David and Chris have been busy progressing Samson’s construction, with the water tanks welded and bolted into place between the frames. The boiler barrel has been temporarily sat on the frames and even the chimney balanced atop the  in order to give an indication of Samson’s ultimate shape. A large consignment of castings have been received, David having acted as agent for this work, he having made the patterns and will eventually machine them all to final specification.  The frames will be taken to Bridgnorth this summer, for final riveting before the frames are shotblasted then painted – completing that phase of construction. Dave will now concentrate on the construction of the engine unit – benefitting from the new machine shop currently being fitted out by Tony and Chris.  More on this in due course.

Below: The view that greeted me this morning!  The very distinctive shape of Samson is apparent even at this early stage in construction.

Below: One of the crankshaft pedestals – quite a casting and no mean feat for the foundry moulder. This is the left hand side pedestal, which has the circular bearing holder for the intermediate shaft of the geared drive.  The right hand side pedestal is also shown, being offered up to the boiler shell, to which it is a very good fit, even in the raw.

Below: The cylinder castings – just part of a large number of components that form the overall cylinder assembly.  Great care has been taken in its design, to obviate such problems as machining the valve port face (and later re-machining if worn).  We will follow the progress on the cylinder on the blog, as work progresses.  The top casting shown is the safety valve setting, an elegant arm being pivoted off the top projection, the loco being fitted with a Salter spring balance. We’ll probably fit a second relief valve as well.

Below: A bench full of components, castings, tools (some under overhaul after their discovery in the depths of the engine shed!), templates and, of course, a flask!

Below: A view of the chimney top, rolled and riveted to a piece of steel tube – Dave carried the riveting out in his home forge, ably assisted by his wife Maureen!

Below: A rear three-quarter view – note the brake handle and brackets are bolted in position.  Andy Basnett, blacksmith, is currently making various stanchions and handrails for the footplate area – it is very important that we utilise hand forged components, in the way the original would have, as they add immeasurably to the quality and finish of the completed locomotive and elevate it above being a large model or overly perfect (in surface finish) creation.  Incidentally, No.18 will also require some stanchions for the cab, which has been shown to be very flimsy due to the unsupported nature of the open-cabbed structure.