Work has continued on the frames of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T No. 5643. Ed is seen cleaning paint off the running plate.
Jon Dixon has been catching up with some painting underneath.
Sam has been attempting to remove the nuts that hold the rear cylinder covers in place, the bottom nuts being particularly stubborn. John Dixon has been applying some gas heat to loosen them off.
Elsewhere, Phil Bell has been working in the kitchen of Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 to replace missing drawers. Keith has been applying some more two-pack primer inside the tender of Great Western Railway ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0 No. 4979 Wootton Hall and is intending to conduct another water test shortly. Meanwhile Tim has been attending to the ‘ploughed field’ surface on the exterior of the water tank. Much of the left hand side has now received a skim of filler which has been sanded. A first coat of primer is being applied which has the added benefit of highlighting areas that need further attention.
As predicted in last week’s blog, the wash out of 5643’s boiler took place last Wednesday. We were able to welcome Sim Dixon for his first working party who, along with twin brother Jon, coaxed the fire pump into life after some tender care. Both Sim and Jon were members of the Lakeside Railway Society fire brigade in the early days at Haverthwaite and they also owned two wartime fire tenders, one of which they still have.
Ade had pulled the various rolling stock out of the FRT shed to enable to the wash out to take place, FR 20’s tender supplying the water as usual. Given the distance involved, there had to be an established signalling system between Sam, who was wielding the hose pipe, and Sim and Jon who were controlling the fire pump. Alen Johnson was on hand to hold the hose in place for Sam.
Andy Booth came to Preston on Friday with the aim of removing the six flue tubes from 5643’s boiler. These were expected to be stubborn, being screwed into the firebox tubeplate. Andy can be seen at work in the smokebox…
… whilst Sam gave assistance from the firebox.
Andy gets the first of the flues on its way out.
The flue is then pulled out of the boiler by John Dixon and Keith.
A final view as the flue makes its way into daylight, to be followed eventually by the other five flues. A good job done.
Finally, John Davis has been cleaning 5643’s cab and has repainted the cast plate which warns crews of the perils of looking or walking alongside the cab.
Ade kindly performed the shunt that brought Furness Railway No. 20 and Great Eastern royal saloon No. 5 back into the FRT shed where winter maintenance can be undertaken.
Work continues on the cleaning and stripping down of 5643’s frames. The above photo indicates the progress being made with the paintbrushes.
Keith visited Tyseley Loco Works last Tuesday and picked up the long-awaited brand new driver’s brake valve for GWR ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0 No. 4979 Wootton Hall. This should just about complete the cab fittings required for the locomotive.
Keith had also arranged to pick up two new steam heat valves for Wootton Hall which had been machined up, one of them being seen here.
And there was good news from Embsay last Thursday in that ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Cumbria passed an in-steam test following the repair to one of its eccentric straps by Andy Booth. The above photo shows the strap with the side piece of metal that had fallen away.
It was a down to earth week at Preston this last week as members spent much of their time working on 5643’s frames and components. Anne Burton and John Davis are seen cleaning up one of 5643’s sandboxes…
… while Phil Burton polished one of 5643’s coupling rods…
… and Ed chipped away at rust on the frames.
The boiler of Furness Railway No. 20 was successfully washed out on Friday as part of the process of winterising the locomotive. Sam had previously drained the boiler on Wednesday and loosened the plugs. Removing the bottom drain plug is quite a tricky task if you want to avoid an involuntary shower! The plug is located behind the injector which gets in the way of the rush of water and sprays it liberally in all directions. The photos show Sam gingerly removing the plug and then the aftermath!
Fred gave the newly acquired front right coupling rod for 4979 Wootton Hall a good polishing with his trusty cup wire brush.
Keith separated the superheater block ends from the rest of 5643’s elements in readiness to take them to Tyseley for the elements to be renewed.
This last weekend saw the Ribble Steam Railway’s Gala take place where Furness Railway No 20 and the Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 were scheduled to appear, the latter making its public debut after an in depth overhaul. 
Wednesday saw the tables laid out in GER No. 5 for the first time.
This was followed by a final loading of equipment on the Saturday morning.
One or two of us felt quite emotional as the seats on the coach rapidly filled and it set off for its first journey. Alson gave us a wave as she went past.
RSR volunteers entered into the spirit of the occasion by dressing appropriately for the serving of drinks in the mornings and then cream teas in the afternoons.
A cake (yes, more cake) appeared at 12.50 on Saturday so that the 160th and 125th birthdays respectively of FR 20 and GER No. 5 could be celebrated. (And, yes, we did leave some for Ade who was driving on Sunday!)
The visiting engine for the Gala was Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST No. 750 Waleswood of 1906.
The weather was variable, the heavy rain testing the stamina of those in the open cab of FR 20 on Saturday afternoon, but the crowds turned up and the royal coach was sold out on both days. Trains ran to time, despite it being deemed the RSR’s most complex Gala timetable, and there were many lovely comments received from satisfied customers. Well done to all those involved.
And there is good news for those followers of Peckett 0-4-0ST Caliban where the old saddle tank has finally been recovered by the Ribbe Rail Road Rail Vehicle and sent off to Bradshaw Sheet Metal for replacement, along with Caliban’s smokebox and the ashpan from 5643.
Alan and Sam paid a visit to Bradshaw’s last Tuesday followed by Keith on Thursday.
There has been more progress with the dismantling of Great Western Railway 0-6-2T locomotive No. 5643 where the front buffer beam has now been removed.
This will enable access to the cylinders so that new liners can be fitted. Keith and Fred are seen here with the buffer beam which Fred has been attending to with his cup wire brush to remove old paint and rust.
Andy Booth made a start on removing the old tubes from 5643’s boiler on Friday, cutting them from the firebox end first.
At long last, the coupling rod that was acquired from the Didcot Railway Centre for GWR 4-6-0 locomotive No. 4979 Wootton Hall was transported to the FRT shed by Ade on Wednesday, having arrived at Preston in the tender of FR 20 last Monday evening.
The main event this week has been Furness Railway No. 20’s participation in the Blaenavon Heritage Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala this last weekend. Sam Middleton and John Dixon went down to Blaenavon last Wednesday evening in order to prepare FR 20 on Thursday for the steamings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They were joined early Friday afternoon by Tim followed by Ade. Whilst Sam and John headed home on Saturday, Alison and Alan arrived on Saturday evening for the final day of the event.
Sam looked after FR 20 on Friday which enabled the others to have a ride in a 1910 former engineer’s saloon.
Sam then dealt with the inevitable pile of char in the smokebox.
Needless to say, Alison spent some time taking some useful sales income on Sunday.
It is pleasing to be able to report that FR 20 steamed extremely well all weekend and, late Sunday afternoon, was called upon to rescue a train that was in trouble at Blaenavon High Level. Not surprisingly, a crowd gathered to watch the gallant 160 year old locomotive blast its way up the bank into Furnace Sidings station with the ensemble of two locomotives and three carriages behind it.
Needless to say, it was starting to get dark when Ade, Alan and Tim then set about preparing FR 20 for its journey home, removing guard irons and sand pipes and fitting lugs to the tender that could be used to fasten the loco on to the transporter the following morning. And then there was the loading once again of the coupling rod for Wootton Hall!
Fortunately, the journey home for everyone and the loco was without incident and Ade was on hand yesterday evening to shunt FR 20 into the running shed at Preston.
The previous Wednesday at Preston had been spent in moving the stored chairs and tables into Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5. The coach was then moved over the pit to allow inspection and oiling to take place and then into the outer shed to enable 5643 to be re-positioned and its boiler to be moved into the main shed.
GER No. 5 was then moved into the RSR running shed on Saturday and a satisfactory brake test performed using the steam locomotive of the day. The 125 year old vehicle is now scheduled to make an appearance at the RSR’s autumn Steam Gala on the 30th September and the 1st October.
With the interior of Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5 almost complete, it has been time to move out of storage the seats and furniture that have been gathered for the coach. Some of the rubber chair leg feet were found to be absent, which had the potential for the new carpet to be damaged. Phil Burton has acquired some new feet and is seen here attending to the matter. Phil Bell and John Dixon made an early start to enable the gas fitter to attend at 08.00 on Friday morning. We are pleased to be able to report that the gas system is now passed ready for service. In anticipation of this, Tim has conducted axle pad exams ready for the coach to be moved further up the shed this Wednesday.