Now that DSB K 582, 4-4-0, is relocated to our Græsted location for the summer, there is plenty of room to spread out Helsingør-Hornbæk Banen #4 for its rebuilding. (See http://www.veterantoget.dk/materiel/damplokomotiver/hhb-4.aspx).

HHB 4 sometimes takes two steps forward and one step back. The boiler has already been test fired a few times, but our experience with K582 has caused us to decide to back up and work on the HHB 4 boiler again. We originally planned to keep many of the old staybolts, but this same decision was made on the K582 years ago, and each year is filled with apprehension as we find new broken staybolts and wonder whether we can replace them in time for the season start. In particular, on both of these engines, many staybolts are not accessible without lifting the boiler off of the frame.

Most Danish engines have copper fireboxes, so we have to be careful to tap staybolt holes in one go from the inside out, so that steel chips do not tear up the copper firebox. Here are some pictures.

Here's me cutting out staybolts. With a copper firebox, we can go wild torching out the steel staybolts and pretty much leave the copper threads intact, but it is not without hazards. Some more experienced guys can direct the torch and the molten metal away from their bodies, but I was not so lucky. I was not wearing correct protective clothing, and two weeks later I still have burns on my chest and arms.



Here are the guys drilling out the staybolt from the outside. Note the drill brace that bolts to the boiler.


Here are the taps we use

And there's more!

Most of the taps are original to Danish Railways (bottom), but we have had to buy new taps (top), and they are outrageously expensive, about four thousand dollars apiece. These taps have an eleven threads per inch cut, but they are sized in millimeter diameters.


Here's Matthias driving taps from inside the firebox. Smile Matthias!


It is quite annoying. If the threads are damaged, you need to move up a size in tap, and repeat until the threads are good. Taps with reamer ends make the transition easy, but as you can see not all of our taps have reamer ends. So, then you have to ream the hole out before the pilot of the next tap will fit. Here are the reamers.

Here's Mikkel guiding a tap that has just finished.


Here he is again receiving a new tap. This tap was rotating in this picture. Those holes to the right were really hard to tap. They are too close in the inside for the power drive to fit, so we tapped them from the outside. Remember what I said about steel chips in copper? We had to go slow while Matthias aimed an air nozzle at the tap to blow off chips.


The big picture, before we started

Steven -

Thanks for the update. Very interesting info and photos. BTW, can you furnish a few pertinent facts about HHB #4? From the referenced information sheet, I can see she's a 4-6-0T, but it appears to be printed in Danish which I must admit is a bit difficult to read.


Les

It's an occupational hazard Steven - wear the scars proudly. Most of the old boilermakers I knew (dead by now) were pretty cratered and spotty from slag burns. I've unintentionally got a beard trim by fire now and again.

One of the things that stands out for me is how familiar those tools look, and the locomotive for that matter, once you get the "details" off!

Didn't the late David P. Morgan once write something about the universality of the language of steam, of staybolts, and injectors, and Walschearts valve gear and how to set it?

Of course, it's great to see this work in progress!

Nope. Never again. I ordered a welding jacket, leather apron, and spats on Ebay.



1907, vacuum braked, saturated steam
Idle in 1930's due to motor railcars
1939 change of ownership and air brake conversion
1962 out of service
Current restoration is first return to service.

And we are fitting it with two types of cab signalling and advanced train control (ERTMS).

Yes to all the posts above, including the burns one gets from backed up slag. Not sure what is worse, the burns or wearing the protective gear that impedes your ability to move easily. Great photos of your project. Informative and interesting what makes this a great web site to visit.

There are many jobs on a steam locomotive that require a torch. One of the ones I hate worse is burning out saddle bolts. If I ever have to not do that again it will be ok. Studs and stay bolts are right up there too. If I have time I will drill a pilot hole but often that isn't an option.

Again thank you for the photos and captions. Regards, John.

Here in the Southeast, you can sweat off pounds while clouding your vision with sweat vapor by encasing yourself in animal skins to cut and weld. Everything in life is a tradeoff.

Steven, i think many of us may be more interested in how you adapted the locomotive for the electronic accessories than staybolt work since staybolts aren't mysterious but high tech adaptions are.

Steven -

Thanks! A couple of additional questions:

1. Gauge?

2. Weight?

3. Driver size?

Thanks. Sorry for being a pest.

Les

Standard gauge.

Building Location : Henschel, Kassel Germany Year : 1907
Building Number : 8142 Empty weight : 31.4 tonnes
Shaft Follow : 2C0 Service Weight : 40.0 tonnes
Management : Heusinger Tender Weight : -
Number of cylinders : 2 Brake Weight : -
Cylinder bore : 380 mm Kulforråd : 1.6 tons
Stroke : 550 mm Water Provision : 4 m 3
Bearing Type : Plain Bearings Speed : 60 km / h
Drivhjulsdiameter : 1,200 mm Brake : Compressed
Impeller Diameter : 720 mm Length : 9.451 mm
Boiler pressure : 12 kg / cm 2 Electrical installations : -
Heating surface : 85.3 m 2 Lighting : -
The superheater Flat : No superheater Location : Graested remise
Grates Area : 1,5 m 2 Status : During restoration

We are installing two turbogenerators, one for light, one for the signal system.

The signal equipment is an ongoing negotiation. The equipment is mostly just an expense issue. The big unknown is the software for the braking supervision.

Impeller? There's a centrifugal pump involved?

So.... the turbogenerator is going to provide by itself power clean enough to work in the electronic equipment. This seems to fly in the face of some difficulties anticipated in some proposed adaptations, but I have no idea how tolerant Danish electronics might be compared to US practice. Please keep up the flow of information.

Thanks for letting us enjoy this project vicariously.

I did not clean the translation.

720 mm is the lead truck wheel diameter.

All of us have been wondering about that one Dave! I have not been working with the electrical team on the locomotive, but my understanding is that they do have it figured out (I could be very wrong....). The turbos they plan to fit are Stones, but interest in my Pyle generator restoration has led to some thought of changing this! At one point there was discussion about creating two suit cases that could be plugged into the locomotive (think nuclear football), however it was determined by the traffic department body that regulates all of our clubs movements and rules that this would not work.

Five years ago it did not matter what locomotive was pulling our coaches or itself, it would always receive the same identification tag when moving over the network. Nowadays the regulations have become more stringent, requiring each locomotive to have its own and unique identification. Hence this is the reason that a mobile suitcase for steam and for diesel locomotives will no longer work. That is how we have moved back to square one..... Along with modifying our new steam locomotive to operate on the system, we have also received quotes for adding the system to our currently in steam locomotive. The cost and possible loss of water space has made people resistant to move forward with the system, but there is no way to escape it. That, along with the question of which of our diesel locomotives to first equip with the system have been the recent hurdles in developing and installing the signal system. When our club has finally made progress I am sure my dad or I will post something about it!

On the boiler work side, my father and I have been sweating it out burning off stay heads! Unlike him, I was lucky to escape with only one small and tiny burn.

Have fun for now everyone, tomorrow I have a fun day set up visiting the shops of the Bluebell railroad to investigate contracted boiler and wheel work along with a footplate ride!