Build Diary entries for July 2025

Here are the diary entries for this month. You can use the forward and backward links to see the next or previous months. Most photos taken before 2018 are small size. From 2018 onwards, most photos you see below will have a link to a full size image by clicking on the photo.

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Bogie Assembly 1
14/07/2025
	We have a Royal visit on Thursday from HRH The Duke of Gloucester so our aim today was to assemble the bogie. At the last Open Day we only fitted the main suspension spring on a temporary basis without the proper sized cotters. During the spring we have had some temporary cotters made to the correct size so today we had the challenge of fitting them. First job was to mount the frames onto the wheelsets. Photo by John Hind
Bogie Assembly 2
14/07/2025
	The challenge is to get the oval shaped cotters into the spring links that connect the spring cradle to the suspension spring. Fortunately the spring has a small recess on the under side that Mike can get one of his Enerpac jacks to engage in. We managed to get 3 of the 4 cotters in just using the weight of the bogie against the upward push of the jack. For the fourth cotter we needed 13 tons of CTL Seal's concrete test blocks lightly resting on the frames so the jack had something to push against.
Bogie Assembly 3
14/07/2025
	Finally an almost complete bogie. We should be ordering the side control springs in a couple of weeks and the lubrication pipework will need installing. With the frame keeps fitted, we can now do final checks on the axlebox guide/axlebox interface to determine the clearance. This will determine the final machining stage for the axlebox liners. This will take place after the Greatest Gathering in August. Photo by John Hind
Sandboxes, Sand Traps and Studs
21/07/2025
	One of our projects is the sanding gear. Unlike the first batch of Clans which had 2 sandboxes, 72010 has 3 sand boxes. The additional sandbox provides sand to the leading coupled wheel. Bolted to the bottom of each sand box are 2 or 4 sand traps. In the photo, the sandbox is upside down and the sand trap can be seen on the right. We needed a number of studs to secure the sand trap to the sandbox and delivery pipes to the sand trap. We contacted Historic Threads (https://www.historicthreads.co.uk) as they specialise in British Standard threads "from the biggest Whitworth to the smallest BA and everything in between". They offered to sponsor the studs and we are very grateful for their sponsorship. The studs on the top of the sand traps (in the photo) have been drilled so that a split pin can be fitted once the nut has been tightened.
Bogie Ready for Greatest Gathering
28/07/2025
	If you are going to the Greatest Gathering in Derby thsi weekend, please come along and say hello at our stand. We will be in U shop,2 bay. Pride of place will be our bogie along with one of the 6 coupled wheels. We've been doing the final touches today and the pipework should be fitted tomorrow. Note that the bogie is only 80% complete. We still have to fit the side control spring system and finalise the clearances between the axleboxes and their guides. There's also a few other minor jobs to do.