West Somerset Railway Association

Supporting the Heritage of the West Somerset Railway for over 50 years

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12th March 2021

Steady progress is being maintained on the frames with the front buffer beam (now fully drilled) bolted into position and the buffers fitted having been overhauled. These mask the work done on completing the fitting of the front dragbox and the leading pony truck...

23rd February 2021

Having completed the assembly of the extension frames and cylinders with all the bolts fitted and tightened down the opportunity was taken to try the pony truck in position to confirm clearances would allow truck to swing adequately. Although the extension frames were...

19th February 2021

With the extension frames and racking stretcher finally fitted in position on the cylinder block it was necessary to make and fit all the bolts and nuts needed for security. This photo shows the work in progress. At this stage the racking stretcher plate has been...

25th January 2021

Looking back at the lockdown challenge from a couple of weeks ago:- The central hole is where the piston rod will go. The hole to the left in the back cover is where the anti-compression valve (cylinder safety valve) will be fitted to the outside; the hole in the...

10th January 2021

Having reduced the thickness of the extension frame plates where needed they were then set up flat on the milling machine table to create a curved profile where the thickness had been changed. This can just be seen above the lower handwheel.  The machine spindle below...

24th December 2020

As can be seen a frame extension (orange) is not simply a flat piece of steel plate. It is profiled to fit beneath the cylinder block but in front of that it has to be cut away to clear the leading pony truck wheels before being shaped to fit the front buffer in due...