E828 - Harry A Frith

14th October 2011

• 828 Mechanical Report for the period April - August 2011

Needle gunned & primed loco drag box

Drilled & tapped L/H & R/H cylinder cladding fixing holes

Removed remaining fixed crown stays

Refurbished L/H & R/H expansion links along with radius rods

Repaired & refurbished L/H & R/H cylinder cladding

Removed all driving wheel springs & spring hanger bolts

Refurbished all spring hanger bolts & manufactured one new nut

Removed front & back cylinder covers

Refurbished front & back cylinder covers

Removed coupling & connecting rods

Cleaned & primed running plates

Removed & refurbished all axle box horn guards (keep plates)

Removed vacuum cylinder & vacuum cylinder union bearings

Refitted smoke box filling in plate

Cleaned & primed boiler backhead

Removed both vacuum reservoirs

Refurbished vacuum cylinder union housings

Over hauled reverser locking mechanism & fitted reverser hand wheel

Other remaining stripping work required on E828's frames is as follows:

Crossheads & pistons (Crosshead splitter required)

Blast pipe

Cylinder back covers & piston packing

Negotiations are currently on going with the MHR to allow the loco access to their wheel drop shed to remove the front bogie and driving wheels. This would involve taking out one driving wheel at a time, checking the axle box bearing and replacing them one at a time. This work depends on the MHR's own work load and availability of the wheel drop shed.

Malcolm Tomlin - September 2011

11th July 2011

• E828 - 30 Years of Ownership Exhibition

To celebrate E828 being under the ownership of Eastleigh Railway Preservation Society, a special exhibition has been organised at Eastleigh Museum in Eastleigh High Street.

The exhibition will run from Tuesday 16th August to Saturday 10th September, Tuesday to Saturday's between 10:00 - 17:00. A display of photographs, documents and artefacts relating to ERPS and E828 will be on show for members and general public to view along with 2 special dates for the diary.

The two dates in question are Saturday 20th August and 3rd September. On these two days we hope to bring the replica footplate of 828, which is a big feature of the museum, alive!

The footplate was created in the museum in 1994 by the late Harry Frith who used parts that were obtained during the restoration of 828 in the works. The intention is to have two of our members who are retired footplate crew to operate “828” in the museum and go through the actions of driving a steam locomotive. The pair are Rodney Tizzard and Colin Robson. Rodney is known to you for his regular articles in “Steam On”. Colin has written a book about his life on the railways and actually fired 828 in its service days. The idea is they will give a number of performances throughout each of the two days and it looks like it is going to be a good bit of fun. I am sure a good few tales will be told as well!

The whole reason for the exhibition is to raise awareness of ERPS and 828 and hopefully gain some new members and volunteers. We hope to get some press coverage for the event and all members are welcome to drop in to the museum on either or both of the Saturdays and come and meet fellow members and socialise. The museum has an excellent coffee bar and small seating area and it is hoped that the ERPS sales stand will be in attendance on the two "footplate" days as well.

Please come along and say hello, we would be very pleased to see you so bring your family, friends and neighbours!

9th April 2011

• 828 Mechanical Report for the period 2nd October 2010 - 19th March 2011

Snow, freezing temperatures, rain and winds - What a period for working on a steam locomotive in the open, but despite all of these elements thrown at the team the following work has been carried out on the loco and its components.

Removing direct crown stays - 6 left to remove

Right and left hand valance cleaned and painted

Cylinder oil pipe cladding refurbished

Refurbished boiler cladding bands

Removed and refurbished loco drawbar

Removed left and right hand cylinder cladding

Removed and overhauled all cylinder relief valves

Released cylinder and valve chest end cover nuts

Removed left and right hand lifting links, radius rod die blocks and expansion links.

Removed and refurbished return cranks

Refurbished lifting links

Cleaned and primed loco front end and cab footsteps

Removed trailing springs

Needle gunned and painted both cylinders.

During this period the loco has been moved to outside the main workshop at Ropley thus enabling the team to use electrical and pneumatic tools.

Malcolm Tomlin - March 2011

During a very brief visit to Ropley during the MHR Spring Gala, I managed to take a couple of photo's showing E828 outside the workshop. These photo's will be uploaded onto the website shortly.

24th September 2010

• Restoration Report for the period 19th June - 4th September 2010:

Removed and refurbished, left hand steam chest and cylinder front and back cladding

Removed and refurbished sanding rod and centre operating lever

Removed and overhauled the loco steam heat drip valves

Refurbished driving and trailing axle box ash protection covers

To enable access to the boiler crown sling stays, the top 4 longitudinal stays and turnbuckles had to be removed. This has unfortunately meant that one of the turnbuckles and all 4 of the longitudinal stays will need to be renewed

Crown stay removal has continued with the front 80 stays now being removed

The long and laborious job of cleaning and priming the frames and tender has also continued

Malcolm Tomlin - 9th Sep 2010

17th June 2010

• During the period from 20th March to 6th June 2010 the following restoration work has been carried out on the locomotive and tender:

Blower Valve overhauled

Delivery pipe clips refurbished

Tender brake pull rods, brake adjuster, brake hangers, tuning fork and brake beams have been removed and refurbished along with the tender brake safety loops

Work has continued on the removal of the boiler crown stays

Both cab toolboxes have been refurbished and primed

All of the cab platework inside has been cleaned, rubbed down and primed

A new right hand expansion joint cladding has been manufactured and primed

The left hand and right hand live steam injectors have both been overhauled

Vacuum brake ejector manifold and brake ejector have been refurbished and overhauled

A new smokebox door ash protection plate has been manufactured and fitted

Both manifold steam valves have been overhauled along with the left and right hand injector steam valves

The loco and tender vacuum drip valves were removed and overhauled

The injector water operating spindles and levers have been refurbished and refitted

The trailing and driving axle box projection covers have been removed and await refurbishment

Also during this period when the weather has been fine, a small gang have painfully been cleaning and priming the inside and outside of the cab as well as the tender front. They are now concentrating on the top of the tender and between the loco frames having already finished the area from the footplate forward to the driving wheel set.

Malcolm Tomlin - June 2010

2nd September 2009

• Progress on 828's boiler has been moving along slowly and all the foundation rivets have now been successfully removed.  Work has now begun on removing the crown stays and the front two rows have already been removed.  828's cab floor has also started being cleaned with minor work also beginning on the front of the tender.  It is hoped to move the loco chassis and tender closer to the working area in the near future to make it more accessible for sterner work to commence.

• Ex S.R. S15 locomotive No. 828  ‘HARRY A FRITH’

1927     Built by Southern Railway at Eastleigh Works. Allocated to Salisbury Shed for its entire working life.

1964     Withdrawn from service with final mileage of 1,287,124.  After a short period stored at Salisbury, it was moved to Barry scrapyard (S.Wales). Fortunately, it was not cut up.

1980     Bought by ERPS with support from Eastleigh Borough Council from its Lottery Fund, and moved back to Eastleigh with road transport sponsored by Agfa Gaevert.

1981     Restoration commenced in Eastleigh Works under the direction of the late Harry A. Frith, former        Erecting Shop Foreman.  Early decision taken to restore to main line standard.

1993    Restoration completed.  Prime exhibit at Works Open Day.  Certification achieved.

              Winner of National Coal Board Steam Heritage Premium Award.

             Running-in turns on East Somerset Railway.

1994    Acquitted itself over the Settle and Carlisle line during main line workings, the first time ever for a member  of this class of locomotive.

            Represented Southern Railway at ‘BR Sunset’ celebrations at Llandudno Junction – end of Nationalised BR.

1996     Named HARRY A FRITH in honour of Harry after he died that year, in a ceremony performed at Eastleigh Works by artist David Shepherd and Harry’s daughter.

             Appeared at Bournemouth Depot Open Day followed by move to Swanage Railway, where it worked periodically until expiry of boiler certificate.

2002   Boiler ‘ticket’ expired.  Withdrawn from service.

2004   Moved to Mid-Hants Railway - 2^nd overhaul in restoration started……………...

Major mechanical issues are not expected with this overhaul. The boiler is the sole survivor of the 5 built as spares by the North British Locomotive Co. during period 1927-29, along with the 30 locomotives known as 'Scotch Arthurs'. It was fitted to 12 engines previously, mostly 'King Arthur' class', and finally to 828 in June 1958.

The boiler has been inspected by the insurance company and we now know the requirements for its repair. If you want to see this engine working again, please contact ERPS to make a contribution or donation towards the overhaul. We thank you for your interest and appreciate any donations received.

3rd July 2009

• An inspection of 828's boiler was carried out on 19th November by the Insurance Companies engineering surveyor. Also in attendance were a MHR boiler smith and two ERPS representatives with the previous records for the boiler.

The surveyor's report is awaited, but the main issues identified are as follows:

• Wasted heads of side stays below brick arch studs and a small number of broken stays.
• Fissures in the internal radii of the copper firebox, these will require further checks prior to repair.
• Most foundation ring rivets have wasted heads on the fire side.
• A number of firebox lap joint rivets/set screws have wasted heads.
• Fireside flanges eroded on crown stays. All will require replacement.
• The copper pipe between the dome and the manifold flange has frost damage.

The condition of the barrel was considered to be very good and the thickness of the platework/tubeplates was found to be acceptable. The brick arch studs are also in an acceptable condition.
Repairs to the boiler will involve purchase of material, manufacture and fitting of new side and crown stays, set screws and rivets. Grinding out and welding areas of the firebox is also required. External to the pressure vessel, new steel plate is required at the front of the smokebox.
It is anticipated that much of the work can and will be carried out by ERPS representatives under the supervision of the MHR boiler shop manager. Superficial inspection indicates that it may be possible to re-use some of the superheater elements.

Roger Farleigh ERPS 12th December 2007

A history of Harry-A-Frith can be found here.

E828 is currently stored at Ropley on the Mid Hants Railway. The boiler has been removed from the frames to discover what restoration work is required.
Work has commenced on 828's boiler with Malcolm Tomlin & Roger Farleigh leading the team on 828.
Order placed with insurance company to carry out full inspection of the boiler. We currently are awaiting a date.
Having completely stripped the boiler and cleaned it externally and as far as possible internally, there is little more that can be done on the vessel until after the inspection.
Liaison with MHR continues.

Roger Farleigh - 22nd Oct 2007