35006 Progress Report, October 2004
by John McMillan, 21st October 2004

For a lot of the time this quarter we have been working on parts that won’t be seen once they’re fitted to the locomotive. This is a little frustrating, but we have consistently applied the same standards of quality to the ‘unseen’ parts as we have to the ‘big shiny bits’.

The latest large project to be undertaken in the machine shop is completing the manufacture of the water sump for the tender. The shut-off valve had been finished in the last ‘Progress’ report, and now it was the turn of the main sump casting. This is one of the largest castings we have had to machine, and it was fortunate that we had the versatile Huron milling machine available for us to undertake the work. The two water outlet pipe faces for the tender tank and trap door have all been machined, but this revealed a problem. Although the casting looked very good on the surface, a large blow-hole in the casting was revealed during the machining process. However, as the casting is steel (rather than the original cast iron), our friends in the 8F Group were able to weld up the hole for us, a gesture much appreciated. We now have some work to do on the seat for the shut-off valve to ensure a watertight fit when the valve is closed.

On the locomotive itself, the major work this quarter has centred on the cladding being fitted to and around the cylinders. Unfortunately, this has involved the removal of some sections of running board and pipe-work to gain access to the cylinders, and this gives an impression (only temporary) of backwards progress! All three of the steam pipe covers have been completed, together with the Snifting valve cover. We are pleased with the finish on these large parts, although on the finished loco the smoke deflectors will cover up most of the work, leaving only a small part visible to the outside world.

The purpose of the cylinder cladding isn’t to make them look smart (although it does that), but to hold the cylinder lagging in place. Without the lagging there would be considerable cooling of the cylinders, especially at speed. Making up the cladding is a job that has started and stopped many times during the restoration, but at last it has been completed! This is no small achievement as there are 26 separate pieces to be made up for the outside cylinders.

Elsewhere we have been able to salvage a large part of the original steam dome cover that sits on top of the boiler, and with the addition of some new metal plus a reasonable amount of filler paste the final painted result has proved acceptable, and much cheaper than having a replacement dome made up. It just needs the rim drilling to match the securing holes on our new boiler crinoline rings.

A start has been made on the firebox cladding with the rolling to shape of the two top sheets that meet on the centre line of the firebox. These sheets are of substantial thickness, as in service they will occasionally have to take the weight of a beefy loco fitter without distorting! The sheets will also have to be provided with holes so that fitters can gain access to the washout plugs on the firebox sides.

Finally, away from the cladding, the injector cones have been fettled up and the upper cones fitted to the injectors. We can now complete the two rods that connect the steam valves on the injectors to the cab control wheels, and investigate why one water control wheel works smoothly whilst the other one is very stiff. In B.R. days, firemen were known to use metal bars to gain extra leverage on the injector valve wheels, but we want to make sure that as far as 35006 is concerned, that is one tradition that can definitely die out!