Project Report - 18 June 2016

Over the past several weeks, the team have been working on various projects for S549, listed below are those in detail;

Crinoline Hoops and Bars
So what the bloody hell is a crinoline I hear you say..... Well thanks to our friends at Wikipedia, here's the explanation;

A crinoline /krɪn.əl.ɪn/ is a stiffened or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was used to make underskirts and as a dress lining.

So how does 19th century fashion relate to a steam locomotive.? Well the outside sheeting on the boiler is called the "clothing" hence the connection.

Well back to what we are up to;
Due to the condition of the original crinoline hoops and bars, we decided to manufacture replacements. To enable us to manufacture them to the original specifications, we sourced the original drawings from both the Rail Heritage and State Records Office collections. Thanks again to Peter Dimarco from the SRO. Peter worked as a boilermaker at the Westrail Midland Workshops up until it closed and with him now at the SRO it makes it a lot easier requesting particular drawings as he knows exactly what he is looking for.

Drawing of the hoops sourced from the State Records Office

Initially we sourced pricing for full replacements ready for painting and fitting, however due to the volume of work involved in these (pressing, rolling and drilling/tapping holes), the price was outside of that budgeted for. We then decided to sub-contract the bare minimum and do the remainder of the work at Bassendean.

Orders were raised with Pressform for the supply and rolling of the hoops and for the flat bar joggles required for the crinoline bars, the remainder of the flat bar were purchased from Di Candillo Steel city. As Pressform turned around their order within a few days as they are aware of the importance of the project, Kirk kindly offered to pick the components up late on a Friday so they would be ready for the commencement of work the following day.

The rings required a considerable amount of work, so a layout (template) was developed on the work bench so the connection holes and the correct lengths could be transferred onto the rings. Each ring was manipulated to be the correct radius, marked out, drilled, countersunk and cut to length.

On the work bench - manufacturing a half Crinoline Hoop

In parallel, the spacing brackets were drilled and tapped. We also manufactured the crinoline bar that connects the rings together along with being the foundation for the shroud that sits between the dome and chimney. These long pars were pieced together with joggles and straight sections then drilled and tapped.

Drawing of the Joggles

The joggles allow for the crinoline bars to pass under each other allowing the front face to stay flush for the exterior clothing.

Under the supervision of Kirk, John and Alex drill one of the hundred holes required for the crinoline bars

We trial fitted the first ring and noticed it sat quite loose, upon closer inspection of the brackets that hold the rings away from the boiler we discovered that they were short so we extended the legs by welding a small piece to the brackets and ground them back to the correct measurement.

We finally completed the rings and trial fitted them as a complete set, all went well with only a few minor adjustments required.

Alex, Greg, John and Thing (from Addams Family) fitting the rings

Alex making final adjustments

Greg and Jayden - Happy crew after the trial fit.

Now that the barrel hoops and bars are nearly complete, our next task is to manufacture the firebox crinoline bars (in fact we have already made quite a few).

Firebox Ashpan
As with all coal or wood fired steam locomotives, once the fuel is burnt, the ash fall through the grate and into the ashpan where it is collected for further disposal at a loco depot. The ashpan needs to be a fully sealed container to ensure that the hot embers stay on the locomotive. As the grate has been removed, it gives us the perfect opportunity to check for holes in the steel plating and ensure the ashpan doors fully seal.

Kirk has been given this task and over the past weeks he has been heard but not seen, banging and clunking inside the firebox patching suspect areas caused by corrosion. He is also modifying the corners so the ash doesn't get hung up there and making it easier to rake out.

Radios and Electrics
The time when Alex isn't on site helping the crinoline hoops and bars, he's at home researching on what requirements are needed to comply with Brookfield's communication policies. The locomotive needs to be fitted with radios so the crew can keep in contact with train control. Different types of radios are required depending which area the train is working.

He is also doing the same with the locomotive lighting, moving away from incandescent lights to a more energy efficient LED system.

Smokebox Concrete
With the hydrostatic test out the way the concrete in the smokebox could be re-poured. John was given this task and firstly the area in which the concrete would sit against the tubeplate needed to be wire buffed and painted with the same high temperature zinc rich primer as what had been applied to the boiler barrel. The concrete was then poured in the area removed for the boiler examination.


With every hour spent on the locomotive's restoration is an hour closer to seeing S549 back in steam.