Carriage Update December 2023

With no Wednesday sessions for a few weeks, both carriages have been transferred into the Workshop Compound. Individual team members intend to work the occasional day with the aim of getting primer/undercoat onto the lower woodwork on 61BW. While 30BCPL should see its underframe and bogies pressure washed and possibly painted black. Some other internal tasks will also be completed.

30 BCPL

Externally, the concertina curtains have been completed and tail discs have been installed. The Masonite underlay on the floor is nearing completion (see photo). We need the help of someone with skills in vinyl laying or know of someone with these skills who is prepared to assist at no cost (we would supply the vinyl and any other materials). Contact us through the website or leave a comment on the blog.

Inside of 30 BCPL – note the new Masonite on the floor

61 BW

All the timber on the lower side panels has been stripped and sanded and is close to receiving primer/undercoat. Some timber repairs have already been done and the roof works continue.

Seat Refurbishment: Recently, Tony has completed a rebuild of one of the long seat bases out of 63BW. He has done this using the traditional methods that he learned with the NSW Railways. Springs have been straightened, the original horsehair has been washed and reused, and it was finished with new hessian and vinyl covering. Twenty-six hours of work but we are sure you will agree that the difference is spectacular!!

Seat for 61BW before repairs

Seat for 61BW after repairs

Thank you for your support through out 2023. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

J549 – Update 48

This is the last update for 2023. The next update will be around 9 January

THIS AND LAST WEEKS ACHIEVEMENTS – week ending 22 December 2023.

Tasks completed were:

• The fire brick works in the firebox have now been completed.
• The fire cement in the smokebox has been completed.
• More works on fitting up the cladding sheets around the firebox.

The completed brickworks in the firepan.

The smokebox ready for the cement – the rags in the tubes are to mimise heat loss when heating the boiler water for the hydro testing, the flues will also be “blocked” off as well.

The completed floor cement in the smokebox.

CURRENT PRIORITIES –

• Seal welding of the new tubes after successful hydrostatic test.
• Complete the lagging of the boiler and refit cladding.
• Start rebuilding the internals of the smokebox.
• Make the covers for the steam delivery pipes.
• Continue with the tender and cab repainting

Thank you for your support and we all look forward to the J coming to life early in 2024. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

K160 – Christmas BBQ

Please find photos below of the Christmas BBQ at Newport held on Saturday with a bit of show and tell from Mick.

K160 UPDATE – DECEMBER 2023

We have done it!! -see photographs whereby the boiler is now back in the frame.  This is a very significant milestone achieved in the restoration of K160 and a great credit to all that have worked so hard to get to this point.

J549 – Update 47

THIS WEEKS ACHIEVEMENTS – week ending 8 December 2023.

As you can read on the civil blog first the telehandler and then the big digger took up time again this week but we hope this is end of it for a time.

Tasks completed again were:

• More work on installing the fire bricks in the firebox
• More works on fitting up the cladding sheets around the firebox.

The side fire bricks being fitted – there is a lot of cutting/fiiting for the corners and around the air inlets. The drawing that is being followed is at the back of the photo.

Drivers side back corner.

CURRENT PRIORITIES –

• Complete the firebricks in the firebox.
• Hydro static test of boiler to 225psi.
• Seal welding of the new tubes after successful hydrostatic test.
• Complete the lagging of the boiler and refit cladding.
• Start rebuilding the internals of the smokebox.
• Make the covers for the steam delivery pipes.
• Continue with the tender and cab repainting.

J549 – Update 46 – Plus Carriage Update

THIS & LAST WEEKS ACHIEVEMENTS – week ending 1 December 2023.

More works on civil branch machines has impacted progress a little in the last two weeks.

Tasks completed were:

• Floor of the firepan has been poured.
• The firebricks are being installed around the front and sides – a lot of trial fitting and cutting to do this.
• More works on size checking and fitting up the cladding sheets around the firebox.
• The tender has had top coats applied and looks magnificent.

New fire cement floor for the firepan.

The tender after the first top coat.

Tender after the second top coat – one more to go.

CURRENT PRIORITIES –

• Install the firebricks in the firebox.
• Hydro static test of boiler to 225psi
• Seal welding of the new tubes after successful hydrostatic test.
• Complete the lagging of the boiler and refit cladding.
• Start rebuilding the internals of the smokebox.
• Make the covers for the steam delivery pipes.
• Continue with the tender and cab repainting

CARRIAGE UPDATE

Excellent progress has taken place over the past six weeks by the Maldon carriage crew, helped along with better weather. 30BCPL is externally complete except for signage and the concertina curtains on the connecting doors are now complete. Internally, the floor has been sanded to smooth out the ridges with painting completed under the seats. The current task is installing Masonite underlay which will take a few weeks and the vinyl has arrived. All doors and locks are operating. An additional seat has been installed in the guard’s compartment for trainee guards.

It is pleasing to report that 61 BW is now receiving a lot of attention. Riley has removed much of the aluminium moulding around the base of the roof along with the canvas. The Wednesday crew is has cleaned off the graffiti from the windows and sides and are now stripping the timber back to bare wood prior to sanding and wood repairs. We have swapped two of the good bench seats from this carriage with torn ones out of 63BW. Tony has had to rebuild the springs prior in these before recovering them.

Recently, we received a visit from John Cole’s family who donated us a significant number of very useful tools out of John’s workshop. John’s impact on carriage maintenance will continue well into the future!

Photo 1: Rob and Len fitting concertina curtain to the pass end of 30BCPL

Photo 2: John doing the onerous task of scraping layers of paint off 61BW

K160 Update – November 2023

Our fitter has been very busy in the month of November.  In the early part of the month work involved removing and straightening the bent compressor valve shaft, repairing the damaged thread and fitting the lubricator steam T pipe, removing the super heater manifold and replacing a damaged stud, cleaning an anneal copper gasket and refitting the manifold, work on the manifold stud threads and bolting in the top access cover to the smoke box, servicing the remaining studs for the grate support mounts, cleaning and inspecting the speedo gear box, mounting the new box for the speedo gear box, locating various components that needed cleaning and assembling the butterfly doors and mounting on the boiler and fitting the regulator handle and a further test fit of the ashpan.

Then later in the month a number of components that were stored at Maldon were loaded onto four pellets and transported to Newport which included the seven rocking grates, four brake compressor beams, seven brake hangers and eight long rods.  The new grate has been fitted and it looks absolutely fantastic.  We are now very close to putting the boiler back on the frame and the final fitting of the ashpan.  As always our volunteer workforce has been busy cleaning and preparing various components for final assembly. 

We will be having a BBQ for our volunteers and those involved at Newport on Saturday 16 December 2023 commencing at 12 noon to celebrate the year’s achievements and to see Christmas in.  Peter Lorenz has also finalised a t-shirt that will be available to those that have been involved in the project which will record all the work done by both VGR and SRV and we hope to have these t-shirts available in February for distribution. 

As always, if you want to be involved in the project please contact John Hoy (0419 372 696) and Peter Lorenz (0429 961 150).

There are a number of photographs attached to this blog which relate to the work described above during the month of November.

Anneal Manifold Gasket

Bent Compressor Shaft

Cleaned Speedo & Butterfly pieces

Drilling Dump Shaft Wiper

Dump assembly fitted

Make new Boss.

Manifold in & Roof shut.

Milling the Dump Shaft

Missing components in poor condition

Repairing Support Bars

Straight Compressor Shaft

Stripping Butterfly Doors.

Support Bars Fixed

Items collected from Maldon

Items collected from Maldon

Volunteer Work

Volunteer Work

Design of T-Shirt

New grate