February News plus Update

All of a sudden, gauges and copper pipework are being polished, new paint is appearing on engines and dirt is vanishing under a cleaning onslaught. Of course, with the generally unsavoury weather in recent weeks the fact that all these jobs are in the dry might be a factor!

Lee has been painting in the tea room with some help from Dan, while the Bellis generator and the Easton Johnson are both sporting new paint. The Crossley diesel has been given a good clean, John D was beavering away on the Wills cleaning it up and sorting out the 'loose' exhaust valve and Nigel has been replacing some rotten floorboards in the ground floor of the cottage.

The large Weir pump inserted into the engine house last month was removed by Ian G and taken home for blasting and painting. So far the pump has been stripped, seized pistons removed with the aid of boiling oil, brute force and a 10 ton puller, shot blasted and primed. Lights have been fitted inside the crankcases of the Bellis compound, Bellis generator and Easton Johnson and clear panels put in place so visitors can see inside the engines both in and out of steam.

Outside, Harold has been repairing and painting one of the skip wagons to be hauled along the ropeway and Tony is nearing the end (literally) of the railway refurbishment. The next project will be extending the siding to the firing cabin to allow supplies of wood to be moved there. Talking of wood: massive piles of timber have appeared on site courtesy of our usual suppliers and the adjacent farm: Nigel's lorry and trailer have been busy moving several loads to the station and the cabin is now well stacked with material ready for the start of the season at Easter with more stacked by the carpark and hedge ready for cutting.

Plans are now being drawn up to lift the Coltman boiler, preferably before Easter so the work is out of the way. For the moment it will be hoisted out and placed in the car park ready for collection by the team from West Coker. Some of the piles of timber now appearing on site will be used to build a new floor in the boiler house and repair the roof, following which we can relocate the workshop, move the Culverwell etc. etc. Ian G has provided a number of photos of the twine works in operation at West Coker from the 1950/60s, one of which shows the Coltman in its original position.

Update

No sooner said than done: the large Weir pump which was last seen heading off in the direction of Ian G's workshop has now reappeared, nicely painted, all brass bits polished and in WORKING ORDER! . This now makes five pumps ready to be installed in the boiler house and ideas have been batted around about how to fit water tanks etc. once the Coltman boiler is heaved out of the way. There was an impromptu demonstration of three of the pumps working on compressed air during the Sunday working party.

John D has now completely stripped the faulty exhaust valve on the Wills and is making a spacer to stop it rocking in operation while Colin Draper and his daughter have taken on the mission of fixing down the winch in the tin shed: the winch has always sat on a couple of large timbers, however over the past year it has moved due to the vibrations in use. To stop this, a concrete base will be cast underneath the winch with re-bar into the ground to hold it and the winch in place, following which the exhaust and cylinder drains can be piped up again. In a rash burst of enthusiasm, Miss D demanded to be allowed to saw the old timber into pieces suitable for firing the Marshall, but was forced to make way for Ian and his chainsaw in the end!

In the main hall, Ian has begun the new steel frame to go below the Sissons, even managing to obtain a drawing from the bloke who used to design the things! This will ensure that both parts of the compound engine are at the same level, which was not the case when it was sitting on the concrete plinth.

Finally, a busy month ahead in March: the boiler has been booked for an annual inspection 8 months after the last one. The aim is to return to having inspections during the winter months instead of the middle of the season as at present. It is anticipated that some work will have to be done on firebox stays this coming winter. Meanwhile, John T has been erecting scaffolding ready to build a roof over the rest of the boiler. Eventually, this will allow us to clad and insulate it without worrying about rain soaking in and rusting it out.

Andy

Photographs of machinery and buildings are © Westonzoyland Engine Trust 2008 Official Location Address: Westonzoyland Pumping Station, Hoopers Lane, Westonzoyland, nr. Bridgwater, Somerset TA7 0LS (Please do NOT send letters to this address, there is no letterbox!).
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