Tag Archives: working parties

Campaigns, Component Sponsorship, Engineering Update, Other News

Autumn Engineering Update

Autumn Engineering Update

 

Welcome to this autumn engineering update from the General Steam Navigation project.  Progress has been made on various engineering fronts on the project over the past few months and with some of our background efforts about to bear fruit we’ll have some brilliant work to share over the coming months.

Boiler

The boiler tubes are gone! After many months of hard work by our small band of volunteers, the job is done. Work has continued on removing rust from the inside of the firebox, descaling the inside of the boiler, and generally cleaning the inside of the boiler and firebox ahead of a planned inspection later this year. Still to do is sourcing the right tool for removing the thermal-syphon inspection plugs, so that we can wash out the boiler, and then plan the inspection.

Crank axle

Progress with the crank axle has been limited in the past few months; geopolitical events has caused the price of steel to become volatile, after discussions with our friends in the B17 project & A1 Steam Trust, with whom we were planning to place a group order for A4T forgings for the stub axles, we are pausing the ordering process until we have greater certainty over the price. Whilst it is disappointing to not be placing an order for these crucial parts of our locomotive, it feels more prudent to wait, saving us money in the long run. During this self-imposed delay, we are using the time to produce the engineering justification for manufacture of the stub axles in A4T & the sweep webs in 817m40, so that when we are happy with prices, we can proceed.

Frames

Work on the frames continues at a good pace with our volunteers working hard to clean up the frames in preparation for assessment of their condition. With over 50 years of grime to remove on the frames its not a particularly glamorous job but is very important and we are extremely grateful to all our hard workers. We have also removed the brake cylinders from the frames as they wont be required for an original condition Merchant Navy. The cylinders will be cleaned up and stored should a rebuilt Bulleid require them in the future.

Sponsorship component of the month

For those that want to make a more tangible contribution towards putting the steam back in General Steam Navigation we have relaunched the ‘Component Sponsorship’ scheme.

Each month the Society will highlight one particular component. The scheme will allow generous sponsors to cover the cost of individual parts that range from few pounds to several thousands.

Our generous sponsors will receive a certificate describing the part sponsored, be named on the roll of honour on this website and gracious thanks from all those who wish to see General Steam Navigation back in operation.

This month we are starting with the steam chest covers for the outside cylinders. The steam chest covers are a relativity simple component to produce being machined from plate steel.  35011 will require 4 of these in total with the covers being fitted to the front and rear of the cylinder on both sides .The cost of these covers are £250 each. For a full list of the currently available component and how to sponsor them please visit the component sponsorship page. 

Draughting


The question that has been asked a few times, both within our project, and outside it, is why we are considering modifications to the exhaust, especially as Bulleid pacifics had a reputation for being free-steaming, if hungry locomotives. The reason is buried in that last statement. Consider how a steam locomotive, especially its combustion system works: exhausting steam in the smokebox produces a draught, sucking air into the firebox for the coal to burn. How much air the locomotive supplies to the fire will impact its fuel combustion. Too little, and you have rich combustion, which releases a lot of heat from the coal, but at the expense of high fuel consumption. Too much air, and you have overly lean combustion, which is cleaner (less production of carbon monoxide), but it can lead to high fuel consumption as well, as the extra air cools the hot air from the fire, reducing the heat transferred to the water in the boiler, meaning more coal is needed to be burnt to produce the same heat transfer to the steam. The reputation, coupled with data from the Rugby reports, suggests that at most of the steaming rates GSN is likely to operate, the combustion is too rich. The perfect air:fuel mass ratio for stochiometric combustion of coal is approximately 11.2:1. It is normal to supply more air than is necessary, to ensure all of the fuel sees sufficient air, normal practise for combustion of coal is to have approximately 30% extra air, so the ratio becomes 14.6:1. Data from the Rugby reports show the original locomotives ran with a ratio of between 11:1 & 17:1, with drop off in performance for steaming rates above 18,000lb/hr, which is where we can expect to operate. The rebuilt design exhaust was much less variable to incomplete combustion, and had higher air:fuel ratio. The data also suggests that these locomotives need to run with significant excess air, far more than the 30% recommendation. The rebuilt design can actually be seen to be broadly similar to how 71000 operated in BR service, suggesting that we can achieve similar performance with 35011 if we can emulate the performance of 71000s twin Kylchap design. By redesigning the exhaust, we should be able to achieve two things: (1) maintain closer to 50% excess air across the power range, reducing fuel consumption and (2) increase the total flow area of the blast nozzles, reducing the cylinder back pressure.

Working Weekends

Our current plan for working weekends in 2022 is as follows:
15th /16th October
12th /13th November
10th /11th December
14th /15th January 2023
11th /12th February 2023
11th /12th March 2023

As always, any members who would be interested in being involved with the engineering of our project, please do get in touch. Our CME Dr Steve Rapley does need some support on the engineering of this project, especially at the moment with weld design, so if you have any experience in this area, please do get in touch. Similarly, if you have any question or comment on the Engineering report or the engineering in general, please do  get in touch at by email to Dr Steve Rapley here.

To help us achieve our goal of an original condition Merchant Navy we’ll need your help, you are able to support us in many ways if you are not already a Society member you can sign up for membership for currently only £15 per year here, or donate to the Society here, consider sponsoring a component here or even better become a shareholder here.

As always thank your for your continued support

Crank Axle, Engineering Update, Monthly updates

Spring Engineering Update

Spring Engineering Update

 

Boiler
Inside GSNs firebox (Rob Edwards)

Work continues on the boiler with the last of the remaining boiler tube  stubs being removed last month. A big thank you goes out to the sterling work by our volunteers (including Paul G, David O, Geoff A & Jack G) who completed this strenuous task. Work has started on removing rust from the inside of the firebox, descaling the inside of the boiler, and generally cleaning the inside of the boiler and firebox ahead of a planned inspection. It may seem that one paragraph seems like little progress on the boiler, but this work is very labour intensive, and with only a small band of volunteers takes time for the fruit of their labours to become apparent.

Crank Axle

The FEA on the original Crank Axle design shows failure as per the failure on 35020 in 1953.

An interesting fact that has come to light recently is clear evidence that the original design for the Merchant Navy had a balanced crank axle. This was mentioned briefly in the Crewkerne report, in going through drawings of the chain- driven valve gear, one early drawing clearly shows a balanced crank axle. There are no other drawings showing this, it is understood that an unbalanced design was introduced to reduce the weight of the locomotive, but it’s interesting to think what could have been, with a balanced crank axle, Crewkerne may never have happened, which was a key driver in the rebuilding process.

FEA of the balanced crank axle design as fitted to 35011 in 1954 with grade A4T steel showing no failure.

Progress on designing the crank axle continues, we have now converted the original drawing into an electronic CAD file. The next step with the axle will be to design the chain-driver sprocket, for which no drawing exists of one that would fit the balanced crank, and to start conversations with a forger & manufacturer to develop forging & manufacturing drawings.

 A question of balance

As progress continues with design work for the new crank axle, our thoughts are turning to the balancing design. As members will be aware, one of the changes that was obvious on a rebuilt Merchant Navy were the external balance weights on all 3 axles. Our plan is to remove the weight added in 1958 on the leading & trailing axles and rebalance the wheels with weight in the pockets again, if possible. We still need to decide on the shape & material of the coupling rods, which will impact on the amount of balancing needed on these axles, but aesthetically we want to restore that classic Bulleid appearance with no visible balancing. The central driving axle is another question. Originally the crank webs & inside connecting rod were balanced on the wheel rim, with a large plate on the rear face of the wheels and lead in the pockets. The question that arises is what would have been done to that lead when the balanced design was fitted to 35011 before rebuilding? At first inspection, one would think a significant amount of that lead would have simply been removed. However, it’s slightly more complicated than that. All steam 7 locomotives have an amount of balancing on their wheels, to counteract the rotating masses of the coupling and/or connecting rods, as well as, where necessary, the valve gear. Some locomotives, especially 2-cylinder designs, attempt to partially balance the reciprocating (backwards & forwards) masses, to reduce the front-end oscillation that occurs. This balancing can only be perfectly conducted for a given speed, so the engineer has to decide what speed to balance at, and the percentage of reciprocating masses balanced is usually limited to reduce the hammer-blow on the track from these additional rotating masses. Bulleid reasoned that for a 3-cylinder locomotive the reciprocating masses were to a certain extent self-balanced within the mechanics of the machine, as the longitudinal motion of one cylinder is always partially opposed by the other two, and so didn’t add any additional mass to balance the reciprocating forces. For stability purposes, rotating imbalances on one wheel were balanced on the other, so the left-hand balance weight balances the right-hand motion (and viceversa). By studying & understanding the designs for the original & rebuilt locomotives, we’ve managed to determine how to rebalance the driving axle; it will likely have slightly greater mass (approximately 1062 lbs vs. 942 lbs) on it than on the original design, but it will be at a different location (175° vs 140° from the crank); compared to the rebuilt design the location is similar, but the mass is reduced by around 6%. Geometrically, it can be seen how this works out in the drawing of the original design, by balancing the crank webs with counterweights, we have removed the line labelled middle (GH, the righthand side of the polygon), the closure line is then from A to G & is slightly longer than the line AH, at a shallower angle. The leading & trailing wheels from a mechanical perspective won’t need rebalancing, though from an aesthetic perspective we will plan to do this. We also plan to fit the plain rods that were fitted in 1956, as they have greater tensile strength and are less prone to bending. The next step with the balancing is finer detail; we need to determine the disposition of lead in the pockets to achieve the desired counterbalance. For the leading & trailing wheels, this is little more than a tweak to the original design. The central wheel needs some more design to determine the centre of gravity of the lead pockets and the balance weight plate, it is anticipated this will be completed in the coming weeks.

Frames update

A key event in the process of unrebuilding 35011 occurred at the November working weekend when, with the very welcome assistance of the Swindon & Cricklade Railway, and after many, many weekends of effort, the 5 large brackets that held the external valve gear & screw reverser were lifted off the frames. As we are planning to construct Bulleid’s chain drive valve gear (& fit a steam reverser) these brackets are now surplus to requirements. They are in excellent condition, so we are offering them for sale to any interested parties. By removing these, we made it easier to access other areas of the frame, and quickly removed the last of the brake blocks & arms from the leading & trailing axles. The plan now is to continue 10 removing all the parts hanging off the frames; later in 2022 we should then be able to lift the frames, releasing the leading bogie, leading axle & trailing axle. The leading bogie will then be assessed and prepared for professional restoration to mainline condition, whilst the driving wheels will be sent to South Devon Railway Engineering for rebalancing & profiling.

The newly removed components from GSN

In order to help fund the work on the frames the Society has started a Funding the Frames appeal that will be essential for the successful restoration of GSN back into her original condition. Not only do we need to clean and review the condition of the frames as they exist today, any corroded sections of the framework, the rear platform and dragbox will cut out and replaced. We also need to reverse some of the areas that were changed during rebuilding to allow a new middle cylinder to be installed and reinstate Bulleid’s unique patented chain driven valve gear.

This a general fund with no minimum / maximum donation or number of contribution limits, all monies donated to the Fundiung the Frames appeal will be specifically ring fenced for the frames. If you are able to contribute to this project in any way however great or small, we thank you for your support.  You can find out more here

University projects

We now have a further university project looking at the Internal Aerodynamics of a Merchant Navy. Building on lessons learnt last year, as well as better understanding of the test data that is available on both the original smokebox as well as the rebuilt design, they have made excellent progress simulating 3 baseline designs before moving onto some potential design improvements. The new designs they are looking at include some variations on the original exhaust design as well as variations on a Lempor exhaust, in both cases to understand the impact of nozzle size, angle & target upon the smokebox draught. Based on this work, we may run a final study in academic year 2022/3 to polish off the design as well as to understand how it impacts on the external aerodynamics of the locomotive.

Visit to Great Central & some tender parts

Students on Boscastle

As part of the student project this year, I arranged a visit to Loughborough sheds with the students, to have a crawl around Rebuilt Light Pacific 34039 Boscastle. It was a very useful visit, giving the students a good insight into what they’re simulating, and why, and was also a helpful reminder as to how much pipe work and other gubbins there is on a complete locomotive. Whilst there, in chatting with their Chief Engineer, we were offered some left over parts from their tender for a very reasonable sum, including two front footsteps, two rear footsteps, two rear ladders, one tender tank filler and lid, three Vacuum Reservoir tanks with holding down straps and hardwood timber supports, one Vacuum Reservoir tank cover, one Vacuum Reservoir tank cover, 5 tender doors and two curved front corner pieces. These are all original parts from a 2nd series tender, which became spare when the tender tank was scrapped; the vacuum reservoirs are the wrong type for a Light Pacific, the footsteps & ladders were going to be reused but were inadvertently reordered as part of the manufacture of the tank. Whilst we are years from constructing our tender, and still need to flesh out our ideas for it, it is nice to be able to have some genuine parts that can one day be fitted to our machine.

We have also recently managed to purchase two electrical lamps for the locomotive, so we now have 6 lamps. The purchase of one was sponsored by one of our directors, but if you would like to sponsor the other, please do get in touch with us.

Other Engineering Progress

We have made a start on two other big engineering areas in the last few months. Firstly, members of the Engineering Sub-Committee have started creating an online Engineering Bill of Materials (EBoM). As members of the Bulleid Pacific Locomotives Association, we have access to the extensive collection of over 3000 drawings in their catalogue, but the way they are catalogued is not very easy for understanding the relationship between the drawings, nor for knowing what drawings we are missing. By producing the EBoM, in time we will be able to have a clear record of how many of each part we need, the drawings for them, records of when we order parts & how, records of manufacture where appropriate, etc. Those projects that have constructed (or are constructing) locomotives from scratch, such as 60163, 2007, 72010 have gone through a similar 13 process. By starting this, we are laying the foundations for our original Merchant Navy and starting to put the documentation in place we will need to be accepted for mainline running.

The second significant progress is in the subject of assurance, the process by which we demonstrate the locomotive meets the standards necessary for mainline running. After meetings with numerous potential assurance partners, and independent advice from others in the industry, we have appointed Ricardo Rail to be our assurance partner. They will give us the support to understand & produce the evidence we need to restore General Steam Navigation to original design conditions whilst meeting mainline standards, and document that process. They work with numerous similar projects and are a good fit for our project.

Finally, we are becoming involved in a forum of new-build steam locomotives, to look at ways of pooling knowledge and cost-saving between us. Whilst that title may bring howls of protest from some quarters, we have things we can learn from these groups in the assurance process. Where we are manufacturing components from scratch, we will need to demonstrate that the finished component doesn’t bring additional risk to the design compared to the original. Where we are restoring, we will need to demonstrate that our restoration has returned the components to a condition where it doesn’t bring additional risk to the locomotive.

As always, any members who would be interested in being involved with the engineering of our project, please do get in touch. I need some support on the engineering of this project, especially at the moment with weld design, so if you have any experience in this area, please do get in touch. We also need some additional support archiving drawings online into the EBoM, this is an opportunity to study some of the original drawings of a Bulleid pacific. Similarly, if you have any question or comment on the Engineering report or the engineering in general, please do email our CME (steve.rapley@35011gsn.co.uk)

The momentum being generated by our engineering team means 2022 is going to be a very important year for the project with some big goals in mind. To achieve this we will need your help, you are able to support us in many ways if you are not already a Society member you can sign up for membership for currently only £15 per year here, or donate to the Society here or even better become a shareholder here.

As always thank you for your continued support.

Engineering Update

Winter Engineering Update

Work on General Steam Navigation has progressed at a pace over the last few months with our regular working parties at Blunsdon. The majority of the work has been focused around 35011s chassis in preparation for “crane day” that happened in November. With the help of our friends at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway steam department our volunteers were able to successfully remove the five frame hangers that won’t be required in the restoration of  General Steam Navigation back to Bulleid’s original condition.
These components were: the slidebar bracket hangers (these were heavily modified upon rebuilding due to the outside valve gear) and  outside motion brackets on each side; along with the screw reverser bracket on the left hand side.
In the spring of next year it is planned to remove 35011s remaining wheels and front bogie in order to enable a full assessment of her frames to be undertaken.

The newly removed components from GSN

Preparation work for producing the components required for the chassis and the alternations to the existing metalwork is being undertaken at the moment. This will enable the work to restore the rolling chassis to be only limited by the amount of money that can be raised to pay for the work. To help this work the Society has set up a “Putting Funds into  the Frames” appeal which enables people to donate as little or as much to the project with the guarantee that it’ll be spent on the frames.  You can find out more here.

The converted drawings now in CAD form that is required for an original condition Merchant Navy.

Supporters will be aware that when we lifted the boiler from the frames in October last year, we also lifted the rear of the frames to release the Trailing Truck. Since then, work has been undertaken to remove the majority of the components that make up the Trailing Truck.
Following an independent assessment, we undertook a competitive tender process and in August we awarded the contract for the full refurbishment, and certification of the Trailing Truck by specialist contractors North Norfolk Railway Engineering (NNE).The Trailing Truck left Blunsdon and arrived safely at NNE Weybourne on the 10th October.

The Trailing Truck at the North Norfolk Railway

Since then North Norfolk Engineering have provided the following update of their activities:

• Completed the dismantling of the main component parts, with the truck chassis now lifted off the wheelset in readiness for the complete set of main parts and wheelset being sent away for shot blasting.

• Undertaken a series of key dimensional measurements to assess the general condition and wear levels ahead of developing the engineering overhaul strategy.

• Removed the seized main pivot pin out from its bronze bush and assessed the reason for it seizing, as the bush appears has moved during its working life  and rotated in the frame boss, blanking off the grease hole in the process, reducing lubrication.

The next key stage is to undertake Ultrasonic Axle Testing (UAT) of the axle and the axle to wheel interfaces to verify that no flaws are present. It will be carried out by a Rail Industry approved axle specialist early in the new year (at the same time as the annual check of all locomotives on the North Norfolk Railway to minimise cost).We are in the process of arranging the purchasing new suspension coil springs and are currently working with various suppliers. To help fund the restoration of the trailing truck the Society is offering a maximum of 30 members the opportunity to purchase a ‘Lot’ for £500. Members are welcome to purchase as many ‘Lots’ as they wish up to the maximum target amount.

Members of the Fund Group would receive a number of benefits including:

  • Certificate of membership of the ‘Trailing Truck Transformers’
  • Name engraved on a suitable brass plaque attached to the refurbished Trailing Truck
  • Regular updates on the refurbishment of the Trailing Truck
  • An invitation to a VIP day at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway to see the completed Trailing Truck once it is returned to the railway.

For details on how to become a Trailing Truck Transformer please click here.

CME with students on Boscastle

In November our CME Dr Steve Rapley  took a group of students from Loughborough University to look at the smokebox and exhaust of 34039 Boscastle. This was to aid their understanding of the geometry they’re studying as part of developing the Internal Aerodynamics and draughting of 335011 General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society.  The Society would like thank Andy Morgan and Mike for hosting us.

You can find out more about previous projects undertaken with Loughborough and Birmingham Universities can be found here.

Progress continues with the boiler, there are still some stubborn ends of tubes to remove, but it is down to a handful now. Sterling work by our volunteers (including Paul G, David O, Geoff A & Jack G) continues with this strenuous task, with the expectation that the remainder will be out in the coming months. Work has started on removing rust from the inside of the firebox, and generally cleaning the inside of the boiler and firebox ahead of a planned inspection early next year. It may seem that one paragraph seems like little progress on the boiler, but this work is very labour intensive, and with only a small band of volunteers, maintaining Covid safe practices, it takes time for the fruit of their labours to become apparent.

Volunteer posing with the locomotive at Blunsdon

 

In order to keep moving forwards with our restoration activities, the society is looking for a qualified railway mechanical engineer, preferably with welding experience or weld design experience, to advise the CME & Engineering Sub-committee in this field. If you fit this description, or know someone who does, please get in touch with us via info@35011gsn.co.uk

The momentum being generated by our engineering team means 2022 is going to be a very important year for the project with some big goals in mind. To achieve this we will need your help, you are able to support us in many ways if you are not already a Society member you can sign up for membership for currently only £15 per year here, or donate to the Society here or even better become a shareholder here.

As always thank you for your continued support.

Engineering Update, GSN Clothing, Monthly updates

July Update 2020

Engineering

The Society is pleased to report that we be restarting working parties in July. Numbers will be strictly limited to begin with to comply with social distancing so it may be a little while before we can welcome new members to our working parties. Thank you to those that have recently sent in their volunteer forms to join the ranks of our working members, we will welcome you to Blunsdon as soon as we are able.

In June a few select volunteers restarted  stripping down work on the GSN. Most of the work focused on getting our container set up which included the installation of the container lights and electrical sockets, at the request of the railway painting the outside green and various other small tasks. Work did progress on the locomotive with the removal of the springs that attach to the center drive wheels. A preliminary visual inspection suggests they are good condition considering their age.

The Society also gained a new component in June that was originally fitted to sister Merchant Navy 35023 ‘Holland Afrika Line’. Not many parts of 35023 survived the scrapyard, but luckily after the last fires were dropped from the engines at Nine Elms, souvenirs from the locomotives were recovered, this includes the boiler pressure gauge from 35023, which had recently resurfaced from an old drivers collection. This historic component has now been secured for future use on GSN thanks to the very kind donation of one of our members.

Clothing

You can now look great whilst supporting the restoration of 21c11 / 35011.

The Society is pleased to partner with our friends at Universal Uniform to provide a range of quality 21c11 / 35011 GSN branded clothing items, in a variety of colours, such as:

 

 

 

 

With manufacturing processes having been made fully Covid-19 secure,  all items are made to order and usually despatched within 7-10 working days.

All proceeds from the sale of these clothing items will directly benefit the restoration of 21c11 / 35011.

To visit our dedicated clothing online shop and make your purchases click here

New Dates for Fund raising Trip.

As you are probably aware we have had to reschedule our four day fund raising coach trip to Yorkshire,which subject to getting sufficient numbers will now take place on Friday 16th October.

Profits for the trip will be split between GSN & The Swindon & Cricklade Railway.In my professional capacity as a coach driver I will behind the wheel for the trip so it will be a great way to meet fellow members & raise money at the same time.

We will travel on 3 steam railways,visit the National Railway Museum* at York & generally have a fun weekend. We will be based at the Best Western Guide Post hotel on the outskirts of Bradford for 3 nights on a half board basis.

The program is as follows:

  • Fri 16th Oct. Travel from Blunsdon to Bradford
  • Sat 17th Oct Steam Journey on the Bolton & Embsay Railway followed by a journey from Rawtenstall to Bury on the East Lancs Steam Railway.
  • Sun 18th Oct Steam journey from Pickering to Whitby on the North Yorks Moors Railway.
  • Mon 19th Oct Visit to the NRM York (Subject to NRM reopening after corona virus shut down) before returning to Blunsdon.

Price £299pp. This includes all train fares. There is a £50 single Supplement.

This trip is run in conjunction with Holidays & Cruises in Melksham . To Book please call them on 01225 865725 option 3.

 

How you can help

You can help with the restoration of 21c11 / 35011 back to original condition complete with air smoothed casing and chain driven valve gear in several different ways.

Membership

The General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society Membership costs £12 for the year click here for more details on how to join us.

Shareholding

The General Steam Navigation C.I.C. offers our supporters the opportunity to purchase shares in the locomotive. To find out more about becoming a shareholder and the levels of benefits click here.

Sponsorship

The Society does have a few components available for sponsorship.

Gauge glass protector (1 available for £80 – 1 already sponsored)

Safety valve castings (1 available for £250 – 2 already sponsored)

Front end cladding and lamp irons are also available for prices

To register an interest in sponsoring any of the components please contact us directly via email, social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or using the contact us form.

As always thank you for your continued support.

 

Other News

General Steam Navigation branded clothing now available

You can now look great whilst supporting the restoration of 21c11 / 35011.

The Society is pleased to partner with our friends at Universal Uniform to provide a range of quality 21c11 / 35011 GSN branded clothing items, in a variety of colours, such as:

 

 

 

 

With manufacturing processes having been made fully Covid-19 secure,  all items are made to order and usually despatched within 7-10 working days.

All proceeds from the sale of these clothing items will directly benefit the restoration of 21c11 / 35011.

To visit our dedicated clothing online shop and make your purchases click here

Click here to find out about other ways you can support us and assist  with the restoration of 21c11 / 35011.

Engineering Update, Monthly updates, The Packet

May Update 2020

May Engineering Update

In January and February work progressed on the locomotive at the Blunsdon site. The majority of the effort was focused on preparing the boiler for the lift later in the year. This saw our volunteers removing tubes from the boiler and the various bolts securing the boiler to the frames. The Society is happy to report that all the large boiler tubes have been removed with work now starting on the smaller tubes. It had been hoped the smaller tubes would be all removed before the boiler lift but with workings cancelled until further notice that might not be possible. Whilst our volunteers have removed the majority of the bolts securing the boiler to the frames, several have been left in for safety reasons. Once the boiler lift gets closer the last of these bolts will then be removed and the remainder of the smokebox will also be removed.

Exposed frames after ash pan removal

The stripping down of the locomotive has also seen progress with the ash pans on both sides now removed. Whilst the crane is on site for the boiler lift the Society also plans remove the front bogie and trailing truck. Once these have been removed the bogie, which appears to be in better condition then the trailing truck, will become the main focus of our restoration efforts. It is the aim to restore the trailing truck at the same time although his will depend on the cost effectiveness of the exercise.  It is believed once the Society has delivered a major restored component our credibility will improve and more serious investment will come in.

CAD Boiler support and inside slide bar bracket

During the shut down the Society has also been able to agree a very good value-for-money deal that will see our entire frames, stretchers, bufferbeam and both the front and rear dragboxs drawn up in CAD. Once the boiler has been lifted and the frames stripped back this CAD will then be used to check the frames. The Society has had some CAD produced in the past such as the boiler support which forms the back of the oil bath that contains the chain driven valve gear, mounts the inside slidebar and holds the plunger that transfers the valve motion to the piston valves (see right). The Society will need to check that the locomotive’s frames actually match the CAD and the drawings. Once the frames have been scanned to ensure they are in good condition (and fingers crossed, no cracks or damage) the CAD will then be used to cast any stretchers that will need replacing, along with a new dragbox and the boiler support. The cost of getting the frame CADs done was agreed for a price for £1,500. With funds being very tight after the AGM’s cancellation if anyone would like to contribute towards the cost of the CAD project please do get in touch using the contacts details on our website.

The Society had also hopFront end casinged to unveil some of the front cladding with fitted lamp irons at the AGM in March. The cladding had been produced in order to give the locomotive her face and the start of the outline unique to an original condition Merchant Navy. To create the look some wooden frame extensions were fabricated in order to temporarily fit the new cladding. The cladding had been completed in time for the AGM but with the Covid-19 lock down the Society have been unable to send someone down to collect the finished project. Until the big unveiling the completed cladding will be kept under wraps. The Society would just like to thank Leaky Finders for there hard work constructing the cladding in record time.

The Society was able to acquire a new original electric headlight  for the locomotive.  At this point the Society now has 5 brass lamps and 1 steel one. The Society has also agreed a price for a Smiths speedometer axle box generator and a cut-off indictor plate for the steam reverser which we will be collecting later in the year.

At this moment in time GSN is a dormant creature, waiting for its time to live again & with your help we can do just that. No matter what skills you have we can use your help. Please contact our volunteer liaison officer by email to Andrew Collett or write to him  with your contact details if you fancy getting your hands dirty.

Issue 12 of the Packet

The latest issue of the Packet went out to our members this month and was another bumper issue. The issue features the latest news from the engineering team, the boiler lift appeal,  GSNs backplate build up and much much more.

If you are not yet a member, it’s only £12 per year, you can sign up here. Membership in the Society ensures you’ll be kept up to date with the latest achievements, via our members magazine ‘The Packet’ published three times a year with progress reports on GSN and articles about Merchant Navy’s and the Light Pacifics, access to the locomotive when possible and the ability to get involved with the Society.

With the Covid-19 lockdown in place the Society’s finances are under great strain following the lose revenue generated from our sales stand visiting heritage railway gala events over the year. To help ensure work can continue following the lockdown the Society does ask to consider supporting us if your able to and any support would be gratefully appreciated. You can sign up for membership for only £12 per year here, donate to the Society here or even better join us as a shareholder here.

As always thank you for your continued support.

 

 

Engineering Update, Monthly updates

January 2020 Update

January 2020 Update

Looking back to progress in 2019

Since the move of General Steam Navigation our new home at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway   in April 2019 we have held a number of enjoyable and productive working parties made all the more effective by being at our new permanent base, see also our May 2019 update here.

Working alongside our friends at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway   we have obtained and installed a new 20ft storage container alongside 35011 in the Barn at Blunsdon. This gives us a secure base for our tools, equipment and most importantly storage of many of the components that have been removed from the locomotive to enable the next steps of restoration to take place.

In preparation of lifting the boiler during 2020 we have continued to remove the boiler tubes, with the majority of the large tubes now removed. We also removed the top of the old smokebox, this being both badly corroded and also a of a rebuilt type and therefore not suitable for 35011 when restored to original form, this have given us easier and safer access to the boiler front tubeplate. All the boiler mounting points have been regularly oiled up to enable easier removal of the boiler later this year.

As with a restoration of this kind there are many components that need to be removed from the locomotive as part of the process, some of these items will be restored and reused whilst others being for the engine in her rebuilt form will not be required and where possible a offered to other locomotive owners. All the components so far removed have been catalogued and securely stored. These items have included: slide bars, reverser, cylinder and valve chest covers, glands and packing and brake gear.

We also have continued to work on the production of new items including a wide range of new castings, Klinger valves and bogie and pony truck spring beams and hangers being machined, and trial fitted.  Research and Design work and material sourcing is continuing in earnest for the new centre crank axle and new tyres have been ordered for the wheels for the centre axle.

At our November working party that coincided with Remembrance Sunday, those attending marked the occasion by observing a 2 minutes silence, to remember specifically all those in the Merchant Navy whom lost their lives alongside our service personnel. 35011 was also suitably adorned with the Red Ensign flag of the Merchant Navy.

More details and information about the progress being made on 35011 General Steam Navigation will be in the next issue of our members magazine the Packet due later this month.

If you are not yet a member, it’s only £12 per year, you can sign up here  or even better become a shareholder here.

Upcoming dates in 2020

 

Our next planned working weekends are being held on 25th / 26th January & 29th and February / 1st March.

As always with our working weekends, no experience is necessary just enthusiasm and a willingness to get involved. If you are interested, please contact our chairman at andrew.collett@35011gsn.co.uk for a volunteer form to fill out.

Please note that as well as being a member of us you will also need to be a member of and or join the Swindon & Cricklade Railway.

Also our AGM will be held on the 28th March at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway,  where all members and shareholders are invited to join us. We have a guest speaker from Steam Railway Magazine and it is also a Gala Weekend on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway , so along with seeing the progress that has been made on No.11 there will be plenty going on to make the visit worthwhile.
The formal AGM notice will be in the next issue of the members magazine the Packet.

As always thank you for your continued support.