Batt Holden Limited

15/10/2024

As we come into the Autumn we are pleased to say 6046 has been operating on the Churnet Valley Railway during its busiest period taking on the majority of the work this season.
On the 12th August, 5197 passed its insurance exam with flying colours ensuring another year of operation.
A little bit of 8F news and the smokebox tube plate has had welding started, whilst the Welder was in town assisting the Carriage and Wagon department making steam heating elements.
As of the 9th September 6046 has had all its brake blocks renewed and various running repairs. A new set of turned tender wheels have returned allowing us to renew a set of tender bogies. Jobs completed include but are not limited to journal repairs and polish, tyre’s turned, new bearings machined to fit and all none moving components to be shot blasted, painted and built up. We now have two complete bogies ready for service.

09/10/2024

The lubricating system come together with 2 recently refurbished lubricators (completed by volunteers) being fitted. The lubricator pipe work is complete with the inclusion of an atomizer to the valves as 3278 is receiving standard valves opposed to the bypass valves found on the other two engines. Blower, air pump, and small and large ejector piping was complete from the cab to the smoke box, these were steam tested in June.
The new boiler cladding crinoline was installed following the similar designs used on 6046 and 5197. The boiler cladding was started not long after. The 14th June was a momentous day for us as we saw 3278 move under her own steam for the first time since the late 90s/ early 2000s. In the video you will see the steam coming out of the bottom of the cylinders. For the first movement we remove the cylinder drain c***s to allow all detritus to leave the steam circuit to protect the engine. Roger the yard shunt engine was attached for braking purposes as we were still finalizing the pipe work to the brake valves.
Immediately afterwards the new boiler cladding was started with a view for painting to commence soon.

30/09/2024

January 2024 had a positive start with 5197 and 6046 performing well. This has allowed us to crack on with 3278 with the new aim of having our own S160s all in operation together at some point in the not too distant future. The ashpan was modified to be more in line with the other two and the smoke box has come together. The spirax, water trap has been installed in the smokebox as per the other locos for the air pump steam supply. The smokebox front, hinges, door ring and door have all recently had their final fitting and should now hopefully stay in place for 10 years! The smokebox saddle, blast pipe and seals around main steam pipes are finished making the smokebox almost complete with a final few touches expected in a few weeks.
The boiler was retested following its long period in storage. A new regulator handle and linkage has been fabricated and installed. A new reverser handle and brake pedestal has been made and fitted as the cab layout was finalised for left hand drive. This resulted in multiple new fabrications not including those already mentioned but to name a few we have made, drain c**k linkage, whistle handle and linkage (April), manifold controls and pipe work for under the cladding. The handrails were fitted and the cab hand rails modified to fit the new cab, this was completed in tandem to the floor plate, and hinges were fabricated. These were completed at a similar time as they are in close proximity to each other and need to have plenty of clearance when in operation.

02/08/2024

April 2022, 6046 was stripped and the boiler removed from its frames. Throughout the course of 6046’s 10 year ticket various jobs have been completed to maintain the bottom end in a good condition. The bottom end received an inspection with minor faults found. These were attended too but we are pleased to report little work was required.

The boiler was a slightly bigger job receiving all new tubes and flues but before they could be replaced the boiler needed to receive an NDT. Externally new clack pads and various stud holes were welded up. The firebox tube plate was found to be thin and required replacing. From start to finish this replacement took 3 weeks. This was followed by the installation of the new tubes and flues along with the hydraulic test of the super heater header, elements, and main steam pipes. The regulator valve was overhauled and refitted with the main steam pipes and header.

Out of frame steam test was completed before being lifted onto the frames on the 24/09/2022. The new ash pan had been fitted prior to this. For the first time since March 2022 the engine was reunited with its tender and 6046 entered the shed in time for Christmas.

Tools again were downed as everyone went onto maintenance of 5197 ready for the festive period. 5197 did a sterling service over the period again operating some 1300 miles.

Over the winter period refurbishment of the boiler cladding started for 6046 with it being completed in May 2023. At this time 3278 also made it back into the shed with minor work starting again alongside 6046. The boiler cladding was painted for the start of July with the aim to fit it upon its return.

The first test run of 6046 took place in September 2023 with a return to service soon after. 6046 handled the remainder of Churnet Valley services until the end of the season on the 27th October. 5197 and 6046 shared Polar, and we were in the unique position to have both locomotives on site for the festive period. 6046's overhaul took just under 18 months to complete.

26/07/2024

January 2022 saw the cab fabrication start. This has been completed in house following drawings we have acquired over the years. A local contractor came in to assist on this project while other members of the team completed winter maintenance on 5197 having returned from Cholsey and Wallingford. On the 22nd January the boiler was reunited with its frames.

At the beginning of March, 6046 was withdrawn from service following.

This commenced the 10 yearly overhaul on 46’s boiler. Work on 3278 was paused so all attention could go onto 6046.

19/07/2024

April 2021 saw the frames lifted from its wheels and the pony truck was stripped for inspection.

It was at this point we found the frames were bowing and in need of straightening. To do this we warmed the top of the frames above each wheel set. Both sides were done in tandem and once cherry red the pedestal binders were refitted and allowed to cool. Once completed the frames were painted. The great thing of working with American locomotives is that every single sort of repair you could ever imagine is codified to the exact letter of what you need to do – straightening the frames was no different.

In May the boiler continued to receive the new mud hole doors. The foundation ring rivets along each side were replaced. The flexible stay caps were also finished in this period. Towards the end of the month the boiler was rotated 180 degrees to allow ease of access on the super heater header fl**ge and allow easier access for welding over the firebox. While this way around the boiler received 2 new BR Standard gauge frames on the right-hand side. Then we removed the old as fitted reflex gauge stabbings. When the engine arrived it was right hand drive but the decision was made to convert it to left hand drive for ease of operation. This included moving the regulator, blower, and reverser.

Cheddleton Carriage and Wagon department is very lucky to have a Master Pattern Maker volunteering with them. This was made use of, as a new center casting was required for the firebox grate. The pattern was made in house and 5197 has been running with this casting ever since. A second was cast for 3278.

All the wheels had their quartering checked and a fault was found on one of the axle journals which couldn’t be ignored. The wheel set was sent for machining off site (Riley and Sons). As the journal was now smaller the axle boxes for this wheelset needed to be re-metaled. Upon closer inspection all the axle boxes ended up being re-metaled.

31st August saw the first steam test of the boiler while it remained on the ground in Cheddleton yard.

Over the course of August and September the final touches were made to the boiler. October saw the staff turn away from 3278 as the Christmas period fast approached. 6046 stayed at Cheddleton operating Churnet Valley Railway’s first Polar Express TM Train ride while 5197 went to Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. Both were successful seasons for the engines with neither missing a day of operation or delaying a train.

12/07/2024

Better late than never but we thought we should acknowledge the arrival of 3278 to Churnet Valley Railway considering CVR have just posted its first steamed. Arriving on the 27th November 2020 it received a once over at Froghall before making the slow journey to Cheddleton.

This was swiftly followed with the Staffordshire Moorlands being put into a Level 3 lockdown over the festive period.

19th February 2021 saw the first work parties taking place on the boiler as the monel stays were removed to be replaced with flexible stays. Following the successful adaptation of an alternative staying patters for fixed / flexi stays on 5197 and 6046 which broadly follows the German practice. Similar stays/ staying pattern can be found on the world famous A1 pacific 60163 “Tornado”. All stays, sockets and caps were machined in house for this process. At this time we replaced all the mud hole sockets and doors on the boiler barrel and fire box.

31st March 2021 saw the boiler removed from its frames. The frames made their way into the shed while the boiler remained outside for continued boiler work.

03/08/2021

S160 6046 is currently at the Didcot Railway Centre taking part in the Diamond Jubilee Gala and related events.

During the weekend an opportunity was taken to re-create a photograph taken in 1944 by Olive Webb showing 1891 at the rear of the engine shed in the September of that year.

It is worth mentioning that it was highly dangerous to take pictures like this during this war and there could be serious consequences for any individual caught doing so.

13/07/2021

01/05/2021

We will have a busy winter ahead with the requirement to provide 3 S160’s for Polar Express duties, the latest railway is at our home base

07/01/2021

5197 Valve travel measurements

Just like an internal combustion engine, correct valve timing and travel is crucial for the efficient delivery of power in a steam locomotive. Get it wrong and you can not only loose a lot of power but you can also cause serious damage. Measuring valve travel in the workshop doesn’t give you the full picture of what is happening when the locomotive is powering along the line under its own steam. In order to understand the movement that is taking place as the valve gear oscillates rapidly back and forth while the locomotive is moving we need some way of measuring it as it happens.

Earlier in the year we set ourselves the goal of devising a way to do just that - measure the valve travel as a locomotive is moving at various speeds in both directions. We decided to turn the linear motion of the valve rod into a rotational motion and then measure the degree of rotation using an incremental rotary shaft encoder. Shaft encoders are used in many everyday things (e.g. printers, scanners, sewing machines, washing machines, etc.) so they are readily available and relatively inexpensive.

The next challenge was to work out a simple way to count the pulses generated by the encoder (600 pulses per revolution for the one we’ve chosen) and record them over time so that we can plot this on a graph to show the valve rod movement. This will also allow us to see the full extent of travel. For this we have used an Arduino microprocessor connected to a laptop. After much research, programming and experiments on the bench using an oscilloscope we have a basic working system that is powered by the USB port of a laptop.

On the 27th December we were able to carry out the first trial of our experimental valve gear travel measuring system with it fitted to one of the valve rods on USTAC S160 number 5197. This initial trial has shown that we can measure and record the valve rod movements while moving the locomotive a short distance with a diesel shunt engine. A few refinements are required and then we can move to further trials over a longer distance at greater speed (still using the diesel shunt engine for propulsion). Then we can move to our ultimate goal of taking measurements whilst under steam and using these to optimise valve gear adjustments.

06/01/2021

It's about time we put a post on to bring you up to speed on what we have been doing over the last 6 months. Like most businesses we have had to adapt in 2020 to the ever-changing face of Covid. Whilst this is possible in terms of our workshop / offices, the downside for the locomotives has been very little work.

Our staple Polar Express contracts did not take place this year, nor did the Churnet Valley Railway’s Santa Express.

This year we have made big efforts to deal with long standing ‘issues’ with our locomotives. It is quite common to defer some repairs to winter or even major overhaul, as however we had plenty of spare time we have made good use of it.

Both S160’s have been in service at the Churnet Valley Railway in 2020, and to assist the railway we offered free use of our locomotives for the season.

5197

In September we discovered an old Chinese repair on the LH cylinder had failed. No doubt made up of material we are no longer able to use, we investigated various options and took 2 decisions.

Firstly, we used impregnation fluid. This is a fluid used widely in the casting / foundry world, and whilst it will never give structural strength it is thinner than water and effectively gets drawn into the molecular structure of the material and acts almost like a sealant.

This worked very well however we still need something to ‘cap it off’. Belzona came forward with a solution, and they kindly suppled a technician to come and apply it. Whilst the loco has yet to be steamed since this repair was carried out, we see no reason for any problems occurring.

One of the longer standing problems we had with the loco since its overhaul was that of valve timing. Unlike 6046, 5197 does not have a screw reverser. It is fitted with a Datong No.1 Power Reverser. We have set the valves to the measurements we have for valve travel, however clearly this was not correct.

We can only assume that under power the reverser is allowing greater movement than the drawings indicate. So, the traditional method of measuring valve travel was not going to help. We have designed with the help of some very clever volunteers at Cheddleton a method of measuring actual valve travel under power. More about this in a later update.

The loco has always run with the Chinese style lifting injectors which are loosely designed around the Nathan Simplex injector. Earlier this year our spare parts for these injectors had run out. We were able to arrange with a local CNC Company to make some new steam cones. Whilst this helped, it was clear that we needed a complete set of cones. Having limited drawings for these, and as those we do have are in Chinese we took the decision that for the moment we would not go ahead with further repairs.

Instead, we had a set of South African injectors in stock which we are in the process of fitting. As at the time the Santa Service was still due to operate, we removed the worst injector from the loco and fitted a new one, we then took the various parts we had to make one good lifting injector. It is a shame we are removing one of the final bits of its history from China, however, needs must. In the New Year we will replace the other lifting injector wit the second South African one.

A few days before Christmas the replacement tender tank was delivered for the locomotive. Following a drawn-out process, the tank was removed from the contractor carrying out the work – part completed. We will complete the work ourselves

6046

Following on from extensive inspections to take it over its 7-year boiler certificate, we were confident in the state of the boiler. As with all things related to steam locomotives nothing is simple. In September, a blowing regulator was reported at the end of the day. Investigations could find nothing wrong with the regulator valve. Further investigation found the problem to be the internal main steam pipe. It had developed a crack just behind the collar where it fits through the front tubeplate. With the Polar’s still on the cards at this stage, we stripped out the entire smokebox contents, removed the regulator and steam pipe over a weekend. Thankfully, the cancellation of Polar’s did reduce the tempo and need for speed. We hit upon a supply hiccup in delivering the new pipe from Germany.

Anyway all was rebuilt early in December and the locomotive underwent inspection. So, we have effectively carried out 2 statutory inspections in 1 year, however this will help to maximize the total length of boiler ticket remaining.

A couple of test runs took place before Christmas, and after some more adjustments it will undertake a final test run before being winterized waiting patiently for a train to pull.

3278

At long last this locomotive arrived with us in early December. It has been nearly a year since we arranged for Batt Holden to take this locomotive on, however a hold up with the turntable repairs at Tyseley and then Covid ensured a 12-month delay in its arrival.

We will finish off the locomotive and it will operate as one of ours. We won't carry out all the modifications that our own locomotives have, so this will be an odd ball as it will remain RH drive.

Spare Bogies

With 3 S160’s we have being building up our spares pool. For years we have repaired bogies using basic first principles, or generally accepted good engineering. We have spent many months researching the limits and fits for these particular ‘trucks’.

Our search for information started with a trip to Alaska in 2019, followed by many emails and exchanges of information with various knowledgeable people in the US. We now have an almost complete sets of specifications for the ‘trucks’ fitted under our S160’s. In fact it would appear we have the most comprehensive sets of documents in the world!

With all this information, we have been able to thoroughly examine our bogies under both 5197 and 6046. Whilst what we have is not dangerous, we can see divergence from how the manufacturers had intended their trucks to be assembled and maintained.

We have a set going through the workshops now and subject to successful testing we will rework all our bogies in due course.

48173

Progress on this has slowed to almost a stop over the last 6 months. Too many other jobs have ended up getting in the way of this long-term project.

However we received a boost again before Christmas with the news that the replacement axle has arrived at Riley & Sons.

After much searching and being let down by the traditional supply route, Colin Green was able to source a new axle from Belgium. We will have mussels and chips to celebrate the arrival early in the New Year.