New Year Action Plan

Actions agreed for the next few months:

1. Check for approved tyre suppliers other than SDR (with bogie wheels in mind).  Done, British Wheelsets are approved to supply tyres made in Germany, so there is at least one other supplier.
2. Set up a discussion with technical specialist regarding the Boiler.  In progress, We have sent them our draft spec and asked for comments.
3. Following specialist’s comments we meet potential boiler manufacturer(s) to discuss the facets of our locomotive boiler design.
4. Make contact with various specialists who have done similar design work previously.
5. Ongoing Website design work.
6. Proceed with drawing up handrail and other elements to complete the smokebox (done – see below)

To summarise current developments:

1. The coupling rods are forged and we await notification that heat treatment and testing have been completed, also certificates for mechanical tests and NDT.
2. The justification for the coupling rods is with an acknowledged expert for consideration and approval.  Once this gets the OK the same load cases become the ones to use for all the machinery, one of those items which are unseen but really very significant for the project.
3. Another of our volunteers has been working on the bogie wheel stresses and managed some improvement.  We hope to discuss this with our ‘acknowledged expert’ soon when we review the coupling rod calculations outcome.  The aim would be to get the entire roller bearing wheelset approved before proceeding with any procurement as there is so much interdependency.  It is also on the learning curve for the Big One – the crank axle.  By Easter maybe for the bogie wheelset?
4. We might also raise the question of the degree of scrutiny needed if it turns out that the LNWR bogie is fitted under any of the preserved Jubilees.  Also we have got preliminary modelling of the crank axle to discuss.
5. Another of the team has produced a 3D model of the as-built motion, which is good publicity material and provides us with mass and inertia data for calculation forces in the valve motion.
6. Our Repository is up and running.
7. The new Heritage standards are issued.  There is to be a joint ORR/RSSB/AST day at the NRM to present these.  We need to go, for networking as well as for the standards themselves.
8. The chimney base and tube should be complete soon so we can add the cap and fit it to our smokebox.