WINSTON CHURCHILL RETURNS

 

The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway has one of the few complete fleets of original locomotives built specifically for the line they now operate on and the last of these were a pair of Canadian Pacific outline locomotives commissioned by the founder and owner of the railway at that time; Captain J E P Howey. They were completed in 1931 by the Yorkshire Engineering Company.

 

To ensure that all of the locomotives remain in top condition and economic to run, the present owners Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway plc commenced a series of major overhauls in 2002, initially externally sourced, but taken in-house with completion of a purpose built overhaul workshop in 2009. After the success of their first full in-house overhaul of sister Canadian Pacific Doctor Syn, work commenced late 2011 on Winston Churchill. Both of these locos had seen busy careers at the RHDR but neither had been afforded the full overhauls that the other locomotives had enjoyed.

 

A full strip down was undertaken and all items cleaned before being assessed for work/replacement and then stored for further work or ready for rebuilding.

The heart of a good overhaul is the frames and these were jigged, measured and all horn faces aligned as a datum. At the same time they were grit blasted and primed/undercoated to preserve them ready for full painting and assembly. New axles were sourced to ensure material quality and traceability into the future. Replacement wheels were not required but tyre profiles were refreshed and crankpin holes jig bored to ensure consistent alignment. New bronze axle boxes were also fitted.

Similar attention was given to the front bogie and trailing truck.

 

All motion was cleaned up, burnished and new bearings made and fitted all round and these were assembled on to the chassis and trued up. New cylinders were fitted (the old ones would not take another re-bore) and new pistons/valves were manufactured, fitted with Cluppet rings and assembled. Similar detailed attention was given to the existing locomotive braking and lubrication systems.

 

The boiler had been re-tubed and did not require much other work showing the  benefits of a concentrated effort over the last 20 years with water quality and boiler management. The ash pan was also modified and worn out parts replaced. New boiler cladding and insulating material was obtained and the cab was stripped, repaired and made ready for painting. Then the steam pipework was reviewed and either annealed and fitted or new items were manufactured.

 

Her tender tank has had to be replaced and brakes added to the chassis to make her standard with the rest of the fleet and now driver’s radio, Automatic Warning System and passenger train alarm systems are being added. Indeed she now starts to look like a locomotive again. The final stages involve lapping the regulator and fitting its linkage and then the superheaters and steam pipes.

 

In the next few weeks she will return to the main shed, resplendent in her crimson livery and be settled in ready for her official re-launch on Saturday 11th May 13 at our Canadian Pacific Special Event Day. DayRover tickets (priced at £16 our normal fare) will be on sale on the RHDR website or by calling the Sales Team on 01797 362353 from 8th March and the first 50 have been reserved for her inaugural official run at 12.30 from Hythe that day.

 

The Overhaul Workshop at New Romney will be open from 1pm to 4pm that day providing an opportunity to see a fascinating display of images, cataloguing the rebuild step-by-step.  The same workshop is also now resourced to carry out railway engineering tasks for other companies and RHDR will be pleased to show prospective customers the quality of the work we achieve on that day (or by pre-arranged visit at other mutually convenient times). Please email kim.richardson@rhdr.org to arrange a specific visit or to discuss engineering requirements.