Saturday Gang Blog: September 2014

Welcome to July & August's report

Introduction

Saturday Gang enjoying a 1st class trip on the K&ESR
(on our day off, not a Saturday!)

First of an apology for the lack of updates, both on the blog and youtube. We try our best to keep things updated but sometimes we get a bit behind or other things are going on.

The summer has been busy as always, the K&ESR has been running it's 'red' timetable during August. This requires two steam locos in service everyday and sometimes another for Pullman duties. This would in part explain why much of our attention has been on maintenance duties, more so than usual. However once the main running season is over we hope to return our focus to n.o 25 Northiam's overhaul.

We also used the Bank Holiday Monday to sample the rest of the K&ESR. It might seem strange but we don't get to see much of the railway we volunteer for other than our own 'bit' at Rolvenden. So we had a very enjoyable day out on 'our' railway. It was satisfying to see two locos we had worked on previously (23 HFS & 376 Norwegian) in service. It reminded us of why we do what we. It was also good to meet for some well earned fun! We are not just 'colleagues', rather friends in the Saturday Gang and one of the main reasons we volunteer is the social aspect.

So let's go through what's been happening:

25 Northiam

Needlegunning 25's boiler

As mentioned previously our attentions have been focused on maintenance works but that is not to say we didn't make any progress.

25's ashpan has been finished off, the linkeage has been fitted and painted. The coupling rods have also been burnished . We continued to needle gun the boiler (as reported last month), this was completed and then we completed painting the smokebox in appexia paint. We have also greased the frames in preparation for them to be moved outside, quite literally we now have a 'rolling frame'. Once works on the boiler are complete the frames and boiler can be re-united though this is a little way off yet. We also took the opportunity to examine the spare austerity springs we have. The ones already on the frames have been checked but a ready supply of spares is always helpful.

Frames prepared to move

As is so often the case with loco overhauls, each week is a small step and one day it all suddenly comes together. During the winter season we will be making a concerted push on n.o 25. However as with all good things they come to those that wait.

DS238 Wainwright

Building up the firebox on DS238

Work on the boiler is ongoing. The firebox has been 'built up' to increase the thickness of the plate, especially round the foundation ring.

In the works / news from Rolvenden

32670 Bodiam: In service

32678 Knowle: In service

753 P Class: No progress to report

P Class awaiting further attention (we will get there eventually!)

12 Marcia: Stored in Orpins sidings awaiting remedial works to begin.

14 Charwelton: Repairs have been completed and the loco has been tested. The new bearings had not bedded in before the loco needed to be moved. This made some interesting noises during the shunt! See August's report for a listen.

Remedial works complete on n.o 14

376 Norwegian: In service

23 Holman F Stephens:

1638: In service

6619: Under maintenance. The Saturday Gang has carried out much on this loco. We started with rodding the tubes and prep for washout work. Then we did some work on the tubeplate, this was so encrusted with dirt that a needle gun was required to clean the tubeplate. A thorough test of the lubrication system has also been undertaken. As 6619 approaches the end of her ticket it is even more important to undertaken this work.