Saturday 12 July 2014

Well we finally got there, the removal of the cladding and insulation is completed. The WAGR cladded the boilers before the cab was fitted and this practice continued when S549 was restored all those years ago. However it caused a headache this time around as we really didn't want to remove the cab but the cab was hindering the removal of the cladding as it was pinching the sheets, so after much debate we decided to cut the sheets adjacent to the cab walls which then made the removal so much easier. As the sheets were the originals from the WAGR days, they were heavy corroded in sections so replacements were always on the plan anyway.



 

 

Dom had done a great effort the previous Saturday removing the remaining fittings from the back head of the boiler allowing access to remove the remaining cladding. As we were packing up, Dom arrived with spanners in hand to commence afternoon shift so we will have to wait until next week to see what he achieved. 

 

 

The other task that was started was the cleaning out of the tell tail holes in the stays, there is hundreds of them. Andrew, Jaydan and Josh did a stirling job completing approximately 60% of the holes located on the outside of the firebox by the end of the day. (What we haven't told them is that the same amount of holes are located on the inside of the firebox).

Josh clearing the stay tell-tail holes



There is still some work to be completed prior to the boiler inspector giving the boiler a visual inspection, the main items are;

• Removal of a section of the concrete in the smoke box so the front tube plate can be inspected.
• Finish removal of the welds on the firebox tube plate.
• Removal of the safety valves, crown mounting and clack valves so the mountings can be inspected.
• Removal of the grate so the foundation ring rivets can be inspected.
• Removal of the firebox door.
• Boiler washout to remove the scale left in the barrel as a result of the removal of the small tubes. 
• Continue clearing the stay tell tale holes.

With a little luck, the jobs will be completed over the next couple of work days, at least the list is getting smaller.