Battle of Britain class 92 Squadron - 34081

[Roget]

Thought I'd start a thread on this engine which is currently undergoing overhaul at the Nene Valley Railway (Peterborough). Having been rescued from Dai Woodham's yard in wales in the 1970s it was slowly overhauled for the first time over a period of 23 years. Following a successful 10 year steaming at various heritage railways its boiler ticket ran out 5 years ago and thus it became necessary to carry out another overhaul. I have been working on this engine as a volunteer along with up to 20 others (mainly retired folk).

Having spent much of the last few years cleaning grease, soot and rust from almost every part of the engine we're now reaching some rather more interesting activities. Here's a taster of the workshop we use and the frames in restored condition.


The boiler has been totally overhauled (£180,000) and awaits fitting. We hope to fit the driving wheels next week, after which we hope to make significant progress on the rebuild. I'll add more as we have something to show.

[Roget]

Here's a few more shots. Firstly the oil bath with its complex chains and rods which Mr Bulleid developed :



It holds a modest 40 gallons of oil, or at least should do so. Not the cheapest oil change!

Much of the sheet metal work has been fabricated by volunteers and last week we trial fitted the smokebox door, frame and floor. The door was cast but the rest made by our own guys.



I've been working on the tender for the last few weeks. Due to various additions and the replacement of damaged sections, the sides had a somewhat furrowed finished so it has been necessary to use body filler to remove the worst. Its probably the biggest area I've had to fill and sand. Give me a car any day!

[Roget]

Quite a milestone for us yesterday as we rewheeled the engine with its driving wheels. Here's a speeded up version of the 8 or so hours it took. Due to a slight misalignment of the frames relative to the track a small amount of damage was caused to a side plate. This resulted in the wheels being removed and the damage repaired before the wheels were replaced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWyPxzBJf0A&fe...

The boiler refit is next on the list.

Roger

Edited by Roget on Thursday 9th October 20:30

[Roget]

Its plumbing thats hanging down - they're copper pipes that feed oil to almost everything that moves. These have been a nightmare to remove, clean and blow through, and get back into their respective positions.

The axles and other internal areas are painted red. The sump is part of Bulleid's valve gear and holds 40 gallons of very expensive oil, at least it should. When we dismantled the engine we wondered what we could put 40 gallons of old oil into. After much trepidation we removed the sump plug having tapped around the sump and got largely hollow noises. All that came out was a couple of dollops of very congealed oil!

Due to the costs of mainline running and the strain it imposes on the loco, our society (Battle of Britain Locomotive Society) has decided to run on Heritage lines only. After completion of the overhaul (late 2015 or early 2016) we are contracted to run on the Nene Valley Railway for the first five years of its operation.

From this point on we hope to make good progress as many of the parts required have been fabricated off-site and await fitting - smokebox, smokebox door, cab, and ashpan.

Roger

Edited by Roget on Thursday 9th October 23:58

[Roget]

There was much debate in the society about the colour but it will be painted in Malachite initially - with the straw coloured lines.

Roger

[Roget]

We've been beavering away on the frames of 92 Squadron, but the cold and damp winter have stopped further painting. However, here's a short video of the fitting of the left side connecting rod today. Note the use of the small spanner towards the end of the clip.;)

http://youtu.be/W7FOmv81Kdc

Roger

[Roget]

With the progress made on the chassis it was time for the boiler to be moved into the workshop for a few minor welding jobs and a trial fit of the newly fabricated ashpan - built from scratch by volunteers. The boiler, despite its rusty appearance, cost £180,00 to be overhauled. This video clip shows the chassis being moved out of the workshop and the boiler being moved in. I'm pleased to say that the connecting rods I spent so long cleaning appear nice and shiny in the video!

The boiler will be shot blasted and painted with a special paint (£1000 worth in total).

http://youtu.be/aPYu5JuANDw

Roger

[Roget]

"Is the boiler rusty simply because it wasn't painted or has it been weathered?"

Its been in the open for three years - hence the rust. We're making plans to shot blast it in the near future and then apply the paint.

Roger

[Roget]

Some significant progress has been made in the last couple of weeks - firstly the refitting of the boiler after its overhaul and paint job -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKgyPYz5XQg

Some anxious moments to see if the pegs on the foundation ring match the holes in the ashpan!

Roger

[Roget]

And then the lifting of the tender to refit its wheels. Due to a failure of the steam crane boiler, that had to be rebuilt before either the 92 Squadron boiler could be refitted or the tender lifted.

Now that the tender is back on its wheels it has been moved into a repair workshop so that the painting can be finished over the next few months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01QEpYBVJp4

Roger

[Roget]

I understand that the noise referred to as possibly the timing being out (Bluebell Railway) was in fact the failure of the packing of a clack valve.

[Roget]

After many days with my trusty Purdy paintbrushes, I have just about finished the painting of 92 Squadron. Having started the tender in April 2014, and continued through most of the better-weather months since then, I started the top coats on the engine in June this year. Here's the end result - just need the signwriter to finish the lining now. Trial steaming on Monday Tuesday next week at the Nene Valley railway.



Roger

[Roget]

Quite a day today when 92 Squadron ran under her own steam for the first time in 8 years. Following the 6 year rebuild which has seen every component stripped, painted and tested, we were very pleased to find just a few minor problems in this unofficial steam test. With a little more lining to finish and the badges and crests to be mounted, 34081 will enter service at the NVR early next year :

https://youtu.be/tmfD7NvPVFg

Roger

[Roget]

"O/T you didn't used to ride a Ducati did you?"

No not me.

[Roget]

"Why did they start her up with bits of the injector missing?"

It was purely an oversight. The "missing" cap fits on the underside of the injector and its absence had not been noticed.