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Work on No.186

In the winter months, No.186 has had some maintenance work carried out. A retube, attention to piston rings and inspection of the lubrication system were included in the work schedule.

Once the "Mince Pie and Mulled Wine" train was over, No.186 was disconnected from her tender and moved into the workshop for a programme of work to begin.
In the firebox, the brick arch was removed and the small tubes replaced. You can see the ends as the silver circles. Each one has been expanded into close contact with the tubeplate and then beaded over to the bevelled ends shown here. Boiler tubes tend to have a finite life of around 7 years, and since a boiler certificate usually runs to 10 years, it makes sense to replace the tubes approximately every five years.
At the other end of the locomotive, the buffer beam had been removed to provide access to the cylinders, which were opened up for a valve and piston examination. The shiny new small tubes can be seen contrasting against the sooty interior of the smokebox. The blastpipe can be seen on the ground next to the industrial vacuum cleaner.
Bob, one of our skilled volunteer machinists, gave the regulator some attention to improve its seal when shut, and is seen here preparing the jointing faces before putting the dome cover back on.
Once the specialist work on the tubes had been completed, another task peculiar to steam traction - rebuilding the brick arch. Adam passes a special tapered firebrick through the firehole door to a pair of ghostly hands. The firehole doors were off to allow replacement of some of the firehole ring rivets.
The new brick arch almost complete. This structure lengthens the path the burning gases from the fire must travel before entering the boiler tubes, and in so doing encourages greater heat transfer to the water in the hollow walls of the firebox.
With the cylinder covers back on, the dome joint remade, the tubes replaced, the brick arch rebuilt, the lubrication system overhauled, the boiler fittings overhauled, and numerous other small tasks attended to, it was time to move the engine out of the workshop, reintroduce it to its tender and prepare for for testing. But the paintwork on the boiler and running boards had clearly seen better days . . .

As the springs were adjusted to make sure the correct weight was bearing on each wheel, a paint squad assembled to spruce up 186's paintwork. Grey is not a common livery, but it was used by the Great Southern Railway in the 1930s and 1940s, with seemingly endless variations and the odd component painted black! We took delivery of the engine in 1966 when she was in CIE black livery, and this grey livery was chosen by popular vote among our members.
With the existing paint degreased and rubbed down, bare metal surfaces got an application of primer and then all surfaces to be painted got an application of undercoat. While interest had been expressed in painting the engine some other colour, this proved not to be possible in the limited time available, and in the end the locomotive was only partially repainted in the areas which looked most worn.
Phillip applies undercoat to the cabside. The numberplate is an RPSI made replica, and is polished to represent the finish that 186's numberplates carried in the early 20th century.
Each and every rivet on the running boards needed cleaned off and the dirt prised out from round the rim. The effects of five years of steel capped boots on the paintwork can be seen in this view! Although 186 is 131 years old this year, few parts are original. It is possible, however, that the running boards and cabsides are the originals - but even they may have been swapped or replaced at overhaul.
Nathan and James at work on the front of the locomotive. The sandbox is one of the newer parts of the locomotive - it was replaced in her last overhaul in 2003. The buffer beam tells its own story. Originally 186 probably had a thick oak buffer beam, but this was exchanged for steel at some other time in the locomotive's life. The steel buffer beam is clearly stamped with the number 103.
186 shines again in the afternoon light.
The numerals are applied to the freshly painted bufferbeam. Although numbers stamped on the buffer beam and a few other parts show that they come from different engines altogether, most of the components are stamped '186'. So we have got the right number on the front!
186 was rolled out on Sunday 22nd March 2010 and is now fit for many years more service. She will run light engine to Connolly this weekend to haul the "Easter Eggspress" to Mullingar on April 5th. Why don't you come with us? Click here to buy tickets.

None of these things would happen without the hard work of a small number of volunteers. You have seen the achievements of volunteer machinists, fitters, painters and helpers; volunteer drivers, firemen and shunters; volunteer steam raisers.

All dedicated amateurs who nonetheless succeed in running - an efficient, safe, professional operation, while having a lot of fun along the way!

Whatever your interests, talents, abilities or qualifications, you could make a big difference and
Be a part of something special!

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