November 2019

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After many hours of hard graft by the Kerne Engineers, volunteers and curious enthusiasts we can now report that following the removal of the affected 60 stay tubes (plus several smoke tubes to gives us extra working room) the thread re-cutting of the tubeplates and re-gauging is finally complete. This has been something of a marathon job requiring skill, patience and brute strength over a period in excess of 12 months, but now we move on to the next critical phase – the threading of the new tubes. The tubes have already been swaged out to the correct diameters (the smokebox end being slightly larger than the combustion chamber end) and are now on their way to precision engineers together with the gauging tool. The gauging determines the relative start positions of the threads on each tube, so it was necessary for us to record the gauging results for each tube and these readings enable the engineers to cut the bespoke threads for each tube. We now await the outcome!

In the meantime swarf and other debris that has ended up inside the boiler as a result of the thread cutting has now to be cleaned out. Away from the vessel, the new smokebox bottoms are under construction, but we shall probably leave installation until we have finished the tube job.

Above the Boiler Room there has been a great deal of activity in the re-fitting of  the Wheelhouse from its appearance as a storage shed to more like the operational area it should be. The ships wheel is back in its rightful place, and various mountings and shelves that support equipment such as the echo-sounder, radio, GPS, Engine Room voicepipe etc have now been installed. In addition, stainless steel drip trays have been installed below the BECLAWAT sliding windows. These have stainless steel drains which discharge outside of the structure. Whilst the original wheelhouse did not have these drains, it was clear that the deterioration of the previous structures was the result of water getting past the rubber seals and accumulating on the horizontal timber members behind the interior cladding, so these improvements should extend the life of the rebuilt structure. The next major task in the Wheelhouse is the installation of the timber decking within. In order to ensure an adequate air gap between the boiler casing and the timber deck, we plan to bolt angle steel to the front and rear bearers and to span these with timbers lying fore and aft. This will ensure that the deck timbers are short and light enough to be lifted and removed therefore giving easy access to the top of the casing for maintenance and painting.

As reported in an earlier bulletin we had managed to acquire a superb Wardroom Oil lamp which the Mate had refurbished. Thanks to the generous donation by Bill Edmondson, a volunteer on the Ffestiniog Railway who saw the first-acquired lamp on our Facebook page, we now have two such lamps. Whilst not by the same maker, the lamp donated by Bill is virtually identical, so we now have two beautiful additions to our Edwardian Captain’s Cabin.

So, whilst we now await the arrival of our treaded tubes, it is time to get into the Christmas Spirit (although I personally prefer beer!!)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

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