Wednesday 5 April 2017

Days of the Diner


The second weekend of operating 828 on the Dining Train has passed successfully. She was out on April 2nd and the weather was ideal once again for her exposed footplate. So far she is settling well into this new period of operation. A small fault with the carriage warming valve was attended to during the week and she was able to provide heat to the 10:30 departure from Aviemore. After that the day was too warm for steam heating. She is using a bit more water than she should while we wait for the slide valves to wear themselves in again. Footplate crews are noticing the difference in the ride quality of an inside cylinder loco compared to the more lively ride they get on 46512. This point was well understood by JF McIntosh who was challenged once on why he refused to design outside cylinder locos when his contemporaries were proving that they were cheaper to build and easier to maintain. His view was that the inherent stability of an inside cylinder design was worth more than any improvements that could be gained by using outside cylinders....



828 taking water at Boat of Garten (picture copyright of Derek McGinn)

828 exiting the loop at Broomhill (picture copyright of Derek McGinn)

Attending to a leaking seat on the Westinghouse Carriage Warming Valve - the radial cut across the seating surface needed removing. The circumferential cut is not a problem..

Surface plate and grinding paste taking out the defect...

Job done - radial cut eliminated and a good sealing surface achieved..

Lapping in the seat of the valve diaphragm..

Facing north in Broomhill Loop with the CR Route Indicator looking a bit unsettled..

Ken Plant enjoying the sunshine wile we pause at the summit of the line with the Dining Train on 2nd April 2017

Shed disposal - emptying the smokebox and checking on the Alan French spark arrester (which is working well)...

Newly cast tender tank filler cap with the old one as a pattern. All we need now is to drill the required holes in the new cap, paint it and then fit it...Thanks to SRC Engineering Director Brian Thomson for getting the casting made..