After the winter layover the engine returned to service in March including the Race Trains. You will read elsewhere that she did the first non-stop run between Cheltenham and Broadway to return racegoers back for a mainline connection, albeit with a coach journey in between.
From a Winter Maintenance point of view it was a range of smaller jobs although we did end up having to fit a new Right hand trailing spring to the coupled wheels. These are never a welcome job just purely to their weight and restricted access of the ashpan. There was also the usual cleaning of various parts of the loco in particular where the coal sits in the tender, which also received a coat of bitumen paint to protect the area. In addition the engine had its annual boiler examination as well as a full mechanical examination by the mechanical responsible person for the GWSR.
We have also discovered that according to the Swindon Maintenance Schedule the jockey valve, (it is operated by the regulator handle and switches the lubrication on and off to the Hyrostatic Lubricator which delivers oil to the valves and piston’s) should be stripped and cleaned out at every 10, 000 miles. This in effect equates to just over two year’s work on the GWSR. We have previously done it several times including the overhaul so we redid it again this last winter. A regime will be in place now to do it bi-annually.
We also have fitted the new style Pep Pipe cock that Will Grimmett designed, made the pattern and had a dozen bodies cast. This valve is used by the Fireman to damp down the coal and general keep the footplate clean. The original Swindon designed valve was a carrot designed valve in that the spindle was carrot shaped. The issue with the valve was keeping them leaking water, which in turn dripped water to an area around the cab side causing potential corrosion. In addition if they were tight so as not to leak then they were very difficult for the fireman to operate. So Will has redesigned the body, making it fractionally larger and fitted it with a graphite packing sleeve and Stainless Steel spindle, with the assistance of John Hancock. The trial one on 7903 works well and in fact we have sold on ten, keeping a spare for ourselves. See picture
On re-entering service after winter we discovered one of the valve heads was letting steam pass by. So we initially gave it some extra oil from the lubricator and generally monitored the issue. In the mean time we then agree some downtime with the Engine roster clerk and have now extracted the valves from the cylinder block. The engine had covered 19000 miles since the last installation of new rings, which according to the Swindon bible should be nearer 25000 miles. However talking with Alistair Meanley at Tysley engines with higher levels of superheat, of which 7903 is one, tended to do quite a bit less mileage due to that higher level. A slot was agreed with Alistair and as I type this, Monday 6th May the valves have been delivered to Tysley and we have sent them all the dimensions of the valve bores. The good news is there is very little wear in the bores so new rings will get the issue resolved. All the parts are cleaned ready so as soon as we get the valve assemblies we will get her back together.
Lastly the new tyres have arrived at the South Devon Railway. These will be stored for future use and we are very grateful to the legacy from the late Chris Webb which allowed us to place the order for these tyres. See picture
The next two big events for the engine is the May spring gala and the short visit for two weekends to the GWS at Didcot to celebrate the launch of the Saint.
