A Bad Time for Number 9. When your worse Fears are Realised!

The 16th August 2015 turned out to be a long shift for the crew of 60009 Union of South Africa and as documented in this compilation, a steam locomotive failing a long way from base can take a long time to repair even when excellent facilities are within easy reach and the problem straightforward.
Hauling the Royal Duchy away from Taunton everything seemed fine as speed increased through Allerford in preparation for the climb through Wellington to Whiteball but a longer than scheduled stop at Dawlish Warren then a crawl along the sea wall to an unscheduled stop at Dawlish started to ring alarm bells with those of us at the lineside. This was confirmed later at Newton Abbot when a more thorough inspection revealed overheating bearings on the main driving wheelset.
As the train continued it’s journey to Plymouth diesel hauled, 60009 was allowed to cool off whilst arrangements were made between Crewe Heritage and the South Devon Railway Engineering workshops at Buckfastleigh, not an easy thing to do on a Sunday! But credit goes to all involved as we find 60009 safely over the wheel-pit the very next day, a rare treat for all S.D.R. staff and public alike.
Luckily for me, there was at that time a public viewing galley (now long gone due to H&S concerns) which enabled me to capture progress over the ensuing days then post updates temporarily on TH-cam as a VBlog. Throughout her stay at Buckfastleigh, 60009’s crew remained with her working with engineers from the S.D.R. and Crewe Heritage.
Thursday 3rd. September (18 days after failing) all work is complete and the fire lit to produce the most atmospheric of images bringing to mind the work of Terrence Cuneo and David Shepherd !
Finally a “Grande Departe” from Totnes by a much missed star of the mainline and a job well done!
Chapters:
0:00 Mainline failure
3:24 S.D.R.E. works
5:56 Return to the mainline
The original Royal Duchy upload is here:
• 60009 Union of South A...

[@kimballthurlow577]

Thankyou for the great workshop scenes. You must have respectful connections to be able to do that. And your explanations are much appreciated.

[@tadpoles10]

Just what I needed, a breath of fresh air & some common sense, people able to work together for a satisfactory end result .. 👏 You called it right Alan 'H&S concerns' finding issues where non ever existed. A dull wet day here today in Hampshire, so good to see Devon & more important Totnes .. 😅 bathed in summer sunshine.
Thanks for this 'look back' Alan .. 👍 atvb t ..

[@Steamclips]

My pleasure Terry, interestingly the wet weather recently and me at a loose end yesterday resulted in the compilation! Can't wait to get out there again. Best wishes, Alan

[@pwblackmore]

That was very interesting Alan. Being able to watch the work was a bonus, I guess, especially nowadays as you can't. The word that came to mind is 'quartering' - to arrange the drivers such that there's a one-quarter turn between opposite wheel-sets. On a model, we simply pick it up... so here there must be a way that the whole loco is lifted clear of the tracks in order that the offending wheel-set can be removed. How did they do that here with taking the wheel-set and cranks away all at once? Of course, quartering isn't really an issue here, as the position of the wheels in the other wheel-sets would already be determined - and it was just a case of keeping them secure while the new set was aligned. And how did they do that, I ask? Perhaps the con-rods would be offered to the braked wheels, and the new set rotated until they fit into place. Can you imagine the accuracy of the replacements... a couple thou out and there's be all sorts of vibration. But - since you know more about this than me, I would relish your input.
Oh - not to forget... Thankyou, Alan!

[@Steamclips]

Hi Peter, thank you as always for your kind remarks and interesting questions. Quartering? this is very much a necessity for 2 & 4 cylinder locomotives because if this was not done, all the motion could lock on "top dead center" T.D.C. and "bottom dead center B.D.C. because the motion is laid out in quadrants (i.e. 90deg arcs) but on a three cylinder locomotive the motion is laid out in 120deg arcs so there can never be a situation where all the motion locks. Multiples of 3 cylinders in engines are known as "naturally balanced" and that's why 6 cylinder cars seem so sooth (and even modern 3 cylinder cars!). Wheel drop? The wheel pit has a section of track and floor in the middle which is removeable so when the wheelset to be removed is placed over it and the section removed, the wheelset can be dropped by sliding the hornblocks (main bearings) down and out of the frame, then reinsert the sections, roll the locomotive away on the remaining axles, remove the sections again and lift the wheelset out. All the remaining motion stays in alignment during this so when reassembly takes place the wheelset has simply to be rotated to align with the rest of the motion. BTW there is a lot more slack in steam locomotive motion bearings than you may think, hence the clank clank clank when a loco is drifting downhill that is why lubrication is so important!. Hope this answers your questions. Best regards, Alan

[@pwblackmore]

Hello Alan - that's a concise explanation, and I thank you very much for it. @@Steamclips

[@bobingram6912]

One from the days before I discovered your excellent channel!!! Ah, so the Dept. of Common Sense has found it's way to the depths of Devon, luckily after you filmed the repair process!! Good to see engineering co-operation, I didn't think that was too bad a downtime?? Any more of these little nuggets hiding in the Alan Archive????😂

[@Steamclips]

Hi Bob and thank you for your interesting, amusing and supportive comments as always. As for nuggets? we'll have to wait for the next archive "spring clean"! Best wishes, Alan

[@barryroberts2196]

Very well done SDRE. Was that the first A4 that you have had to do a repair job on ?

[@Steamclips]

Hi Barry and thank you for your valued comment. I am sure that this was the first A4 at Buckfastleigh, it was certainly talked about in those terms at the time if I remember. Kind regards, Alan

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

Today that loco is now out of action

[@Steamclips]

In a museum on a farm!

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

@@Steamclipsyep along with the great marquess she too is also in the museum too and I think once the new owner takes over John Cameron they will surely be back in near future