09/11/24
On November 9th we welcomed both existing Club members and people new to the project to Kempton Steam Museum for a chance to admire the completed wheelsets and hear about the progress of the project. The day was a great success with a speech from project leader Josh Webb and many of the components on display including the spring hanger parts, motion brackets, bolts and gauges, etc. There was also the chance to look at copies of the engineers’ drawings for the original locos and some new MWB No 4 merchandise for sale. We were thrilled that six new members joined the MWB No.4 Club on the day : welcome to the project !
07/11/24
One of the exciting developments in 2024 has been the completion of the wheelsets with the assembly of all the parts. The wheels have been pressed on to the axles, the tyres heated on, the cranks and crank pins attached with all the correct gauging and quartering required. These wheelsets have been designed so they can run on any 2ft gauge railway in the country, something which has taken a lot of discussion to achieve.
Now after nearly 80 years a set of Kerr Stuart Waterboard loco wheelsets exist, and on November 7th 2024 they arrived at Kempton Steam Museum ahead of the Members day. The two newly completed wheelsets were rolled through the museum’s large loading bay doors and craned around the two great engines to the piece of track we had placed in readiness. Currently the wheels are residing in the museum but the container is ready to house them at a moment’s notice.
20/09/24
We are pleased to say that, after many years of discussion, we now officially have a home for the build. On Tuesday 20th September we took delivery of a 20ft shipping container which we can now call ours.
Initially the container will be used for storage of all the parts currently spread around the country - such as the newly finished wheelsets - but in time it will become an effective workshop till the running chassis is complete, which we then hope to store in the container.
Some maybe sceptical as to the usefulness of a container as a build site but the previous situation was many different garages and workshops with parts spread around the country, which was not ideal. We hope that in the future, when space becomes available on site at the Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway, we may be able to build the locomotive in one of their sheds.
We also will be using this space to raise awareness of and raise money for the build and as a place where the MWB No4 club members will be able to visit and see how the build is coming along.
The initial jobs are to get electrical power (solar and wind) installed, together with workbenches, shelving and rails to receive the new wheels.
04/07/23
An update,
Sorry for the lack of updates but here goes a quick rundown of everything that's happened. Unfortunately we have had some illness in the the team that has meant a slower pace. We have however had most of the spring hangers etc finished. That's Spring hangers pins brackets and washers all done ready to fit. We have also had the motion brackets and smoke box saddle cast and recently all the wheel components have been transferred to Statfold Barn for completion of the wheel sets. We are at a stage now where we need to raise £10,000 to finish the wheel sets. Now we hope to do this by sponsoring of components. We have launched our sponsor the component scheme where you can sponsor individual items you want for rewards, head to our website to find out more. https://webblocos.co.uk/support-us/what-can-i-sponsor
26/01/22
One of the many modern additions to the locomotive, we are adding a speedometer.
To do this we will need two things, the gauge itself and the dynamo which will drive the gauge.
We were able to recover both from a scrap heritage DMU.
We have painstakingly restored and tested both.
All we need to do now is install them when required and install an inline resistor as the dynamo was set up for much larger wheels.
The restoration of the dynamo was as follows.
We started off by cleaning the grease and oils from the outside, before sandblasting the externals.
We then opened the unit, cleaned and re-greased before closing it up.
After testing we primed and repainted the outside.
The dynamo has now been put into storage awaiting the time when it will be needed.
29/12/20
On the 1st of December we took delivery of the 4 wheel centre castings.
They will need machining before the axles and tyres can be put on. Each wheel weighs around 120kg requiring the use of a crane to lift them.
I would like to thank Casting Services Engineering Ltd for supplying our first large component.
23/11/20
On the 23rd of November the wheel centres, were ordered with Casting Services Engineering Ltd. The pattern for these was made earlier in the year.
We hope to have the wheels delivered in early December.
Pictures courtesy of Casting Services Engineering Ltd.
18/08/20
On the 18th of August an update came from one of suppliers John Dunn Engineering. The axles have so far been roughed out and now need to be left to ensure no warping happens post heat treatment.
Thanks to John for these pictures.
19/06/20
On the 10th of June the proposed directors of the now formed Webb Locos LTD met to finalise and confirm the incorporation of the company that will aim to build the new locomotive. This included talks about possible build locations and costings of some of the items. At the end of the meeting it was decided to form the company. On the 19th of June 2020 the company was incorporated with companies house. This now means we can start fundraising and pushing forward with the project.
09/03/20
On the 3rd of March 2020 the axles, two mains and one pony truck, were ordered with John Dunn Engineering. These will be heat treated before being machined, including key ways.
Photos courtesy of John Dunn Engineering.
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