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Completing the Rebuild
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Help to keep K1 running - Appeal.
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After the new boiler and the cab were lifted into place on Friday October 11th 2002, K1 moved back indoors. The chimney had to be removed temporarily to allow the loco back into the Erecting Shop, as it is too tall to fit through the door; the cab is just low enough to pass. Also, a packing plate has to be fitted at the base of the chimney, one of the various new pieces of platework to be fitted to the smokebox. The following pictures show the loco the next day.
Completing the loco was not just a simple matter of lighting it up; in addition to plumbing and cladding of the boiler, there were many small and hidden parts of this complex piece of machinery to complete, notably a maze of copper piping and the associated fittings, together with various components still to be fitted. A number of these are shown below, either in the Erecting Shop, or the bench allocated to K1 in the adjacent Machine Shop at Boston Lodge - see the descriptions when you place your mouse over the thumbnail pictures below.
One important component was the special oil burner; K1 cannot use the same design as the NGG16s, as the pipe which carries steam from the high- to the low-pressure cylinders passes directly below the firebox. Several designs were considered, and the final choice was a special low-height single rotary burner.
Chris Jones's picture below shows the interior of K1's cab in December 2002, with work well advanced on cab fittings and plumbing, but before lagging was done. This scene is very different from the largely bare backhead of the old boiler as received back from York in 1995. At least two of the new components seen above can be seen installed in their proper places below.
Marcus Ingram's pictures below show additional progress by the end of the same month. The firebox had received its insulation and cladding, and the framework structures known as crinolines were in place ready for the same to be done on the boiler barrel.
As the rebuild approached completion, funds became ever tighter, and in late December 2002 the reluctant decision was made to halt paid work by Boston Lodge staff for a time, and to seek fresh funding. K1 is seen below on January 4th 2003, while being shunted from its previous position into no. 3 road at Boston Lodge to await the resumption of work.
It was intended for some time that K1 would be named Herbert William Garratt. The proposal was put forward by the K1 Group at its June 2002 AGM, and announced at the WHRS AGM in September. The illustration below (original photo of K1 following assembly in Tasmania in 1910: Tasmania State Archives) shows the intended position for the nameplates. The plan to name the loco was later dropped (see Commissioning).
Locomotive Engineer Appointment
In late January 2004 funding arrangements reached the stage where an immediate vacancy was announced for en engineer to work on the completion and commissioning of K1 under a five-month contract. A number of applications were received, all immediately this was announced, and at the end of the application period Roland Doyle was appointed to the post, starting work on March 1st. In addition to his experience on WHR construction (he remains manager of construction arm WHLR Ltd on a part-time basis), Roland is a well known face at Boston Lodge, where he played key rôles in completing the rebuild of Palmerston, and the design and building of Taliesin. He worked alongside Ian Harthill, who had been working part-time on K1 since November 2003, and the volunteer effort under Project Leader Colin Hill.
Spring/Summer 2004 Progress
With work now back in full swing, Andy Rutter's pictures below show views taken over the weekend of April 17-18th. With the front engine complete, the front tank was finally permanently refitted. With the firebox cladding complete, the boiler backhead was having the final fitting of its various gauges, valves etc, with the cab spectacle plate removed for access; the cab is being painted prior to final reassembly. Smokebox cladding was complete, and boiler cladding was also almost done.
The pictures below were taken on May 2nd. The hind water tank is seen in the yard, together with the new fuel oil tank which will fit in the former coal space. On the loco, pipework and boiler cladding had progressed still further. Note that one of K1's unusual features is thermal cladding of the smokebox as well as of the main boiler barrel, with which the smokebox is integral. The large insulated pipe lying on the footplate, when fitted in position, transfers exhaust steam from the high-pressure rear cylinders to the low-pressure front cylinders when working in compound mode.
Andy Rutter's pictures below show progress over the weekend of May 15-16th. The hind tank was not yet fitted, as there were some logistics to work out. The water tank was the easy part; the oil feeds (etc) had to be run in, the oil bunker fitted into the coal bunker, but also the brake staff at the rear of the cab had to be fitted permanently. All this had to come together in more or less one operation. In anticipation of this the team had K1 outside (dwarfing Moelwyn!) to pressure clean all the cylinders ready for the valve and piston covers, and the valves and pistons themselves. Final cladding and clothing of the boiler was in hand. Cylinder drain valves were also being fitted up. The water tank was also being painted, inside and out.
The refractory firebrick arch was installed in the firebox on June 19th, and over the same weekend brake tests were carried out, and lagging of the dome was in progress, that of the boiler being complete.
The rear tank was finally in place by July 17th; this represented the last major item to be refitted to the loco. By the end of the weekend, all water connections were in place and several inches of water were put in the tanks, completing the water system. The oil tank system was also complete, as were steam and oil piping to the burner.
The Return to Steam
The Boiler Inspector carried out a "cold" test in the week beginning July 12th, and this marked the start of the ten-year boiler "ticket". The first steaming was a low pressure test up to about 50 psi on July 20th, to test the firing system. The first full pressure test up to 220 psi took place on the 22nd, with the safety valves lifting at about 2.05pm, and the firing system working at maximum output. Early impressions were that the boiler is reponsive and free steaming, taking about two hours to raise steam.
The boiler inspector returned at lunchtime on Friday July 23rd to inspect the loco in steam - and granted full approval. K1 is seen below still in steam shortly after the conclusion of the inspection. After some 75 years, and on the other side of the world from where it last steamed, K1 was at last well and truly back to life.
There was still plenty to do before the loco could move under its own power, and these tasks were progressed by paid staff, leading up to what would probably be the K1 Group's last major working party at Boston Lodge, over an extended weekend four weeks after the boiler test. Andy Rutter's pictures below show various tasks in hand. The loco had been shunted into the back of the Erecting Shop as its spot over the pit was needed urgently by Earl of Merioneth.
By the end of Sunday August 22nd enough had been done for the loco to be towed out and steamed; note that the chimney is too tall to pass the Erecting Shop door, hence its absence in some pictures.
At about 7pm on the Sunday evening, as the light was failing and with about 160psi on the dial, K1 moved under its own power for the first time since 1929. K1 was coupled to the Hunslet diesel as a safety back up in case of a failure, and about half a dozen short runs were completed within the confines of Boston Lodge yard, using the High Pressure cylinders only. A pipe still needed to be connected so that the change valve could be used to control compounding and allow the Low Pressure cylinders to be used, and it was expected that the loco would be tested on all four cylinders shortly afterwards.
Video - 75 seconds, QuickTime (.mov) format - large (4.3MB) or small (2MB) - right-click on links if you prefer to save and run the file(s) locally.
Successful completion of initial trials at Boston Lodge and across the Cob paved the way for the loco to be cleared to move to Dinas.
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Completing the Rebuild
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Help to keep K1 running - Appeal.
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