Lilian - Boiler work winter 2007/8 and new tender
Over the winter of 2007/8, Lilian was dismantled for her boiler to be retubed. The boiler she currently carries is one built at the railway in 1993 to replace the life-expired boiler she carried before. Here we see her chassis in the back of the workshop.
Corrosion was encountered on the inside of the boiler barrell, which was dealt with by filling the pits with weld. The corrosion encountered is more than was expected, but there are two likely reasons for this; one, that the steel supplied for the new boiler is not to the same quality as the steel on the original boiler, and two, oxygen pitting/scarring. Here we see the boiler under repair, followed by a view in the boiler, where the weld repairs to the corrosion are visible.
To reduce problems encountered with corrosion in the future, it was decided to convert Lilian's boiler from side-feed to top-feed, and also to use water treatment, which it is hoped will reduce or even eliminate corrosion.
Lilian's boiler was retubed and complete (as seen in the photo below), ready for hydraulic and steam tests for the boiler inspector in April 2008. Having passed both, Lilian was reassembled, and re-entered passenger service on the 25th May.
In 2006, work was started on a new tender for Lilian to operate with. Here we see the chassis under construction in August 2006, followed by the tender in the workshops in 2007:
The tender was completed by 2008 and entered service with Lilian on the 18th July. Here we see a selection of photos of Lilian on her first day with her new tender:
The wheelsets on the tender are repaired examples formerly used on wagons at the Cliffe-at-Hoo Cement Works in Kent. Springs came from a WW1 bogie, whilst her axleboxes were built, along with the rest of the tender, at the railway. Most of the construction work on the tender was carried out by railway employee John Ley.
Although currently in plain black livery, it is planned to line out the tender and add an identification plate of some sort.Back to Locomotives