From the October 2017 issue of The Railway Magazine: The Middleton Railway’s Hunslet 0-6-0ST Brookes No. 1 made its post-overhaul passenger debut on August 28, following a Heritage Lottery-funded purchase and overhaul project lasting more than four years. The locomotive returned to service in a lined version of Hunslet’s standard green.
The Middleton Railway’s Hunslet 0-6-0ST Brookes No. 1 made its post-overhaul passenger debut on August 28, effectively marking the culmination of its Heritage Lottery-funded purchase and overhaul.
The project has taken a little more than four years to complete, starting in April 2013 when the 1941-built loco (W/No. 2387) was dismantled at Moor Road.
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Brookes No. 1 had received an all-new boiler back in 1999, giving the overhaul a significant head start as it required little more than a re-tube in order to obtain a new boiler certificate.
Boiler and chassis overhaul
De-tubing was carried out in the summer of 2013, and the boiler completed three years later.
Much of the early stripping of the locomotive was completed outside, but in the summer of 2014 the rolling chassis was taken into the workshops for the wheels to be dropped.
The 14in cylinders and valve chests were found to be in satisfactory condition, requiring only new piston rings and the skimming of the piston rods to eliminate any wear. However, dismantling of the brake gear revealed considerable wear, with the brake shaft journals having worn by as much as ¼in, with similar wear on the bearing pedestals. This all had to be rectified before overhaul of the axleboxes could begin.
Reassembly and testing
During the summer of 2016 the loco was re-wheeled, although it was soon discovered the rear left-hand axlebox had not been fitted correctly, thus preventing the re-fitting of the coupling rods.
The valve gear went back on the following autumn, and by the spring of this year the boiler was ready for hydraulic testing, having received a new ashpan.
The boiler was returned to the frames in March, with the steam test taking place in April.
All was completed successfully and during the past few months the railway has reassembled and painted the loco ready for its return to service.
Meticulous
The railway has turned the loco out in a lined version of Hunslet’s standard green, something it never carried while it worked for Brookes Chemical Co, in Halifax.
The reasoning was locomotives look better if they are properly lined out, and this work was meticulously carried out this summer.
Passenger debut
On August 28, Brookes No. 1 was tested on a passenger train when it hauled the 14.40 train with Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0ST Slough Estates No. 3 at the rear.
The success of the run prompted the railway to allow the Hunslet to work the afternoon’s 15.20 and 16.00 trains on its own. Apart from one or two minor issues the loco performed faultlessly and has been deemed fit for traffic, once crews have been trained on it.
