4110 Restoration at ESR

Announced on East Somerset Railway Facebook page that negotians to restore Large Prairie tank 4110 at Cranmore after 5239 are at an advanced stage with the loco expected to arrive in the new year. The engine will be then resident on the ESR for a few years.

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That’s great news. Is 5637 also being overhauled at Cranmore and if so will it be done before, after or alongside 4110?

 

As I understand it, 5637 will return to Swindon and Cricklade just before its 10 year ticket expires so that they can get the last few turns from her.

 

I half expected 4110 to be overhauled at ESR after Goliath. However it remaining resident at Cranmore for a few years is an interesting move.

Presumably this hire period is in part payment for the overhaul, and enables 4110 to be restored quicker when otherwise the DSR might not have the funds available to start work on it now. A win win situation.

 

I think it might also be due to expected availability of other locos at the DSR. As well as 5239, they've got two more years of 7827, 75014 until 2026, plus 2253 will be arriving shortly and 4277 and 4555 undergoing overhaul (although I understand 4555 is likely to be used as a loan loco for other railways). Even if 4110 returns to action after 7827 bows out, there will still be 3 or 4 steam locos available. The DSR has never, in my experience, been a railway to have massively more locomotives available than they will require on any one day, so I doubt they would find enough use for 4110 if it was competing with 4 other engines for turns. Far better to loan it out to other railways and get some extra money coming in to go in the bank for the next big overhaul. My guess is 4110 won't become a Dartmouth regular until 75014 bows out.

Of course, this is all assuming every locomotive on the DSR books runs perfectly until their boiler certificate expires, which is very unlikely!

 

Well that's the plan, nothing's been set in stone yet....

 

And here we go again!! 4110 has now arrived at Cranmore for restoration.

https://www.facebook.com/171986566156278/posts/2776713232350252/

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A productive weekend saw the tanks, bunker and cab removed from the loco. A couple of before and after photos from Saturday are attached. Other stripping of smaller components has been carried out and a large assortment of parts from the DSR have also arrived at Cranmore. I believe a blog on the website as per 5239 is to be set up.

 

And it has now entered the workshop:

 

On 20th February two cranes were involved in the dismantling of 4110. Boiler removed from frames and frames from wheels. I have attached some photos of the wheel sets, boiler and frames taken on 26th Feb. You may note on the boiler photo an area marked up on the firebox. This is where steel stays are used. They will all be replaced. The bright areas above the horn guides have been cleaned to enable crack detection to take place. See also this link to the ESR website which will also plot the progress of 4110.

https://eastsomersetrailway.com/news/view/overhaul-of-large-prairie-4110

 

Fantastic stuff, thank you for sharing. I hope you can find the time to keep this thread updated through this fascinating process.

 

Hi,

Are there many of the parts available for her restoration- eg motion or will most of the mechanicals and fittings end up being new?

I guess there must be a point at which the legacy of parts bought up as spares by other groups will eventually dry up and most things will have to be made brand new- I follow the chaps who are working on 9629, and find it fascinating where they turn parts up from after all these years!

Chris

 

We will do our best to keep this thread updated as the work on 4110 proceeds. Much of the motion and valve gear is available as are things like braking, super heater header, regulator, etc. No pipe work and cladding survives but we have tackled these items previously.

Also see link below:
https://eastsomersetrailway.com/news/view/overhaul-of-large-prairie-4110

Dick

 

Very informative update, Thank You! It can't have been pleasant working out in the yard in all that mud, either... The second and Third photos look almost reminiscent of Cohen's yard!
Good Luck with the restoration though,

Richard.

 

Thankyou, I will follow with interest.

 

For a while now small groups of volunteers have re-started the work of restoration on 4110. I should emphasize that a full risk assessment was undertaken and a set of rules published, both documents copied to all with a requirement that one can only attend if they accept the covid rules. So far I have to say that on the days I have attended we have had no problems in adhering to them.

We have sand (glass) blasted the boiler and cleaned up the front tube plate ready for an NDT examination. The frames have been set level and straight with calibrated supports front and back and between each axle position. It has been decided that the side tanks will need replacement, there being little metal left in the old ones. A re-start has also been made on cleaning the myriad of parts so that they will be ready when their day comes.

Dick

 

Thank you for this most encouraging report. The "Steam traction" section of this forum has been very moribund for the last three months, with most of the posts relating either to past history or technical issues. For me, reports on loco restorations have always been the most interesting, so your post indicating that a restoration project is on the move again is a welcome sign of at least a small step towards normality.

When I visited Barry in 1974, 4110 was nicely positioned for a photo. Even though I can't say it is one of the better pictures I have taken, its legacy has been somewhat of a soft spot for this engine so I am therefore pleased that it is finally making progress towards being a working loco once again.

 

Also these two links should provide details as the overhaul proceeds.
https://www.facebook.com/eastsomersetrailway
https://eastsomersetrailway.com/news/view/overhaul-of-large-prairie-4110

Dick

 

It has been decided that the lower portion of the firebox side sheets and throat plate are to be replaced. A start has been made in removing the lap and foundation ring rivets - see photo below. The white 'paint' was as a result of the NDT conducted a couple or so weeks back. Only the side sheets will be removed at this stage. Eventually the boiler will be turned so the the foundation ring is upper most to permit the work to be completed. The task of trueing-up the horn guides following optical measurement is over 50% complete. Many other tasks continue to be progressed.

 

Lots of work has been going on in the month or so since the last update was posted here. Drilling of the crown and side stays has progressed and the lower half of the left side firebox wrapper has been cut out.

The horns have been ground square to the frames and lots of measuring has followed allowing work to begin on the axleboxes. Cleaning and painting of the frames, and now the wheels continues.

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