Exciting developments regarding the future of 7820 & 2874.

We are pleased to be able to tell you what has been  planned once our flagship locomotive “Dinmore Manor” returns to steam this summer .   We can announce that we plan to be at the West Somerset Railway’s 2013 Autumn Gala, running for a strictly limited number of days around the event.  The date of this year’s WSR Gala is 3^rd/6^th October and the engine should fit in beautifully with the autumn colours and the Cambrian theme.

The Hire Team from DMLL has been talking to a number of heritage railways with the aim of securing the best combination of long term security and maximising income whist trying to present the option of attractive, varied running turns for “Dinmore Manor”.

We are delighted to announce that we have now reached an agreement with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) to operate on their line running north from Cheltenham through Toddington towards Broadway once ‘Dinmore Manor’ returns to steam.

The agreement offers many potential benefits for both organisations, because we shall have the opportunity to run in territory that is new to ‘Dinmore Manor’, near to the tourist ‘hotspots’ of England’s Cotswolds and Stratford Upon Avon -as well as being able to operate 7820 elsewhere during the ‘closed season’ and for agreed periods during the main GWSR operating season. It is through this spirit of flexibility that we shall be able to operate at the WSR’s Autumn Gala and at other times if we are requested.

What makes the next 2 years even more interesting is that we plan to commemorate 7820’s journey from a scrapyard wreck to restored glory by taking ‘Dinmore Manor’ back to the railway that first secured the locomotive by bringing it out of Barry in 1980. Next year (2014), the Gwili plan to complete the extension of their operating line south from Bronwydd Arms towards Carmarthen and we have agreed in principle that ‘Dinmore Manor’ can return to the ‘Cambrian Coast’ line to join their celebrations. We anticipate that this will provide mutually beneficial publicity and welcome income for both organisations.

Our updated 12-month programme now includes:

·         Assembling the chassis for early June

·         Refitting the boiler to 7820 in July

·         Dinmore Manor appearing as a static exhibit the Tyseley ‘Open Day’ on 22^nd June

·         7820 entering service on the GWSR – probably now in September

·         Appearance at the WSR Autumn Gala in October

·         Visit to Gwilli Railway in early 2014

Longer Term Plans

We have always stated that we will develop plans to deliver the company strategy that was part of the ‘New Horizons’ Plan. Our 2 other locomotives which are in unrestored condition and waiting for the overhaul of ‘Dinmore Manor’ to be completed will each need long and expensive restoration programmes to return them to operation. During the overhaul of 7820, we have been limited by both the absence of covered accommodation and the number of volunteers, so we have sought out ways to broaden our support and provide a base better suited to the work that will be required.  We are, therefore, delighted to report that we have concluded a second, independent agreement with the GWSR to support the restoration of 2874 at their Toddington base.

2874 Restoration

Although plans for this locomotive cannot yet be fully developed, we believe that the agreement to move this locomotive to Toddington will be mutually beneficial for both the GWSR and ourselves.  The GWSR have a young team of enthusiastic volunteers who are both experienced in restoration and very keen to be involved with another. We happen to have just what they need.

This means that work can start on 2874 later this year at Toddington. The facilities there ensure that the work can be carried out under cover when required, so not to be weather dependent, and includes the use of their extensive machine shop, which will bring with it a significant cost saving as restoration progresses.  Initially the work will involve the stripping down of the components of the engine and cataloguing all the work required to make each piece ready for reassembly in the future. 2874 is the preferred choice for our third engine because of its original build. No other 28xx with inside steam pipes is likely to steam in the future.

Saturday, 13th April 2013

The regulator rod passes through the regulator gland stuffing box into the cab and will be installed once the boiler returns. Mounted on the flange is the slotted cam linkage which operates the jockey valve providing lubrication when the locomotive is in motion. The linkage has been manufactured from new.

How many people are require to fit a steam pipe to a Manor? Answers on a postcard to .................

Keep moving lads or you will get undercoated!!!

Now they have got the hang of it, lets try fitting the front vacuum pipe

A view along the locomotive after positioning inside the King shed

Lubrication pipes, insulation and cladding in place on the right steam chest. The joint with the three studs projecting is for coupling the outside steam pipe to the steam chest once the boiler is installed.

At the rear of the locomotive and underneath the cab and drag box, much of the pipework has been reinstalled

The drivers side injector mounted on a bracket on the cab step has the steam and water pipes connected 

A few pictures of the firebox taking shape taken in March & April

Where new meets old on the doorplate (no the picture is not upside down the boiler is!)

Still full of holes but progressing towards a completed boiler rather than being taken apart.

Butt strap has been re-riveted to get rid of the coroded heads.

All new stay holes drilled and tapped awaiting installation of the new stays.

The new tube plate under manufacture, being drilled for all the tubes.

EMF 40^th Anniversary Celebrations

– 20^th April Film Show @ Kidderminster Museum 

Erlestoke Manor Fund celebrates its 40^th Anniversary this year and to begin the celebrations in style there is a slide and video show at the Kidderminster Museum on Saturday 20th April at 7.30pm – this is during the SVR Members and Shareholders' Weekend 

Richard Icke of the 7820 Dinmore Manor Group has agreed to present his acclaimed BR era Cambrian themed slide show featuring Manor class engines.

Following this slide show, there will be an hour’s video from the Jim Clemens Collection - Steaming through Shropshire – Part 2 – The Severn Valley – a nostalgic look back at the railways of Shropshire in the early 1960’s. 

All working members are welcome – cost £6.

Saturday, 9th March 2013

I'm sure it came off from here but has anybody got any ideas how we get the ****** thing back on!

All of the copper requires annealing to ensure that the pipework is ductile so that the pipes and joints are not stressed when re-assembled to the locomotive. Here the top feed and injector pipe sections are being annealed with a propane/oxygen torch

 

The pipes are annealed by heating them to a cherry red and then allowing them to air cool. Care is taken not to heat the joints between the copper pipe and brass flanges.

 

Trial fitting of the firemans side crosshead requires careful scraping to ensure a good fit to the reground slide bars.

                                                       One down and one to go!

Saturday 16th February 2013

New boiler cladding being cut for the area around the safety valve, the heavily corroded old section being used as a template for the new sheet.

    In the machine shop, work continues on the machining of new bushes for the brake beams

Also in the machine shop, the pivot points at the top and bottom of the brake hangers are being fit with grease nipples to improve the lubrication regime when the locomotive re-enters service. The brake gear operates in a hostile environment and regular greasing should assist in preventing the ingress of water and cast iron dust from the brake blocks.

The brake beams are having the life expired wear pads removed in readiness for new pads to be welded in place.

Saturday 2nd February 2013

The connecting rods are cleaned and initial polishing work is undertaken. Shortly the bushes will be pressed out for re-metalling and the thrust faces built up on the rod faces.

Some serious work is undertaken on refurbishing the thread on one of the trailing wheelset spring hanger bolts

Three refurbished spring hangers bolts are reunited with the rocker plates and bell housings containing the rubber pads and stainless steel support washers

With the lubrication pipes refitted, insulation material has been cut and applied to the cylinder casting

                                      Finally the cylinder cladding is refitted to the casting

The hand pump and pressure gauge have been made ready for some pressure testing of live steam components

The two live steam injectors are tested by blanking all the flanged connections and then pumping pressurised water into the injector to a final test pressure of 300 pounds per square inch. Both injectors passed the test.