Newsletter - December 2001

This is the first bi-monthly newsletter charting progress on the E1 restoration. In each newsletter we will endeavour to keep ESR members, appeal donors and anyone who has an interest in the E1 informed on the progress and problems in carrying out the overhaul.

The Boiler

After the last of the rivets was removed the foundation ring could be extracted. This was far from simple as there was no way to get behind it to drive it out and years of accumulated rust and sludge wasn’t letting go that easily. Up stepped Jeff Bown and with the aid of several improvised pullers, a big hammer and about two hours of loud banging the foundation ring dropped out.

We could now see exactly what the state of the firebox was. Boiler Inspector John Glaze was called in to assess exactly what repairs were required and the result was some good news and some bad. The most obvious defect was that many of the stays were not at right angles to the plates as they should be. Greatly increased stresses would result and this was undoubtedly the reason for a number of stay failures. Several stays in the bottom row were found to have fractured. Since there was no sign of the inner firebox moving, the error must have occurred when the stays were last installed.

The good news was mainly that the copper firebox is better than thought and is reusable with some copper weld repairs, which should reduce the cost of the overhaul considerably.

Some grooving above the foundation ring was apparent and the backhead, which has been heavily welded, will also need to be repaired. The foundation ring itself looks to be OK. The front tubeplate had already been condemned due to wastage at the bottom.

At this point a decision had to be made on how the work would be carried out and funded. Many Railways would not consider taking on such boiler repairs as the work required is heavy, needs good facilities and a lot of volunteer effort and skill. However, the cost savings in doing as much as possible ourselves are potentially large. After considering the work involved and the resources available it was decided to give it a go.

Subsequently the smokebox has been removed and work has started in removing the stays. Since a large amount of heavy drilling will be needed for this job, we looked around for a better drill and decided to buy one with a magnetic base which would ease the task considerably. This will also be used in a number of other jobs such as drilling large plates which are too large to fit under the radial drill.

Valves and Cylinders

In service the E1 suffered from an oscillating motion which despite the best efforts and all the brain power of the loco shed could not be cured. A key part of the examination of the valves was therefore to look for any fault which might cause this. The cylinder covers, valves and pistons were removed to permit the cylinders and valve ports to be inspected.

With the valves removed it was noticed that the valve seats had worn by about 12 thou at each end. This could allow the valve to rock on the inside exhaust valve seat face and admit steam to both ends of the cylinder at once. If this permitted steam to enter the cylinders too early in the cycle it could very well be the cause of the oscillation.

Clearly the valve seats have to be machined flat again but access to them is very restricted. Originally the cylinder block, which is in two halves, would have been machined off the loco making access to the seats easy. But to extract the five ton block from the frames, possibly for the first time since the loco was built, split it and put it back again after machining would not be a Sunday afternoon job to say the least! An alternative method has been devised by Steve Masters which involves a special purpose machine to enable the seats to be machined in situ. Currently the machine has been designed and is being manufactured in the workshops.

The cylinder bores, pistons and rings were found to be in good condition and the lubrication system seems to have worked well.

Motion

The motion has been dismantled and inspected for wear. The big ends were found to have a ‘novel’ repair which certainly needs attention before being refitted. The crosshead slipper blocks along with the eccentric and big end bearings require re-white metalling and machining.

The axle boxes were found to be in good condition with little play between the horn guides. Unfortunately it’s the horn guides that are moving! The bolts holding them to the frames will be driven out, the holes reamed out to a larger size and new interference fit bolts fitted.

The springs are in good shape although part of the buckle will have to be replaced on the two rear springs due to banana shaped holes having formed.

Appeal

The ESR has made a number of minor appeals for donations but has never seriously addressed fund raising before. The amount of money needed, and fairly quickly, is substantial but there are many similar schemes in railway preservation that have been successful in raising much larger sums. An attractive package has therefore been put together offering a range of benefits in return for cash donations or gift aid (formerly called covenants).

The appeal is being launched in the railway press and being circulated to ESR members. It is also intended to approach special interest groups whose membership may have a particular interest in the loco. A station display was put up at Cranmore in time for the Hertfordshire Railtour visit in November. The appeal has got off to a good start with a donation of £350 which has helped pay for the magnetic drill.