Ian Riley has quoted for the three plain axles, material for the crank axle and tyres.
Wheelsets Update
Following discussions with Rileys, a slight diversion from the original riveted design has been discussed and agreed with Rileys. The original design had a retaining ring attached at the rear and the tyre “riveted” on through the wheel. To assist with the completion of the wheelsets, an easier option has been discussed and agreed. Also, following their “moving home” to a new sight in Bury, there’s been a slight delay in proceedings but “normal service” has almost returned so work has returned to completion of the front and rear wheelsets to assist getting the loco rolling.
Radial Guides and Ancillary Parts
Since the last report, a suitable and financially acceptable way of producing the radial truck castings in one has been finalised. Discussions are currently underway with Borough foundry and hopefully these will be underway in March.
Hornguides
Patterns for the hornguides should be ready for casting around May time, once these are cast, Tyseley will machine and fit accordingly. We can’t fit any more parts to the frames without these as we don’t want to run the risk of applying any additional load until these are all tied in with their respective horn keeps.
Axleboxes
The CAD work on the axleboxes is now complete and these are ready for getting quotations for patterns and subsequent casting in bronze. Due to the material these won’t be cheap but we can get these ready so that when Rileys has completed the main driving wheels, they can fit these and return as complete assemblies ready to fit.
Elliot Powick CME
Drawings for the Holden F5 Steam Locomotive Trust
Graham Rowland Engineering Manager
Over the last 12 months, a further 183 drawings have been photographed at the Essex Records Office, 23 high resolution scans have been sourced from the Great Eastern Railway Society and 35 drawings have been scanned by the National Railway Museum. Whilst most of the drawings photographed at the Essex Records Office are of sundry items such as valves, pipes and brackets, some drawings, whilst at first sight may be disregarded, are significant to our build. One such drawing is Nr 21158, completed in October 1916 and is of a canvas side screen for the cab openings. This simple drawing is significant on a number of counts. It raised the question if the introduction of cab and window screens were to reduce the glare from the firebox and therefore reduce the risk of attack by enemy aircraft during WW1. It would appear that this may be the case as similar drawings were completed in 1940/1941. I am sure that these side screens would have also been welcome to locomotive crews whilst operating during the winter months. There are not many photographs of the F4, F5 and F6’s with the canvas side screens in place, so I am unsure of how long these were fitted. Drawing Nr 21158 is also marked up for class F6 locomotives, i.e. under LNER ownership from 1923. Additionally, this drawing was also marked up in red with specific dimensions for the two ‘hybrid’ M15R (F5) locomotives with the G69 (F6) cabs, i.e. ours – Nr 789 (67218) and Nr 790 (67219). This was the first drawing to be found with specific details for the ‘hybrid’ locomotives.
Following a discussion with Elliot Powick regarding the design of the cabs and tanks, a search was made at the National Railway Museum for any other drawings that may be useful. A scan of drawing Nr 16992 was requested. This drawing, completed February 1910, had the simplified title of ‘Four Wheels Coupled Radial Tank Engines Class P55-Arrangement of Cab’, but is likely to be the most noteworthy drawing find of the year. The drawing is for the unique ‘hybrid’ cab arrangement for locomotives nr’s 789 and 790 although the identification of the locomotives is not called out. Could this indicate that this cab style was intended for all the M15’s (F4 and F5)?
The Trust also has drawings for the front, rear and side cab windows, and modelled in CAD with the intention of proceeding with the manufacture of the cab and tanks imminently. Additionally, the class N7 locomotive, Nr 69621, based at the East Anglian Railway Museum, has identical windows and many photographs and measurements have been taken to fully understand the arrangement of these components. Our thanks go to Peter Martin and the E.A.R.M. for their assistance.