24 October, 2014 - Ten Years Ago Today

Wow, how time flies, it only seemed like yesterday that S549 went back to Midland for the Midland Workshops Open Day celebrating the centenary of the opening of the facility.




S549 entering the workshops yard

S549 on public display

Some great video footage taken by Brett Mohen below;

 S549 being moved out of the Bassendean Museum for display

 at the Midland Railway Workshops open day 2004.

The loco was operated under Hotham Valley Railway's

 mainline accreditation with Gus Matherson at the controls.

Brett Mohen

 

It was great to see the Sammy out on the main line again however the Cartazzi axle bearing would play up on the way to Midland which raised a fair bit of concern bringing her back home to Bassendean. However she made it back with little drama. The bearing was later replaced prior to going to the Dowerin Centenary Celebrations.

 

A DVD was made using footage taken of S549 being transferred to Midland Workshops and is called "How Steam Works". It is available from the Rail Heritage Bookshop at Bassendean or can be ordered online, follow the link below.

http://www.railheritagewa.org.au/sales/sales_3.htm

Vale Joe Moir

The sad news of the passing of Joe Moir came through last Friday.

Joe was a railway man through and through, he worked on the railways for the WAGR, he help restore old railway rolling stock and items for ARHS, he researched different railway subjects and in his spare time was involved in modelling of the WAGR, one would have thought he had trains in his veins.

Joe - Fireman of S549 during its mainline trial to Muchea on 22 July 1997
Photo Jeff.Austin taken at Muchea


The WAGR S class locomotives were one of Joe's favourite engines and played a large part in her original restoration in the early 90's. His main contribution to the project was conducting engine trials up and down the siding at Bassendean to ensure all was in working order prior to being released for the mainline trial to Muchea. This happened over several weekends, up and down, up and down, check the bearings, up and down, up and down, check the bearings, over and over again. For Joe, he was in his element.



Joe overseeing the first hydrostatic test on 549's boiler - March 1990
Photo Phil Melling

Not sure how he arranged it, but Joe ensured he was the fireman for 549's mainline trial to Muchea in July 1997, maybe he told the boss, its my engine and I'm on her, OK.?



S549 "Greenmount", between Millendon and Muchea on trials after restoration
Rail Heritage Photo P10003

Joe at Dowerin - December 2006

Joe at Dowerin making sure all is in order.
Both Photo's Phil Melling

Joe will be sadly missed when "Greenmount" hits the rails again hopefully next year, but somehow I believe he will be looking over to see she's behaving herself.

Farewell Mate.
RC

Saturday, 18 October 2014 - Project Update

Well again its been some time since the last report so as the saying goes "Better late than never"

Whilst some of the team have been taking time off the project for a break, Greg, Josh and Jayden have been concentrating on removing the scale from the bottom of the boiler barrel and have done a fantastic job doing so. It has taken longer than expected due to the restrictions in the throat plate cavity previously explained but as you can see by the before and after photo's below there was a lot of debris to move. There is small amounts of scale remaining but this will be removed over the next couple of weeks.

Great job guys.!!


Before

After

We only have a couple of jobs remaining, remove the remaining scale in the boiler, remove the arch tube plugs and remove the centre supporting beam for the grate so the remainder of the foundation ring could be cleaned. However Saturday the 18th looked like it was going to be a day where all things would go wrong, a hire compressor that was needed to remove the arch tube plugs was not available, we hadn't organised a needle gun to continue with the cleaning of the boiler so it looked like a wasted day was ahead of us.

With only the removal of the supporting beam for the grate on the list of tasks that looked like it could be completed, Alec gathered up jacks, sleepers and blocks required to lift it out of its supporting brackets so it could be moved to one side. It was thought that to lift this beam which would weigh approximately 250kg was going to be a huge task in itself as there is not a lot of room at the bottom of the ash pan to place equipment to lift it.

Sleepers were placed through the ash pan doors to give the jacks an area to distribute the load and to minimise the risk of damaging the ash pan floor. A track lifting jack was then placed on top of these and fitted as close to centre of the beam possible and slowly raised until it came in contact with the beam. To our surprise it lifted easily out of the brackets of which it was then blocked up clear of these. The beam was then moved clear of the brackets and lowered so it rested on the ash pan skirt. The brackets were later removed so cleaning could continue.

The centre supporting beam for the grate

With that out of the way, what next..? We found an old needle gun which didn't work so why not try and fix it, we had nothing to loose..? Again as if it was our lucky day, with a couple of taps and words of encouragement from Greg, the tool fired up. Cleaning could recommence.

The last of the hurdles was the removal of the arch tube plugs, what have we got to loose..? Lets keep persisting in their removal. These plugs are about 80-90mm in diameter and have about 50mm of thread in contact. The previous attempt in their removal was only successful in one of the four being completed with the other three refusing to even think about moving and without a bigger compressor forget about it..!!!

Well as said before, it was our lucky day, with our small compressor working flat out all three were removed, the work area was full of smiling faces. Well done Greg and Kirk.

Arrow points to the Arch Tube Plug

Arch Tube Plugs Removed

With the plug removed, the arch tube is revealed,
to give some sort of scale of the plugs, the arch tube is approx. 60mm inside diameter.



Greg holding the last of the stubborn plugs, look at that smile..!!

After all the doom and gloom to start with, we had a very productive day. So what's next.? Mainly just cleaning prior to calling the boiler inspector to give it the once over.

Well done team, your efforts are appreciated.

Saturday 6 September 2014 - Project Update

Well it's been some weeks since the last update, so this is well overdue.

Removal of the Smokebox Concrete - 2 August 2014
A section of the concrete in the smoke box was required to be removed so the section in which hidden could be inspected by the boiler inspector. The concrete is fitted to the floor of the smoke box so it is easier to clean the ash from the floor as the concrete covers the boiler to underframe mounting bolts and the lower section of the exhaust manifold. On an S class the concrete at its deepest section is approximately 6 inches thick, so to remove it a concrete saw was required to cut grooves into the concrete and then broken up with a jack hammer. This was hard, heavy and loud work which unfortunately restricted other activities on the locomotive for the day.


The Removed Concrete

Removal of the Grate - 9 August 2014
The fire grate was required to be removed so the area of the boiler in which it covered could be inspected. Nothing seems to be light work on a locomotive of this size and this was no exception. The dump grate was removed the following Saturday. Well done team.


The Removed Grate

 

Where The Grate Used to Sit - Inside The Firebox

Boiler Wash Out - 6 September 2014
The long a tedious job of trying to clean the scale from the bottom of the boiler barrel has commenced. The scale, mainly tannin fell from the small tubes when they were removed and found a new unwanted home at the bottom of the barrel. We originally came up with several ideas to remove the scale but opted to use a high pressure hose and wash it towards the firebox and down the throat plate cavity and remove it through the foundation ring washout plug holes. On an S class the cavity of the throat plate is long and angular and it was found the scale would form a dam and would bank up which would require constant blasting to free up. It is though approximately half of the scale has been removed and the remaining should be removed next weekend.

So the list now looks like this.

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

Saturday 26 July 2014

Over the weekends of the 19th and 26th of July, further work was carried out on the outstanding tasks.

• Removal of the firebox door. Completed
• Finish removal of the welds on the firebox tube plate. Completed
• Removal of the safety valves, crown mounting and clack valves so the mountings can be inspected. Completed, well done Dom.
• Continue clearing the stay tell tale holes. In progress, Chad, Jaydan and Josh were last seen inside the firebox happily drilling.

It must be noted that Greg has been doing a great job cleaning down the exterior surfaces of the boiler, removing the remaining traces of the insulation and other debris left behind from the past twenty years. 

Next week should see the following tasks well under way if not completed.

• Removal of a section of the concrete in the smoke box so the front tube plate can be inspected.
• Removal of the grate so the foundation ring rivets can be inspected.
• Boiler washout to remove the scale left in the barrel as a result of the removal of the small tubes. 

I have been asked over the last couple of Saturdays as to what is the purpose of the stays, why are there holes in the stays and why do the holes only go only so far in, well I'll give it a go to explain;

The sole purpose of the boiler stay is to maintain the distance between the firebox (inner) shell and the exterior shell of the boiler and to support these sheets when the boiler is under pressure.


Arrow points to the stay, the inner firebox and outer wrapper are located to the left and right of the stay respectively

Arrow points to the stay, the inner firebox and outer wrapper are located to the left and right of the stay respectively

 The holes in which the stays are inserted into are threaded of which a long tap is used to ensure that the thread is the same pitch between the outer and inner sheets. The stay itself is threaded however the thread is removed and the material reduced in the area that would be in the water space (white area on the photo above). The holes in each end of the stay also go past the treaded section and just into the area that had been reduced by removing the thread as per the cross section view below.

Stay showing the threaded ends, the 3/16th hole in the end as well as the reduced centre section.

Stay showing the threaded ends as well as the reduced centre section.

Cross section view of the stay.

So why the hole.? The hole or tell tale hole as it is properly referred to has two purposes;
1) To give a weak point in the stay so if it was to break it would more likely break in the area where there is the least amount of resistance i.e. where there is the least amount of material through the section with the hole.
2) To advise the operator that it is broken by allowing water to leak out through the hole.
If the stay was of solid material there would be little evidence that it was broken.

Hopefully the above gives some explanation for the purposes of stays and the reason for the tell tale hole.

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.

Saturday 28 June 2014

What makes a project successful comes down to the team and the way they interact to reach a common gaol, a good team can move mountains. The team on the S549 project is a very good one and it is currently moving a "mountain" class locomotive with some momentum.

The target for the days activities was to lift the sand box to allow for the last of the cladding sheets to be removed followed by the removal of the insulation.

To do this the ladder had to be removed, then the sandbox lifted by packing it up with timber blocks (Remember a crane is not available or accessible to do any heavy lifting where the S class is currently located) so the sheets could be slipped over the fastening studs.

The insulation could then be removed, a chicken wire cage held this against the boiler barrel so this had to be removed first, hopefully the insulation would come away with it, Wrong..!! It had to be plucked off the boiler in clumps.

The team grew again this week with welcomed guests Ned and Josh lending a hand.

Whilst this was going on, Dominic continued to remove the majority of valves and fittings from the backhead of the boiler. The amount of progress made in this area was not originally planned for at the start of the day so it was an extra bonus.

We're getting closer, Saturday by Saturday.

Saturday 21 June 2014

The 549 work team arrived at the museum just after 9.30 for what seemed to be a beautiful morning with blue skies and the temperature not being too cold or windy.

Today's goal was to remove as much as possible of the boiler barrel cladding and maybe some of the fibreglass insulation that lies beneath it.

The Before Shot, Note: Sunlight on the Pavement.

To remove the cladding the following tasks were identified as needed to be done prior to removal, they were then allocated to a team member or members;

1. Remove the cylinder lubrication lines.
2. Remove the pipework to the clack valves. 
3. Remove the handrails and brake exhaust pipes on the drivers side. 
4. Remove the regulator connection rodding/brackets. 
5. Remove the screws that hold each half of the cladding together located under the barrel. Once these are undone the same can be removed from the top seam.

Although the team participated in all the tasks, Greg and Kirk took control on items 1-4, whilst Jaydan and Andrew were given task 5.

Jaydan and Andrew couldn't believe they would have to once again be in the bowels of the S class (yes, its a sh:t of job being in there), I bet they dream of having a pit one day.

Andrew - We all know its a forced smile..!!!

Andrew was first under there removing the screws manually but several just wouldn't budge, if only the original restorers had thought of a better way of securing the sheets together..!!!! I wonder where they are now..?

The guys then decided to use a bit of force and remove the remaining heads of the screws with a grinder, thus releasing the sheets. This time it was Jaydans turn to get in there.

Jaydan laying down on the job again.....

During the period in which Jaydan (was happily.?) grinding the heads off the screws, the sky went black and the heaven's opened up on Bassendean; although the S is under cover, the downpipes around the work area progressed on transferring the water from the roof to the ground around the S. By the time Jaydan had completed his tasks, the track bed resembled a lake, so how to get out..? Lets just say Jaydan is no Kieran Perkins...

Whilst all this was going on Kirk and Greg completed their tasks in methodical style and the removal of the cladding commenced.

With all hands on deck including a welcome visitor Paul Collins, the barrel sheets were removed, revealing the insulation that will have to wait for another week to be put into black garbage bags. We're getting there slowly...



 

The after shots - Note how dark it is at 3.30 in the afternoon
 and the remnants of Lake Greenmount.

Whilst we were packing up for the day, afternoon shift commenced (Dom) and he proceeded with the removal of the fittings on the back head of the boiler (basically all the equipment fitted to the boiler that is seen in the cab, gauge glasses etc.).

Next week; The plan is to lift the sand box to enable the remaining barrel sheets to be removed and remove the insulation. Any help welcomed..?

Saturday 14 June 2014

Another early start was made of which was the coldest morning so far for 2014. The main priorities of the day were to remove the remaining five tubes, remove a sample of the axle box lubrication pads and to continue removing the cladding/insulation.

Whilst all the equipment was being gathered for the days proceedings, the remainder of the team arrived and tasks were allocated.

There were five tubes remaining, two in the bottom row, two in the next row up and one in the top left hand corner that had been previously plugged due to leaking. The plugs and securing rod were removed from the upper tube and the beading at the firebox end removed, the beading on the other four had previously been removed or most of it at least so a light dressing was carried out to remove any remaining dags and burrs. They were then warmed internally at both ends with the oxy to enable them to shrink and then punched out. The hardest part was to remove the lower four past the blast pipe, one was stubborn and had to be cut in segments to get it out. What didn't make it any easier was the scale from the removed tubes sitting at the bottom limiting movement, this won't be a problem putting the new ones in as all this will be cleaned out prior.

So all the fire tubes have now been removed, the flues are still in situ and will be evaluated in the next couple of weeks. They actually look in good condition.

The Smoke Box Showing The Small Tubes Removed

Inside of the Boiler
The Scale Fell From The Small Tubes During Removal
It is Mainly Tannin Which is Used as a Corrosion Preventative.
 

One of the tasks set for the day was to remove a sample of the axle box lubrication pads to enable them to be used as templates for the manufacture of replacements. This task was given to the two youngest of the team, Jaydan and Andrew due to them being a lot more agile than the oldies. It required crawling under the loco and getting in positions that are awkward to say the least and getting covered in the smelliest blackest oil one can imagine. They both did a Stirling job and carried out the task with minimal fuss. These will now be cleaned up and to record the measurements etc. on a drawing to enable sub-contracting out.

Driving Wheel (Left) and Pony Truck Axle Box Lubricating Pads

The other task was to continue in the removal of the cladding and the insulation that lies below it. The sheeting on the firebox was removed and the sticky fibreglass plucked and stored in garbage bags for later disposal. Of the areas that were removed revealed a boiler in very good condition, the rust preventative paint had done its job well over the past 20 years. The remainder will be removed over the next coming weeks to enable a full boiler examination.

The Cladding & Insulation Removed on The Firebox.

Saturday 7 June 2014

The main objective today was to remove the remainder of the fire tubes. The removal of fittings was also to continue to allow the cladding and insulation to be removed.

Whilst all the tools and equipment were being assembled for the days work ahead, the newest member of the team arrived to give a helping hand. With the aid of Andrew and Jaydan, Greg went straight onto the task of removing the boiler bands and miscellaneous parts so the cladding could be removed.

The remaining fire tubes required the beading to be removed of which was undertaken with the grinder and a very careful hand to ensure the tube plate was not touched in any way. It was a dusty dirty job with every piece of PPE worn to limit the risk of being hit with grinding sparks. They were then warmed internally at both ends with the oxy to enable them to shrink and then punched out. By the end of the day only five remained, one that had been previously plugged and four stubborn others. One vast improvement was the use of recently purchased LED flood lights, it was a vast improvement within the firebox.

Saturday 17 & 24 May 2014

Tube removal continued, working from the top down, steady progress made. Work also progressed on the removal of fittings to enable the cladding to be removed.

Saturday 10 May 2014

Another day of superheater element removal, a bit easier this time round as we knew what we were up for. The last two rows of seven (a total of 14 elements) were removed and now onto the small tubes.

To explain how to remove the small tubes its probably best to explain how they were originally put in. Basically its like this;

1. Each tube is cut to the correct length allowing for the correct amount of overhang at both ends.
2. They are inserted into the boiler from the smoke box end and starting from the bottom row inserted through the tube plate. The far end of the tube is pushed through its corresponding hole in the firebox tube plate. This is repeated until all tubes are fitted.
3. The tubes are then set with the correct amount of overhang at the firebox end to allow for beading.
4. Each tube is then expanded until its tight against the tube plate. Regular checks to ensure the tube has not moved whilst expanding upsetting the beading allowance. Repeat until all are expanded at the firebox end.
5. The smoke box end is then expanded.
6. The fire box end is then beaded over to form a smooth rounded edge.

   

   Beading The Tubes

7. The tube is then sealed with a bead of weld.

To remove you basically do the reverse. The bead/weld is removed, the inside of the tube is warmed up which allows it to shrink when it cools down and then the tube is punched out with a special drift or punch. They are removed from top to bottom so the tube can rest on the ones below as your sliding them out.

Sounds easy doesn't it, but again its hard work.

We removed some of the top rows before we called it a day.

Saturday 3 May 2014

Today we will tackle the removal of the superheater elements, should be easy enough, just remove the nut and pull them out, WRONG..!! bloody hard work.

Attempted to remove the superheater element nuts but realised they weren't going anywhere..!!!
Had to call in reinforcements by the name of oxy, the first nut was warmed up but no luck. Heated it up again and got it to budge and with much effort removed the nut freeing up the element. Back breaking stuff. After the nut had been removed, the element needed to be dragged out of the flue and man handled to a set of trestles. By the end of the day two rows had been removed and we called it a day, absolutely stuffed.

Thursday 1 May 2014

The last of the remaining obstructing parts of the spark arrester were removed, which now gave us full access to the super heater elements.

 

Another one of the small tubes was removed to allow for the tube punch which was manufactured earlier to be fine tuned by Harvey who was of the mid week crew that helped put her together 20 years ago.

 

 A 1-11/16 socket was also purchased to remove the superheater element bolts which hopefully would commence the following Saturday.

Friday 4 April 2014

The new replacement small tubes have arrived...

Saturday 29 March 2014

Today we achieved a lot with many hands coming to assist, word must be getting out that things were happening with the old girl...

We removed the blower and brake exhaust pipes from the smoke box, this was followed by the petticoat also from the smoke box. Doesn't sound like much but the petticoat at my rough calculations is over 150Kg, It was an operation lifting it out of the smoke box and onto a trolley without breaking it (without a crane). We used the smoke box door as the crane. By removing the petticoat it has given us better access to the rear of the spark arrestor segments and super heater elements.

Saturday 22 March 2014

The start of what will be the restoration of S549 to service commenced today, that is the labour side of the project. The hot weather has just about passed and what better time to start but now.

To get to the tubes, first the spark arrester needs to be removed followed by the petticoat and then the superheater elements. So work commenced on the spark arrester, where possible the wedges holding the panels in place were removed but where they would not budge the oxy was bought in to help out. By the end of the day a large portion of the work was complete.