Recent News from Ropley Motive Power
Depot: showing work-in-progress of interest to the steam railway
enthusiast
Reports and photos by your webmaster,
or by others where acknowledged
Follow our restoring of heritage steam engines from Barry wrecks to high performance, mainline certified steam classics
| BR Standard Class 5 #73096 heavy general overhaul:
12th June 2002: Smokebox
was rivetted on Photo (19th June 2002): Tony Wood |
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20th June 2002:
Superheater elements are being hydraulically tested and we installed four this afternoon.
Tony cleans up the ball-ends with a spherical cutter and brace before
installation Photo (20th June 2002): Andy Netherwood |
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Progress with Bittern - the dragbox |
| 12th June 2002:
Nunney Castle's leading driving axle was replaced in the frames
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| John Sowerby and Neil Davis ensure all goes back as it should
Two photos (12th June 2002): Clive Holliday |
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| 6th June 2002:
Ivatt #41312 was blowing through a draincock, and bits of valve-ring were found in the cock... |
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| .. so the valves were removed and new rings fitted. |  |
| Meanwhile in the firebox of Canadian Pacific, the smoketubes
were going in.
The steel rod gathers up the end of the tube and guides it into the correct hole. (With all those speaking-tubes, communication between firebox and smokebox is excellent.) Below: Andy was expanding the last of the tubes. Below right: Just to show where he was working. (Added 9th June 2002): Later he was beading the ends. The boiler was filled and pressure-tested hydraulically to check if any tubes needed further expanding. It was then drained and the tubes at the firebox end seal-welded. Refilled, it then received a further hydraulic test before being passed fit and steam-tested to full working pressure. |
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| Keith, in the smokebox, lit his pipe whilst half an inch was cut from
one of the tubes by John Redgrave.
Now that the new smokebox floor is in place, John was also preparing the blastpipe for reinstalling. Six photos (6th June 2002): Tony Wood |
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Webmaster: tonywood@watercressline.co.uk
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001, 2002: Tony Wood
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw
Photos by tw since late 1998: Fujifilm DX8 digital camera ( 640x480
pixels max.). Previous: Minox 35ML 35mm
| The Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, Hampshire,
England, SO24 9JG Tel 01962 733810 Fax 01962 735448 info@watercressline.co.uk www.watercressline.co.uk |
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