Stop Press: Motion bracket pattern ordered; Stephenson’s motion CAD model completed. More details to follow soon.
June 2017 Engineering Report
Following a meeting with Bob Meanley at Tyseley on May 19th it has become apparent that, with Tyseley Loco Works (TLW) current work load, the current plan for frame erection would be difficult to implement.
The original plan was for TLW to procure all the peripheral components things like gussets, rivets, bolts etc and the F5 Trust were left to provide any outstanding castings (motion bracket etc). At the moment, what with TLW’s current work load the current schedule was not going to be achievable mainly down to other current TLW projects unexpectedly over-running (anyone that’s been involved with loco restoration will wholly understand) so it was decided that another proactive way to get the frames built was needed.
The plan now is a quick 1-2 week assembly turn around in which the F5 Trust with TLW’s assistance will procure everything required to put the frames together and will be project managed so that all the parts come together for their allotted time in TLW’s workshop.
This in turn means that all the additional parts will need to be acquired in readiness for this to begin. So that’s 184 rivets, 113 bolts, 129 nuts, 12 brackets, 1 extra machined casting, machined frames and buffer beams all to hit TLW’s workshops at the same point then 2 weeks later we should have a nice new set of erected frames.
Motion Bracket
The last main casting required is the motion bracket. Now the Trust has ascertained which bracket it required we can now move forward and make the pattern, cast and machine. This is one of the last pieces needed and will be cast, machined and delivered just prior to the frame erection.
Modifications
The Trust is currently looking at alternative options to some of the cast brackets required for frame erection. With current welding techniques it should be possible to create the same parts using laser cut parts welded together to form a copy of the cast bracket at a considerable cost reduction compared to patterns, castings and machining. This process has been used before on other loco restorations so it should be relatively easy to do so. We’re currently in conversation with a few fabrication companies who can assist with these parts and possibly sponsorship of some if not all of the costs.