Damn. I've been a very busy chap, what with the Talyllyn, work and travelling.
For your kind patience, here's some pics.
These were taken today and mirror quite an overhaul that Swordbreaker has had...
Firstly, the trim.
Nameplates as provided by Narrow Planet to the 'GWR B' specification [what else?
] now fitted to the loco sides using slow-drying araldyte/epoxy. I think they suit the engine's smart scheme very well. New Dome - bigger and heavier than the Mamod original, cast as a special by DLRDan and fits perfectly. Also adds weight to the engine for traction purposes. Dan was to become muchly more involved with this...
BUTTERLEY 'VINTAGE AND OSCILLATORS GALA, 5TH MAY 2012
As followers may know, 'Swordbreaker' became the lone oscillator failure of the day - backed up by the new 'big guns' in the form of Cadno.
What wasn't reported was that in the light of the failure, with DLRDan being at Butterley that day that an emergency appointment was made with him. As a result, Swordbreaker and I parted company at the gates to the Midland Railway Centre...
..and two weeks later I received the 'old gent' throughly rejuvenated mechanically back at the Works
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Test running in at the Dinorwic Light Railway. Now raring to go!
[and I promise that I have not touched the engine, mechanically, since then. Good though that the 'convertible bodywork' can be removed safely for repainting and GER lining down the line
]As well as getting the 'old man' mechanically fixed, several jobs were carried out...
Cylinders - lapped and polished. Now perfect as seen in the video. As a result of the work done, they did not protude as much as they used to, meaning that the cylinder covers could be bent back square - as opposed to the slant outwards a la the GWR 'Halls' locos. Also, the 'brass' smokebox handles were glued into place so that they no longer move. The funnel was modified and had its bottom flared out so that it stays on the smokebox without falling off now.
So many little jobs, so much done alongside the mechanical overhaul...
Did we mention that the cab was tidied up a little and the gas tank moved forward into the cab - and the old demon of the reg handle missing now replaced and soldered in for much better control.
The Tender Behind...
...which had been a sorepoint after the York and Poppleton crews expressed dissatisfaction with the engine in reverse running. This was due to a design flaw in my original design - I had deployed simply a wagon hook on the tender and had a chain attaching it to the loco. A proper drawbar was needed! As a result, having seen DLRDan's Robin at the Gala, a polite request was put in: could a 'Robin type drawbar' be placed onboard, but on the tender as opposed to the loco [allowing for tank engine haulage capability]. The answer?
And so, the now mechanically-finished, and ready to roll [if not lined] Swordbreaker:
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