Welcome to the January update.
Firstly, I apologise for the lack of a report for December but as there had been no change to the situation regarding Sir Lamiel and the asbestos contamination I had nothing really to report. The more positive news is that there is now a tentative schedule for the remediation work to be completed next month. We hope that we can return to work on the engine in early April. This has set out work schedule back some six months. However, the remediation work will entail a thorough cleaning of areas on the frames and cylinders which will mean that they will be paint ready at the end of the process. This may mean that the schedule may not have slipped as much as we fear.
We have continued work on the boiler. The set screws in the firebox have been replaced and our boilersmith is cutting the threads in the tubeplates for the flue tubes. The small and large tubes have all been delivered. We will also be placing an order for the “bottle ends” for the flue tubes. These will all need a thread cutting to match the tubeplate, then welding on to the flue tubes. Any help with the purchase costs of the bottle ends would be much appreciated. The plan is to refit the tubes and then to do a hydraulic test on the boiler.
The front bogie of the tender has been reassembled. The tyres have been reprofiled and the axle journals polished. The axleboxes were examined, measured and machined before reassembly. We now await some time on the jacks to lift the tender body to replace the front bogie and remove the rear bogie. The tender will be covered by the remediation process, so once again we are unlikely to make any further progress before April.
The 5305LA committee and I are very frustrated that we have had to stop work but remain fully committed to getting Sir Lamiel back into traffic in time for her centenary in 2025. If you have any questions, please contact me via comms@5305la.org.uk
Thank you for your support for the overhaul of Sir Lamiel.
Alan Berck-May
Chairman