When 14A came into the workshops for its last exam late in 2015, it was noted that one of the lens rings joining the main steam pipe from the header…

There’s been some good progress since this project was first introduced. All the laser cut plates have now been welded together, the progress of which can be seen in the…

     It might look to the untrained eye as if work on the Garratt had pretty much come to a halt once the boiler was in place. As with…

If there are any recurring themes running through this Blog, one of the foremost will most certainly be the number of repetitive, labour intensive tasks required to keep our century…

With “coincidentally” overlapping trips to the UK planned for June 2015, myself and David Clowes, Puffing Billy’s Maintenance Engineer, decided to make the most of the opportunity and planned a…

All the suspension components are now complete, and most have now been trial assembled on the engine units (above and below). This has been a useful exercise to prove everything…

Another milestone for the restoration of Puffing Billy’s NG/G16 Garratt was reached early in November when the new boiler was lowered into the boiler cradle for the first time. Following…

First patented by Englishman Samson Fox in 1893, the Fox style bogie carried virtually all the rolling stock on the Victorian Railways 4 narrow gauge lines from construction to demolition.…

  One of the many constant challenges for the workshop staff at Belgrave is being able to create and maintain an air tight seal around the smokebox door. A poor…