Jump forward a year, lots of plumbing and small items made and fitted etc, I was ready to fire it just a couple of days ago, anyway here are a few images of the process, I had to add a spill return from the axle driven water pump, via a bypass valve return to the tender, the tender is upside
down and bogies removed allowing access to the floor plate
the return pipe lower section before it coupled to the bypass valve
many a silver soldered joint in this project and some ingenuity needed to work out how to get n keep things in perpestive whilst being brazed
Whilst the boiler was off the frame I was able to refit the main steam pick up pipe which is connected to the regulator just below it, I made 2 gaskets
one either side of the slush plate, then refitted the steam dome, complete with it's safety valve set at 95psi using my home made tool
Many a job required the engine to be laid over on it's side, just to make things a bit easier for a blind old sod like me, working out the curves/radius
on some of the pipe work was very taxing as it had to line up with the fittings, no kinks in any of the tubes thankfully, shown here are the pipes that connect water and steam to the injector
Everything on the backhead was made by me with exception of the 'Everlast' blowdown valve at the bottom of the boiler, the pipe work and bends nearly drove me around the bend LOL
I wanted to have the main blowdown valve where it could be accessed quickly if needed, so I made my own and mounted it remotely on the rhs valance plate, it has it's own square headed key which I filed square by hand
A long time ago I had made the firebox grate using brass and mild steel, but after talking with more people it soon became obvious to me that I should have made it from stainless steel, so I ordered a few lengths form the UK and set about making it
having made that and all the other items, I thought about what I would need soon to move the loco n tender from the bench (which is where my Workshop trailer stood in the shed taking up room for 14 years) we made a wooden bench 1.7m long and 900mm tall, so I had to buy a lifter trolley that would go to 900mm it cost $600 from H & F in Sydney, then I needed to make a 5" rail and mount it securely on the trolley table
it just fits, I have to swing the 'dog bone' connector to one side to clear the handles.
Anyway after thinking about lighting it up for the first time, I put myself into 'think before you act' mode, the screw reverser had to be mid way between full forward and reverse, then a screwdriver placed through the wheels to stop it from rolling, a ratchet strap over the top so it didn't topple sideways and a heap of other things,
The day finally came along when I had covered all bases, fingers crossed and I can tell you I was like the proverbial cat trying to pass razor blades, I had cut n split some hardwood sticks and soaked them in kerosene, I also have a 20kg bag of 'Char' which is no longer available and hasn't been for well over 15 years, so the engine was placed on a stand that it sat on for almost 20+ years in the shed, and the tender sat on the new lifter trolley. they were coupled up, tender filled with water (almost 10lts) boiler primed to half the sight glass
sticks placed into the firebox and lit, it took some time before I started noticing anything other than smoke coming from the chimney, I was using my home made blower which was creating a draft up the chimney and pulling air over the fire
all was going well apart from a few minor water leaks
when I noticed that the blowdown valve on the rhs sight glass was dribbling water, so I went to nip it up using a 3/8"AF open ended spanner, as I applied force to the gland nut, it allowed the valve body to turn ever so slightly (even though the body had a locknut up against the boiler backhead)
thus shattering the sight glass, bloody hell, steam and hot water spraying everywhere
**it was trumps for about 30 seconds, I hadn't forseen this type of emergency, but I had a plastic water squirt bottle so I opened the firebox door and
squirted the fire with water with the required result.
That was a 'newby' mistake, since then I have been told never try to adjust anything whilst under pressure, remember the issue and deal with it when the engine is cool, anyway I have ordered some more sight glass, I just have to wait on the snail mail from Bathurst, cheers Dennis
