West Somerset Railway Association

Having originally thought that one axle would have to be replaced owing to abnormal journal wear it had been found that it could still be machined without exceeding the GWR standards so Tyseley were asked to assist by re-profiling all 6 axle journals and wheel faces on their wheel lathe.

The first photo above shows this work in progress on one of the wheelsets in Tyseley’s wheel lathe. This second photo shows the finished result with the highly polished wheel face and axle journal.

The three axles have now been completed and once returned to Williton will enable work to progress on re-wheeling 4561’s chassis.

Meantime the six main axleboxes seen in the third photo.(upside down) now have bronze liners fitted to the horn faces and the six new spring hanger forgings machined and fitted between the horns.

Having decided to replace piston rods and heads orders were placed in December 2021. They were then subject to extended delivery periods and have only just arrived. This has meant only minor jobs could be progressed on 4561.

The two piston rod blanks have also been delivered and are fit for purpose as seen in this photo.

This photo. shows one of the piston heads being proof machined to confirm its suitability for use. It is not – the small marks you can see are voids indicating that the casting is porous and not fit both having to be replaced by our suppliers with fault free castings – and a further delay waiting delivery.

Amongst the jobs that have been progressed the new cylinder cladding sheets have been cut and rolled for fitting. This photo. shows the right hand one fitted in position having been given a coat of priming paint.

The opportunity has also been taken to fit part of the front platform as seen here.

Originally the front of 4561’s frames had been subject to collision damage and were bent. The last platform had been cut to fit hence the curved section on the LHS of the photo. does not reach the top  of the angle it is to be bolted to as can just be seen.

A problem was found when the second piston rod was set up for machining. In the picture it is shown with a square standing on the piston head. You will notice that while the bottom of the square is in contact with the piston rod, above this there is a tapering gap between the rod and the rest of the square. This indicates that the piston head is not square to the piston rod as it should be.

It is not known how or what caused this situation but for future safety the decision has been made to replace both the piston rod and piston head for which quotations are being obtained pending approval to place the necessary orders.

Work has progressed in aligning the cylinder slide bars which have now been finally fitted with the requisite bronze packing pieces fitted between the fronts of the bars and the rear cylinder covers and also between each slide bar and its companion slide bar bracket.

Work has continued machining the new cylinder cock castings. The photo. shows how each casting is mounted in a lathe to enable the machining of centre section, which will house the actual valve when fitted. Each of the six cock castings is being machined stage by stage for conformity and to ensure that each is dealt with in the same manner where any awkward setting up is needed.

A welding procedure was devised to satisfactorily repair the cracks previously found (see 9th August).

Work continued on the horn faces of the 6 coupled wheel axleboxes ready for the new bronze liners to be fitted after a delay waiting for them to be delivered. Each axlebox horn guide has been fitted with a new liner on the main bearing face with smaller liners on the front and rear thrust faces. The 6 axleboxes are seen here ready for these liners to be riveted on ready for machining to match the main horn blocks on 4561’s main frames. Also seen are the six new axle bearing bronzes.

The first of the new cylinder cock castings is seen as set up in the lathe ready to face and bore the main mounting face. Each of the six cocks will be so machined before going on to the next stage of machining the bodies.

One of 4561’s two piston rod assemblies is seen as set up in a lathe for re-grinding smooth over the length which slides through the piston rod gland in the locomotive’s rear cylinder cover. Following this the piston head can be machined to provide a running fit in its associated cylinder. The piston heads which have been recovered are being re-used but are now oversize  having previously been machined to suit the old worn cylinders that have now been replaced.

Interestingly, one of the piston rods is stamped ‘4561’; the other is from ‘5539’.

The unwanted studs have been removed from the axlebox horn faces (see previous notes) and the holes filled with plugs screwed in and capped with weld to provide a new bearing surfaces. The stud holes that are required have been re-threaded and the horn faces and side cheeks dressed smooth as seen here.

Unfortunately this process has exposed some cracks in the angles between the faces and cheeks in four of the axleboxes. We now have to determine the procedure most suitable to enable repairs which, as the axleboxes are steel castings, is likely to involve welding.

Polishing the outer faces of the axleboxes has revealed a little of their history. It was general practice to stamp all main components with the locomotive number to which they were fitted. This is a sample showing that this axlebox was the Right Leading (RL)  on a particular 45xx originally followed by use on at least 2 55xx locomotives.

Part of the axlebox refurbishing process is the removal and re-metalling of the white metal wheel bearing surfaces. This shows ‘work in progress’ on one box where the white metal is being melted off using a gas torch. Care is taken to recover the white metal as it can be used again if not too contaminated or sold to a scrap merchant as it is relatively valuable. The axlebox faces will be re-metalled and machined to fit the axles once new bearing bronzes have been fitted.

The picture shows the front platform of 4561 in place using the original platework. Owing to the condition of the centre section this will be replaced with new but the side sections can be re-used and made to fit the slight variations in dimensions as a result of having fitted new frames under this area.

Owing to their condition the 6 cylinder cocks are going to be renewed. The picture shows one of the old cocks with some used fittings on the right and 4 of the castings required (3 on left plus a new valve on right)  which have yet to be machined for use.

New cylinder drain cocks cost around £400 each and we need 6 of them.

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