August was a very busy month at LMS with lots of work on 76077 in preparation for our shareholder and supporters day in September.
The coupling rod bushes have all been re-metalled, machined and pressed back into the coupling rods. The leading and driving bushes were a good tight press fit in the rods, the trailing bushes are tight enough but next time around they will probably need replacing as every time they are pressed in and out they become a just a little bit slacker.
New Gradient pins have been machined and hardened to prevent wear, the pins were then ground and the bores in the bushes machined to a dimension that gives a light drive fit of the pin in the bush. The Gradient pins have been paid for through our component sponsorship scheme, thank you to those who have contributed its very much appreciated.
The cab roof has been cut from the supplied pre rolled sheets using the old roof as a template and test fitted to the cab, pleasingly the rolled profile is a very good match to the original. The front spectacle plate work has needed work to finish them as this was as far as Unity Engineering had managed to get before they were unable to continue the work. Additional work has been done to repair some of the cab angles as in places they had corroded badly. The cab sides have been found to be very thin in places where water has been trapped between the toolboxes the driver’s side cab side sheet also has a nasty bow in the middle which appears to have been caused where a new piece of metal has been welded in place. We attempted to straighten it but it just won’t budge, the bend in the plate just moves to a different part. As a temporary measure we welded a piece of angle to the back in time for the open day but we have now decided to order two new profile cut sides as this will actually be cheaper and give a better appearance to the locomotive.
The completed cylinder drain cocks have been test fitted for the open day, which will now enable the pipe work between the steam chest and the centre steam chest drain valve to be formed. This must be done before we start the cladding on the cylinders, as it runs directly underneath the cladding sheets.
The Expansion link brackets and Expansion links have been temporary fitted to check the fit of the bearings, these are original items and pleasingly their fit is still good, which goes to show how little work our loco did following its 1964 Eastleigh overhaul. New drive fit retaining bolts are being machined in the GWSR workshop so the inside brackets can be permanently fitted (the outside brackets need to be removed to fit the radius rod and the expansion link die blocks) so will be finally fitted at a later date.
In preparation for our very successful open day we refitted the cab to the frames and applied a black undercoat to give a taste of what is to come. We still need to make lots of smaller parts to complete the cab. When we have everything required we will then remove the cab and complete the works including riveting together the structure. Many of the parts are for the cab roof ventilator some of which are being machined at Toddington.
Finally for those that couldn’t make it to our open day, here are some pictures of what our visitors saw on their visit
(Words & Pictures: Andy Meredith/Ian Crowder)
