Work on the boiler at Chatham continues to be the centre of attention, and we’ve been working hard to keep up with the activities of Chatham Steam Ltd. All the faces where valves and pipes attach to the boiler have been “blued” and dressed to make them perfectly flat.  It is still our aim to avoid the use of gaskets wherever possible, and we’ve been successful so far.  We are following a policy of replacing all the studs in the boiler with new, so we know their history.  Whilst replacement of studs isn’t strictly necessary, if one should cause a problem in the future, we can give the insurance company a clearer picture of their age, etc.

The fifteen or so blanking plates previously made at Toddington have been fitted, some permanently, in preparation for the hydraulic test.  On the boiler itself, a few jobs are still outstanding. The 32 studs surrounding the dome cover need replacing, and the face needs to be made steam-tight.  The Regulator Assembly  needs to be fitted, blanking plates are needed over the Blow Down valve ports and the face for the Superheater Header, and finally, the four Mud Hole doors have to be obtained and the faces made good before we have a (hopefully!) water-tight boiler ready for testing.

Good progress is being made with the assembly of the Superheater Elements. These are being made to Chatham Steam’s own (insurance approved) design, which uses a separately-forged ‘U’ bend into which the tube is inserted and welded in place. The thicker ‘U’ ends to the Elements should, we hope, prove more robust in service than other designs.  So far, about 80% of the Elements have been assembled, but the fittings that attach the Elements to the Header have still to be made.

At Toddington, work has continued on the internal components of the Regulator Valve. The faces on the Seat and Head of the main and pilot valves have been re-machined and lapped together using fine grinding paste, to make them steam-tight. Any leak past these valves would allow steam to enter the cylinders, causing the engine to try to move. The whole assembly is now ready to be fitted to the Regulator Body that is already in the boiler.

Away from Toddington, the Chimney and Petticoat Pipe have been machined and we were very pleased with the quality of workmanship. The two items were trial-fitted together, and are now at Chatham ready for fitting in the smoke box after the Super Heater elements are installed.

The machining of the Brake Ejector on an independent site continues to make progress.  This item is probably the most complicated component on the locomotive, and machining the valve seats and tapering surface of the cones deep inside the Ejector body is a job not many machinists are prepared to take on. The body of the Ejector is now finished and a good start has been made with machining the numerous fittings that make up the Ejector. This device pumps air out of the braking system on the tender and coaches, allowing the brakes to be released.  Operation of the brake handle on the Ejector admits air to the system, applying the train brakes.

Some years ago we had a set of Ash Pans made, and we have now started to prepare them for assembly in the frames before the boiler returns.  This has involved dismantling, cleaning, painting and re-assembly of these components, and the links that operate the damper and hopper doors have been fettled and fitted, with everything checked to ensure that the doors move freely.  The inside area of the loco frames, where the ash pans sit, has been needle-gunned and prepared for painting, after which the ash pans will be installed as a complete assembly.

Another major item now finally completed is the Injector Assembly. The Injectors had been fitted to the loco so we could work on pipe runs to them, but they still required all their internal components. These were made some time ago and have been brought out of store.  After judicious use of lapping paste and a lot of hard work, they are finally finished off, just needing testing. Their completion represents a huge amount of effort, but when the injectors go back on the loco they’ll look exactly the same as they did before they came off!

The boiler has been away from Toddington for over a year now, though when it left we optimistically expected the hydraulic and steam tests to be carried out in the Spring. As is so common in locomotive projects, anticipated completion dates have slipped through nobody’s fault, but the great day when the first fire for over 40 years is lit in the grate really is getting nearer.  If you feel like getting involved with the project, especially as a Shareholder, please contact us via this Website.