The appeal to restore iconic ALCo Mountaineer to traffic was launched in 2022 and, whilst it has successfully raised £70,000, more is needed and the appeal remains open as well as the Mountaineer Shop to get your ALCo related goodies.
The volunteer team have been busy in the Glan y Pwll workshops with the loco largely stripped to component parts, as well as looking at any changes required to revert back to coal firing.
Tanks
The original 1917 water tanks were removed early on in the work programme and a series of ultrasonic tests were carried out to check the metal thickness. Unfortunately, due to the wastage on the tanks it has now been decided that the tanks will need to be replaced with new ones. The originals have been extensively measured by the team and the new ones will be made to look as close as possible to the original. The old tanks have been moved to make working on them easier. The old tanks will have some explorative surgery to aid the design of the new tanks, the outer faces will be preserved and the tank in better condition will be left alone. They are being painted black for now just for protection for when they go into storage.
Boiler
The boiler has had a number of coats of paint, this is with special heat proof paint that has been used on other FR boilers for the last few years with good results. A further update on the boiler is that the team has asked Boston lodge to order the super heater flues and small boiler tubes so that when there is space in Boston lodge all the parts needed will be to hand to progress the retubing. The plates required to be welded onto the boiler barrel for the diaphragm plates are the only items left to design with regards to the main boiler work.
Frames
Following on from the front buffer beam the rear coupling and buffer beam has been removed to examine the design for the new drag boxes. The rear pony truck mount has also been dismantled to investigate moving it onto the rear frame stretcher, which a very simple design can be mocked up next working party.
Cab
The cab was removed early on and has been shotblasted and received a number of coats of paint. The bunker has had the oil tank removed whilst the the cab interior mock-up is now being dismantled to allow work to be carried out to make the coal firing modifications and allow the cladding to be sent off for shot blasting. Along with the rest of the cab mock up the fittings have now been released to be cleaned up in citric acid, this process will take a while but will make them look like new.
Ashpan
The mock ashpan has been assembled and also tested for clearance by shunting the chassis around the yard, which showed there is plenty of room for ash build up and no interface issue with the rear pony truck.
To support the project, please visit the appeal page.
There is also the option to purchase ALCo related goods to support the project at https://www.alco1265.org.uk/.
Finally if you would like to get involved please contact pbooth@ffwhr.com for more information on how you can do this.
