News and Current Projects

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June 2008

• In 'E' engine house, the agitator engine is almost complete, with a little pipework and finishing touches still in progress. The storm water pump is not far behind with the major mechanical assembly complete and pipework being worked on. Due to the condition of the bore of the condenser air pump, this engine will initially be run non-condensing.

May 2008

What a difference a month makes sometimes...

• On the 13th, Boiler No. 4 was re-lit for the first time by Arthur Scattergood, who was one of the stokers when the station was working. On the 21st, it passed its steam test and is now certified for use. The safety valves have been set for 50psi so that we can use both Nos 4 & 5 together while No 5 is restricted to this pressure. It was used for the Spring Bank Holiday steaming at the end of May.

• The pipework for the portable engine has been completed and on the 24th, the engine ran for the first time and also made its first public appearance for the Spring Bank Holiday steaming.

• Our gatehouse/pay box at the entrance to the site had been looking a bit shabby for sometime, so we decided to replace it with a more spacious building where visitors are also protected from the elements while being introduced to the site. This was funded by the donation we received from The Burton Natural History & Archaeological Society in February.

April 2008

• In 'E' engine house, the storm water pump has been grouted onto its base and the flywheel is now rotating in its bearings. The portable engine has been lowered to the floor and secured in place. Work has now started on the pipework, with exhaust pipe being cleaned and primed.

• Work has also commenced on repairing the pipe drug. The wood has been kept in store to allow it to season. This picture shows part of the framework for the turntable which the front wheels are attached to.

• In CD engine house, the tops of the beams, which suffered from the effects of the weather during the years the station was closed, have been cleaned and painted. The sides of the beam suffered much less and are being cleaned before a decision is made about their treatment.

March 2008

• Despite the inclement weather at Easter, our steaming turned out to be a record 2-day event with 445 visitors venturing out - maybe it was the prospect of keeping warm in our engine houses or café!

• The front of Boiler No 4. is now complete with the addition of the air boxes and hoppers. The new dampers were tested during the Easter steaming. Here is one of the frames before being fitted with the assistance of two of our younger volunteers. Our October event will mark the last steaming of Boiler No. 5 when its ten year ticket expires. Because of the problems identified last year by the boiler inspector, considerable work will be required before it will be suitable for re-inspection and steaming. During the October event it is intended to run both Boilers No. 4 and 5 together. For the first time since the pumping station was closed over thirty five years ago, two boilers will be generating steam together.

• More progress in 'E' engine house - the brick base for the storm water pump's condensor is nearly complete.

February 2008

• The chassis of the portable winch has now been finished. Attention is now turning to the other components.

• This month's progress in 'E' engine house centres on the storm water pump where the brickwork is now almost complete and has been filled with concrete. New piston and valve rods have also been machined for the portable - both were wasted over the sections that go through their respective glands. Our workshop archive records show that several piston and valve rods were made, so this is not a new activity.

• Preparing Boiler No 4. for its steam test continues apace. After many weeks of frustrating efforts, the damper plates were finally extracted from the guides. After many hours effort with assorted tools, the breakthrough was made by raiding our fridge for a couple of cans of a well known cola drink and pouring these down the guides. This drink contains phosphoric acid which reacted with the rust and out came the doors!! In the meantime, new frames for the dampers have been cast and are now fitted. The brickwork above the side flues is also being replaced.

• The Burton Natural History & Archaeological Society visited us this month. The reason for the visit was that the Society is unfortunately being wound up and they have decided to donate half of the Society's funds to the Trust. We thank them for their generosity. The project that this will be used for is still to be decided.

January 2008

• Progress in 'E' engine house continues apace. The base for the agitator engine has been completed and the tricky operation of positioning the flywheel is now under way. The base for the storm water pump outrigger bearing has been completed and the base for the engine is now being built.

• The chassis of the portable winch has now been painted and the wheels and axles are now receiving attention.

December 2007

• The base for the outrigger bearing for the agitator engine in 'E' engine house has been completed.

• Our last steaming of the year proved to be a very successful event with 425 visitors attending over the weekend. Additional visiting attractions were a couple of vehicles and a display of stationary engines. Carols were sung in 'E' engine house and CD engine house.

• The stoker mechanism on No 4. Boiler was belted up to the lineshaft and was tested successfully during the steaming, so that is a major step completed.

November 2007

• November started with our 2nd schools visit. 98 children from William Shrewsbury Primary School visited us to learn about Victorian sewage treatment. More pictures can be found in the "Special Features" section of the schools own website.

• The base for the agitator engine in 'E' engine house is progressing well, with the engine now mounted on the base. A supply of bull-nosed bricks is now required to complete the base. The base for the out-rigger bearing is now under construction.

• Re-assembly of the stoker mechanism on No 4. Boiler is also progressing well with the coal measuring and sprinkler shafts now fitted. We hope to connect the belts and test the mechanism during our Christmas steaming on Dec 29th & 30th.

• Work has started on overhauling the portable winch. It didn't take long for the Thursday gang to dismantle it and the chassis is now being repaired.

October 2007

• Reassembly of the Ruston Proctor portable is proving to be a very interesting 3D jigsaw. The steam cylinder and crank have now been cleaned and fitted. The parts of the patent stay have also been identified. This is a stay rod that fits between the cylinder block and main bearing to assist with transferring the forces that are exerted on the piston and connecting rod. However, this rod is connected to two parts that are attached to the boiler and as the boiler expands under heat and pressure, it would be attempting to stretch the stay rod. The answer was to fit a steam jacket to the stay rod so that it too expands at the same rate as the boiler.

• The base for the agitator engine is taking shape with a traditional brick base under construction.

• Work is now progressing with No 4. Boiler. The first major step of reassembling the stoker mechanism has been completed with re-mounting the boiler front casting. All the other parts fit onto this casting. We hope to get it back into steam for Easter 2008, so that will keep the boiler crew busy for the winter.

September 2007

• 'E' Engine House is filling up rapidly with addition of the Ruston Proctor portable engine. When originally used at Claymills it was not exactly portable - it was buried up to its axles in concrete. We shall not doing that to it again, but it will be displayed without its wheels. The task of identifying the parts and cleaning 30 years of sticky protective gunge from them has commenced. The first few parts have cleaned up remarkably well and there is even original paint still present on some of them.

• English Heritage have provided some more help with the ongoing task of conserving CD Engine House. During their last visit, attempts were made to clean the plastered sections of the walls. However, sections of the walls have continued to deteriorate revealing bare plaster. EH came with an expert who showed us how to mix traditional distemper. A colour recipe was devised and sections of the bare wall have been painted. We are now waiting to see how this dries out and how durable it will be.

• The chimney repairs have been completed.

August 2007

• Our boiler crew have completed the cleaning of No 5. Boiler. The inspection has revealed some wastage of the shell and pitting of the furnace tubes. In order to keep it running for another year, the working pressure has had to be reduced to 50psi. After this, the ten year certificate expires and it will require a complete strip down, so we now have 14 months to get No 4. up and running.

• Two of our "homeless" engines have been moved into their new home in 'E' Engine House. Temporary pipework has been connected to allow the engines to run on the bank holiday steaming.
The agitator engine has also been moved into 'E' Engine House. This picture shows the flywheel and outline of the brickwork for the bed. The engine itself is shown in front of the storm water pump in this picture.

• The living van containing our 2nd hand bookshop has been supported by sleepers while the replacement wheels have been made. This picture shows the parts painted with red-oxide.

July 2007

• It is now just over 10 years since the chimney was rebuilt up to its original height and a recent inspection revealed that some pointing work needs doing. Also the steel bands which surround the chimney need attention and the current standards are that these should also be bonded to the lightning conductor. Severn Trent has let the contract to do this work to Rafferty Chimneys.

• The steam main has now been connected to 'E' Engine House. The picture shows the connection being made in the bowels of CD Engine House. The major parts of the storm water pump have also been roughly positioned to allow pipework routing to be worked out. The left hand end of the picture shows the condensor, which we believe was not actually used during the working life of the engine.

• The open day on July 1st, saw several bus loads of visitors from the rally at the Coors Visitor Centre. Picture 1. Picture 2.

News Archive

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Current Projects

The Railway Wagon

The Joiner's Shop

If any volunteers or visitors have any pictures that they wish to be added to our news page, please email them to webmaster@claymills.org.uk.

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