Rocket has landed

Still warm after its steam and running trials at the Avon Valley Railway, the newly rebuilt and reboilered replica of "Rocket" arrived at York this morning and I went for a quick look at it at lunchtime before it was shunted into the yard in preparation for steaming and crew training. Firstly here's a look in the firebox and we see fewer, but larger diameter tubes in the new boiler than the loco had previously. We already know from the experience of the Flour Mill team that the loco's steam raising ability has been transformed.

After the new boiler was designed to follow more closely what we knowof the original after Michael Bailey & John Glitheroe's survey of the 1829 loco, there is now no longer a dome on the engine too - and quite a few other interesting changes. However, it's still "Rocket" and I look forward to the crew training and steam trials next week.
Another major change which can be made out if you look closely is the fitting of a rivetted copper firebox. The chimney folds down for transport by road, it's quite a lift to get it vertical for operation - and even worse to lower when hot!







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Hi Anthony - welcome back, & thanks for this great post.

I can imagine the fun & games with that 'lum' - especially, as you say, when hot

 

Welcome back Anthony, these updates are invaluable, and using the forum like this puts yourself and the NRM in a great light.

 

Welcome back!

 

Thanks for the pics Antony, can i ask why crew training is required ?, is it that different to operate compared with before ?.

 

Many thanks for the update and pics. I presume that asbestos lined gloves are used by the crew when lowering the chimney. Oops sorry, I forgot about 'elf 'n' safety!!!!

 

Welcome back Anthony - and now look forward to seeing what the Flour Mill will achieve with your T9. Looks like Cornwall in September !

 

No probs David, bear in mind that blog post was written a few weeks ago, but the idea was that as the boiler is a new design (with fewer and larger tubes) and we have a lot of new engineering and operations staff since it last ran, that some familiarisation and getting used to its quirks was a good idea.

Cheers
Anthony