Category Archives: S9 ‘Henbury’ (Peckett No. 1940)

Portbury in the Workshop

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With the GWR O18 wagon freshly painted and out on the quayside again, it was time for Portbury to go in to the workshop to continue its 10 year overhaul. The volunteers and staff have done a lot of prep work getting the tank off and freeing up the boiler.

Henbury was being warmed up on Saturday for the move whilst the track inside the workshop had been extended.

On Monday morning, Henbury dragged its shedmate onto the quayside and Crane 32 was used to lift the boiler off and onto the boiler trolley.
Thanks to Art Spicer for this photo.

Dave Blackburn took these photos of the boiler lift and shunt.

The rolling chassis required a larger crane so one was hired to pick up the two halves of the loco, turn them through 90 degrees and onto the track going in to the workshop.

Thanks again to Dave Blackburn for these photos of the lift:

Now it’s all inside, work can continue!
Thanks to Bob Edwardes for these photos.

Autumn Highlights 2023

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It’s the last operating day of the season tomorrow, so here’s a little round-up of things that have been happening.

Docks Heritage Weekend took place over 30th September/1st October.
Good turnout of volunteers in period dress, along with the Show of Strength Theatre Company interacting with the public. Henbury was in steam both days and collected the BD wagon (which had been in use with the capstan) on the Sunday after the toys had been put away.

Steam tug ‘Mayflower’ has made a return to service following repairs to its engine. It’s been great to see it working on the harbour again over the past two weekends.

‘Have a go’ week took place over the October half term, where customers can pay to have 20 minutes learning to drive the steam loco on the quayside line, followed by 20 minutes on the crane. I was firing on Thursday, Bob Edwardes took some pics too.

Henbury has been running services single-handedly this season. In the shed, Portbury’s strip-down is ongoing.

Portbury is waiting for a free slot in the workshop, currently occupied by the GWR O18 wagon. Bob lettered it up into PBA condition as 61110 earlier this month. Hopefully not long until it’s back on display.

Henbury – First Steaming of 2023

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Peckett 0-6-0ST ‘Henbury’ was out on test last week, the annual boiler exam is just around the corner, so there was a need to test the operation of the vacuum ejector beforehand. Last season ‘Portbury’ supplied the vacuum but with that loco now out of service for overhaul, Henbury needs to be able to operate solo.

Thanks to Beth for the photo.

June 2022 Update

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Both locos are back in steam this coming weekend, and last Saturday/Sunday saw the steam crane in operation for the first time this year.

Chris and Mike coaling up the steam crane (Bill Drewett)

On the 3rd train on Saturday of Platinum Jubilee weekend, ‘Henbury’ blew out a gasket on the main steam pipe to the right hand cylinder. It was taken off the passenger train and sent up the branch to diagnose the issue before heading back to the shed.

‘Portbury’ worked push-pull services for the rest of the day as we waited for the Peckett to cool down enough to work on.
This involved clearing out all the ash from the smokebox, then chiselling out the cement from the smokebox floor (which is used to vacuum-seal it and prevent it drawing air through the front end).
The pipe was removed and the broken seal extracted so it could be used as a template to make a fresh one.
Once this was done, the whole lot was bolted back together and left to seal overnight.
Sunday morning a fire was lit and the loco brought back up to 50psi to test for any leaks, this having been satisfactory Chris was able to re-seal the smokebox with quick-drying cement.
Henbury rejoined the passenger train that morning which was a very satisfying result for the team.
It was my first real experience of locomotive repair and what happens when things go awry, so for me it was an education!

At the same time, the opportunity was taken to take the rear drawhook off and send it to the workshop to have the screw thread mended. The thread had been worn flat on top, preventing the nut from being tightened as much as we wanted it to be. Now it is tight against the bufferbeam.

Bob Edwardes took these pics over the weekend featuring the custom headboards he made for the locos.

Steam Test Success

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Photo courtesy Rowena Farr

Pleased to report that the steam fleet passed their insurance inspections/tests this week ready to operate again.
Next week M Shed is doing ‘have a go week’ where you can try your hand at driving a steam loco and an electric crane!

More details:
https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed/whats-on/train-and-crane-driving-experiences/