Although we will try to keep this list up to date, and run as shown, dates may be subject to alteration at short notice if unforseen circumstances occur.

3650 was hired for the 2011 summer and autumn season by
The Swindon & Cricklade Railway.
Everyone from the 3650 team would like to thank the guys and gals from the S & CR for making us
so welcome. It's been a pleasure working along side you all and we'd love to return again soon.

Friday 1st July - 3650 leaves Didcot for the Swindon & Cricklade Railway
In fact, this is the FIRST time in 3650's history the the loco has been on a low loader - 3650 has only ever been moved by rail before!

Sunday 3rd July - Swindon & Cricklade Railway
Working the Moonraker dining train "Cream Tea Special", and in the setting sun, an evening freight.

3650, 1338 and Tornado - 26/08/09	3650 and Sir Nigel Gresley 25/05/09

Saturday 25th April 2009.

3650 Official Launch into traffic - 13th & 14th June 2009

We are pleased to announce that 3650 will be officially launched into traffic over the weekend of 13th &14th June 2009. Although the centre is open to the public, it is not an advertised steam day. However, it is hoped that at least one coach on the train will be available to the public for rides for part of the day when 3650 is operating on the demonstration line.

Over the last 20 years of the restoration we have lost touch with a few members of the group from the early days. Please contact me here if you would like to come to the launch and re-acquaint yourself with 3650 and the group.

Easter 2009

With the repaint of 3650 reaching the finishing stages, Pete Speller applies gold leaf to 3650's roundel's. All that's now required are several coats of varnish to protect the new paint, roundel's etc.

Saturday 21st March 2009

Nothing new to add except the re-paint is progressing well with successive layers of paint being added and rubbed down. Hopefully we will be in a position to apply the finish coats and GWR roundel over the Easter period, and will appear in traffic shortly after. There is also talk of an official launch sometime in the near future.

Although not the best time of year to be painting, 3650's transformation to GW green is well in hand. There's plenty of rubbing down going on as the blue paint was actually undercoat left over from the King, and was never intended to be applied to "finish" standard. The final total miles run in 2008 after the WAG's and friends steaming on November 1st was 377, after which 3650 was washed out and drained for the winter. Several maintenance jobs have been carried out, including looking at the regulator and removing a small burr from its face, with a few more minor jobs to complete, but the main focus is the rubbing down and re-paint ready for the 2009 season.

Two more photo's from 27th September courtesy of Paul Martin.fotopic.net

Dusk, and a not to be repeated unique photo of 3650 in blue, working a short freight on Didcot's main demonstration line.	The crew, Kevin Dare, Derrick Thompson and Andy Martin pose for tea.

Sunday 5th October 2008

3650, by our reckoning, has now clocked up some 244 miles. Not bad for a site that only has a demonstration line of some 5/8 mile. (Touch wood) we've encountered no major problems. A couple of minor things that have shown up with 3650 in steam, have been done between steaming's. The regulator, which is blowing by a little more than when we started, will be examined during the period when 3650 is stopped for painting.

Two of Frank Dumbleton's photo's from the evening steam charter, Saturday 27th September.

Saturday 9th August 2008

After shunting in a fresh wagon of coal parked just outside the site gates, 3650 spent the day performing passenger duties on the branch.

A good washout is due plus a couple of maintenance jobs, and providing they are completed in time, our next appearance should be the three days over the August bank holiday weekend.

Although it will probably upset some of our "Industrial liveried" loco fans, we have always stated that 3650 would only remain blue for it's running in period. Therefore 3650's last appearance in blue will be on Wednesday 29th October, after which she will be stopped for re-painting and will re-enter the 2009 season in 1939 GW green with shirt button roundel. However, Phil Neale, who organized the "Laira photo charter" at Didcot earlier this year, is hoping to organism a similar event for 3650. So if you want some pictures of 3650, which is already becoming "colliery grimy", pulling something other than coaches, watch for the charter date to appear in the steam dates above.

Just one of those nice poses that had to be done. One of the 3650 team members Geoff, firing.	A unique mix of colours.

Wednesday 6th August 2008

Tuesday 5th saw a very happy crew, owner and workers from Didcot's work week, who helped to clock up some 58 miles running in and having a new loco for "workers playtime".

Wednesday 6th saw 3650's as yard pilot with an impressive bout of shunting. Also 3650's first passenger train working for which we are grateful to Maurice and Anne who let us steal some of their rostered "A" turn from 3738. The additional benefit included a batch of 5 - 3650 only, and 7 double headed pannier passenger trips, before leaving 3738 to finish off the day while 3650 disposed, which was followed by replenishment of lost sweat with something appropriate.

Many thanks to the Duty Manager of the day, right down to the shunters, who re-arranged the day's activities to 3650's benefit and kept the public (as well as us) entertained.

We like to start them young. 3650 owner Brian with his youngest grandson Harry. Note the sooty baptism!

2nd August 2008

3650 will be steam tested on Tuesday 5th Aug to prove work carried out on Sat 2nd (mentioned below). If satisfactory, 3650 will then continue running in during Tuesday afternoon as Didcot's work week "workers playtime" loco. Again, if satisfactory, 3650 has the option of being "B" turn loco, along with Didcot's other pannier, 3738, and share duties on Wednesday 6th. Although not yet fully entered into the operational fleet, this will give us the opportunity to clock up some more running in miles and give the chance of photographing what is now becoming Didcot's infamous blue pannier. Get them while you can - as once run in, there is a good chance that we will enter the 2009 season in 3650's as built green livery!

There is also talk of a photo charter while 3650 is still blue, plus coal wagons etc, re-creating 3650's 60's colliery days, possibly sometime during September. Still only at the planning stage, so watch this space for more info.

26th July 2008

As of Wednesday 23rd July 2008, 3650 was offered up and passed it's final insurance inspection. This means that after 20½ years of restoration and some 40 years since 3650 was last in service, we now have a fully working loco.

Waiting for the branch signal 23rd July	Main demonstration line 24th July

We've now exchanged our place in the works at Didcot for a place in the running shed, and can currently be found on N^o4 road. With a couple of steaming's and about 20 miles of running in under our belt, we are currently finishing up a few jobs that only show up when in steam and mobile. We've already re-packed and sealed a small steam leak on the combination brake which was serviced over 10 years ago and has been sitting in a cupboard since. We've also de-gunked the oil way to one of the big ends, which in spite of being cleaned before assembly, seemed not to be taking as much oil as it should. There is a small blow on one of the whistle valve nuts, and on one of the 'J' cocks still to do plus one of the injector cap nuts fizzes a bit when the injector is running. We are hoping to complete these jobs one day next week and maybe carry out a little more running in next Saturday during the lunch time break and possibly after the normal open day finishes. There's also a chance of some more running in during the Society's work week (first week in August, not sure of which day yet).

28th June 2008

Just a little teaser of 3650 in "Stevenson Clarke" blue. Why the dust sheet? Well.... we want the exclusive pics when the lettering's finished!! The list of jobs below have been completed and all that remains is a couple of Saturday's work and 3650 will be offered up for final inspection.
Watch this space... nearly there!!

26th April 2008

3650 now externally complete but in undercoat - Didcot works.

This Saturday saw us undertaking the rather unpleasant job of re-applying bitumen inside the tanks. I used to be able to get into the rear narrow end myself, but that was 10+ years ago! I managed the wider front end but had to leave the narrow end to the younger, slimmer, more agile and ever willing Andy! While he finished off the tanks I also applied bitumen to the bunker. As the pair of us were absolutely filthy, we decided to go the whole way and install the brick arch in the fire box. Ash and soot sticks nicely to tacky bitumen, all we needed were feathers for that complete tarred and feathered look!

The next few weeks will see us fill the tanks and check for any leaks at the various new pipe joints, water valves, injectors etc. We will then drain the tanks ready for painting. Work will also continue to reduce and finish off the snagging list from the last steaming. This includes the machining of a new 3 way adapter for the fountain. The old one was found to be leaking following the last steaming and closer examination revealed a crack. Thanks to Bob Meanley, who has a pattern, we now have a replacement casting which will be machined by our very own Bob over the next week or so. Other snagging jobs include re-packing the combination brake and sorting out a leak on one of the whistle valve union nuts. Once the snagging list is complete we will then set up the suspension once the bunker and tanks are full. By this time, 3650 will hopefully be blue, and it should be possible to get some photos as we will be using a turntable pit for the suspension adjustments. This should then lead on to offering 3650 up for final inspection. We still haven't set a final date yet as setting up the suspension may well prove unpredictable as we also intend to change the under keep felts for felt of a less dense material. The original felts were made some years ago and the density of the material didn't let enough oil through and caused a couple of other Didcot loco's to run warm.

29th March 2008

3650 sits in "Didcot Halt" with the garden of remembrance in the background
to pay last respects at the scattering of Barrie Warr's ashes.

1st March 2008.

Saturday 1st March saw another landmark day in the restoration of 3650. The work of the last few weeks culminated in an un-official steam test last Tuesday. As a result of this successful test, the pannier tanks were craned into position today and 3650 once again looks like a pannier tank.

The coming weeks will be taken up with snagging a few jobs with the new cab pipe work and fittings, plus the necessary bits of pipe work, cladding, handrails etc, associated with the tanks. Oh yes,... the Stevenson Clarke Ltd livery may well begin to appear in the next few weeks, But don't all rush, I'll update the site when 3650 is in a photographically suitable condition.

5th January 2008.

With the roof now on, 3650's cab pipework, which was made from new some years ago, has now been installed, as have the cab shutters, ATC bracket, damper rodding and handles. All of the lagging has been fitted, and a good proportion of the cladding over it. The final pieces of cladding will be adjusted to fit over the next two or so weekends and preparations made for one more un-official steam test to prove the front tubeplate rivets. We will also take this opportunity to prove the new pipework.

New Year 2008.

Barrie Warr, one of 3650's newer recruits of just over two years, passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Christmas morning. At the age of 59, we knew Barrie was not in the best of health, but this was an un-expected shock as he was happily wielding his paint brush at 3650's dome the Saturday before Christmas. Barrie, who's uncle is Reg Warr, the last running shed foreman at Didcot in BR days, will be sadly missed.

Wednesday 3rd October 2007

With the boiler now in the frames, and a couple of Saturday's work under our belts, Wednesday 3rd October 2007 saw us ready for our first "In Frames" steam test. The regulator box and valve had been fitted, together with the regulator rod, fountain, and all the new back head fittings. With a temporary Injector rigged up, the intension was to bring 3650 to blowing off pressure for the first time.

The fire was lit up at 05:00 by Brian and temperature raised SLOWLY followed by an even slower raising of the steam pressure. With the clock at 50lb/sqin, we first needed to prove the temporary injector would work OK. As this was successful, pressure was allowed to continue to rise.

Boiler pressure at 200lb/sqin with the safety valves feathering. Temporary injector can be seen plumbed into the nearby fire hydrant. This not only proved the safety valve calibration (done some 15 years ago), but also proved all the new back head fittings and regulator valve.

While the preparation work for the above had been taking place we also fitted the main steam pipes. The excuse we used was that if the regulator had leaked by, we didn't want any steam blowing back through the tubes and into the cab. But with no leaks at the regulator it was only one more small step to....

3650 moves under own power for the first time in 40+ years. With the 08 acting as a brake vehicle in case of the regulator sticking, Kevin Dare watching the drivers side motion, Kevin Evans watching the fireman's side and Andrew Martin watching the guard iron clearance (suspension needs screwing down), Brian Thompson eases open the regulator and uses 3650 to push the 08!!

With everything proving to be OK, we dispensed with the 08 and had a couple of careful trips up and down the yard (which also proved the motion is OK).

What next?.... Well, its back to the workshop to fit the cab and all it's pipe work (lubrication, steam/vacuum brakes etc), all the lagging and cladding with the exception of the first piece immediately behind the smoke box. This will give us access to caulk some troublesome tube plate rivets. These rivets will require a further steam test prior to putting on the tanks. Once the tanks are in place, these rivets become in-accessible so we need to be finally happy with them before assembly is completed.

Saturday 8th September 2007

With the boiler left to cool down naturally, we though we had better clean off all the soot So....

This...	Plus all the sooty water running out of the tubes

Equals this,... a rather dirty Andrew!!
(His hair's not normally this colour by the way)

With a little more caulking, the grate lifted, the boiler cleaned and drained, we then put,...

The boiler (and smokebox)	Into the frames

As mentioned below, we now have to fit a few bits and pieces to enable us to carry out a full pressure, in frames, steam test which will keep us busy for the next couple of Saturdays.

Wednesday 5th September 2007 - Preliminary steam test, boiler out of frames

3650 was lit up on Tuesday 4th September with a small fire to warm the boiler through. The following day, Wednesday 5th, we set about raising steam pressure for the first time in some 40 years.

Although this was an un-official test, the Society Inspector paid us a visit to view proceedings and Didcot's resident boiler smith was on hand to show us how to caulk a few leaks that appeared while the boiler was still at low pressure. Without an injector rigged up, firing was halted at 145lb/sqin, the boiler finally reaching 160lb/sqin where it held steady for about an hour and a half before slowly begining to drop.

Considering the ammount of work that has taken place on the boiler over the years, it went very well. There are a couple of steel and copper stays that require caulking as well as two front tube plate rivets. These appeared at somewhere around the 125 to 150lb/sqin mark so will be caulked when the boiler cools this coming Saturday. The next stage will be to put the boiler in the frames and temporarily rig up an injector. This will allow us to bring the boiler to full blowing off pressure and also observe the foundation ring from the underside which we are unable to do while the boiler is on the trolly, as there was one small area that had a slight whisp of steam.

Kevin Dare dropping a shovel full of oil and parafin soaked rag into the fire box to start proceedings.	Smoking nicely as we wait patiently for things to come to the boil.

Things moving even faster - Saturday 25th August 2007

During a marathon shunt today at Didcot, 3650 has vacated it's long standing position in the new works. The frames and smoke box are currently at the rear of No1 road in the running shed, with the boiler in the lifting shop being prepared for it's steam test. All being well, this should take place midweek in 10 - 14 days time.

Brian and frames pose in the sunshine.
Our thanks to all that helped on the day
and made the shunt run smoothly.

Things moved fast - Wednesday 22nd August 2007

3650 Official Hydraulic Test 3650's owner, Brian Thompson, with Society insurance inspector Mike Room, witnessing the Official Hydraulic test with the pressure gauge at 300 lb/sqin.

Saturday 18th August 2007

Over the last couple of months we have progressively pumped up the boiler pressure, caulking leaks as we went. One thing that did proove a problem was caulking some of the front tube plate rivets that leaked when we reached full test pressure of 300 lb/sqin. After a couple of caulking attempts, we decided to remove the smoke box as a complete unit (door and chimney). This gave us a better angle and more room to caulk the offending rivets. The smoke box will be reinstated following the steam test when the boiler goes back into the frames.

We are now at the stage where we are happy to apply for an official hydraulic test with the society boiler insurance inspector. Hopefully this will take place in the next week or two.

The photo's below show the boiler, with a test gauge rigged up on the bottom of the gauge frame. The pressure has dropped to 265 lb/sqin after about 3/4 hour. This is only due to a couple of washout plugs dripping. The rest of the boiler is watertight.

   

Saturday 19th May 2007

3650 is fast approaching 20 years since the main restoration started and it's probably been some 40+ years since 3650 last steamed.

With the frames now a completed rolling chassis, Saturday 19th may 2007 saw another landmark in 3650's history.

The boiler was filled with water to just below the level of the top mud hole doors! With the exception of about 15 - 20 stays that are dripping a little, two of the new seam studs and two tubes at the firebox end also seeping a little, there were no major leaks. The new front tube plate which was replaced in November 1993 is completely water tight with the exception of just one rivet at the bottom. The four new sections welded in to the outer firebox to repair cracks, and their associated new copper stays are completely water tight.

Of course, the water is just sitting there with no pressure behind it, but with a couple of Saturday's work with various caulking tools, there should be no reason why we can't think about boxing up completely and pumping the boiler up to full hydraulic test pressure. No doubt this will show up a few more leaks, as will the eventual steam test, but things are now moving swiftly towards completion.

5322 is currently in the lifting shop and is at the same stage as 3650. They will probably be "Officially" hydraulically tested together. Once 5322 is steamed and the boiler in the frames, I don't know if we will be able to roll our boiler forward into a position that will allow us to steam test, or will have to wait until 5322 is completely assembled and vacates the lifting shop. Either way, it was a very satisfying day and was topped off with pints of "Abbot Ale" in the Prince of Wales. The Stevenson Clarke LTD red graphics have been measured up and are being manufactured. With 5322 running in with it's wartime khaki livery and 3650 running in with it's blue livery with red Stevenson Clarke lettering, there should be some intersting photo's to come later this year!

April 2007

Frames:- All now complete with only two cotter pins to fit through the crosshead/piston rod taper keys which will be fitted next visit. (Bob's probably making them in his home workshop as I'm typing this!!)

Boiler:- All 233 small tubes and 2 large flue tubes have been expanded. All the firebox ends have been flared and beaded as have the ends that need it in the smoke box. All the boiler cladding pieces that can be made and fitted while the boiler is off the frames have been completed. This leaves about six small cladding sheets that can only be trimmed and fitted when the boiler is finally in the frames. Andy has finished tapping all the washout plug holes and has fitted all the washout plugs. The next couple of Saturdays should see us fitting the steam pipe from the collector to the fountain, the dome cover and blanking off various flanges in preparation for the hydraulic test.

Kevin beading the last of the small tubes in the smokebox.

Peter Mason, a much respected member of the Black Cupboard Gang restoring 3650, died on 8 November 2006 after a long battle with cancer. His cheerful personality and skills will be much missed by all who knew him.

Peter was by training an engineer, although his working life was spent with cars rather than trains. Born into a family with a garage business, Peter had his horizons widened in every sense during his National Service, which was spent in Egypt with the Royal Engineers. He subsequently became a specialist in car body repair work, running his own business for many years, and as an extension of this highly skilled job he eventually became interested in model engineering. By chance this took the form of a locomotive based on the 57xx class Panniers of the GWR and this ultimately led to Peter visiting the Great Western Society in the hope of being able to examine one of the two examples based there. It was during a photographic session there that it was discovered that although living a long way from Didcot, his home was relatively close to another member of the 3650 team, and eventually, after an evening discussing Panniers in the pub, he asked if he might be able to contribute to the restoration of the full size locomotive. The group jumped at this opportunity and for much of the time that 3650 has been in the works, Peter contributed his skills once a month, helping in the restoration of many badly corroded components as well as undertaking the new cladding and the manufacture of a petticoat by welding up strip steel over a former. He also undertook rectification work for other groups in the Society, notably the King and Carriage & Wagon. Meanwhile his model made steady progress, but was still incomplete at the time of his death. It is a fine example of model engineering at the highest level. Peter was diagnosed some years ago with cancer, a disease which he fought to the bitter end. He continued to visit Didcot on a regular basis even when his health precluded an active part in the restoration work and his last visit in October enabled him to witness the final batch of tubes being put into 3650's boiler from the wheelchair to which he was by then confined. Shortly afterwards he was admitted to a local hospice, where he passed away peacefully.

The sympathy of all goes out to his widow, Mary, and to his family. He brought much to the Society in the time that he was with us and will be sorely missed as a fine engineer, a good colleague and a friend.

January 2007

Frames:- All motion is now complete - including both connecting rods. All that remains to be done inside the frames is to drive fully home and split / cotter pin the various taper keys that lock everything in place.
All that is left to do around the frames is to finish reaming and fitting the last three crank pin nut taper pins. Then it's just a matter of checking for any split pins we might have missed.

Boiler:- All firebox repairs are now completed. All the stays have been caulked inside and out, and all the stay nuts fitted.
We have had the go ahead to commence re-tubing following an official boiler inspection. All 233 small tubes have been trimmed to length and installed as have the two large flue tubes which have returned from having their bottle ends welded on. We are 2/3 of the way through expanding all the tubes which should be completed in the next 2 or 3 Saturdays, they then need to be flared and beaded at the firebox end and selected ones at the smoke box end. While this is being done, the last remaining pieces of cladding will be made and tried for fit. Then comes the hydraulic test!!

June 2006

My apologies again for the long time since the last update but things have really been moving along!!
The valve guide box has been white metalled, machined and set up in the frames. The valve gear is now set up and complete and all that is left to do is hammer home the taper keys that join the valve guides to the valves them selves.
The left hand connecting rod has been installed, both big end to the driving wheel and little end to the cross head. All that remains is to drive in the taper key joining the cross head to the piston. The right hand coupling rod will follow shortly but has been left for the moment to give us some working space between the frames.
On the boiler front, all the 70 seam rivets that needed replacing have been removed, the holes tapped and copper seam studs screwed in. They have been riveted down and caulked. We now have all the stay nuts which have been screwed onto the firebox end of the stays. All the stays have been caulked on the outside using tools we made our selves which were hardened off site. It took longer to make the caulking tools and have them hardened than it did to do the caulking itself!! We are currently removing the stay nuts a row at a time and caulking the stays on the inner fire box side before replacing them. Once this is done, the boiler will need an insurance inspection. Providing this is OK we can then start re-tubing with the 233 small tubes that arrived about a month ago. The two large flue tubes are currently off site having their 'bottle ends' welded on and tested. Once all the tubes are installed, fingers crossed, we might well be ready to box up and hydraulic test. But that's getting a little ahead of things.
For now, we are concentrating on caulking the boiler, finishing off the motion installation and the last of the cladding.

September 2005

Another long time since the last update, but at least we've been busy!! Following the weld repairs to the boiler, all of the stay holes have been drilled, tapped and the replacement copper stays fitted and riveted down. The coupling rods have had their felt pads fitted after soaking in oil and the rods put on. The finished crank pin nuts were then fitted and their taper locking pins inserted. Hopefully we won't have to disturb them again apart from adding oil to keep the pads moist. Peter has been progressing with the boiler cladding with only a few more pieces to modify or fabricate. 3650 had been rolled back and forward to enable measurements to be taken of the valve guide box with the motion in place. This will enable us to re-white metal the box and machine it to the correct dimensions for the valve guide rods, which were re-furbished and re-ground a few years ago. The motion was then dismantled to enable the guide box to be removed. The fire bar carrying brackets have been re-fitted to allow the fire bar support plates to be re-furbished and fitted, although they will have to be removed again to allow stay and rivet caulking to take place. We've also been going through our stock of stay nuts and probably have more than 50% of those needed. Ther rest will be made over the winter months. These too will be stock piled until after the stays are caulked. A start has been made on replacing 70 inner firebox seam rivets with 1" copper seam studs. This involves burning out every other rivet in the required areas, then tapping and countersinking the holes. We will shortly be placing an order for the copper seam studs.

June 2004

Wow, Has it really been 7 months since I last updated the site!! My apologies. The weld repairs to the boiler are now complete and tested. After removing the copper stays in the repair areas, the boiler plate was carefully cut out using a disc cutter. From the resulting "holes" measurements were taken and drawings produced. Once the new boiler plate was obtained, it was sent along with the drawings to be profile cut (slightly over size to allow for final fitting). A few weeks were then spent carefully grinding the new plate to fit closely into the holes. A further couple of weeks were then spent grinding the edges of the new plate and the existing edges to create the correct angles and root gap for welding. The specification for coded welding of pressure vessels is very strict, so our preparation was careful and painstaking to say the least. We were also working to a deadline as the coded welder is so busy that we had to pre-book him. With the new boiler plate being delivered late, several of us had to take time off work to be ready in time. The welder was on site for a week working on 3650 and another Didcot loco. The Society's Boiler Inspector was in attendance to observe the first root welds. Within a week of the job being completed, the welds were tested using NDT methods, and also thickness readings were taken for the loco records of boiler plate thickness at several points around the fire box and boiler barrel. Other on-going jobs including the boiler cladding (which had to be removed for the thickness testing) have progressed. Alignment of the vacuum pump (not originally 3650's) will be completed once the fitted bolts have been made. More work off site has taken place (Bob's home workshop) on the crank pin nuts, the results of which we hope to see shortly when final machining and fitting can take place at Didcot.
With the help of Andrew, more photo's have been scanned, so within the next month or so, I should be able to add some new photo's from the 1997 period.

November 2003

As is the way of things, a lot has happened but it doesn't sound very much when written, but has taken some considerable man hours to accomplish. All the copper stays have been drilled out in the vicinity of the weld repairs. Four of the crank pin nuts have now had their threads turned and all of the boiler barrel cladding has been cut to shape and fitted.
Our boiler inspector has asked that we remove a sample of crown stays for inspection, having spotted one that seemed a little wasted. To facilitate closer inspection, the petty coat pipe and blower have been removed to allow the regulator rod to be taken out. This will give us access into the boiler again through the dome to view the crown stay area, rather than having to look through various mud hole doors and wash out plug holes.

July 2003

A start has been made removing the first row of copper stays each side of the back head and the throat plate in preparation for the weld repairs to the boiler. The first stage was to drill the stays out from the outside of the steel firebox and has been completed. We've now started to remove the other ends of the stays which has to be undertaken more carefully from within the inner copper firebox. So far (5/7/03) about 8 stays have been completely removed and work will hopefully progress over the next couple of weeks or so.
Further work has been carried out on the boiler cladding and new crank pin nuts.

May 2003

Several things have happened since the last report. The Gudgeon pins are now finished, and one of the two big end felt pad carriers have been made using a pattern lent to us. More boiler cladding has been cut and fitted. Some more work carried out on the crank pin nuts and when nothing else has been going on, more work on the restoration of the third coal skip. The boiler has had NDT carried out on the four corners and as predicted, four cracks have been found running up each of the first column of copper rivets, two front and two back. Three of the cracks are not particularly deep but none the less, require repairing. The fourth is some 10mm deep in places on the 14mm boiler plate. We have a solution to the problem in hand but as the services of a coded welder are required, we will be required to prepare the repairs to his specification for pressure vessel welding.

February 2003

Even though the machine shop and workshop can become quite cold this time of year (all these big "lumps" of metal act as a cold store and can take days to warm up again) work has progressed. The six crank pin nuts have now all been rough turned. The gudgeon pins have had their threads cut and the first has had it's taper ground following a minor overhaul of the cylindrical grinding machine that held things up for a couple of Saturdays. Work on the cladding has continued with the boiler barrel framework finished and the first pieces of cladding sheet cut and fitted. We are still awaiting the NDT testing of the boiler but this should happen in the next couple of weeks.

November 2002

Now that the boiler has been removed and access to the frames is easier, several things have happened. The vacuum pump, which is not originally 3650's, but one acquired to replace the one removed by B.R. when 3650 was sold to Stevenson Clarke, has been mounted on the inside of the frames and some preliminary alignment measurements taken. We have found that when adjusted, the pump piston rod has no more than 0.005" of lateral movement through the pump gland, which is well within tolerance. However we are unable to prove that the length of stroke compared to the pump position is correct until we install the coupling rod between the cross head and driving wheel. (We don't want to find out the hard way if the pump piston is going to hit the end of the pump cylinder!!) To accomplish this, the new cross head gudgeon pins have been rough machined, and have been sent for hardening. Once returned, they will be ground to finished size and softened on the end and threaded for the nut. The connecting rod can then be re-bushed and installed and final positioning of the vacuum pump accomplished.

In the mean time a start has been made on the new crank pin nuts and some of the already re-furbished motion is being installed so that measurements can be taken to enable the valve rod guide box to be re-white metalled and eventually machined.

As for the boiler, we have received an insurance inspection report from the Society's insurers. This has highlighted a couple of suspected problems which will warrant further investigation. This will involve NDT (non destructive testing) such as X-ray or Magnetic particle testing (MPI), and an approach has been made to a very reputable company that is accredited with the testing of power station pressure vessels amongst other things.

August 2002

Boiler lifted out on 14th August!!

With all of the copper pipe work now complete the next task was to lift out the boiler. This will enable easy access to the inside of the frames to finish off the motion and also align the vacuum pump. Running parallel to this will be the final work needed to complete the boiler overhaul.

Boiler just lifting from frames. 14th August 2002. © Chris Taylor.
	Boiler suspended by lifting shop 50 ton hoist while we push the frames back to our corner on 1 road in the new works. 14th August 2002. © Chris Taylor.
3650 back in its corner on 1 road with the boiler, now on a trolley in front. 14th August 2002. © Chris Taylor.