
Workshop Diary October 2024 Part 1
We might just squeeze another report into October, but as this post was getting longer and longer, it seemed prudent to publish and show some recent activity from the transport workshops (and beyond).
We should have the new spring hangers for Gateshead 10 back in the next week or so, which will unlock another phase of work on the bogie overhaul. Progress on the lining should also proceed in November, as well as paintwork progress on the Duke of Sutherland’s saloon coach and the North London Railway coach repaint (into Highland Railway green). We’re developing the plan for recommissioning Rowley Station as a working railway operation again – with dates being planned for 2025 (as it will operate to a programme, rather than in the manner in which it used to – at least while we are hiring in motive power).
The event programme plan for 2025 is also well-advanced, with a focus on railways, as part of our contribution to the Railway 200 national activities programme. There will be some quite radical changes to the events we offer, and this will be elaborated upon in detail in due course.
We’re now entering the home straight for summer season operation, and the 2/3 of November will be the last weekend of Waggonway operations. On the 2nd we will also have a few other bits and pieces from the transport collection out, including Coffee Pot No.1’s last steaming of the year (and a bit of self-indulgence as it marks 20 years of working here for me, and Coffee Pot was one of the first projects that I completed).
Sunderland 16
Below: The winter tramcar lineup, as usual, consists of Sunderland 16, Oporto 196 and Sheffield 264 (with Blackpool 31 available as a spare if the weather permits). 16 has re-entered service after the first phase of its repaint has been completed. Further work (to the top deck) will be carried out in the new year. Here it is on Saturday 12th October, in weather more suited to 31 perhaps!
Below: Both 16 and 264 will be assessed this winter for tyre profile and thickness, as we will then balance which is next to be lifted for a truck overhaul/spruce-up. There are pros and cons to prioritising either of these trams, but the aim will be to maximise the mileage available for 2025, whilst also considering the rapidly looming heavy overhaul of Oporto 196.
Newcastle 501
Below: Over the 19th and 20th October, Newcastle 501 was successfully launched into service at the Sandtoft Transport Centre, the first public operation of the trolleybus since its arrival on a two-year loan there from Beamish. Russell attended the event, to develop links and relationships with STC, looking ahead to our own future trolleybus operation at Beamish. One of the first-ever posts on this blog (way back in 2008) covered the last time 501 moved to Sandtoft, at the start of what were a few nomadic years where it operated at Sandtoft, the Black Country Museum and East Anglia Transport Museum. Add in its occasional test runs at Beamish, and it probably holds a unique title in having operated on the four UK museum systems. GAJ 15 has also operated at Beamish but I am unsure of what other systems it has operated on within preservation.
We hope STC have an enjoyable period of operation with 501 and you can find details of their events on their Facebook and Web pages.
Below: 501 was re-acquainted with South Shields 201 (they met last time too), making for the relatively rare pairing in service of two north-east trolleybuses.
Below: Trolleybus operation very much remains in our plans (timescale TBC), but there have been some trolleybus operations at the museum in the past (albeit non-passenger carrying) as the link and photos below reveal… (both appeared on the blog in the past and can be found via the archive search feature).
Leyland Cubs
Below: Readers may recall the note in a previous post regarding Crosville 716’s steering box and the temporary substitution of the one fitted, with a suitably serviceable example from our spares pile. The original, along with another spare, have now been refurbished, with some of the work carried out depicted in this series of photos.
The first image shows a refurbished sector shaft (left) next to an un-refurbished example (right). On the left hand example, you can see the bright areas which are carried in the bushes (the bit in between just being part of the shaft between them and so not needing a finished surface). The thread has also been tidied up.
Below: One of the shafts in the lathe
Below: Both shafts after refurbishment.
Below: The steering boxes themselves are seen here. The original bushes have been pressed out and are seen sat on the casting that forms the body of the box. New bushes were made and fitted, with a focus on the external diameter to ensure a suitable interference fit in the casting.
Below: Once a new bush is fitted, it can be bored internally to final size on the lathe (to accommodate the sector shaft, with a suitable clearance for its smooth operation).
Below: The refurbished components for two steering boxes, awaiting assembly and painting. This work has been turned around very quickly, given the impetus to refit an overhauled example to 716, and to retain a spare in store. Being able to carry out this work in-house is enormously valuable to the museum as it gives much more control of timescales for work like this, as well as ensure that we also have control of the scope and quality of the work.
Below: The Leyland Cub KG2 tipper has been receiving attention on an ongoing basis, which has markedly improved its performance. Previously the radiator was unclogged and overhauled, now the starter motor is being overhauled. This is being done as a contract job, but as the lorry is fitted with a starting handle, it has been able to continue in service. Phil and Phil, who use it on site, have ventured off-site quite a lot with it, including a trip to the contractor overhauling the starter motor off it (they can’t receive too many deliveries in that style!), and also to Darlington, to collect a slotting machine for the machine shop.
Here is a clip of it heading back across the Tyne Bridge on one of its sorties out – earning its keep and doing a real job for the museum!
8ec27c4a-4230-44e8-a55b-166015ad9eb5
Dunrobin
Just as this post was about to go live, I received word that the tubes are being inserted into Dunrobin’s boiler. This is a big step in the reassembly of the boiler and one that very much establishes its transformation from a static and inert vessel, to a reconstructed and nearly ready to steam component in the locomotive’s restoration.
Photos in this post by Peter Barlow, Phil Doran, Paul Jarman and Rebecca Walker
Great to have a ride on Newcastle 501 this weekend just gone at Sandtoft.
Hopefully it will return to work at Beamish where it belongs.