Hello and welcome to another cold weekend update from Quorn. We have reassembled a vacuum cylinder and started manufacturing the vacuum piping for the two TTA Tanks.
On Saturday morning The Class 50 arrived to collect the van train from the yard in preparation for next weeks Winter Steam Gala.
Ross fitted a replacement coil pack to the small petrol generator which was then successfully started up. This will be a useful addition to provide power for small tools etc. when we are working away from a mains supply in the yard for example.
Ross and Ernie then got started selecting suitable pieces of vacuum pipe and modifying lengths and elbow joints to produce the main stepped section of pipe for the first TTA, some heat was necessary to release old joints; the pipe was trimmed to length and new threaded sections cut before assembling.
The stepped pipe section was trial fitted to TTA 60874 along with the swan neck hose adaptor on the headstock.
On the vacuum cylinder that had been started a couple of weeks ago, the release valve mounting threads were cleaned up using a die-nut. The piston rod gland was removed, studs cleaned to and the seal replaced with a new one.
The cylinder was then re-assembled, firstly fitting the piston adaptor that allows a piston rod to be fitted from the top to aid lifting it into place. The rolling was carefully fitted to the upper edge of the piston then the piston was lowered into the cylinder, with a little jiggling to get it to go down evenly.
The dome was then re-fitted with a new sealing ring and the securing nuts torqued up.
A transport screw was fitted to the vac cylinder to keep the piston in place preventing damage to the rolling ring, this allowed the cylinder to be turned as necessary for scraping and wire brushing. It was then cleaned before being given a coat of Red Oxide primer.
A second stepped vacuum pipe section was prepared for 60879.
Sunday was very much a tidying up day, although some progress was made with cleaning up the final areas of the south end of the GUV, then applying Red Oxide primer to the metal parts.
The inside of the Mess Coach and GUV were both given a good tidy up along with sorting out the taps and dies that had been recently donated.
Once the Red Oxide had dried on the end of the GUV the wood areas were treated with wood primer.
The two TTAs had their vacuum pipes removed when in main line service many years ago; along with the pipes some of the multi pipe brackets were cut back. It was therefore necessary to remove these brackets to allow us to make and re-fit the missing sections that will hold the new vacuum pipe. Some bolts un-did easily whilst others needed the grinder treatment.
Using a piece of scrap plate of the right thickness, sections were cut, dressed and bent to form the vacuum pipe part for each bracket. These will subsequently be welded to the existing brackets at a later date.
https://tickets.gcrailway.co.uk/events/91505That wraps up another cold but busy weekend for us; thanks for reading, join us again next week when the GCR will be running the Winter Steam Gala.
More info here :- Winter Steam Gala 2025
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