It has been another busy week at Preston as the overhaul on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 continues. There were two pairs of legs to be seen protruding from the locomotive’s right hand side tank last Wednesday as further cleaning and painting took place.
John Dixon has fabricated and fitted a replacement flange for the tank which will form the connection to the balance pipe.
Thursday saw the arrival of a very large crane which re-fitted 5643’s bunker to the frames in pouring rain.
The crane was then used to flip the boiler 90 degrees before replacing it onto the lowmac wagon for new patch screws to be inserted.
Friday saw the Ribble Steam Railway welcome Hunslet 0-6-0T No. 2409 of 1942, King George, on loan from the Didcot Railway Centre, having previously been hired by the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The locomotive is expected to provide cover at the RSR for the remainder of the year.
FR 20 is scheduled to be active in the RSR’s 20th Anniversary Gala this next weekend before departing to the East Lancashire Railway next Tuesday along with Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5.
Finally, a reminder that the FRT’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 7.30pm this Wednesday, 3rd September, in the FRT shed at Preston. Alison is once again kindly providing refreshments.
It has been time to catch up with some maintenance jobs on Furness Railway 0-4-0 locomotive No. 20. Alan is seen working on the fireman’s side water valve which had seized up on the 16th August causing the operating lever to break. Fortunately, there was no problem with the driver’s side injector and the locomotive continued in service that day. The seized water valve is relatively new but has now been replaced by the previous water valve which has been repaired.
John Dixon had noticed that one of the tender brake rods was rubbing against a wheel and this has been removed, straightened and refitted. Tim has also taken the opportunity to adjust the tender brakes. FR 20 is due to operate the Ribble Steam Railway’s passenger service this next Saturday, 30th August.
The recent movement of the components of the former Furness Railway No.25 has allowed access to them with the result that Paul Balshaw has wire brushed the exterior of the smokebox and painted it with red oxide primer.
A crane has been ordered for this next Thursday, 28th August in order that GWR 0-6-2 No. 5643’s bunker can be refitted to the frames and then the boiler lifted and turned through 90 degrees in order that new patch screws can be fitted. This latter procedure is likely to be repeated shortly to allow further new patch screws to be fitted on the other side.
A working party is being organised to go Embsay next Tuesday, 2nd September, in order to dismantle Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST locomotive Cumbria in readiness for a boiler lift.
A reminder that this year’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place in the FRT shed at Preston at 07. 30 pm on Wednesday, 3rd September. There will be refreshments served aft
The highlight of the last fortnight has undoubtedly been the FRT’s participation at The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd August which, in effect, had become the birthday party celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Railways. The event was massive, with 140 exhibits on site plus sales stands, carousels, Ferris Wheel, a model railway village plus entertainment. There was good coverage on local TV, including some whistle blowing on FR 20 by the presenter.
The team assembled on site on Thursday, 31st July to set up the sales stand, with Alison, Phil and Anne seen here.
Furness Railway No. 20 needed cleaning and prepping to be in steam by 10.00 on 1st August to blow its whistle with others to welcome those waiting at the gate. Around 40,000 people attended over the weekend. Sam, Ade and Alan are seen with No. 20.
The crowds soon appeared to gain cab access with FRT members on hand to explain the locomotive’s history and the layout of the cab.
Aaron soon developed a good line of patter which also encouraged visitors to purchase a copy of the recently published FR 20 book, copies of which were displayed on the side of the tender.
Live Steam folk band performed twice a day singing railway songs in the large ‘G’ shop where trains are assembled.
All in all, the event proved to be very successful and it is unlikely that we will see anything similar for a long time to come. FR 20 is due back at Preston tomorrow, Tuesday, 12th August and is rostered for service on Saturdays 16th and 30th August. The following photo shows FR 20 being shunted at Derby after the event by non-other than a huge Class 93 locomotive.
Back at Preston work has continued on the overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 with Ron Crowe and Paul Balshaw removing the handrail from the smokebox. This is to enable the boiler to be turned on its side for new patch screws to be fitted.
The 2nd Class North London coach body that has been stored at Jim Kay’s house in Blackpool for many years finally made it to Preston last Tuesday where Adrian was on hand to do the necessary shunt and arranged for it to be placed on a PMV chassis that had been accommodating various components of the former FR 25.
The latest edition of The Iron Horse has been mailed out with details of this year’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held at 7.30 pm in the FRT shed at Preston on Wednesday, 3rd September.
The overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 continues to progress with Chris Rycroft completing the caulking of the remaining new stays. Work also continues on the side tanks and the boiler bands are being re-painted.
The other main news this week concerns the departure from Preston of Furness Railway No. 20 last Monday to take part in The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd August.
The photo below shows it at Derby last Wednesday with fellow 1863 built locomotive Prince in the background arriving from the Ffestiniog Railway. This Wednesday will see the loading of cars to take sales stock down to Derby on Thursday. Let’s hope for good weather there!
Finally, Live Steam have been booked to play at The Greatest Gathering so a rare band practice took place last Tuesday morning following which Tim made a presentation on the new book, Furness Railway Locomotive No. 20 – The Story So Far, to the Kents Bank Station Railway Library. Internet sales have been ticking along nicely with over 30 books now sold over the internet.
Saturday saw the official launch at Preston of the new book entitled ‘Furness Railway No. 20 – The Story So Far’ with Tim on hand in the Ribble Steam Railway’s shop to sign copies. Anne and Phil Burton were also there to operate the FRT sales stand and make some useful money for the Trust. We can also reveal that there have been more on-line book sales, making Chris Rycroft’s efforts in setting up the sales system all the more worthwhile.
There was glorious weather on Saturday so we are pleased to be able to include this great photo sent to us by Mike Ward of FR 20 crossing the swing bridge.
Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 of 1898 was also in service with appropriately attired personnel on board.
Not quite so good news from inside the FRT shed was the discovery on GWR No. 5643 of a crack in the internal boiler pipe that carries the regulator rod. Yet another job to sort out, but a very useful spot whilst the tubes are out.
We are pleased to report, however, that the FRT’s literary output has continued apace with the latest edition of ‘The Iron Horse’ expected to go to the printer today.
Finally, another date for your diary is the ‘Our Lives’ programme entitled ‘The World’ Oldest Railway’ filmed at the Tanfield Railway which is scheduled to be shown on BBC 1 at 19.00 hrs tomorrow evening where you will see some familiar faces. It is available on iPlayer now.
Work on re-assembling the motion of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 has begun this last week with the re-fitting of the two rear cylinder covers. It was an awkward job working in the cramped area behind the cylinder block and with very heavy objects that had to be placed precisely onto the studs!
Furness Railway No. 20 was in action this last Saturday when the Ribble Steam Railway was visited by members of the Preston Photographic Society who had arranged a number of models to pose around the train. Yes, and they did ask for steam to be applied (carefully) with the cylinder drain taps on FR 20 open behind the model on the track.
This next Saturday, 12 th July, sees FR 20 back in action hauling trains on the RSR where there will be a formal launch of the new book entitled “Furness Railway No. 20 – The Story So Far.” Tim will be on hand in the RSR shop to sign copies for those purchasing the book. We are pleased to report that the first batch supplied to the shop has almost run out and that the first internet sale has taken place! Grateful thanks go to Chris Rycroft for his IT wizardry in setting up our new website’s online sales. We now hope to expand the number of lines we are able to offer for sale online.
Finally, the visit of FR 20 to The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1 st , 2 nd and 3rd August is fast approaching. Allelys have been commissioned to undertake the move and the loco will be picked up from Preston by two low loaders around lunch time on Monday, 21 st July. This should give us time to put the locomotive into sparkling condition after its recent steamings.
The new cylinder liners on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 were finally bored to size week commencing 16 th June.
The piston heads have been taken away to the works of Riley & Son at Bury for them to be turned down to the new size and new piston rings acquired. The work means that a start can be made on re-assembling the inside motion on 5643.
Outside the FRT shed, John, Ed, Jon and Sim have been working on the lengthy and often tedious, not to mention uncomfortable, task of refurbishing the side tanks.
Whose legs are those?
Ade re-organised the side tanks with the fork lift truck last Wednesday.
Sam has squeezed himself into the boiler to check things over and to give the internal surfaces a good clean. And Sam is due congratulations on passing out as a locomotive fireman at the East Lancashire Railway. Well done!
On the literary front, a van arrived at the FRT shed first thing Friday morning from The Amadeus Press at Cleckheaton with 67 boxes of books, entitled ‘Furness Railway No. 20 – The Story So Far’. The book is a sequel to ‘The Great Survivor’ that was published in 1999, the 3,000 copies of which have long since been sold out. With FR 20 due to appear at The Greatest Gathering at Derby at the beginning of August, it was felt time to bring the FR 20 story up to date.
In a first for the Trust, the book is now available on line through the FRT’s web site, https://furnessrailway.co.uk/shop/ , a £2.00 postage charge being applied on top of the book’s price which is £6.00. Copies are also available at the Ribble Steam Railway’s shop, although paid up members will be able to obtain copies from Alison and Tim at Preston at a discounted price of £5.00. There will be a formal launch of the new book at the Ribble Steam Railway on Saturday, 12 th July when FR 20 is scheduled to be operating the passenger service.
A very short update this week. Now that the cylinder liners on Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 have been fitted there remains the awkward job of fitting four locating plugs which prevent the cylinder liners from twisting when the engine is in service. Whilst the liners have an interference fit, i.e. they have been shrunk with liquid nitrogen to slot into the cylinders, the plugs are an additional safeguard to any unwanted movement of the liners. The rear left hand plug is seen in place here. We will leave Keith to relate to you just how challenging a job it was to fit them when you see him next!
A final skim bore of the insides of 5643’s cylinder liners is due to take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week. The piston heads will then be turned down to fit and new piston rings fitted. The end of the dry sunny weather is making outdoor work on 5643’s cab roof and side tanks trickier, but Jon and Sim have continued their work, with Jon seen below doing some preparation work on the right-hand tank. Ed has been out to buy some marine paint to coat the insides of the tanks.
Furness Railway No. 20’s next outing in service at the Ribble Steam Railway is scheduled for Saturday, 21st June with a couple more slated for the beginning of July before it departs to attend The Greatest Gathering at Derby on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd August. Finally, Live Steam folk group has been booked to play at the Engine Inn at Cark-in-Cartmel this next Saturday, 14th June, starting at 8 pm.
A quick update before we hit the Bank Holiday weekend. Another 81 stays were caulked by Chris Rycroft yesterday both inside and outside the firebox of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643 in the FRT shed at Preston. Only another 30 to do before this mammoth job is complete. Well done to all concerned.
This morning saw the long awaited fitting of the new cylinder liners to 5643. The liners had been machined to size at the Bury workshop of Riley and Son.
Freezing nitrogen dioxide was then use to shrink the cylinder liners.
The new liners will again be skim bored in their new position and the piston heads and rings adjusted to suit.
It was a busy morning at Preston for FR 20 appeared on a low loader on its return from hire to the Tanfield Railway.
It has been a very busy fortnight since the last blog. Furness Railway 0-4-0 locomotive No. 20 was due to leave Preston on Thursday, 1 st May to go to the Tanfield Railway and so work continued to sort out the leaking left hand clack valve which showed evidence of a score. The final solution, just in time, was to put it in the lathe giving a clean surface, as seen here. We are pleased to report that this remedy did the trick!
Ben, John Dixon, Sam and Tim travelled up to the north east for the three days of steaming over the Bank Holiday weekend. The BBC was on hand to film the loco and the members at Tanfield for a forthcoming edition of ‘Our Lives’, a thirty minutes programme which is scheduled to be screened in July. There should be no shortage of footage for the editor to work with. Other locos in steam were Barclay 0-4-0 No. 1659 Stanley of 1920 and Robert Stephenson 0-6-0 T No.2730 Twizell of 1891.
The FRT gang was also able to join a social evening on the Sunday, which included a whistle blow and a good portion of fish and chips for all concerned. Unlike, the western side of the Pennines, however, it was not particularly warm, with a cool northerly breeze! FR 20 was also booked to appear again at Tanfield this last Saturday and Sunday, the FRT team this time being Alan, Alison, Peter van Zeller, Sam, John, Ben, plus Anne and Phil Burton. They are (apart from Ben) pictured below together with Preston fireman Aaron Johnson’s daughter and wife, Victoria and Theo.
The second weekend also featured Cockerill 0-4-0VBT No. 1625 Belgian tram locomotive Lucie of 1890, which is owned by Paul ‘Piglet’ Middleton and based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. We couldn’t resist including the following photo which shows Ben ‘Piglet’ Valentine and Paul together:
Those wishing to view photos and video footage of FR 20’s stay at Tanfield should look no further than the Tanfield Railway Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/tanfieldrailway/?locale=en_GB We show below a photo from Ben of FR 20 and vintage coaches at the very rural and historic Causey Arch station. We thank all the people at Tanfield for the friendship and hospitality shown over the past two weekends.
Back at Preston, work has continued on the 10 year overhaul of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643. Chris Rycroft completed a marathon stay caulking session last Thursday, completing 66 stays, inner and outer, on the left hand side of the firebox, and the remaining 32 stays inside on the top half of the door plate. Well done, Chris!
Chris Rycroft at work on 5643’s boiler
Latest news is that 5643’s new cylinder liners are to be freeze fitted at Preston this next Friday, with the new liners then being bored out over next Saturday and Sunday.
Finally, we hear from Beamish Museum that the agreed temporary re-painting of the FRT’s North London Railway coach into Highland Railway green has been completed, and very smart it looks too!
