Epping Ongar Railway Gala's 2019

[Scale7JB]

Hello everyone.

Just to let you know a couple of events coming up soon.

We have the diesel gala 27/28th April with visiting Warship and the launch of our 47 freshly painted.

We also have the steam Gala 7/8/9th June. With Met1 and, the S160 again. However the railway have pulled one out of the bag and we have the Caledonian 0-4-4 no.419!

There's talk of another possible engine, but nothing confirmed yet..

JB.

 

[Heather Kay]

I think we might venture norf of the river for the steam gala. Sounds like fun!

 

[Scale7JB]

Sounds good Heather.. We do have to make our engines work, which is great for us, not so good for the CME.

JB.

 

[Scale7JB]

Forgot to mention we have our Hudswell Clarke - 'Isabel' at the gala too.

JB.

 

[Scale7JB]

 

[Eastsidepilot]

We'll try and get there mate.
Col.

 

[Martin Shaw]

It looks as though I'll be attending in the guise of 419 owners rep. I will be the grumpy looking old git on the engine, so please come and say hello.
Martin

 

[JimG]

Will you be with 419 at the GWSR this coming weekend? I'm taking a trip up to Toddington on Friday in the hope that the loco will be out in the open and I can get a few shots of the Westinghouse pump.

Jim.

 

[Martin Shaw]

Hi Jim
I've been working at the election all day so sorry I couldn't reply earlier. I'm not at the Glos & Warks but our workshop manager Mark Ashmole is. If you mention my name to him he will probably be quite rude about me but he is very approachable and helpful. If you don't manage anything useful let me know and I can take some pics in due course.
Regards
Martin

 

[JimG]

Got there this morning but I had read elsewhere that she had been working yesterday and had been withdrawn from service with a mechanical problem. So I wasn't too optimistic about seeing her and this is the closest I got.



I'm assuming that your jungle tom-roms have been working and that you have chapter and verse on the problem.

I did get a shot of the pump.



Jim.

 

[Martin Shaw]

Jim
Talk about the jungle drums. I got a message from the CME of the Epping & Ongar Rly where she is due to go next, that one or both big ends were running warm/hot. Undoubtedly the brasses will be out today and hopefully sorted for the weekend, from a conversation last Tuesday with our workshop manager the problem seems to be with the edge radius of the brasses against the journal/web radius of the crank. They were rebored last week at Boness and the loco tried out, where they were running cool. I suspect a load plus curvature is the problem. Since the said manager is with the engine at Toddington, his sins have found him out. Hopefully it will be sorted for the weekend and in a fortnight in Essex.

I'll get some closer pics of the pump for you in due course.

Regards
Martin

 

[Scale7JB]

We had similar at Epping Ongar on 80078.

The corners were rounded off on the bearings and made a big difference.

JB.

 

[Martin Shaw]

A heads up for anyone specifically going to Ongar to see 419, please don't because due to technical difficulties it won't be there. Our engineering manager has decided that the big ends just aren't going to cope with the load and gradients on that line so it is now returning home for a rethink about material interfaces, or some such.
Martin