alexf
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A Steamy Weekend
Friday saw me once again at the Old Kiln to help prepare Emmet for running over the weekend. We first got her over the inspection pit so that our steam department’s mechanical engineer could go underneath and adjust the brakes to his satisfaction since the front left block was a good inch further from the wheel than any of the others: Emmet…
Peter Holton, clive BRretired and 3 others3 Comments-
Brilliant! I must send my unedited stuff to you for resentencing into Kings English? As horses are for courses! Then sheds are for yards in their individual jargon? And your boiler tubes are my smoke tubes! (Even with super heating tubes of saturated steam), And I do love Emmet’s ash/ cinder Mesh picture like the new introduction of the S/C…
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Sum peep L tips as ye speak
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Boiler Exam, Etc.
It might have been heatwave temperatures on Friday, but we still had to steam test O&K 9998 Elouise for the second part of her annual boiler exam. I used our regular shunting diesel-hydraulic engine, Hunslet 36 “Champion” to haul Elouise out of the shed and over the ash pit to empty her grate and ashpan before shunting her onto number 1 road…
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I loved every minute of my early branch line work on the Southern coastline’s years ago! The dainty Adams and Drummond M7 to Ivatt 2Mt were not very big, But were full of go! A friend of mine worked on the permenant way gang, But was hospitalised at Frenchhay hospital for a long time! To then work to become an Income tax Inspector for the…
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Sweeping Success
I wasn’t rostered for train ops—guarding or driving—over the weekend, so I was able to tackle a couple of maintenance jobs that had been on my to-do list for a few weeks. Once the train had left the yard on Saturday morning, and with a colleague as shunter, I drove a Hunslet diesel to pull Emmet out of the shed and over the ash pit for…
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Very good again! (A nice read)!
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Steam Test and Repairs
After putting Elouise back together last weekend we were all set on Saturday morning to steam test her and check for any problems to be fixed before the boiler inspector’s return visit at the end of the month. Once the passenger train had been marshalled and left the yard I used one of our Hunslet 4wDH locos to shunt Elouise out of the loco…
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I admire your dedication and the details you always include in great updates. I really must come and visit the railway soon.
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Steam Maintenance
No train ops for me this weekend, but no shortage of work for the steam department to do. My first job was to tackle the flakes of scale that we’d not managed to wash out; I used a borescope to look inside through a washout plug hole, and a length of heavy copper cable to break up the flakes before washing out what we could. With the boiler…
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A very full weekend, sounds like a fabulous experience.
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Well narrated again! I don’t suppose the fire bars are of the rocking type? Is clinker spooned out the cab door when in use?
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A Duo of Simplexes
It was Simplex Saturday for me, rostered as diesel driver in training for the morning shift and then guarding through the afternoon. I arrived early so I could do a bit of cleaning in the mess room, prepare the guard’s log sheet and the satchel with cash float and card machines, and unlock the crossing gates. The padlocks had been a little…
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What’s next? The Flying Scotsman, Or Duchess of Sutherland??😅
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Go for it I say! The times I think I wish I done this or done that!
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Excellent work and as usual beautifully written. You certainly have had an amazing year. Keep trying everything and please do write about it.
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Boiler Exam for O&K 9998 Elouise
A midweek day at the railway is unusual for me: I normally work Monday to Friday at the “day job”, but I take the occasional day off for important train-related duties. One such was the visit of the boiler inspector for the first half of Elouise’s annual exam. I arrived around 9:30, just behind my colleague, the head of the steam…
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I enjoyed that! Very good!
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My First Ruston
A Bank Holiday weekend with hot, sunny weather forecast usually means we’re quiet as most potential visitors will head to the seaside or wherever they disappear off to. I was rostered as guard again both days, but for a change we had locos picked out beforehand. Saturday would be Ruston 12HP no. 177639 “Sandrock”, owned by my colleague who…
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Sorry! If i had known you were adding a story I would of laid off! We were typing at the same time! You maybe use more than one finger? Im a plodder? Its steam verses diesel! I missed Clan Line as I was a bit under the weather! Its easier to sit at home than go on long walks? Maybe i am burning the wrong grade of coal?
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My friend Terry left school with me! He delivered registered notes on his BSA Bantom motorbike for the P/Office! (cant remember name) His father was a tube blower at 72A shed! Late 50 and he couldn’t breath! He had fifty times the stuff that I would breath as a fireman! St David’s banking with my driver swayth’ed in towel like he was the Sheik…
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What did I miss?
Back from my Dorset holiday and back to the railway on Saturday where I was rostered as guard for the day. I spoke to the chap who was down as driver and we agreed to split the duties between us so I could get more training hours in. We had some fun and games hunting down coupling parts which had been swapped out last weekend for ones…
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I love your continued enthusiasm for every aspect of the railway. It really shines through in your writing.
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We should of maintained a little Coal produce, and North sea Oil n Gas needs until our changeover date! So now Importer’s go by price for profit so the UK gets the ‘Chaff’ or rubbish side of the deal! We lose Europe, America, But gain huge interest repayments to investors for our borrowing! We should have a dozen women in the treasury to…
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On the buses
A little break from trains today, helping refit the steering on a 1960s Dennis Loline III bus in a barn in rural East Hampshire. Started the day with it up on blocks and me lying underneath replacing split pins to lock crown nuts, and finished with it fit to go out on the road. I got to sit in the cab for a little while (holding the steering…
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