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Locomotive Works News

Restoration/conversion of "84030"


The aim of this project is to rebuild BR Class 2 No.78059 into a representative of the tank engine version of the class. A small group under the leadership of John Jesson normally meet every Thursday to work on the project.

The fact that there is no surviving example of a British Railways Class 2 Tank Engine is not the only motivation behind this project; 84030 should also be exactly right for the Bluebell Railway's operations in terms of its versatility, power and reliability. Additionally, though the tank versions were common on the Southern Region, the tender versions were not "native" to the region. When acquired from Barry Scrapyard, 78059 had already lost its tender; so if the decision had not been taken to convert it to a tank engine a complete new tender would have had to be built from scratch.

An introductory leaflet and donation form for the project is available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open it outside your browser.


Center cradle pattern sets 11 January 2013

This week the plates which are attached to the frames above the cylinders and carry the Wakefield lubricators arrived. They have already had an undercoat applied, as Tony Sullivan's photo shows. After drilling they will be attached to the main frames.


Center cradle pattern setsEnd December 2012

Newsletter No.14 is now available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open outside your browser.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photos show the center cradle pattern sets which have been made by Bluebell volunteer Roy Stirling, and which will provide castings both for 84030 and the Standard Class 3 project, based at the Severn Valley Railway. The pattern set in the most complex we have seen for the 84030 so far, comprising five large items and six smaller pieces.

Click for Acrobat Reader To read the PDF you need Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have it installed you can download it free of charge from Adobe.



Wakefield Lubricator - Tony Sullivan - July 2012End August 2012

Tony Sullivan's photos show progress with one aspect of the "conventional overhaul" side of the project - the refurbishment of the Wakefield lubricators for the loco. The photo on the right shows the start of work (initially simply cleaning the exterior), last month, and that below shows the internal "workings" of one of the lubricators. These serve as a reminder that any such major project is the bringing together of many individual components, each one of which requires care and attention to detail.

Also below we see Tony Sullivan's photo from February, showing the loco's frames temporarily placed on two of the loco's main wheelsets to make the unit mobile, enabled it to be shunted out of the works. The frames currently sit in the main loco shed at Sheffield Park.


Wakefield Lubricator interior - Tony Sullivan

Trial fitting of BufferEnd June 2012

Newsletter No.13 is now available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open outside your browser.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photo shows the trial fitting of one of the buffers on 84030.



84030 frames - Tony Sullivan - 19 February 2012 19 February 2012

Tony Sullivan's photo shows the loco's frames temporarily placed on two of its main wheelsets to make the unit mobile, which enabled it to be shunted out of the works. The frames now sit in the main loco shed at Sheffield Park.


Rear of the frames of 84030 - Tony Sullivan - 24 November 201119 December 2011

The Twelfth newsletter is now available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open outside your browser.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

Tony Sullivan's photo from 24 November shows the rear of the exisiting main frames of 84030 which had being "prepped" ready for the attachment and welding of the frame extension. The frame extension, which was already in the workshop, had already been prepped. The frames were moved into the workshop on 1st December, and the frame extension has now been welded to the main frames, a very significant step forward for the project.



1 September 2011

The photos below, from Tony Sullivan, provide a summary of recent progress on the Standard 2 Tank (No.84030) project:

Rear frame extension for 84030 - Tony Sullivan - 1 Sept 2011 Front dragbox of 84030 - Tony Sullivan - 1 Sept 2011 Original frames of 84030 - Tony Sullivan - 1 Sept 2011

Rear frames for 84030 coming together in Loco Works July 2011

The Eleventh newsletter is now available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open outside your browser.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photo on the right shows the new rear frames following the fitting of the fitted bolts and most of the riveting, in the loco works.



Frames, including the frame-extension, at the 50th Anniversary Gala, August 2010 November 2010

The Tenth newsletter is now available as a pdf - you may need to download the file to disk and open outside your browser.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photo on the right shows the frames as displayed at the 50th Anniversary Gala, with the newly made parts for the rear extension positioned to demonstrate the real progress being made with this project.



Fitted bolts for 84030 July 2010

The Eight and Ninth newsletters (which were sent to project supporters earlier) are now available as pdfs.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photo on the right shows some of the 130 fitted bolts (3/4in and 7/8in diameter) with suitable nuts, which have been made to securely fasten the stretchers into the frames and mount tank and platform supports.

The photos below show the Brake cylinder on its support stretcher, the left-hand-side rear tank support and revearsing-gear mounting, and the seven-part pattern set made by Roy Stirling for the trailing wheel spring bracket castings.


brake cylinder support stretcher LHS rear tank support and reversing gear mounting pattern set for trailing spring brackets


Rear drag-box assembly, machined September 2009

The Seventh newsletter is now available as a pdf.

This newsletter is compiled by John Jesson and Tony Sullivan.

The photo on the right shows the machined hind drag-box assembly.


Frame extension plates - Tony Sullivan - 16 April 2009 16 April 2009

The main frame extension plates have now been drilled with all the holes for fitting to the near rear stretcher. They are seen here in Tony Sullivan's photo, in the workshop at Sheffield Park today.


November 2008
The Sixth newsletter for this project is available as a pdf.
These newsletters are compiled by John Jesson, Colin Turner, Tony Sullivan and Neil Glaskin.

May 2008
The fifth newsletter for this project is available as a pdf.

December 2007
The fourth newsletter for this project is available as a pdf.
Sleel arrived - Neil Glaskin - October 2007 October 2007
This photo from Neil Glaskin shows the newly arrived steelwork for the frame extensions and buffer beams - a major step forward.

June 2007
The third newsletter for this project is available as a pdf.


Frames - John Jesson February 2007
A major series of photos from John Jesson is available demonstrating current progress.

December 2006
The second newsletter for this project is available, or alternatively formatted as a pdf.

Click for Acrobat Reader To read the PDF you require Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have it installed you can download it free of charge from Adobe.


May 2006
The first of what should now be regular newsletters for this project is available, or alternatively formatted as a pdf.
2002:
An earlier report is available here.
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