Brighton Atlantic: 32424 Beachy Head

Fantastic!

The next few years is looking to be very exciting for preservationists and railway enthusiasts alike. Well done to the Beachy Head team, it will be something special and then some to see it steam in the near future.

 

Looking good.

 

Had a look round Beachy Shed a couple of weeks ago. She certainly looks impressive now she is on her wheels, albeit only six of them! Lots of other incidental small parts have been done, for example the brake rigging had been trial fitted.

The driving wheels are still at Riley's, awaiting fitting of the crank pins. Unlike a conventional loco, this is a more complex job since it is not just a case of driving them home; they have to be fitted in a precise orientation relative to the wheel boss, on account of the assymetric machining of the crank pins due to the connecting rod and coupling rod having different throws.

Tom

 

My Dad's cousin is David Jones who's the Treasurer of the Atlantic project and he told my Dad today that they put the wheels on in time for the Open Day last week with the intention to gain more sponsorship. It worked as they received around £10,000 worth of sponsorship over the weekend and they hope to have the driving wheels back from Riley's by the end of the year to have the full rolling chassis.

 

Can't wait to see 32424 in steam and the progress is looking great. I think it may have been 32424 that my Grandad once told me that when he once faked having a dental appointment when he was at school to see it go through Haywards Heath (It was an LBSCR Atlantic anyway and I think it was Haywards Heath I can't quite remember the full story he told me).

 

Any more news about how this is coming along?

 

There's a spare P tank boiler as well. Though in actual fact both the spare and the one from No.27 are in a very bad way, the better two being the ones rebuilt for Nos.178 and 323.

 

If you wanted a nice LSWR 0-4-4t there's always the T1 boiler that came from the same factory as the Atlantic boiler. Wasn't it at Bitton? Ray.

 

This is a rather out of date update, taken from the latest "Atlantic News" magazine. It is right as of probably about the beginning of September, so there will be more progress since then:

Driving Wheels: still at Riley's (at least, as of early September; I'm pretty sure they still haven't come back to Sheffield Park) waiting for the crank pins to be shrunk in. This is more complex than normal because the coupling rod throw and and connecting rod throw are different (and machined off-centre on the crank pin). So on any pair of wheels, not only do the crank pins have to be driven in perpendicular to the wheel centre boss (as on any wheelset), but they also have to be quartered properly from side to side.

I think when that is done, they can return.

Front bogie is assembled and the loco is currently sitting on six wheels.

Cylinder valve chest and saddle are bolted to the frames and leak tested using compressed air to check seals between them and the cylinders (outside cylinders, inside valves on this loco with the steam passages passing through the frames).

Axle box crowns machined and the oil feed slots cut, oil feed box fitted, keep trays fitted.

Orders placed for production of most of the valve gear components; at the time of writing the expansion links and die blocks had been half completed.

Four eccentric rods and two intermediate valve rods (to be made from forgings) on order, with the same company also making the valve extension rods, machining the crosshead castings, piston rods and gudgeon pins.

All that work cost £68,000 (which puts the supposed £350k to complete Betton Grange into context...)

A Gresham and Craven brake ejector is being renovated. Components for the brakes are steadily being collected, mostly coming from old diesels. The loco is air braked itself and will be equipped to operate either air or vacuum braked trains, in the same way as Birch Grove and Fenchurch are.

Superheater header pattern almost completed. I believe this pattern is very similar to that used in Bulleids and will with small adaptations be suitable if we ever need a new superheater header for either of our Light Pacifics.

Blastpipe base casting received from the foundry.

Numerous other smaller patterns made and small parts machined, mostly in connection with the valve gear.

You'll notice no significant boiler work has been done since the last update. This is because it is recognised that space between the frames will be very constricted as soon as the driving wheels go in place. So as much work as possible is being done on the chassis, and particularly the valve gear, to get it all in place before the wheels finally arrive from Rileys. I'd imagine work will then turn seriously towards the boiler.

Finally, a worthwhile quote from Fred Bailey, who is leading the project (my emphasis):

Tom

 

Tom, thanks very much.

Tobbes

 

LSWR Class T1 0-4-4T locomotive boiler, Bitton, 8 September 2012 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
(Not my image)

 

Latest Bluebell News has the following quote:

So thoughts are starting to turn towards the boiler: the project needs thirty two 5.25" flue tubes, thirty two swaged bottle ends to fit them; 134 2" fire tubes just over sixteen feet long, and "about a quarter of a mile of superheater element tubing". The superheater header pattern is complete, but the casting needs to be procured, which will be very expensive as it is a very complicated casting.

As a very rough guide for those not following the project, a rough guide would say:

Complete or on order and paid for

(*) The complete loco chassis, including cylinders and valve gear and reverser, and most of the brake gear components
(*) All the locomotive wheels (the drivers are still at a certain locomotive works in NW England waiting for the crankpin bosses to be put in place)
(*) The basic boiler and firebox, but refurbishment needs to be completed
(*) The smokebox wrapper, but the door and chimney still need to be built AFAIK
(*) The tender underframe and wheels
(*) Buffers, couplings etc

Still to be built / paid for

(*) The tender upper parts (water tank etc)
(*) The refurbishment of the existing boiler
(*) The locomotive running plate
(*) The cab (I think the sides already exist because they needed to be built so that the reverser could be fitted)
(*) The boiler cladding etc
(*) Final erection, painting and no doubt many smaller components

Tom

 

Tom: As ever, thankyou for the information. Just a couple of questions re the boiler. Firstly I recall the unit was thought to be in exceptional condition, does it just need retubing, or does it need any stay work and the like?
Secondly, has it ever been trial fitted on the frames, or are the engineers confident that careful measurement means it will just drop in first time?

Regards

46118

 

The stays have been tested and AFAIK one or two will need replacing, but nothing major. There has been some work on the boiler already cleaning up the faces of various "holes" (for want of a better word: mudhole doors, where the gauge glasses fit, that sort of thing). I think there were also some minor modifications made when the boiler was in stationary service that need reverting back to original form.

As for trial fitting: no, that hasn't happened. In the current arrangement of Beachy Shed, there is no overhead crane that would allow it, and because Beachy Shed is not rail-connected to the rest of the yard and lies at right angles to the other tracks, it is not an easy job to get the loco out so that it could be shunted into the main workshop (where there is an overhead crane). So I would not expect a trial fit of the boiler to take place until shortly before the engine is due in service, when I imagine it will emerge into the main works for the last few months of work to fit all the various pieces together.

I'm not aware that there is any especially major concern that the boiler will be tight - in contrast to the S15, where the boiler was built right up to the limits of what will fit between the frames, and you have to be very careful with how much the various stay heads protrude.

Tom

 

Thanks for the info again.

 

Having very recently asked the question "will it be finished in Atlantic House?" the plan is for all work to be completed in Atlantic House with the engine rolled out on temporary track for the boiler to be fitted etc. As ever this is all subject to change.

 

A slightly belated Atlantic update online, but with a lot of photos of cylinders, motion parts etc:

Bluebell Railway Atlantic Group - Latest progress

Tom

 

Posts about the other M&GN boilers moved here:
http://railways.national-preservation.com/steam-traction/39276-m-gn-boilers.html

Richard

 

Wow! Big news - well, for anyone following the wheel saga, they have finally come back to the 'Park!

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/locos/atlantic/apics13/atl_wheels_fredb095_6mar13h.jpg

The image clearly shows the off-centre crankpin. It was this oddity (caused by the fact that the cylinder stroke is more than twice the coupling rod throw, thus meaning the crankpins had to be inserted not only perpendicular to the plane of the wheel, but also with a precise rotational alignment relative to the wheel centre) that has caused such delays in getting them back (that and, I think, higher priority work for a certain workshop in north west England involved with a big green pacific that is apparently more famous).

Atlantic House will be open with a sales stand, and the chance to get a closer look and discuss progress, for several days over the extension opening week. The intended 'open' days are 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 & 31 March and 1 April.

Update here: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/locos/atlantic/latest.html

Tom

 

Great to see the wheel sets at Sheffield Park