MHR Restorations and Overhauls

Both 75079 and 80150 will need a vast amount of money spending on them. Where is this money going to come from? To me it would be better to sort out 34105's situation and overhaul that first.

 

Thanks Martin. Well, the one or two people supposedly "in the know" at the MHR, who post on here do not seem to be aware of the fact.

 

In the case of 75079, a lot of parts were aquired by the previous owners, however a scratch built tender is the biggest challenge i believe.

With 80150, it will indeed cost £150,000+ to restore, the biggest tasks with this, are the boiler/firebox and replacement of the side tanks which are probably shot away.

The tyres will also need replacing, but this is a known cost and will probably cost around £35-40,000. The Standard 5`s tyres were i believe about £20,000 to fit for the six driving wheelsets, however i would guess that 80150 may need new front bogie tyres as well as rear pony truck.

What also needs to be borne in mind is the fact that both these loco`s are MHRPS owned and therefore will probably be further up the priority list and from what i am led to believe there may be more additions to the fleet as well in the future, if comments from Colin Chambers and posts reported on here are to be believed.

34105 will i understand be overhauled by the MHR full time staff after 76017, whereas 75079 and 80150 will be done mostly by volunteers.

 

Thanks for the answer, Andrew. I think you'll find it will probably cost approx £150,000 just for the boiler/ firebox. Then, as you say, a new set of tyres, new side tanks, probably a new bunker, a complete set of new motion, except for the weighshaft. I reckon at the end of the day you could be looking at approx £400,000, maybe more for restoration.

 

It must also be considered that we will get an almost new 2-6-4T for that £400,000.00, a loco with many years of life and service in it.

Regards
Chris

 

I totally agree with you Chris.

 

Out of interest, is there anywhere in the UK that can/will forge a set of rods now that John Hesketh's is no more?
And, whilst I'm asking questions, can someone give a list of the JB owned locos and their current situation/condition? I'm not interested in the politics of things; I'm just trying to get my head around what might happen to them when the agreement expiry date arrives, whenever that is. I can't see many railways taking on privately owned locos in need of overhaul and the funding to buy some or all of them isn't likely to be freely available. Assuming they were for sale, that is!

 

On the same lines. Reading SR Mag this month and the Urie group web site they are also looking for at set of rods for 30499


http://www.urieloco.co.uk/latestnews.html

 

I can't answer your first question, but as far as I know the JB owned locos are:

31625
31806
31874
34016
73096


Keith

 

34105 is funded by the owners. so is 76017. There is no issue, as mentioned above, with locos not getting overhauled because of funds being diverted.

Colin chambers knows what he is doing and everyone should just relax the best things should happen.

31874 has cracked frames and needs new inner firebox.
31625 has good frames, but bad boiler
34016 needs new crown stays
73096 will need a general overhaul in 18 months time.
31806 is almost in working condition.

76017 and 34105 are hoped to be worked on simulatneously

75079 frames are to be worked on by volunteers, 80150 may actually be worked on by weekday staff as well as volunteers, as they will want to get it running soon. Weekday staff are working on:- 31806, 73096 and should soon be working on 76017 and 34105. It is important to acknowledge that it is a lot more volunteer work goes on during the week, paid staff couldnt turn out locos very fast at all on their own.

Now, today, 34007 is having its nameplates changed. I cleared the boiler of ash, firebox and ashpans as well as smokebox. Work continues on 31806 as well as no10, someone is working to send the parts of its new smokebox to crewe. 73096 is still waiting for a new piston rod and it is starting annoy people as it could be out by now.

60019 coming back was found to be delayed this morning until next wednesday 9th june. It wont be operating at war on the line weekend. So only a 3 train service. All of 5224, 92212 and 34007 on service trains. 34007 will be 273 squadron and 73 squadron, one on each side. DUncan was measuring the cab sides for transfers.

Still very few locos operating, getting dangerously low on locos.

Till the next update,

James

 

I believe the situation of the JB owned locos is:

31625 : Awaiting overhaul which would include heavy firebox repairs. Mechanically it should not be too bad as she did not run many miles after being withdrawn from the mainline. A new tender will need finishing off, as her loaned tender will now go back behind 31806.

Status:STORED

31874 : A very heavy overhaul which will require a new inner firebox and no doubt a large amount of outer box as well. Chassis is in a tired way with i believe a large frame crack present that is behind the rear driving wheels, this is a legacy of a botched BR repair. From what i remember hearing a while back, a new rear frame section and dragbox maybe the only viable repair option.

Status:STORED

34016 : In need of a heavy general overhaul, routine axlebox overhaul, cylinders, motion ect. Inner firebox needs heavy repairs to roof and thermic syphons and thats just for starters!

Status:STORED

73096 : Due to return to service shortly, with new left cylinder, piston, rod ect. Also she was re-tyred over the winter and had some heavy repairs to the smokebox door ring. When her ticket ends, perhaps in two and a half years time, she will most likely be stored. However any overhaul should not be too daunting as mechanically she should be pretty reasonable, boiler will need full overhaul of course.

Status:Imminent return to service

31806 : Due to be outshopped in the next few months, after a full ten year overhaul, will probably move away from the MHR in late 2014, when agreement runs out, with about half its boiler ticket remaining.

Status: Will return to traffic soon after being out of service for nearly seventeen years.


Hope this short run down helps, if anybody knows any other info, feel free to post

 

Sorry James: i posted straight after you before i saw that your post is up, however the gist is the same.

 

Bear in mind that the MHR engineers are a skilled bunch of lads and a lot of work on the Standard tank will be done in house, i.e. fabrication and sheet metal work, casting and machining of most small components ect.

In fact the only outside contract work will mostly be the wheelset re-tyreing, motion and perhaps the boiler, if it is as bad as some say.

However until the boiler is detubed and an internal inspection is carried out, it is too early to predict with some certainty the extent of work required, thus a figure lower than £400,000 is acheivable if conditions are right.

Regards the Stanier tender that was with 75079 at Plymouth, i have no idea what happened to it.

 

Thanks for this, and to James. Both very informative posts and exactly what I was enquiring after. From what you have said, I can see that 31806 will easily find a home elsewhere, if that is what the owner wishes. He might have difficulty in finding homes for the others, though, (perhaps with the exception of 73096) unless there is a substantial amount of finance available to go with them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens!

 

An 80000 tank is a superb piece of kit especially if its put together well. I would personally say it was worth the investment, maybe with a bit of close control and good negotiation it could come in as low as £325K. I personally think its more important if its well supported by people who want to see it happen. In the last few posts there was one small comment, that's hidden away interestingly.

Best Regards The Engineer

 

I believe that this is the reason the Mr Bunch is trying to sell 34073 to fund the overhaul of 73096/34016 for main line use. I would assume that 31806 will be in demand and earning its keep somewhere away from the MHR after 2014 and that 31874 and 31625 will end up at the ELR/Riley's being stored.

Who knows Mr Bunch could be managing 34016, 34067 and 73096 on the mainline for many years to come long after the troubles with the MHR ar just a memory.

 

Wasn't that sold to Greg Wilson on the CVR for use with 48173? I thought that this was the spark that set the MHR talking to the Plym Valley people about 75079 as they heard 'it' was being sold...

 

Yes the tender was sold to Greg Wilson to go with 48173