Last posting of 2009!

23rd December 2009

I thought I'd post some seasonal pictures to mark the end of the blog for this year - though as 2010 promises to be a very busy year I'm sure the blog will be busier than ever! I would like to thank those who've dropped by and read these pages for following these ramblings and also wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy New Year.

So - the photographs...

Below: Our fake snow has been rather eclipsed by the real stuff and today was a clear, cold one. Here are a couple of photos of Gateshead 10 at work. The museum has been very busy over the Christmas season, which is very encouraging.

Below: The gallopers have continued to be a popular attraction - seen here in unfamiliar weather conditions!

Below: A reminder of what's to come in 2010... January should see a newly restored Coffee Pot at work in these sidings.

Below: As the day draws to a close...

2010 Motive Power for Rowley Station

17th December 2009

As has been hinted at in these notes before, we aim to re-commence passenger operations at Rowley Station next Easter. This follows the relaying of the track and a break of some 19 years in operations. Whilst much remains to be done in the planning and execution of this, we can announce one of the locomotives which will appear in action.

We are delighted that the Furness Railway Trust has agreed to bring FR20 of 1863 back to Beamish for June and July 2010. The engine made a huge impression on staff and visitors in 2008 when it first visited, likewise its enthusiastic and professional support crew.

This still leaves us to book an engine for the April - May window, and August - October period. Plans are in hand for both of these periods and will be announced in due course. This is on top of the engines which are to be invited to appear at September's Great North Steam Fair 2 - 5th September 2010...!!! Exciting times indeed!

Below: A selection of images from September 2008 when FR20 was in action at Beamish during the steam weekend held that month. Thanks to David Williams for the first three photographs, taken during a photographic charter which he ran during the event.

Coffee Pot's Return - only weeks away!

15th December 2009

The final completion of Coffee Pot No. 1's extensive restoration is now only weeks from completion and Vince Allen is making terrific progress on the closing details of the project, having sweated (and sworn) to fit the complex cladding sheets fit (and fit so well).

Progress today can be seen in the photographs that follow:

Below: An aerial view with the smokebox lid (its not really a door!) removed. The cladding is readily apparent, complete with brass bands and some subtle pinstripe lining.

Below: A fireman's side view showing the assembled connecting rods and valve gear. Vince has assembled a jig to enable the engine to be run on the boiler before it is placed in the frames, in order to check and correct the alignments. This should take place this week.

Below: The driver's side, which is rather plainer (to allow for the reverser etc. to fit). The red oxide firebox will be painted black.

Below: A view taken without flash to show just how neat the finished result is!

Below: Once the boiler is fitted and secured, the principal outstanding jobs will be to fit the pump and injector. This is the injector, a replica Giffard type (with Gresham & Craven innards, for reliability - the handwheel is therefore cosmetic only and will probably be relocated to the other side of the body in order to save reversing the pipework for water feed and delivery). Graham Redfern manufactured this from new and it will be mounted on the fireman's side of the boiler.

Below: Back at base, Shaun has applied the first coat of black paint to the living van as well as finishing off the steps - as seen in these two photographs.

Steam Mule - Latest photo

14th December 2009

David Young sent through the latest picture of progress on the steam mule. It is looking superb and David is taking enormous trouble to ensure the engine is correctly aligned and free running. Note the new slide bar supports (and acorn tops!), matched set of oil pots and the beautiful phosphor bronze cylinder lagging! I must have a magpie tendency as this is one of my favorite bits of engine, along with the copper chimney top on Coffee Pot (see earlier posting)!

Christmas Views

14th December 2009

Here are a couple of scenes from last Friday night's busy Christmas event (the weekend was even busier!). More images can be found at the Flickr site which is advertised on the right of these pages.

Below: The gallopers have proved to be an immensely popular attraction - they will be in action this Friday and through the weekend once again...

Below: Friday's misty conditions produced some atmospheric scenes - Tram 264 poses in the street. It is parked here during events to add to the scene, delineate the area for market stalls and also act as a boundary to trams turning back at the point (we are not operating through the street, so trams turn at each end of the town).

In other news...

Saturday and Sunday saw the full compliment of four road engines in action around the museum, struggling at times to make headway through the crowds! My thanks to all of those who have both provided their engines and their time this year to bring about this regular activity. Working steam around the site transforms the museum - the colliery yard (otherwise closed at this time) was made particularly vibrant by the presence of steam on Saturday. At least one engine will be out next weekend, whereupon we will lay the engines up until the New Year.

Coffee Pot No.1 is due another steam test this week, to test the mechanical side before the boiler is placed into the frames. I should have some photos of progress on the blog later this week.

General News Roundup

10th December 2009

A varied roundup of odds and ends today...

Below: I was in Lincoln recently, where the Museum of Lincolnshire Life has this Ruston, Proctor portable engine on display - a taste of our own machine to come...

Below: Davy is striding along with the stone crusher rebuild. The chassis is shortened and the first coat of paint has been applied. Some further work is required to make good wastage in the main frame sections, whereupon the rear axle can be refitted and final painting (green) be carried out.

Below: Shaun Kay has been progressing the living van and has made some steps to fit along with brackets on which to store them. He has managed to match the wood to the frame very well and once painted they will blend in very well with the original van itself. Paint is on order and once it arrives a start will be made on painting the van. Some have commented that it would look rather nice if it was varnished!

Below: Meanwhile David Young has been preparing more parts for the Steam Mule. He has made all of the nuts and studs, and came into Beamish to chain-drill the connecting rod. Two views show the 70+ holes being drilled in an 80 x 40 (sorry for the metric reference!) section of mild steel bar. He will then cut through to free the basic shape, which will be milled to profile. David commented that the holes are 10mm diameter and that he used a dormer drill for the work - apparently it hasn't shown the slightest sign of blunting!
A flywheel for this job is on order and will be the last sizable item outstanding. Once it arrives David will complete the new crankshaft to suit.

And finally...

This weekend we will have up to four of the currently resident fleet of traction engines and steam rollers out and about. The weather forecast is currently very promising and so it could be a good opportunity to get some atmospheric steam shots - it is rare to see road engines out in cold sunny winter weather and the effects can be impressive! Pockerley Bank (see earlier blogs) and the climb out of the colliery yard are two particularly good spots for towering exhausts.

Chaldron Waggon Restoration Project announced!

3rd December 2009

After some months of work behind the scenes I am pleased to announce that we have let a contract for the conservation and restoration of the Londonderry chaldron waggon type. This will take a number of forms:

1) A conservation study of the remaining examples (amazingly parts of nearly 40 survive!)
2) The production of a full set of CAD drawings of the type, and the common variants.
3) The overhaul of four waggons from Beamish's working collection.
4) The complete restoration of two waggons from Beamish's collections.

I'll publish more on this site as we progress, probably in the form of downloadable documents (in the manner of the recently posted stocklist).

Work will commence next Easter and will be carried out at Beamish by waggonwright Alan Milburn, who has rebuilt numerous waggons at the Bowes Railway. The rear of the colliery engine works will be the venue and it is hoped that visitors will appreciate being able to see the traditional skills at work.

Funding has come from the PRISM fund, Association for Industrial Archaeology, Ken Hoole Trust and staff/volunteer input. The objective is to produce two working rakes of four waggons each for use in the colliery. If we can do more, we will however!

Below: The four waggons below will be overhauled and repainted as part of the contract.

Below: These two waggons will be completely rebuilt once recorded - we intend to use the traditional colliery approach to dismantling them and this will be posted on these pages once this spectacular process is enacted...

3rd December 2009

This morning the rest of our fairground acquisitions arrived - the most striking being the living van used by Sally Beach. This has been sheeted over for 15 years, so once inside we uncovered it and opened it up to enable it to thoroughly dry out.

Below: The 1891 Orton & Spooner living van dominates the other items in the Regional Museum Store!

Below: Two interior views (sorry, I haven't managed to rotate these!) - the van is intact, as last inhabited.

Below: The second load consisted of the original centre truck and remains of the coal/water cart.

Below: The rear axle of the water/coal cart.

Below: Meanwhile... Elsewhere in the RMS Davy has separated the crusher from its trolley.

Below: Whilst the crusher is a robust casting and is in very good condition, the trolley has suffered from years of hard use.

Below: This view amply illustrates the problem! The rot is confined to the rear end, and as we won't be refitting the stationary engine drive unit, we will shorten the chassis to suit. The crusher will be belt driven from portable steam/internal combustion engines so the shorter length will improve its manoeuvrability around the museum site.

Steam Mule Progress - Return of the castings!

2nd December 2009

David Young has been working hard in his home workshops on the engine for the steam mule. After taking delivery of a wide range of castings (for which he had made the patterns), he has steadily been machining these to fit to the engine bed. The original engine has revealed itself to be an astonishingly badly made school project, possibly incorporating some original parts (perhaps salvaged from a pump or similar). We are convinced that it must never have worked, certainly with any success or reliability. As a result David has re-designed much of it to well known and understood principles, as recorded in numerous books on stationary engines, both contemporary with the early manufacturers and also published more recently.

Below: A view of the new plummer blocks (or bearing pedestals if you prefer!), complete with oil pots. The original crankshaft is temporarily fitted to show the layout, though a new crankshaft is to be made - a disc crank is seen in this view also.

Below: New pillars for the slide bars have been made, to traditional design. The lower slidebars are loosely placed to show the context.

Below: The original piston and piston rod (left) - interestingly incorporating wood in its construction (!) - complete with the new piston casting on the right. This is oversize to allow for the machining, and over length to enable the piston rings to be taken from this casting also.

Below: The original crosshead (above) complete with replacement (below). The original had been soldered solid and was inadequate for purpose, so David has made a new crosshead and brasses (which are also free to move!). The pin is loosely fitted in this view and will be a tight fit when finally assembled, whence appearing off centre.

Below: My favorite bit! The phosphor bronze cylinder cladding is rolled and cut to shape, the cylinder end cover has been turned to a bright finish (previously painted green) and the new valve chest is in place. We wanted the engine to not just be functional, but exude the principles of quality and finish so evident in Victorian engineering.

Below: A sequence of views showing the steam/valve chest assembly (all new parts)...

1) A view of the assembled unit with cover plate in place - the projecting studs will be threaded for retaining nuts.

2) Cover plate removed...

3) Valve/steam chest itself removed and slide valve placed in situ...

4) The bare cylinder with projecting studs and remachined valve face. You can just discern the ports in this view.

I should place on record here the enormous amount of time David has committed to this project - it is essentialy the construction of a new engine and one which will have a long lasting legacy at Beamish and beyond in terms of training. It is therefore gratifying to be able to record the very sound traditional engineering principles that are evident in David's work and the sheer quality of such has to be seen to be believed. Hopefully David will be on hand to demonstrate and talk about the project at events at Beamish next year...!!!

Snowplough latest!

2nd December 2009

I called in at Bowes today to discuss progress on the replica snowplough - it is safe to say it is very nearly finished!

Below: A reminder of the original...

Below: An unusual fitting! Derek Young has been working inside the tub on securing the blade, whence the chair!

Below: An overview of the blade, now mounted on the tub. The top raves are finished, though some modifications are needed to the blade bracing rod to allow it to accurately fit the tub body.

Below: A view from the other side. The wagon has been placed temporarily on rails to set the blade height. Derek will now construct the side raves and snow deflectors on the body itself. These will change the appearance markedly. At which point construction will be all but complete. It is hoped to have the wagon back at Beamish by Christmas...