- Using the grinder to fettle up flanges for the water pipe work on the
tender of No. 4930Hagley Hall.
2.Forging a new bracket for the water pipes on the‘Hall’s’tender.
Everything from the middle of the tender required replacement as it was
so badly corroded.
3.Following his apprenticeship, Max learned to re-profile tyres using the
ex-Derby works Noble and Lund wheel/journal turning lathe
“I
n the six years that I’ve been here, I’ve
managed to work on quite a number of
locomotives, to varying extents.
I just caught the tail end ofTaw Valley’s
restoration when I first arrived and remember
working through the night to get it finished. I’ve
also worked on the small saddle tank locomotive
No. 813, pannier tank No. 7714, and the tender
for No. 4930Hagley Hall,butthebiggestand
most satisfying involvement for me so far has been
the overhaul of No. 75069.
“As one of a team of five, I worked on this
loco for the best part of two years, and seeing it
go back into service in February this year was a
great moment, not just for me but for everyonewho worked on it. Whenever I see it running,
I think of all the many different parts I either
made or fitted to it, and I know that without
them, it wouldn’t be going anywhere!
“Inevitably, sooner or later, I’m going to end
up working on a repeat overhaul. Maybe for me,
that will beTaw Valley. I suppose that’s going to
feel a bit strange, seeing a familiar loco coming
back into the workshops, but you’ve just got to
accept that things wear out. It’s part of the game
here.
“We can’t get away from the fact that the
problems a particular loco faces will probably get
worse with each overhaul it receives. The engines
have been out of the scrapyards for maybe 50 or60 years now, and the repairs are inevitably getting
more extensive.
“Stanier ‘Mogul’ No. 42968 is a good
example of this. It’s currently in the workshop,
and if you look closely at its main frame down
one side, you’ll see it’s made out of five different
sections of metal with four clear welds holding
them together. The front section was actually
replaced during its working days with British Rail,
and others have been replaced here. A couple of
the sections are still original, but one day perhaps
they’ll need to be renewed, too.
“Part of the issue is that locomotives are
worked much harder these days than they were
in the earlier days of preservation. At the SVR,
we’re running at least six return services a day
on our busier days, and an individual locomotive
will make two round trips. They’ll be clocking up
something like 65 or 75,000 miles on each boiler
ticket, which is a lot more than would have been
expected of them in the late-1960s or early-1970s.
It’s all wear and tear, and it all takes its toll.
“Since I completed my apprenticeship nearly
two years ago, I’ve concentrated on improving
all the time. I also have the chance to coach
others and pass on the skills I’ve learnt. I enjoy
doing this, working with other apprentices and
with volunteers. Some volunteers come to us
with engineering backgrounds, and perhaps they
won’t need a great deal of input. Others will have
experience of a completely different kind, such as
teaching or accountancy.
“They’re here because they just want to get
involved and get their hands dirty in an
old-fashioned engineering environment, but
they’ll need help, particularly to start with.
“Working in a heritage environment, you need
to have a huge range of skills. It’s about being a
good all-rounder. I’m expected to be competent
at machining, fabricating, fitting, welding and
painting. During my apprenticeship, I got
exposure to different aspects of restoration, but
for me it was always about locomotives and heavy
engineering. Taking them to bits and putting
them back together, that’s what I love.”
■As told to Lesley CarrMax spent nearly two years with the team overhauling No. 75069.48 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019In our latest feature about apprentices at the
Severn Valley Railway,The RMvisits the loco
shed at Bridgnorth to meet 22-year-old Max
Green, who started at the SVR when he was
just 16. Max graduated from his engineering
apprenticeship almost two years ago.
heritageskills
Retaining
future
forthe
BEHINDTHESCENES
The SVR CharitableTrust is the prime funder of the Heritage SkillsTraining Academy. Mortons Media Group, publisher ofThe Railway Magazineand its sister titles
Rail ExpressandHeritage Railway, is sponsoring the academy. If you wish to donate and support future heritage engineer training, go to website: svrtrust.org.uk123