Brake 1474 – mechanical work now complete


Bogie Brake 1474 has been the subject of investigation and repairs to the bogie springing during 2019 and 2020. The main issue was that 1474 rolled quite a bit when in use, probably indicating that there was weakness in the suspension almost certainly due to its age.
This had prevented its use in most service trains, although the Worth Valley agreed that it could be used for a filming contract in 2019 and permission was given for its use and on their initial post-COVID-19 services in August and September 2020.
The bogie suspension consists of primary and secondary (or auxiliary) components. The primary suspension comprises large coil springs located in the central bolster, the secondary being the leaf springs located over each axlebox together with a pair of auxiliary coil springs located at the outer end of each leaf spring.
The coil springs and tie bars on the bogies were replaced by August 2020, which showed a marked improvement, the the Worth Valley Direct of Engineering arranged for the chassis and body to be lifted from the bogies and it was found that further mechanical work was required on the bogies and their mountings connecting to the chassis and body.
After extensive research and investigation, the trustees decided to arrange restoration under a contract with the East Lancashire Railway at Bury, to which the carriage was taken by road in October 2020.

March 2022 – arrangements are now being made for the return of 1474 to the Worth Valley for services.

February 2022 – following the delayed arrival of new brake blocks to the L&YR pattern, completion of the bogies to be runnable enabled testing to take place on the ELR on 22nd February and the carriage ran in 4 shuttle return trips between Bury and Ramsbottom on Saturday 26th February during the ELR Gala between 25th and 27th February.

November 2021 – the reassembly of second bogie with brake linkages has taken longer than expected and it was hoped to have the carriage returned to the Worth Valley for the planned use in their ‘Elfmas’ Christmas services from late November, but this has not proved possible, it’s place being taken by Third 6-wheel 1507 as used in 2020.

September 2021 – restoration of the second bogie is now complete and it is hoped that shortly it will be refitted to the carriage and all the brake linkages set up ready for test runs in October before return to the Worth Valley for the planned use in their ‘Elfmas’ Christmas services from late November .

June 2021 – with the bulk of work on one of the bogies complete, we have been able to draw up a list of the work required together with expected costings. The cost of work so far has been met from Trust reserves and previous donations, donations towards the work would be welcomed, the list of work can be found here

February and March 2021 – extensive restoration and repair (together with parts replacement) is well advanced on one of the bogies, with the wheelsets seeing extensive restoration work for further service as well as replacement of the bolster springs and other components.

January 2021 – removal of parts for assessment has now started, with the brake end bogie removed, so far it has been established that the large bolster springs will need replacement, current work is being concentrated on the wheelsets and detailed examination of the other components making up the bogie.

November 2020 – 1474 is in the East Lancashire Railway workshops and initial evaluation of the work has progressed, but further work has been delayed by requirements for work on their operational carriages to be used in their forthcoming Santa services.

October 2020 has seen 1474 being taken by road to the East Lancashire Railway workshops at Bury to have extensive repairs to the bogies and body mountings following the recent detailed examination at the Worth Valley. Their workshops are not suitable to carry out the work mainly due to the need to keep the body separate from the bogies but for reassembly to take place as necessary at various times during the work.

September 2020 during this month the carriage was used on 5 days of Vintage Services and the riding was definitely improved. However further use of the carriage will not take place until extensive mechanical work has been completed, the trustees are currently establishing the best method of carrying out the work, almost certainly using external contractors.

August 2020 saw the detailed examination completed in Haworth Yard using the Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS) steam crane, we are extremely grateful to the BLS for the efforts with this exercise. Various findings have been reported which indicate further work is required but the Brake has been approved for the currently planned services.

July 2020 has seen the suspension work completed but the detailed examination of the carriage has been delayed as a result of the lifting gear being located on the wrong side of the bridge replacement work near Ingrow, its relocation will take place shortly after the bridge work is completed in early August.

June 2020 has seen the resumption of work and the arrival of newly manufactured securing tie bolts and their associated fittings, see some photos below. The carriage has been relocated to the Worth Valley’s carriage and wagon workshop for final assembly to take place and for a detailed examination of the carriage involving lifting the body from the chassis, which might not have taken place for over 80 years.

March 2020 saw some springs removed for testing and temporarily replaced with steel tube. Examples of the auxiliary coil and leaf springs can be seen below along with an example of the securing tie bolts. Just before the Coronavirus lockdown, new coil spring manufacture was completed and some fitted, then work had to stop. However it was possible capture some photos as below.

January 2020 it’s been established that the auxiliary coil springs in the secondary suspension have insufficient strength so 16 replacements are now on order thanks to a very good response to a fundraising request, and there is also sufficient funding to cover replacement of the 16 securing tie bars and fittings. Copies of the original L&YR general arrangement drawings of the bogies were obtained in 2019 via the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society and it’s been found that the full specification for the replacement springs was detailed on the drawings. The material used over 100 years ago is now hard to obtain, so an alternative design has been established and approved by the Worth Valley’s Director of Engineering.

The photos below are supplied by the Trust’s team of of Jim Hindle, David and Daniel Winters as well as Trustee Peter Eastham and the Worth Valley’s Engineering Director, John Reddyhoff.
Click on any image to view large version and as a slideshow

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