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
| 27th April 2006: Keith was dismantling the regulator stuffing-box of #35005 to check the cross-shaft as part of preparations for CP's boiler inspection. Andy was in the main shed trueing and welding Bittern's smokebox joints. |  |
 | |
| Ivatt
#41312 valves and pistons are out for inspection. There were some
broken valve-rings to replace, but piston rings are good. Removing piston rings (movie, 1.6MB) Four photos and a movie
(all 27th April 2006): Tony Wood |  |
11th April 2006:
Percy
suffered some leaking boiler tubes during the Thomas event
yesterday (10th),
and Andy spent most of today inside the firebox putting this
right. He, unlike the rest of Ropley, was warm and dry in
there!
By the end of the day he had sealed 25 tubes! Percy was then lit up and was back in service on Wednesday 12th April.
| 4th April 2006: Bodmin's manifold valve bonnet on Andy's bench with repaired thread (see below, 30th March) was awaiting gland-packing, and a pin in the handle-retaining nut |  |
| Bodmin
was moved nearer to the shed for completion of the front end (valves,
pistons) and its place in the boiler department has been taken by the
Ivatt, a bit tired after its hard work on the Bluebell Railway
extension spoil train. It will have a piston and valve examination. Frank, Nick and Matt were in the smokebox of #92212 renewing the gasket under the blastpipe. The latter two had enough soot on their faces to look like soldiers on night manoeuvres, as usual ! d:-) |  |
 Mending
Thomas | |
| Thomas
was brought out into the yard this afternoon to show off his new paint.
The move will make space in the shed for Duncan's next job, the comprehensive overhaul of TSO #4549 ("Everything" - said Duncan) 
Ropley
Shed Carriage
Restorations and Maintenance
Photos (all 4th April
2006): Tony Wood | |
| 30th March 2006: Bubs was machining a square thread inside a hard bronze insert for the bonnet of Bodmin's manifold valve (just above the Bodmin crest in Brian Simmons' photo) |  |
#92212 was in the yard in steam and moving for tests of the new valves Andy has ordered 86 hard rubber balls (dog toys from a local pet shop) to seal the superheater header of Bittern during pressure tests. The pet shop owner thought it was a wind-up at first and was looking for the TV cameras, but has ordered extra supplies and given a substantial discount d:-) Update: Andy Netherwood's photos of the superheater being prepared for hydraulic tests Photos (30th March 2006):
Tony Wood | |
| 16th March 2006: |  |
| New
liner in the valve-chest of #92212. The old one was 'blown' out with specialist oxy-acetylene equipment, and the new one was fitted after being frozen in liquid nitrogen, as usual Photos (16th March
2006): Tony Wood |  |
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Webmaster: tonywood@watercressline.co.uk
Copyright © 1997 -
2006: Tony Wood
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw
Title graphic: Henry O'Dwyer
| Photos (*movies) by tw to show the day-to-day work
of this busy MPD: Nov 2002 to date: FujiFilm FinePix 2800Zoom* (digital) Late 1998 to Nov 2002: FujiFilm DX8 (digital) 1998 and earlier: Minox 35ML (35mm) |
| The Watercress Line, The Railway
Station, Alresford, Hampshire, England, SO24 9JG Tel 01962 733810 Fax 01962 735448 tonywood@watercressline.co.uk www.watercressline.co.uk/tw |
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