On Our Knees

During the past couple of weeks we have installed the draw gear.





These were very heavy and had to be jacked up to fit them.

Last Saturday we finished bolting up the end timbers that embrace the draw springs then we installed the iron knees that support the ends of the sides adjacent to the side doors.

I had spent time the previous Saturday cutting out rebates in the side members of the frames to let the knees contact the planks. Ollie had ordered the planks and they were delivered during the week.



So using one of the side planks we were able to fit the knees in position, locate them correctly on the length of the frame using the "hockey stick" irons that fit to the cross tie bars, then mark and drill the holes to take the bolts through the frames to bolt down the knees.





With all the knees in place we can now begin planking the wagon.



This week's task is to measure and cut the floor planks and drop them into place so that we can work from them to fit the planks.

Drop Door Hinges

Originally the wagon had two drop doors in the centre section of the floor either side of the central spine. The floors had been rebuilt during the wagon's life and it no longer had the doors when we acquired it, but the lock/release mechanisms for the doors was still in place and Ollie wanted to re-instate the doors.

To do this we needed to make new hinges and fit them, as well as to re-fit the lock/release mechanisms in the new frame.

This photo shows the new hinges in place ready to be cut roughly to length before installing the lock/release levers. The hinges are new steel work, though the pins of 1" diameter bar are very old stock and may well be iron rather than steel.

Before fitting the lock/release mechanism we had to find its ideal location in the length of the frame. I thought this would be centred in the frame but in the event it is offset slightly to one end so that the screws that hold the locking shoe will not foul the tie bars close by.

Once we had determined the position of the shoes we screwed them into place in the underside of the sole-bars.

All was now set to locate and fix the lock/release mechanism. I am always tempted to measure things and then drill holes to locate them, but in this kind of work, where parts are old and worn and even misshapen it is better to proceed by fitting: trying each part in place relative to other components so as to get a better fit.



To get a proper working height for the hinges I ran battens across from the centre spine to the sole-bar and tied up the hinges to them, thus putting the underside of the hinges in the position they'd be in when holding up the door in the closed position.



We then held the locking bar up against the underside of the hinges and with its release lever locked in the locking shoe and marked the positions of the hinge-bolts on the sole bar. We then drilled the holes out and I chiselled the square portion that locates and holds the square end of the hinge bolts.



Here you can see the hinges supported on the release bar. The hinges will be shortened so that when the release bar lever is kicked inwards they will drop past the bar allowing the door to open.



The last job was to apply a little paint to the nuts and washers holding the lock/release mechanism hinges, and then Ollie couldn't resist a trial placing of the wagon's number-plate.

Draw Gear

Construction moves on. We now have the new (second hand) draw springs and draw bars ready to fit. They were taken from another wagon that is not fit for renovation and so is being dismantled.



Here you can see the new draw-spring looking like a cross-bow lying under the wagon.


We laid out the draw-springs, old draw-bars and connecting basket - that thing in the middle that contains springs to help absorb the shocks as the wagon is pulled along.

We only needed to lay out one end as the ends are identical, so all measurements could be made to the centre-line of the frame. We needed to know that the draw-springs would fit because they are slightly different from the originals, in the end there was only a 3/8th inch difference in length.


Here you can see the new and old draw-bars side by side on the ground. The new ones are heavier section than the old ones but are of comparable construction. We cut the new ones to the same length as the old and then cut new threads (1 3/4 inch) on the new ones.


Here is one of the new ones threaded, with a hole for a split-pin in the end of the threads, and primed ready for final painting.

I am writing this on Monday 8th August and Ollie plans to install the draw-gear on Wednesday. I'll be at work so won't get any photos of that.

More About Dust Seals

I've been away on various jaunts and so haven't written here for a while, and haven't done a lot at the railway either.

A few weeks ago I finished fettling the dust-seals for the wagon's axle-boxes.

The first job was to test fit each seal to its respective axle-box. I numbered them all because I found that each one fitted slightly differently, but they were all a bit like this:



I found that the shoulders of the seals were not quite high enough to engage against a protrusion inside the axle-box body. So they'd needed raising, which I did by gluing strips of wood on the tops of the shoulders:



You can see the strips of wood there. Once they were well glued in I had to check each seal against its axle-box, sanding off the extra wood until the seal was a snug fit.

Finally each seal had to have a protective metal strip fixed to each cheek to prevent undue wear and tear in use from the steel pin that holds the seal in place:



The seals are now all finished and in place on the wagon with their bottom surfaces flush to the bottoms of the axle-boxes.