BOILER WORKS

Work being carried out on the boiler and smokebox

Aligning the chimney to the blast pipe, March 2009.

Happy faces on completion of the lift, March 2009.

The smokebox being lifted into place for trial fitting, March 2009.

Billy lining up the smokebox in the saddle, March 2009.

The smokebox bolted up, ready for trial fitting on the saddle, March 2009.

Aaron grinding off the front clamps on the smokebox, March 2009.

We welded on clamps to allow the edges of the wrapper to be either pulled together or spragged apart as required to fit the rings. March 2009.

Aaron and Billy drilling the wrapper to accept the smokebox door ring, March 2009.

Iain practising adjusting the diameter of the smokebox. It took two of us to open it up enough to get the adaptor ring in, but it all fitted ok. March 2009.

New stainless steel studs for the blastpipe, courtesy of Iain's mate Larry Beveridge, March 2009.

Robin burning out the cut-out in the smokebox for the blastpipe, March 2009.

Aaron burning out the cut-out for the chimney, March 2009.

Aaron cutting out the template for the smokebox cut-outs, March 2009.

Aaron using the template to mark out the smokebox for cutting, March 2009.

The smokebox door components primed, ready for re-assembly, January 2009. Photo IAH Smith

The smokebox door ready for priming. The shed plate is a replica, the original has been missing since the 1960's. January 2009. Photo IAH Smith

The smokebox door with inner section removed and final comonent removal in progress, December 2008.

Iain countersinking the holes on the smokebox door ring protection plate, December 2008.

The smokebox door ring, with repair sections clamped for match-drilling, December 2008.

Iain drilling out the pilot holes on the smokebox door ring repair section, December 2008.

Aaron heating up the backhead fittings studs to help extract them, August 2008..

Robin heating up the damaged section, August 2008.

The smokebox door ring with the corroded section cut away, and a start made on beating out the dent, August 2008.

The finished job. Just need to get the steel rolled to make the repair section now.

The smokebox wrapper seen here in it's new incarnation, as Max's incinerator.

Robin burning out the last of the superheater flues, May 2008.

Close examination of the smokebox revealed large areas of thinning. We decided to replace the wrapper. Max is seen here burning out the bolts holding the chimney in place.

Max posing beside the removed chimney. I have no idea how he got it down there.

Ian and Max working to remove the superheater header. It was stuck firmly in place and difficult to access and took several sessions to get off.

Ian inside the smokebox, showing the superheater header removed from it's mounting studs and ready to be extracted.

The washout plugs and mudhole doors were put in and the boiler filled with water to the bottom of the tubeplate. The leaking tubes can be seen on the LHS of the picture.

Ian burning the head off one of the rivets holding the smokebox wrapper to the boiler shell.

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