help working on Camelot: I am down at Sheffield Park most weekends, so if you want to help, give me a call on 01494 523948 or email peter_gibbs@yahoo.com to check which days the working parties are taking place.
We are still working on Camelot's frames and have removed four of the six cross stays or flexible stretchers. The new pins and bushes for these are being made up and, once these are re-fitted, the other two will be removed and dealt with in the same way. The fixed stretcher which sits above the main driving wheels has been removed as it was evident that rust between the flanges of this and the frames were pushing the frames outwards by 5/8 inch - contributing to the rubbing of the centre driving wheels on the frames. The force that can be generated by rust was demonstrated by the fact that two of the rivets had broken. Removing this stretcher has shown that there is also corrosion behind the hornguides for the centre drivers - these are one-piece castings which go above the gaps in the frames as well as holding the axlebox guide on each side. One of these guides has been removed and is being cleaned up and repaired prior to re-rivetting.
Inspection of the rear dragbox have led us to the conclusion that this item has corroded so much that it will have to be removed and replaced. We knew it wasn't in great condition when we restored Camelot 20-odd years ago but it was good enough at the time. A further 10 years in service has brought more deterioration so we will make sure it is in good nick for the next spell in service. Weakness in this area can be a problem as the top of the dragbox supports the weight of the boiler at the firebox end!
So there is still a lot of work to do on the frames, much of it not very visible, but all essential to making sure Camelot is reliable when back in traffic.
The driving wheels are still at the South Devon Railway and work on the bearings is under way. The bogie wheels have been returned to Sheffield Park after profiling and were reunited with the bogie frames for the 50th Anniversary weekend when they formed part of a lifting demonstration in the Workshop. The frames were painted gloss black by Workshop volunteers and two of our own volunteers made a good job of cleaning up the copper lubrication pipework, so it looked very smart. The bogie has since been dismantled but the clearances have all been checked and little further work is required before final reassembly.
Various fittings have been looked at by volunteers in the Workshop and most have been found to be in good condition - they were nearly all new last time around - so they will just need fettling up before refitting.
Our bogie wheels have been re-profiled at the South Devon Railway and they will be returned to the Park when convenient - this will allow us to get on with overhauling and reassembling the bogie. The driving wheels have been retyred but have not yet been profiled as work on the roller bearings still has to be carried out. In order to work on the roller bearings, a wheel has to be pressed off of each axle for the box to be removed. The South Devon took delivery of a wheel press at the end of February and will be able to do this work once the press has been installed .
This work is necessary because the engineers at the South Devon have concluded that the excessive sideplay in the cannon boxes on two of the wheelsets is due to wear in the cannon boxes – the bearings themselves appear to still be in good condition. The solution is to remove a wheel, slide off the cannon box, build up the cannon box where required with weld and machine back to the correct dimensions. At the same time, the bearings will be cleaned, checked and repacked with grease before reassembly. The grease in the boxes is very dirty, probably because of rust on the inside of the cannon box and on the axle, so all three wheelsets will be done, even though the third one does not have excessive sideways movement. It is likely that some of the grease dates back to the early 1960s as pumping in fresh grease does not displace all of the old lubricant, especially mid-way along the axle.
The new smokebox has been undercoated and, when the weather allows, a start will be made on fitting the rings at both ends - one is the door ring, the other fits round the boiler barrel.
During the winter we have continued to clean up and paint various components and put them away so that they are ready for when we start reassembly. The locomotive frames have had some attention as we have started to clean up and paint the outsides and the spring hangers.
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 .
