March 2020 saw boiler 799 enter the boiler shop at Ropley but there wasn’t any time to start work on it. Sadly it was only for an hour or so but it was a critical step as it enabled us to remove the trailing wheelset we can now access all the horn block liners and axleboxes for repair.Ī small but significant step in the sense that we all know 499 WILL steam again is that a couple of the guys have started cleaning up the frames and applying paint! Sadly it’s the side not visible from the running line but then as we told them, you can practice on the side people can’t see, then do it right on the side they can!!! Urie S15 499, briefly, returns to the railsĪ major development occurred in July last year which saw 499 return to the tracks for the first time in almost 10 years. All 4 were temporarily fitted to the cylinder blocks to allow completion of the cladding. 2 cylinder cover castings were sent away for specialist weld repair and following their safe return the faces of these and the other 2 castings were machined. Once we can return to Ropley, riveting these pieces will likely be one of our first jobs. Subsequently the sections which sit above the extension bars were cut and profiled with a curved piece welded on for the step above the motion bracket … one of the very visible differences between the Urie S15 and the later Maunsell variant. By the end of summer all the angles had been riveted on, the valences were up and running plate over the cylinder blocks riveted on. These have to be a tight fit between the motion brackets and an angle section toward the rear of the loco both fitted perfectly, another sign that we’ve got the new frames right!! The next major job was to start fixing new running plate prior to this the valence sections were removed from storage for fettling and new angles for the frames cut and drilled … a laborious job in itself. With the brackets secured we then had to lift the extension beams into place. In the end all went well, there are a handful of rivets left to do which we’ll get on to as soon as the current lockdown eases. Both motion brackets were riveted back on the frames it sounds a straightforward job but believe me it wasn’t! Not all the holes are accessible with the holding up gun so those in the top ‘pockets’ required the use of a pneumatic holder-up. But with spring around the corner and a buzz in the air from the highly successful vaccine rollout perhaps now is the time to reflect and consider how much, despite everything, the ULS achieved in the past 12 months.įirst, the heavy rebuild of 499’s frames continued apace once we were able to return to site. What they did and continue to do is nothing short of amazing, we salute every one of them. Sadly progress was subsequently curtailed by new restrictions and lockdowns but frustrating though it was, we all understood the need to play our part and do what we could to protect those fantastic clinical teams working absolutely flat out in the NHS. 3 months or so later all was unlocked and gradually the railway came back to life our own engineering team were there as soon as the green light was given, ready to make up for all that lost time. At the time there had been a suspicion that something was coming so the Watercress Line engineering staff were working frantically to have everything safely locked away at Ropley just a couple of days before the announcement came. It is now rapidly approaching the anniversary of the first national lockdown brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, a day which in some ways seems a lifetime away yet remains so clear in my mind.
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