September 2017 Engineering Report

Permanent Way
A full update on the recent outdoor weeks and fishplate oiling can be found starting on page 18 of this edition of the News. Since those reports were written the stream at Cynfal was subject to a brief but severe period of flooding following some exceptionally heavy rain in the Tywyn area. Following this flooding the Navvies have been busy clearing out some of the rocks and debris from the stream to try and help prevent a recurrence.

Steam Locomotives
Loco No. 1, Talyllyn, was snagged one morning by a diligent cleaner. He noticed that the left hand valve drive pin through the bottom of the expansion link could be rotated. The dowel that prevents rotation was damaged, and subsequent rotation had worn the head which created some clearance. This removed the preload and caused the nut to be loose such that only the taper pin was retaining it. The loco was stopped and a new dowel was fitted along with a shim to remove the endfloat. The other pin was removed for examination. The locomotive will stay in traffic over the winter and dismantling will begin for the 10-year overhaul on the 24th March 2018. This 10-year overhaul will be carried out at Pendre.

Loco No. 2, Dolgoch, has had the coupling rod bearings re-metalled & machined. The small end bearings have been built up on the sides and machined to reduce the excessive side clearance. The mechanical lubricator drive has been refurbished. The loco was test run and then went back into service successfully with no corrective actions required. The loco will need new gudgeon pins in due course. The brakes have been adjusted.

Loco No. 3, Sir Haydn, is at Aberystwyth where the major overhaul continues. We are supplying parts and information as required. Further information on the progress of the overhaul can be found in the fund-raising report on page 21 of the this edition of the News.

Loco No. 4, Edward Thomas, has had the brakes adjusted and a replacement clack fitted in the fireman’s side injector pipe. The fireman’s side injector was taken off and pickled overnight which has improved the performance. The air pump failed so we stripped and checked it which entailed making new gaskets. The old pump has worked well and not been stripped for over ten years.

Loco No. 6, Douglas, suffered a main steam pipe flange leak on the left hand cylinder. New joints were made and the bolts replaced. A joint on the driver’s side main steam pipe flange in the smokebox leaked, so both were replaced with new. All the smokebox holding-down bolts were checked as a precaution following these two joint failures in quick succession. The brakes have been adjusted. The fireman’s side middle & front drain cocks have been stripped, cleaned & refitted. Otherwise the loco is running well.

Loco No. 7, Tom Rolt, has had the whistle pipe replaced as the old one fractured, but there are issues with the installation that require further investigation. The supply pipe to the blower ring corroded through and following an unsuccessful attempt at repairing it by MIG welding a new pipe has been made and fitted.

Air Pump Upgrades: Air pump failures remain to be the main cause of steam locomotive failures and are attended to promptly by our Fitters. The long-term solution will be to implement John Scott’s modifications based on Westinghouse practice. The trial air pump will be run for the third week of September on Loco No. 4 with John Scott driving, and when successful we will prepare to modify five pumps over the winter to his specifications. The modified pump is seen under inspection by John in the photo above.

Diesel Locomotives
Loco No. 5, Midlander, failed on the morning of “Peter Sam” day with a leaking head gasket. It is currently in the North Shed with the engine stripped. The heads have been cleaned up and it will shortly be put back together with new gaskets kindly supplied by Robert Frost.
Loco No. 9, Alf, is running well.

Loco No. 11, Trecwn, is in the works for air brake fitment. It has been assessed and a job list has been compiled to capture as many of the outstanding tasks as possible. We will be moving this forward soon in order to provide the railway with a 15mph capable air-braked Diesel loco.

Loco No. 12, St Cadfan, has had new brake blocks fitted and the drive chains adjusted. The replacement brake blocks required new pins which were turned up and oil hardened at Pendre. The brake rigging has been greased and a replacement air pipe fitted to replace a fractured item. New army surplus wiper motors were sourced from Ebay and have been fitted. “A” exam sheets are now available in a ring binder in the cab and Drivers are requested to fill these in and note any defects for attention of the fitters.

Carriage and Wagon
Carriage 22 has had overhauled bogies 7 & 8 fitted. The brake rigging between the bogies and coach has been connected up. Strips have been fitted to restrain the batteries. Further work has been done on installing the wiring for the heaters.  A plan is in place to renew the fibreglass roof using volunteers between August 22nd to 27th.
Bogie rebuilds continue and the upgrades include improved brake gear with off-the-shelf renewable bushes & pins, an improved traction rod arrangement, freshly machined wheelsets, & completely rebuilt axleboxes.  An alteration to the brake rod design allows them to be machined from solid bar rather than all-thread. The new bars utilize off the shelf 20mm fork ends. Bogie No .5 is back from the powder coating firm and has been assembled.
Carriage No. 1 was reported with a suspected broken spring. Upon arrival at Pendre it was closely inspected over the pit and found to be ok, however the opportunity was taken to renew a pair of brake blocks and adjust the rigging.
Open carriage 8 required a weld repair to re-attach one vertical angle to the buffer beam. All the opens have been inspected underneath for corrosion.
Chris Parrott has completed his examination of vehicles and passed his information to the Engineering Manager. It was a useful task and was carried out very diligently.

Works Equipment
The Crowthorn lathe copy turning attachment, which was donated by Ian Howitt, has been checked electrically and a mounting bracket has been designed. Quotes have been received for CNC machined plates to mount it. We have obtained the operating manual. Once working, this attachment will enable rapid and accurate tyre turning.
A wheelset trolley (see photos on this page) has been fabricated for maintenance of axlebox bearings and painting of wheelsets. This gets the work off the ground and at a comfortable working height.
New grating covers for the running shed pits have been made. Hose reel airlines for steam raising are also being fitted to the roof beams in the shed. These will remove the tripping hazard of the wall mounted airlines. and should also be generally easier to use for the loco crews. This change will be the first of a number of modifications that we have planned to improve working conditions in the shed for both fitters and loco crews. Keep an eye out round Pendre for futre improvements!

Buildings and Infrastructure
A fabricated stainless steel bracket was fitted to restrain the Dolgoch water intake pipe.
The bracket for the new safe at wharf has been manufactured and fitted.

Staffing Matters
I started as Engineering Manager on the 31st of July and as I write this I have completed four weeks in the post, and three days as a Tywyn resident.
I have had long discussions with all the staff both to get to know them and enable them to raise some of the issues that have in the past frustrated and obstructed them in their work. I have been pleased to find that they are all interested in and committed to this railway. I intend to remove these frustrations and obstacles and raise morale, which in turn will raise output through better co-operation and implementation of sensible ideas.
I have spoken with various other volunteer post holders on the railway to offer co-operation and understand how their roles affect mine. I’ve seen a lot of positive attitudes and have certainly been made very welcome. I’d like to express my thanks for all the offers of assistance and advice that have been received to-date and look forward to hearing some more.

Appeal for Works Volunteers
I have a desire to significantly increase the number of people volunteering in the Works at Pendre. We have compiled a job list for the Baguley loco and similar lists will be made for future locomotive repairs. Whilst a proportion of the work is skilled and suit those who have mechanical/machining/welding abilities, we can occupy those who are not.
The key point is that I know in advance the dates upon which you intend to offer your services. I can then have a job ready for you. Knowing in advance when the labour will be available will assist me greatly in planning the work. Should you cancel at the last minute, that is no problem and the job will wait for the next suitable person. I’d rather have that happen than see people arrive unexpectedly as it is more difficult to find meaningful tasks when put “on the spot”!
Please email me and I’ll make arrangements to discuss your skills, abilities, potential availability and which types of work that you’re interested in.

Chris Smith
With the grateful assistance of David Jones, Martin Turner, & Zac Christoph