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№134 Steams and Superpower 2024 - September 2024

The second week of September 2024, and specifically the 11th, saw the cumulation of 16 years of the current program of work, not mentioning the numerous years before then, when NG15 №134 took her first 'step' under her own power.

A video of 134's second movement of the day can be seen below:

An excellent day to witness those first few moves, and a great sense of satisfaction by those who'd worked her over all those years. 

All this was a precursor to ensure that №134 was ready and fit to appear at the Railway's 2024 Superpower event to be held over the weekend of the 14th and 15th September 2024. However, that event started with an appearance on the Friday evening before so as to be present for a special members' train running to Rhyd Ddu and back. This was being hauled by the worlds first Garratt type locomotive K1 that was built for the North East Dundas Tramway in Tasmania.

With that completed №134 was duly lit up the following morning, the Saturday of Superpower. Once all the locos for the various demonstration and service trains had left №134 made her way through Dinas station platform and into the North Yard where she stayed all day offering footplate rides for those wishing to sample being on the loco. This exercise also had a second purpose as with the slow, 5mph or less, speeds involved it served to provide a useful accumulation of light running-in mileage.

One of the new cabside builders plates for No.134 (left), and
in the bay platform at Dinas giving footplate rides (right). 

All in all it has to be said that №134 proved to be the star of the show with lines of photographers present most of the day.

The following day however, was a rather damp affair, regardless though, №134 was returned to the North Yard and again proved popular for footplate rides.

Following the euphoria of the event, there are still a good few miles to be covered of running-in as well as a number of tasks to be completed on the loco before it ventures out further afield on the main line for gauging and then load trials. 

Progress Update - August 2024

Work is continuing at what seems to be an ever increasing rate as we prepare №134 for its first public outing at the railway's Superpower event over the weekend of the 14th-15th September 2024. There are plenty of jobs being worked on in preparation for that, however one subject is quite dominant, that of all the copper pipework. There's so much of it, both large and small bore!

We now have the new draw-bar fabrication and this is ready for attaching so that will then enable us the permanently connect the tender to the loco.

The big news for this update however, is that of the steam test. During the August working party and the following Tuesday we prepared the loco ready for the boiler inspector to arrive on the Wednesday. The steam test consisted of a hydraulic test to well above normal working pressure followed by, and after a very prolonged warm up of several hours, a live steam test - WE PASSED!!!

More information can be seen in the video update available through the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways' Moving Pictures No.97:

Progress Update - November 2023

Work has continued at quite a pace since the August update with very visible signs of progress evident together with that that's non-visible and out of sight. 

The most visible is that of the boiler lagging and cladding. The cladding has all been shaped, rolled where needed and cut to fit. It's then been sent to be shot blasted to remove the mill-scale then returned and the process of painting it started. One the cladding was finished then the insulation could be started and as of mid November this is well advanced.

Out of sight things like the brake rigging have been completed together with the ashpan drench plumbing. We're currently working on fitting flange lubricators to the tender as the loco will spend half it's time running tender first.

Progress Update - August 2023

Since the arrival of the boiler in January 2023 work has progressed on №134 throughout the summer. In terms of the aesthetics the two main features were the addition of a mock-up cab and the fitting of the boiler cladding.

The mock-up cab was made and fitted to check the design was satisfactory and all the ergonomics of the now layout were acceptable. The photo below shows the loco with the cab when pulled outside the shed for the passing of The Snowdonian special train in April.

№134 brought outside into the sunshine ready for the passing of The Snowdonian (Photo: Adrian Strachan) (left)
and the cladding sheets being fitted in the loco shed in June and July 2023.  (right).

The second significant change in №134's appearance has been the fitting of the cladding. This started with the fitting of the crinoline rings and strips that hold the cladding in place as can be seen in the photo of №134 outside the shed above. This was then followed by the rolling of the boiler barrel sheets, the cutting of the various holes for the handrail supports, the feed pipe and dome etc. At the end on the July working party it was looking as in the photo below.

The boiler barrel cladding complete and ready to be sent for shot blasting before painting.

Full working parties are held every month with smaller groups in attendance at weekend or alongside the full time staff during week. Since the July working party the smaller groups have progressed various aspects of the loco's rebuilding with the full time staff also working on the motion.

The motion is being progressed by the full time staff. 

Delivery of the Boiler - January 2023

On January 13th 2023 we were extremely pleased to take delivery of the refurbished boiler. The boiler had its final testing earlier in the week and on the morning of Friday 13th it was loaded onto the back of the transport vehicle for the journey from Loughborough to Dinas. It arrived there at 2:30 in the afternoon and unloading immediately commenced for it transfer in the frames of 134. 

This was a two stage process, the first part being to lower the boiler onto its ashpan, that after a bit of tweaking was eventually achieved, then finally dropped into place in the frames. All quite quick to write about but with the care needed this took us into late into the afternoon and evening dusk.

The boiler in the frames outside the goods shed at Dinas (left)
and the frames with boiler returned into the goods shed, (right).

Boiler Update November 2022

After passing a hydraulic test a few days earlier the boiler had its steam test on the 14th November 2022. This was in the presence of the boiler inspector and it duly passed the inspection. There are a few other jobs needing to be completed, the addition of a few other fittings etc, then the boiler will be delivered to Dinas. 

The boiler at full working pressure. Photo: Adrian Strachan

September 2021

Boiler Update:

The Boiler continues to be working on by LMS in Loughborough and is progressing well. All the wasted material has been removed and the various patches needed are being welded into place. The new Smokebox is also being worked on and is having its interface ring to the boiler barrel fitted. The new new section of boiler barrel needed has been rolled and is now at LMS ready to be working on.

The front outer firebox patch welded in place (left) and The new smokebox with the interface ring to the boiler barrel bolted in place. Photos: Adrian Strachan

Motion:

New brasses have been machined to take the hard grease lubrication that was used with these locos in service and whose use will be perpetuated here. Also new fittings and grease reservoirs have also been made.

New bronze bearings for the motion.  Photo: Andy Bird

Brake Valve:

We'll be using a brake valve that came from a 15th class Rhodesian/Zimbabwean Garratt that was being overhauled in New Zealand and converted to air brakes. We're very thankful to Ian Welch and Trevor Heath for their kind donation to our project that was made a few years ago now. The brake valve is being overhauled as a homework project and will be ready in good time for when it's required.

The brake valve for 134's cab being refurbished. Photo: Adrian Strachan

June 2021 - Progress on 134's Boiler

Since lockdown eased 134's boiler (manufactured by Henschel in 1957) has been under work at Locomotive Maintenance Services in Loughborough. The Firebox has been cut away in all places indicated by the initial inspections and gritblasted, and a scope of repair was agreed on the 18th of May. Work has now commenced on repairing the Firebox which involves several patches, many new stays & refitting of the foundation ring which will result in a much better condition of platework for the future than widespread crack repairs & local thickening. The boiler is in generally good condition prior to repair especially the inner firebox which is great news for the future, the main area of concern on the boiler was the corrosion to the platework near the foundation ring. 

134's boiler at LMS in Loughborough. Photo: Adrian Strachan

In line with our acceleration of the planned completion of 134, LMS have confirmed resources available to work on the boiler during this year as long as our funding can keep pace. We currently have sufficient funds for the commenced firebox repairs but in order to complete the boiler and have it returned to Wales fully tested we need additional support to cover the barrel repairs, front tubeplate, smoke tubes & superheater flues. 

We would be delighted to receive any donations now in order to keep to our accelerated plan and bring this long-awaited locomotive type into service for the first time in the UK on the fantastically scenic Welsh Highland Railway. We prefer all donations to be channelled through Cymdeithas Rheilffordd Eryri/WHR Society as your kind support will also be boosted for the project by 25% Gift Aid. Donations will be kept in restricted fund only for use on loco 134. 

We will shortly be refreshing our reward scheme to recognise donations from the past and future on this project so that benefactors can enjoy advantageous access to the loco in future.

March 2021

We're glad to report that the loco's main frames are now back on their wheels, including the pony trucks. There are some small jobs to be completed that will entail a partial lift again but hopefully nothing that involves taking everything out again. 

The re-wheeling took place at the end of February and features in the latest edition of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways' edition of Moving pictures:

The re-wheeling takes place at around 18 minutes in so if you're only interested in our NG15 then that's where to head, otherwise enjoy the whole video. 

January 2021

Well, due to the effects of the Covid-19 virus disrupting life in the United Kingdom, as well of course as the rest of the world, news about progress on №134 has been in somewhat short supply during 2020. However, 2021 brings hope with a vaccine now being distributed amongst the population, that we should start seeing the effects towards some relief from the various states of lockdown in the constituent nations of the UK. We have the added problem that with the locomotive being based in Wales and half or so of our volunteer group being based in England we have two sets of lockdown rules to negotiate.

No promises are being made at this time, however we do hope to be working on the loco again soon, even if only with those based locally to the loco in Wales.

To recap where we are: before our March working party was cancelled due to the virus, we were aiming to re-wheel the loco during that weekend. That didn't happen. However, there is now every possibility that the company will re-wheel the loco for us. It's hoped that this will happen sometime in early February with whatever help we're allowed to give under lockdown rules at the time, probably as alluded to above, just with the local volunteers' help. 

In terms of  our project and its team, for those following №134 through Facebook, you will be aware that we lost our Project Leader who unfortunately died suddenly last year. However, Adrian Strachan, a longstanding volunteer with the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, has stepped into the breach to help us. This is backed up by a Steering Group of four of us, myself and Adrian together with Iain Wilkinson representing the company as owners of the loco and Ian King for the Cymdeithas Rheilffordd Eryri as funders of the restoration. 

A plan has been produced, and whilst dependent upon how the virus restrictions prevail upon us, we'll be looking towards getting moving on it just as soon as we can. The boiler has had its examination by the company due to do the remedial work on it and we now have a better idea of the costs involved to put into the plan.  And with that prompt - boilers are expensive things to repair:  Donations and legacies (whrsoc.org.uk).

Looking forward the project is in good hands, the wheels are about to go under the frames and we're all ready to get stuck in just as soon as the virus allows us to.

26th April 2019

There is a lot of positive news re 134 over the last few weeks. The team has a really good set of tasks which are being completed and the company is doing significant work as well. Great news!

With the main frames now in the loco shed at Dinas, work is progressing on these and on other components. The two pony trucks are at Boston Lodge where they are having their wheels fitted after being re-gauged there. This involved using and awful lot of heat to move the wheels in slightly on their axle so as to get the correct back to back measurement for the FR/WHR of 21” as compared to that for the South African 2 foot gauge of 21¼”. 

134's pony truck and pony truck wheels being worked on at Boston Lodge. Photos: Tony Williams

At Dinas the main driving wheels have been removed and the wheelsets are due to be sent away for re-gauging by outside contractors. This will also involve the thinning of the flanges on the third axle. This is being done as a result of the experience gained from the NGG16s where thinning the flange on the centre axle has led to much freer running and less noise on the tighter curves on the railway. Whilst the NG15 is an eight coupled loco the leading axle already has some sideways movement due to the Krauss Helmholtz pony truck arrangement therefore it’s only the rear three driving axles that are ridged.

22nd March 2019

The loco's main frames have been moved back into the loco shed where we'll have better access to equipment needed for some jobs and to enable the full time staff to do some machining and other work for us.

134's frames moved back into the loco shed. Photo: Huw ones

17th December 2018

We can confirm that the boiler was duly collected to be taken to Loughborough on Wednesday 12th December.

134's Boiler being loaded for its journey to Loughborough. Photo: Chris Parry

As soon as more is known about the refurbishment we'll update the website as required.

20th November 2018

It's some time since we've had the opportunity to put something in here that's worthy of this News section. This time however, it is a 'big bit' that's in the news!.

We're glad to inform the followers of this project that №134's boiler is to be sent away for overhaul.

The boiler will be going to Locomotive Maintenance Services in Loughborough where one of the other railway's boilers is currently being attended to. This is the boiler that will eventually end up in NGG16 № 138 when its current boiler's 10 ticket expires. It's intended to send 134's as soon as possible before the replacement boiler for 138's is ready so there will be two of the railway's boilers under overhaul at Loughborough at once. 

Once there, the boiler will be thoroughly examined and a plan of work put in place for its overhaul. The work will then be carried out and hopefully we'll see the boiler returned to us by the end of 2019. At this stage the contractor will simply do a hydraulic test to ensure the boiler will be fit for service. Only once the rest of the locomotive is nearing completion and ready to accept the boiler will it be certified so only then will the clock start ticking on its 10 year ticket.

This is a big item with a big associated cost - the single most expensive item within the whole project!

There is sufficient funds available for the work to be carried out, however using those funds will severely restrict progress on the rest of the loco. It is therefor necessary for us to raise further funds specifically for the boiler. 

Donations are therefore being accepted through Cymdeithas Rheilfford Eryri, the Welsh Highland Railway Society's pages here.

All donation's, whatever the amount it is, will be gratefully received and will go a long way to helping us bring №134 back into service. We hope you can help us.

23rd September 2015

This is a rather belated 'news' item for which apologies are offered. 

The Superpower event on the 12th & 13th of September offered an opportunity to see NG15 №134 back on its 'feet' again. The previous week the full time shed staff had re-wheeled the loco in time for the event.

At the AGM in the evening there was also an opportunity to see №134's original cab plates. These had been offered for sale in South Africa and were spotted by a supporter there. We were made aware of them but  it became apparent that we had to move quickly if we were to claim them. So there was a flurry of Facebook activity and emails asking for donations and whilst many supporters had offered to donate one person was prepared to stump up the full amount to secure them quickly whilst the donations were 'rounded up'. The plates were therefore purchased and sent to Wales in time for the Society AGM. We are still an amount short for the purchase so donations through the Society shop are still welcome.

One of 134's original plates now in Wales 

11th April 2015

The pattern maker as Boston Lodge has been busy and so we now have new patterns for bottom cap to the front and rear pony trucks, the core box and the adapter plates for converting the tender bogies to roller bearings. 

The core box (left), the pony truck bottom plate (centre) and the roller bearing adapter plate (right).

26th January 2015

The team has been informed that our new springs have arrived from the manufacturers in South Africa. 

These springs are the leaf springs for the wheels and the side control springs for the pony trucks. The main leaf springs were going to be refurbished but in the end were beyond economic repair. The side control springs had lost so much of their strength and were reduced in unloaded length that again replacements were neded.

This should now enable the team to reassemble the side control units ready for fitting back onto the pony trucks, although the precise manner in which we'll return them between the frames with the springs now at their correct strength remains to be worked out. 

10th October 2013

The loco frames are now supported on fixed jacks and the corner lifting jacks have been removed.

The rear drag box is now fitted and by the time this is read all the fitted bolts should be in place. With the rear drag box fitted the cross shaft is also now in place, mounted on the underside of the drag box. 

This is all good news and the sort of progress we're looking forward to now the frames are in the main loco shed. 

26th September 2013

After the loco frames were moved to the loco shed, by the 26th September the ambulance bogies had been removed and the frames were supported on the shed's corner jacks. 

The loco frames being propelled through Dinas Station and the frames being pushed to the rear of the loco shed.

20th September 2013

The loco frames are on the move again.... This time they are moving out of the clip shed and into the main loco (running) shed.

With suitable funds available, and now that the Railway has three NGG16 Garratt locos in service, there is an opportunity to make use of the railway's full time staff to progress some aspects of the work. The original hope was that the main driving wheels would have been re-fitted to the frames in time for the move however with some more work needing to be done on both these and their axle-boxes this was not going to be possible. Instead the frames were fitted onto 'ambulance' bogies for the trip from the clip shed in the North yard to the loco shed in the South yard.

The move was carried out on Friday the 20th September with the frames already having been fitted onto the ambulance bogies. A crane arrived to lift all 9 tons of it onto the track outside the clip shed, a reverse of the move carried out when it arrived. It was then shunted through the station and into the South yard where it was propelled into the loco shed there. It was shunted into the road that had not been fully extended so was then pushed onto the concrete at the rear using a JCB Loadall. 

The loco frames being propelled through Dinas Station and the frames being pushed to the rear of the loco shed.

The frames will remain here for the foreseeable future as it will give better working conditions not only for the volunteer working parties but also for the full time staff who will provide funded work on the loco as their time maintaining the running fleet of NGG16 will allow them to.

April 2012

The tender body was delivered to Dinas on the Saturday 14th April during that month's working party. The tender body was originally delivered in September 2011 to be on display during the Superpower weekend (see below), however some minor finishing-off work was still needed so it was returned to Brunswick Ironworks after the event. See the Tender page in the Contract Work section for more details.

February 2012

The group has been given use an an 2 tonnes portal lifting frame from Penrhyn Castle. This has kindly been loaned to the project by the National Trust. They were using it for work on "Hugh Napier" and now that that project is in it's final stages the frame was surplus to requirements. This was collected from Penrhyn Castle on Saturday 11th February and brought to Dinas.

The frame will be ideal for the smaller lifting jobs in the clip shed, especially with the tender frame and the associated bogies. Maldwyn Evans kindly provided the transport, and the frame was quickly transported to Dinas and unloaded. Once reassembled and certified it will be a really useful piece of equipment.

The pictures show the crane at Penrhyn before dismantling and loaded onto the flatbed wagon ready for the journey to Dinas. It was then positioned above the tender frame in the Clip Shed at Dinas during the February working weekend.

October 2011

The tender was displayed at Superpower. With the tender being painted in undercoat over the previous few days it was duly delivered to Dinas in time for the Welsh Highland Railway's Superpower weekend. The restoration team were there and on hand to show visitors the progress to date and to answer queries as required. 

It also saw the launch of the NG15 restoration T-shirt and quite a number were sold that weekend. These are now on sale through the Society's shop on its website.............

Buy your T-shirt here. 

September 2011

The tender construction nears completion. The tender will be painted in undercoat over the next few days and will be delivered to Dinas in time for the Welsh Highland Railway's Superpower weekend. This weekend coincides with the September working party weekend and so the restoration team will be there on site to show you round progress on the locomotive.

June 2011

The tender construction has started in earnest. The sides are complete with some baffles in place. Other ''pieces of the gig-saw' are in preparation or ready to be fitted.

May 2011

With the tender now fully funded Brunswick Ironworks have started work on manufacturing some of the smaller components for the tender body and all the larger platework has been ordered and delivery is awaited.  This is a very significant and much welcomed step in the restoration.  

February 2011

The tender is now fully funded. 

With the help of a single generous donation we can announce that the rebuilding of the tender body is fully funded. This is a single large piece of the restoration and in view of the existing body being life expired it is one piece where we have the opportunity to make improvements to the loco.

We have to keep in mind that the loco will spend 50% of it time running tender first on the WHR. This it turn creates problems with visibility and lines of sight when running in that direction. Whilst the original NG15 tender design would not have been a problem in the wide open spaced of South Africa we have quite a different environment on the WHR with a much narrower formation and with frequent crossings by road, occupational tracks and footpaths. This has lead to a much more stringent requirement for rearwards visibility and thus for the tender design seen on this website's homepage. Whilst this is not entirely the most up to date view it does give you an idea of the nature of the design. 

D J Williams of Brunswick Ironwork in Caernarfon, who have been helping us with other work on the loco including the Scrap to Steam event in 2009, will be constructing the new tender bodywork.

October 2010

The launch of a race with Wilf Mole of the Sandstone Estates in South Africa who is embarking on the restoration of NG15 №136. 

The intention is to have a race to see who can get their NG15 into service first. Wilf reckons he intends to have his NG15 ready for 24th January 2012 and so we will need to react fast if we are to beat that deadline. As is the case with restoring steam locomotives it's the availability of funds that will be the limiting factor to completing the Loco.  With that in mind the 134 team are launching a new appeal for funds. This is based on needing 500 days at £500 per day to see the restoration through. 

21st September 2010

The wheelset tyres have now been turned and seen outside Boston Lodge works on the 9th September 2010. See the Gallery. 

9th July 2010

The wheelsets have been sent away to the Boston Lodge works on the Ffestiniog Railway. The works there will re-profile the wheels from the South African profile to that needed for the Welsh highland. As well as the gauge profile itself this also involves slight adjustment to the back-to-back dimension to allow smooth passage through pointwork. Pictures are available in the Gallery. 

5th May 2010

The Welsh Highland Railway's annual Rail Ale festival takes place over the weekend of the 7th to 9th May. As there is a Working Party that weekend attendees to the festival are invited to view the work taking place on the loco. If you do attend please remember that the shed is a working part of the Railway's infrastructure and we'd appreciate it if you did not come over with beer glasses (or in a poor state of health!).

November 2009

2010 Working party dates announced.

The dates for the working parties have been announced for the period up to the peak summer holiday. These are much the same as the 2009 routine of them being on the third weekend of the Month:

Jan 23-24th
Feb 20-21st
March 20-21st
April 17-18th Week after Easter
May 8-9th Beer festival weekend
June 19-20th
July 17-18th

After a break in August when there is not working party they will resume in September and these dates will be announced nearer the time.

See the Working Party dates page for more details. 

October 2009

Shotblasting of the Frames

Shotblasting of the frames took place in the first week of October and the following week saw the frames being painted in a rust inhibiting primer. All the main frames were shotblasted together with the frames for the Krauss Helmholtz and rear pony trucks. The work was completed by contractors Campbell Grindlay Engineering of Llangefni, Anglesey.

The shotblasting was done over a number of days as there were many nooks and crannies that took time to fully clean. Once the work was complete the frames were left to dry out whilst members of Team Wylfa cleaned away all the grit from off the floor. They also had to replace all the lights in the shed as they had fallen victim to the grit and water!

The shotblasting is significant step forward for the Loco as it now allows the re-assembly of other components as they become available following their overhaul. However we should still not underestimate the amount of work and cash needed to get those components ready so please visit the Funding page to make a donation to help us.

12th July 2009:

Scrap to Steam - August 3rd to 29th - Maes, Caernarfon (another update)

We can announce that the fundraising event at Y Maes/Castle Square in Caernarfon is being supported by Brunswick Ironworks. Brunswick's were instrumental in the reconstruction of the Welsh Highland Railway with their construction of most of the steelwork needed. This included for example  the numerous water tower structures and the many bridges to be replaced along the line.

This is continuing with Brunswick Ironworks currently overhauling the rear stretcher of №134. Providing that the 'Scrap to Steam' event is successful it is hoped that much more work can be contracted to them.

The NG15 group are honoured at having Brunswick's as a major supporter of the project and are particularly thankful at having their support for this major fund-raising event.

9th July 2009:

Scrap to Steam - August 3rd to 29th - Maes, Caernarfon (an update)

Peter Randall, the projects Manager reports: "As has been previously announced there will be a fund raising event for the NG15 in Y Maes, Caernarfon throughout August. In preparation for this, the NG15 Group will be dedicating it’s July working party to the task of preparing 133 for movement. This will involve prepping the Axleboxes, disconnecting the motion, general check and disconnection of the tender (the loco only will go to Caernarfon). The Loco will then be shunted ready to be loaded. Would anyone who is available to help please contact Andie Shaw, so he can put you on the list of volunteers available.
 
"If anyone is free to do a day or two in Caernarfon, then we would be more than pleased to hear from you. Please contact me on prandall@aol.com or Pam Smith (pamelaS636@aol.com) if you can spare some time."
 

3rd July 2009:

Scrap to Steam - August 3rd to 29th - Maes, Caernarfon

There will be a four week long event  in Caernarfon to promote and raise awareness of the restoration of NG15 №134 and to raise funds for the work. As it will be peak holiday season it is hoped that much interest will be generated  from visitors to the area as well as from within the local community itself. 

It is hoped that sister Loco NG15 №133 will be present as the central item of the display. This will give a good impression of what the 'scrap' condition of №134 was when the project started.