Positioned like this, the chimney is out of the shed, so it doesn't fill with smoke, but the engine is close to the work bench for easy access to tools and a vice.
After more than three weeks’ work, 70013 is ready to return to traffic after her scheduled maintenance period – early (well, when the fitters came back from the test run this afternoon they had just over 24 hours spare before the engine is needed for the Bonfire Night train tomorrow).
Dave Wright feeling round after the test run.
One of the first jobs this morning was to roll the engine out of the shed for coal so that she could be lit up: during the maintenance period her tender coal space was emptied, cleaned out and re-painted with bitumastic paint, the first job once steam was up was to go to the water column to re-fill the tank because another task was to change the tender springs, so the tank was emptied to lighten the load to facilitate the removal of the springs. Most of the morning, while steam was being raised, was spent finishing up the renewal of the taper cotters and collars for the valve gear.
Shiny new coal space.
70013 has been undergoing a valve & piston exam, I mentioned in an earlier posting that this involves much measuring and writing of measurements on scraps of paper, well I was wrong there: yesterday it was so windy at the front of the shed that all the little scraps of paper kept blowing away, so in desperation, Dave Wright & Hugh Milton resorted to writing the important measurements on the 5305 LA official whiteboard on the grounds that it probably wouldn’t blow away, and if it did, they would probably be able to find it more easily than a scrap of paper.
Dave Wright (Locomotive Maintenance Services) believes in making notes of what work has been done, and what is still to do; and he believes in keeping the notes close to the work, so at the moment 70013 is wearing an interesting set of hieroglyphics on her motion – but don’t worry, it will clean off when the motion is next cleaned – just woe-betide any cleaner who removes notes without checking that they are surplus to requirements!
Visible in this picture are some yellow measurements on the slidebars, and other parts of the motion.
During the 3 ½ week maintenance period for the Brit you would be forgiven for assuming that nothing else has been happening on 5305la projects – but you would be wrong: the Wednesday evening gang have been cracking on with the coach, they were there again this evening – thanks guys!, the five continues to progress, today’s task included layering up paint on the axlebox covers, and Harry was white-metalling one of the axleboxes. Meanwhile, across the shed, the raw castings for the return-bends for Lamiel’s new superheater elements have arrived and are being tapped out.