Exhausting Pipes

A little way down my last piping hot article, I'd attached the exhaust steam pipes which rise up between the boiler and cab front. Now it was time to see if they could be linked to the chimneys.

Rising from the depths...

... and up over the edge

Despite the photos showing things neatly fitting together, initially this was not the case. The two insulated pipes look exactly the same; however, when fitted to the pipes below, they are definitely not interchangeable. When there is a 50/50 chance of getting them the right way round, there seems always to be a 100/100 chance of getting them wrong as I did first time!

Second time lucky

The intention of these temporary activities was to check items that we had never seen connected together would actually fit when needed. So far so good.

View from above (1)
(This photo is the right way up, you can tell by the feet!)

View from above (2)

View from above (3)

By now it should be clear that the chimneys do indeed poke out of the top of the cab! As a result, a new cover will be needed to keep the rain out - the gas-man cometh comes to mind!

View from below

The chimneys have now been taken down again. Recently, one of the chimney bases has been repaired by weld-reinforcing the holy parts. So we now have two serviceable chimneys.

As luck would have it, progress on two brand new replacement chimney bases has suddenly leaped forward. So shortly the decision will have to be made as to whether we use the old ones for a year or two and then replace them or wait a little while for the new ones and fit them. I favour the latter.