Saturday, 1st August 2015 - Tender Brake Gear

 

    DMLG's recently acquired lathe positioned and wired

up ready for use in the machining area

 

The turning section after reorganisation of this area

                               The Colchester Triumph 2000 lathe enters service and soon
                                shows a prodigious capacity to remove metal compared to
                                                               our previous machine

                               Not to be outdone, our other Colchester lathe is used to
                                trial a mandrel designed to assist in the machining of the
                                  outside diameter of bushes. Each bush has to be carefully
                                tailored to fit the component and, to ensure the correct interference
                                     fit is achieved, requires repeat adjustment of it's size

Wednesday 29th July 2015 - Arrival of additional machining capacity

Dinmore Manor On Tour - June 2015

 

  Whilst work continues on her new tender, 7820

 has visited the Epping and Ongar Railway for their

 Gala before moving on to holiday in Paignton

 

 

                                                        7820 runs round at Ongar

                                            and enters North Weald on a service train

                                               Photographs courtesy of Paul Arnold

Tender Brake Gear Progress - 30.05.15

 

        Progress continues to be made on the refurbishment of

     the tender brake gear. The bearings on the end of the

  brake beams required replacement and new bushes

 have been machined to an interference fit.

          The propane torch is lit to commence heating the bush for fitting to the beam 

 

                                                   The bush is gently heated

 

Rotated to get an even distribution of heat

 

Finally to a red hot temperature

                                    The bush is quickly slipped onto the journal of the brake beam,
                                     the heat having expanded it to be a slide fit and the retaining
                                                 washer is placed against the bush end

                                             The retaining nut is screwed up to the washer

 

and quickly tightened to apply pressure to the bush

                                       With the retaining nut tightened, the bush will not shrink
                                     away from the thrust face washer holding this firmly in place.
                                       Six bushes have been fitted to the three brake beams and
                                      these are now complete ready for cleaning and painting.
                                       Just three more parts of the numerous parts of the brake
                                                        gear assembly are ready!

 

The brake hangers which support the brake beams

are also being re-bushed and are here seen cleaned and painted with primer

 

 Meanwhile, in a galaxy far, far away, the main brake beam

is being bushed and machined and new tender pipework is in manufacture 

Progress on the Tender

 

 With the tender frames under cover at Toddington

 work progresses on the intermediate buffer beam

 

   Plate work is renewed in readiness for assembly

 of the new drag box

 

 

 

  A large number of components have

     been cleaned and painted. Seen here are

   the spring hanger rocker plates and the

    new sump cover manufactured for the well tank

 

 Welding repairs have been undertaken on the

 feed cock operating handles which had suffered

from years of corrosion

 

  One of the new bushes cooling after being heat

 shrunk onto the brake beams

                           The trailing brake beam all re-bushed and ready for finish painting

Saturday, 17th January 2015

 

Tender Working Party

 

 

Machining of the set of 12 rubbing pads for the six

 brake hangers continues

 

         Grease nipple holes are drilled and tapped in the

lower bearing of the brake hangers

 

Another component of the brake rigging has been completely rebushed

3rd January 2015 - Tender Progress

                                                         2015 - The Year of the Tender

                              Through the last months of 2014, progress was being made on
                               re-bushing the brake gear for the new Dinmore Manor tender.

 

      The brake hanger brackets and top bushes in the brake hangers have

     all been renewed and the lower bushes that fit to the brake beams

 are also being renewed  

 

Some progress was made on the new plate work for the new drag box

                             The tender steps were removed to facilitate cleaning and painting
                             of the frames and the 'U' shaped angle iron that carries the various
                               engine to tender pipes was trial fitted to the new frame sections

 

    In late December, the frames moved to Toddington for completion of

  the drag box and will remain there for re- erection. After removal of

     the frames, the new 3,500 gallon tank which replaces the original 4,000

 gallon Collett tender tank was placed on the jacks

 

 

    New rubbing blocks for the brake hangers have been cast and

 are being machined in readiness for fitting

 

                                 The brake shaft is currently 'off-site' for machining work to be
                                 completed on it and the links from this shaft to the adjusting
                                                   screws have been re-bushed