Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip (POSTPONED)

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John Ashworth
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Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip (POSTPONED)

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A couple of updates from Kevin Patience in Shop 006 in Nairobi. Photos will follow soon.

See http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... 26&t=11567 for details of the steam trip on 26 October 2013.
On 14 October, Kevin wrote:As of this afternoon we have moved the steam locos around with the help of a 93 class diesel. 5918 the Garratt was towed out into the sunlight around 1.45 this afternoon, the first time she has moved since early 2012. Followed by 3020 and then the two locos were coupled together and moved back in the shed with 3020 on the outside. Tomorrow pm the boiler man arrives to inspect the water passages and if that's ok we hope to get water later tomorrow and fill the boiler and part of the tender and fire up on Wed. Meantime a cleaning gang arrive tomorrow morning with buckets, cotton waste, brushes, diesel and water to start the filthy job of getting the loco in some sort of semblance of being operational.. Pix to follow..
On 16 October Kevin wrote:A good day yesterday saw four of us start the dirty job of cleaning two years of dust, dirt, oil and grease off the loco. A trip to Nakumatt yielded the important items like a hose pipe, buckets , soft brooms, rags, brillo pads and of course the ubiquitous OMO. Apparently I was told no cleaning gets done with out it !!! However I also bought diesel and that cut with water gives a great finish. The boiler man came and inspected the boiler cold and I cracked a couple of plugs on the firebox and then one lower down to be drenched with a great gout of water, Who said the boiler was empty ??? After all the cleaning we discovered the firebox had been filled with wood by the last team in 2012 so we added 3 lts of diesel to help it and connected the hose to one of the top plugs with instructions to the security guys to switch off when it got up to the mark on the sight glass. So by 6 pm last night the loco was looking like it ought to. A bit more cleaning today should see it gleaming.. . However some one has nicked the sight glass drain pipes so that's got to be sorted this morning.. otherwise there's a lot of steam and hot water on the foot plate. So today once the water is up to the mark and I can find some copper pipe we should throw a match into it and stand back and watch the first signs of smoke lazily roll out the funnel / chimney !! Wood firing is a bit slow but as there is no compressed air this is the only alternative and having wood fired the Garratt twice in times past this should be old hat. The Garratt with its 72 sq ft fire box ate kuni like there was no tomorrow and we had passengers and crew alike gathering sleepers, tree trunks etc.. Bonfire night was never the same after that... Pix are mounting up but using the NBI Club's computer is a pain as there is no facility to USB pix on to the system. However a possibility on the PC at the railway museum.. More tomorrow...
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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Confirmation from Charles today that the trip is going ahead on 26 October 2013. I believe the US dollar price has been reduced slightly, and there is also a lower price in Kenya shillings for Kenyan residents.

Details for booking can be found at http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... 26&t=11567
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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From Kevin today:
Kevin wrote:Not a good start today as the boiler man Amirra has been detailed on a job out of Nbi and I wanted him here for the firing. As Monday is a holiday its now Tuesday to fire up.

So having added more diesel to the kuni in the fire box it was back to cleaning the foot plate of rubbish as it had been used as resting spot for the watchmen of which there are two. They have now moved their kit to the cab of the Garratt. What would Kirpal have said !!! So cleaning continued apace with only three of us. One of our cleaners Masai so called because he's from Tanzania is a contract car washer and what a great job he did of the four driving wheels on one side. This is a grotty job as its caked in grease and dirt and needs to be scraped off. Unfortunately he left and so his replacement arrived but had no feel for the job other than chucking water around.. he left rather rapidly. The engine is now almost pristine compared to Monday. The boiler filled itself from the hosepipe and now we're filling the tender. Pleased to see the results of our efforts in 2012 overhauling the water pipes, valves and injectors appears to have paid off as there is only a tiny leak as opposed to a stream.
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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Another update from Kevin
A rather quiet day. In the Museum office this morning were three guys to see Maurice about the sight glass drain pipes which are missing off all three locos. about 1.5 mt long and .5 inch dia copper pipe with a brass fitting on one end. Fortunately I had a sample piece of copper pipe and fitting to show them all. A pics worth a thousand words. As mentioned all six are missing off all three locos despite there being a 24 hr guard.. the boiler inspector had pointed out that the loco was not to be steamed without these. So i was about to head off to see if I could find some pipe and fittings in the industrial area. However good things come to those who wait and sure enough the lady in stores Purity called and met me at one of the stores. obviously not opened in years. It was inches deep in dust rubbish old chairs papers etc etc but....on the floor was a large pile of assorted copper pipes and fittings and after creating a dust storm with the removal of all the taka taka (rubbish) i found what we were looking for. Two drain pipes with brazed fittings. Half an hour later they were fitted. Foot plate tidying continued with the stacking of a ton of firewood off the engine and onto the floor along side. As the firebox is full I am not sure how much more wood we need to get it to 40 psi. My man William an ex railway employee and diesel engineer has the bit between his teeth and has worked absolute miracles having wiped what appears to be acres of boiler and tender with a diesel soaked rag and is now cleaning all the little green oiling pots. So far i have bought him two floor rags and two galls of diesel.. It aint looked this good for quite a time.. My next task in view of previous set backs is to open up the smoke box and clean the Giesl ejector blower holes. The last time I did this was on the main line in 05 when the pipe feeding the ejector developed a tiny hole and lost all the vacuum in the smoke box. At that point it was red hot and an absolute b,,,r to work on but with a small bolt, asbestos tape and wire nicked from the boundary fence we got it going again.. Cant do that with what Rob Dickinson calls Diseasels.. More tomorrow.. and i will post pix when I can get to photoshop..
I can remember cleaning out the green oil pots before 3020 steamed two or three years ago. They were filthy, full of gunge, and some of them are in very hard to reach positions. My heart goes out to William!
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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Photos beginning to appear at http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... .php?f=319

We'll be posting new photos from now until after the trip, so keep checking that link.
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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On Wednesday 23 October, Kevin wrote:Last friday saw the last of the loco cleaned and painted and the judicious use of ali paint to paint the rods. Looks good and so much easier than sanding and oiling. The weekend saw the last of the rubbish on the cab floor removed and painted. mondat was a holiday so lit up the loco on Tuesday morning with a ton of firewood after a few teething troubles. Unfortunately we also found another steam pipe missing on top of the boiler. I bought a blank and that stopped the leak. But not sure where the pipe goes but suspect it may be the sanding box. Two drivers arrived and with a few extra hands including John and self we are steaming again today...
Yesterday's photos at http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... 19&t=11734
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Re: Kenya: preparations for Athi River steam trip

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Kevin wrote:After the steaming on Tuesday which got pressure on the boiler and enabled us to check the firebox drain plugs for leaks of which there were none we steamed down and later that evening topped up the boiler for a second attempt yesterday. This time we had the use of a compressed air line connected into the oil burner line which is used firstly to blowback through the oil line to the tank to ensure the oil flows to the burner and to help atomise the fuel oil at the boiler end. Well it fired up and all went well. The loco is looking good apart from a final line test. However for reasons beyond our control we and the marketing company cancelled the trip and advised all parties of the situation. This in turn led to John and I meeting with Kenya Railways this morning to assess the situation and renegotiate details re loco and rolling stock for a trip in the new year. While it may seem by some we have failed in actual fact it was a great step forward in that we got the loco in steam, got the fundis, drivers and others extremely interested, and enabled us to get it watered, cleaned of years of grease and dirt and check out the work I carried out in 2012.
We have proved to many that one of the so called piles of scrap that sit in the shed are capable of earning revenue bearing in mind they are under guard 24 hrs a day etc etc, which costs a small fortune. So thats it for the present. John and I have been asked to write to KR and give an update on the situation and our proposals for the next safari. We will keep you in the picture as they say.
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