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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

• The newly made rear frame extension, freshly painted in grey undercoat, sits in the workshop at Sheffield Park.
• The new front drag box also in the workshop at Sheffield Park (for the moment this is upside down). Originally it was not intended to make a new front dragbox. The front buffer beam had been badly bent in an accident - presumably at Barry - and Colin Turner took this off and straightened it some time ago. Eventually however it was deemed best to build a complete new section.
• The rear of the original frames sitting in the yard at Sheffield Park. The original back end has been already been cut off, and this is where the frame extension will be welded on. Before the new frame extension can be added a little more of the original frame plates will be removed to enable a perfect join.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.