Superheater feed manifold |
Regulator Assembly in place (before restoration in December 2004) |
I showed the fitting of the superheater in a previous article confidently assuming that it could stay put from then on as in the photo below.
Superheater assembly neatly sitting in the top of the boiler |
What I hadn't spotted was that, with 2" studs sticking upwards from the manifold and regulator assembly, there was no way that these could be fitted on to the horizontal studs on the boiler without lifting the superheater about 3".
The only lifting gear at Midsomer Norton is a road-railer but it has not been available for some time. So ingenuity was going to be required.
Temporary Aerial convergent 'plate-way' in use! |
So it was a simple matter of putting the plate-way (point rods) in place to support the jack, tighten the straps and jack up the superheater. It worked like a dream!
Precise lifting ability |
Interim resting place Superheater rings showing below the top plate |
When the boiler was refurbished, all the studs were renewed. Of course, the new studs protrude precisely at right angles to the curved surface of the boiler - which means that they are not parallel! They are further apart at their outer ends than at the boiler surface and hence wouldn't mate with the holes in the manifold flange.
Five brand new studs for the manifold fixing (there is a blanking plate fitted in the photo for a hydraulic test - I guess it had bigger holes!) |
More to come when the bits are in place.
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