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  1. #1
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    Default Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey restoration

    The restoration of steam locomotive 520 by SteamRanger in SA took a major step forward this week. The boiler was lifted from the frames for the first time since the mid 1950s and is now sitting in the workshop ready for work to begin in earnest. Here are couple of photos from what was a very busy day...

    boiler lift 2.jpgboiler lift.jpg

    If you are interested you can follow progress here ( https://www.fireup520.org )

  2. #2
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    Default

    Along the same lines, we've just finished a 20 year restoration of Rx224 which hasn't run for around 30 years. There's a promo video here if you are interested in this sort of thing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zsyl9GcQf4

  3. #3
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    Thanks for both the Video clips There's nothing like the old time steam trains, their style, and the rhythmic sound of the drive system
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Looks like a long rod ahead, I did some volunteer work back in the seventies at the Pichi Richi rail work shop, I can't remember what Loco it was.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    Looks like a long rod ahead, I did some volunteer work back in the seventies at the Pichi Richi rail work shop, I can't remember what Loco it was.
    The loco is in pretty good condition, the tender has been rebuilt and is virtually new, the wheel sets are good and the boiler doesn't look too bad.

    The smokebox will need to be replaced as there's a lot of wastage in the sheet. We have a new smokebox rolled from 10mm plate with a separate 16mm floor to go in. This will be a lot of heavy work but at least the profile is fairly simple - unlike the smoke box on 621 (Duke of Edinburgh) which we replaced a year or so ago which had a lot of fiddly contour changes and didn't conform to the original drawings.

    There's going to be work required on the firebox and all the tubes and flues (it's superheated) need replacing.

    The thinking by the project leader is around 2 years to get her back on the tracks, we shall see...

    It's very rewarding working on stuff that will still be around and entertaining people long after we have shuffled off into the sunset.

  6. #6
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    near Warragul, Victoria
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    Default Gauge

    Is this loco 5 foot 3 inch gauge ?

    South Aust. had a mix of gauges for some reason.

  7. #7
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    Yes, all our rolling stock is Broad Gauge. We run on the section of track between Mt. Barker and Victor Harbour which became isolated from the rest of the SA broad gauge when the interstate line was converted to standard gauge..

  8. #8
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    I believe it was designed so that it could be converted to standard gauge (4" 8 1/2"), as the whole country was talking about going standard gauge back in the 1930/40's, look how fast they got that to happen.

  9. #9
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    Correct, the suburban lines are still broad gauge but all the sleepers are able to be railed for SG or BG, the idea being that if we ever want to convert to SG then the sleepers are still OK.
    It's highly unlikely that this will ever happen though as the new electric trains we've just started to use are also BG.
    There are a number of historical restraints on our suburban services - they are currently converting lines from diesel power to electric - but the line up into the hills will not be done as the tunnels are too low for the overhead wires.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by snapatap View Post
    I believe it was designed so that it could be converted to standard gauge (4" 8 1/2"), as the whole country was talking about going standard gauge back in the 1930/40's, look how fast they got that to happen.
    Correct, this and a number of other SAR locos can be converted between BG & SG relatively simply. I say relatively because nothing relating to working on machines this big and this old is "easy".

  11. #11
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    Great stuff - steam trains were running when I was in my first few years of primary school - I remember waiting on the platform for the train with my mother for the trip into the city - if a train was puilling in from the other direction the driver would sometimes do a 'burnout' as train pulled away from the station.
    Sometime in the late 1980's wife and I were in Goolwa - I recall watching a steam train - painted green - not sure if it was the Flying Scotsman.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by familyguy View Post
    Sometime in the late 1980's wife and I were in Goolwa - I recall watching a steam train - painted green - not sure if it was the Flying Scotsman.
    It would not have been Flying Scotsman, that English loco did come to Australia for the bicentenary but she is standard gauge, not broad gauge so never came south.

    The locomotive you saw would most probably have been Duke of Edinburgh, number 621 built locally at Islington in 1936. 621 is a Pacific class (4-8-2) loco which is still operational, she'll be running the Cockle Train between Goolwa and Victor Harbour this weekend. She was painted black during the last heavy maintenance work so she matches the rest of our steam fleet. Opinions are divided as to whether she looked better in green or black but as someone who works on her, I prefer the black for practical reasons.

    A couple of us replaced the smokebox on this loco in-house in 2020. I also machined and fitted new bushes to the Baker valve gear last year. Running a steam locomotive is a constant process or repair, replace, renew. We have 3 in operation, 2 Rx class, and 621 so it's a full time process as you can imagine.

    621 smoke box.jpg621.jpg[

    If it wasn't 621 then it would have been 520, which is the loco we are restoring at the moment. Both were green at the time you mentioned.

  13. #13
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    I should have some photos of the Flying Scotsman when it was here, my late brother and I followed it about a bit too get some pics will have to see if I can locate them ( lots house moves since then )
    Just for my interest were is the workshop these days.

  14. #14
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    Default

    Wheel arrangement on 621 is 462

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by alfclp View Post
    Wheel arrangement on 621 is 462
    My bad, a slip of the fingers. I should know that arrangement given I was underneath it a few weeks ago fitting the hornblock packers I made as part of our jacking of the front end of the loco to pull the pony truck out for inspection...

    621 is indeed a 4-6-2 with Baker gear, 520 is 4-8-4 configuration

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