Restoration Progress

The first job that was done once the Wab arrived in Feilding was to remove the big water tanks off the both sides of the locomotive. Then a local contractor was given the job of restoring them to operational condition. The outside walls of both tanks have been found to be very rusted and have required new steel to be welded in place. Most of the water baffles were also very rusted and required re-manufacturing to original specifications. One water tank has been completed and returned to the wool bank, while the other which requires a lot more work is still with the contractor.

Once the water tanks had been removed, we were then able to start with the locomotive's boiler, firstly the boiler had all the sheathing and insulation removed then was sandblasted and painted. A visual inspection of steelwork, welds, and connections was made. We then checked all the stay bolts that hold the inside of the firebox to the outside of the fire box. The stay bolts prevents any movement in the two steel walls of the firebox, this movement comes about due to the high levels of heat in the firebox. The old way to check if any of the bolts were broken was to drill a hole down the middle of each bolt, and if it was broken the water would leak out the hole when the hydraulic test is done.

Things have changed now, with the help from technology we used an ultrasonic steel tester. The tops of the bolts get cleaned up with an angle grinder so they are clean and flat. A small amount of grease is applied to the top of each bolt and the ultrasonic testing head is placed against the top of the bolt. The sound waves travel down the bolt and reflect off the end of the bolt. The sound waves are heard by the ultrasonic microphone in the head and displayed on a CRT screen. The pulses of sound are displayed showing the time they take to reflect from the end of the bolt or the break, the distance on the CRT screen can be measured and the exact distance of the bolt or break can be worked out.

Using this technique we tested all the stay bolts in the Wab firebox in 6 hours, which would be a fraction of the time to drill them, and we wouldn't know the result until hydraulic testing was done. The ultrasonic testing has found one broken bolt out of a total of 800 good bolts. The replacement bolt has already been installed.

The interior of the cab has been sandblasted and painted green. The coal bunker has had the rust removed and new steel welded in place, most of the brass work has been sanded smooth and polished. Most of the valves have been overhauled. The whole locomotive was steam cleaned, to remove the years of built up muck and loose paint.

62kb Click to enlarge 44kb Click to Enlarge

The boys removing the window frames, so they can be varnished 39kb

Owen Rush sand blasting the cow catcher prior to painting and refitting. 39kb

The smoke box has been sandblasted and rust preventing primer painted, this has allowed the smoke box and flues to be inspected, so far everything has been favourable with very little concerns found. This picture shows the flues and superheater bulk heads within the smoke box, 58kb

The original hinges were only standard door hinges, and had failed due to the very heavy weight of the doors. To prevent this problem new hinges have been made and welded in place 63kb

Preparing for a hydraulic test; this required most of the fittings to be reinstalled onto the boiler so that the water didn't leak out. This picture shows the sight glass and taps been installed. 15th Aug 1998 67kb

The boiler was filled with water once all the fittings were refitted to boiler. High temperature sealant was then applied to help seal the steam dome lid. 12th Dec 1998 67kb

With the sealant applied the steam dome lid was then bolted down extremely tightly so as to get a good seal for the compression tests. 12th Dec 1998 52kb

We have successfully completed a preliminary hydraulic test, the boiler was compressed to 250 psi, a couple of cracks have been found around the extra row of stay bolts. The boiler inspector has designated a welder to carry the repairs. The welder ground out the cracks and has tig welded up the ground out cracks, we are have re-hydraulic tested the boiler and all appears to be OK. 18th Feb 1999

We have now reclad the boiler, cut the holes in the sheet steel for the pipe work, and put the curve of the boiler into the steel with rollers. We have sanded and spray painted both sides of the sheet steel with primer. 11th May 1999

In June the locomotive was inspected by a Tranz Rail Engineer to work out whether the loco will pass Tranz Rail's safety inspection. Unfortunately the engineer found the tyres on the Wab's wheels must be replaced, early reports suggested that they should only need a reprofile on Tranz Rail's under floor wheel lathe at Upper Hutt. We have asked Tranz Rail for a price to fit the new tyres, and also when they could do the work. We already have the replacement tyres for the job, these came from the NZRLS. 15th June 1999

Other big problems we have had is thieves breaking into the shed where the Wab is stored and steeling copper pipes, and brass fittings from the Wab. We have remade a lot of the fittings that were stolen and also found replacement pipework, but only after many hours work by members. To prevent this happening again we have fitted a burglar alarm and sensor lights to the shed. Currently work includes fitting the pipework back onto the Wab, finishing off the cladding of the firebox and preparing the Wab to have its wheels removed. 15th June 1999

We have now raised the necessary money to retyre the Wab, thanks the NZRLS helping with a few thousand dollars and we have shifted the Wab into a different shed with a concrete floor, this will enable us to lift the loco and remove the Wab's wheels, 1st September 1999

After a month of preparation the Wab was lifted on the 31st September 1999 by two large cranes to allow the three driving wheel sets to be removed, the front and rear bogies were also removed for inspection purposes. Once the wheels and bogies were out of the way the Wab was lowered onto temporary passenger carriage bogies. We then removed the bearing boxes from the wheel sets, then the wheels and new tryes were then placed in a four wheel wagon for railing to the Hutt Shops. Tranz Rail intends to retyre the Wab wheels during October. 11th October 1999

We firstly cleaned the underframe with needle guns to allow inspection for cracks and signs of corrosion. 11th October 1999

The wheels have arrived back at Feilding from the Hutt Shops with their new tyres fitted. The axles have passed their crack testing. We are currently dismantling both the front and back bogies, to check the springs and bearings. We intend to sand blast the two bogie frames soon. 21st December 1999

At the same time that the main drivers were crack tested we also checked all the bogie's axles. This pictures show the testing in progress. No problems were found.

After using the needle gun on all of the underframe, we then polished the underframe with buffing wheels mounted to angle grinders, this was a very dirty and messy job. Once clean we then painted the underframe. 1st April 2000

Both bogies have now been sand blasted and painted, the rear bogie bearings are the brass type and are in good condition. The front bogie's bearings are roller bearing type and these bearings have been inspected by Feilding Steam Rail staff and found to be unserviceable. We have found replacements but at an extremely large cost. The bearings and bogies are now at A & G Prices in Thames, this is due to the Tranz Rail workshops been extremely busy. A & G Price Intend to start work on the front bogies very soon. 28th July 2000

The wheels were removed back in October and have since been sent to Hutt workshops for new tyres to be fitted, this has been done and the wheels have been cleaned with needle guns and painted. The brass bearings have been stripped and cleaned and refitted. 20th August 2000

We have made a new backend for the firebox and this picture shows the boys fitting the brass fittings on to the new backend plate. 13th August 2000

The Local Spray Painter (David Wiseman) painted the backend, and a great job he did. We have now refitted this to the Wab, but we had to be careful not to scratch it. 20th August 2000

The axles arrived back with their new bearings from Price's in Thames, the tyres were also reprofiled. Here you can see the front bogie being reassembled in preparation for the Wab to be placed back on it wheels and bogies. 16th September 2000

We hired two large cranes and placed the Wab back on its two bogies and driving wheels. Click on the picture for the full story. 23rd September 2000

We have fitted all three air receivers, the brake fittings to cab and under the cab, and plumbed up both of the brake cylinders. The sand piping has been refitting. We have completed the fitting of the lubricating lines to the pistons and valves. The brake rigging under the locomotive has also been refitted. 12th November 2000

We have been fitting out the cab and this took a while as we need to remake a lot of the small pipe work that connects to the gauges, and the sanding equipment because it was stolen a few years ago. One good thing is that the piping is nice and new. We started rebuilding the superheater elements, this job required a lot of cutting, and preparation before the welding could be done. 15th January 2001

Merv and Paul have been busy welding the super heater elements together. They are gas welded and each weld takes about 20 minutes do to, and there are 12 welds per element, sometimes more if the new elbow bends need to be made. 17th March 2001

We hired a truck with a Hiab to lift the tanks on, all appear to fit ok, and especially given that one tank was almost completely rebuilt. 31st March 2001

Now the tanks are on we remember just how big the Wab really is. 31st March 2001

Work continues on the super heater elements. Some are complete and have been hydraulically tested, so far so good. Merv, Paul and Kevin are working away with the remainder of the super heater elements and ensure they are up to standard. Now the tanks are back on we can start to plumb them up to the boiler. 31st March 2001

John Ireland reconditioned the steam turbine, Merv and Mike fitted it to the Wab. 14th April 2001

Bolting the Tanks to the Wab. 14th April 2001

Trying to keep the Wab sparking clean. 21th April 2001

We have now bolted on the connection and driving rods back onto the loco, hopefully for the last time. 23rd June 2001

A view of the cab of Wab 794. Nearly all equipment is bolted into place. 30th June 2001

Kevin looking like a spooked possum. Kevin is minimising the air gaps in the bottom of the firebox. 30th June 2001

The lubricator has been completely dismantled, cleaned and fitted with new sight glasses. This lubricator feeds specific amounts of oil to the valves and pistons at the front of the locomotive. 30th June 2001

We have now hydraulically tested all of the superheater elements to over 1000 PSI and found a couple of leaks that have been repaired and retested. All the elements are now fitted to the locomotive. We have also pressurised the Westinghouse braking system to check that all the brakes and valves function correctly. We love your pixie hat Mike! 28th July 2001

This is the smoke box showing the new superheater elements fitted. 11th August 2001

We fitted the spark arrester in the smoke box once all the superheater elements were fitted. 18th August 2001

On Saturday the 25th of August 2001 we lit a fire in the firebox, and started steam tests. Within four hours we had plenty of steam and began searching for leaks in the pipework. We found quite a few leaks, but these were easily fixed by replacing the washers. The whistle was tested and appears to work well. 25th August 2001

On this day we kept the steam pressure below 85 PSI. 25th August 2001

Kevin fitting one the badges to the Wab's water tanks. 1st September 2001

Click on Picture, Russell Wiseman pulls the whistle for the first time since 1969, Feilding now knows there is a steam engine in town. 1st September 2001

Click on the picture for the full story.

This is us all clean at the Society's Christmas party. Since this photo was taken more people have joined us. We will get a new group photo at some stage.

The spare AB boiler, Click on Picture for more information.

We have fitted the radios and tested the brakes. 7th November 2001

The turntable is now functional and we have moved the Wab into the big shed via the turntable. The new shed is cleaner. 18th February 2002

This is a picture of the Wab back in one piece for the opening of the Feilding Steam Rail Depot. There are a couple of little jobs to do before it will appear on the mainline.

This is one of the pistons from the engine unit. The piston rods were found too worn and we have decided to get new ones made. 11 May 2002

We found during test that the rear bogies were not sitting correctly so we needed to straighten out the anchor bracket that is part of linkage to the compensating beam. This is to get the weight distribution correct. 15th June 2002

This pipe is connected to the Wab water tanks and the water tanker that will often be towed behind the Wab. This will allow the Wab to operate for a longer time before running out of water. 15th June 2002

This is a view of the cylinders that the main pistons fit into.3rd September 2002

We have had many new parts made for the engine units and these are currently being fitted back on the Wab. These include new guide bars, slippers, piston rods, and new piston rings. Also we have run the air pipes from under the Wab up to the equipment cabinet for the LocoLog data recorder. 28th August 2002

The new piston rods arrived back from the machinists at the end of October 2002 and Mike Barnes and the boys fitted them back to the loco.

This shows the new piston rods, the new guide bars and new slipper plates. 3rd November 2002

This is a view on the main piston rods. The piston is fitted with new rings. 4th November 2002

The crosshead has been fitted to the new piston.

This shows the new slipper plates fitted to the new guide bars. This will mean that the majority of the locomotive steam motion gear is brand new. 4th November 2002

Wab 794 on the turntable in Feilding. 19th November 2002

We have installed and tested a Locolog Data Recorder, Click on picture for more information. 1st February 2003

The Wab is over our inspection pit. Mike Barnes is doing the measuring and Mike Prior is doing the recording. On the ground are tyre gauges, these are X (flange thickness), Y (flange depth), V (guttering depth), and the W (sharpness of the flange) 1st Feb 2003

Here you can see a Z reading in progress. This measures the thickness of the tyre on the wheel. Tyres on trains are made of steel, tyres on cars and trucks are made of rubber. These readings have already been done, but we wanted to do a recheck before the mainline inspection. 1st Feb 2003

We have been extensively testing the Wab in the Feilding yard to get the little problems cleared. We have run two operating days around the Feilding Yard, for photos click this link

The Wab had got dirty while being run in the yard, so we decided to give it a good clean. The side tanks polished up well with car polish. 1st March 2003

On the 7th of July 2003 the Wab ventured onto the mainline under its own steam, with DFT 7104 in tow. The Wab made two trips to Palmerston North and was turned each time. This photo is in the Feilding Yard just before the first trip to Palmerston North. 7th July 2003

The Wab departing Feilding for Palmerston Nth for its mainline test. 7th July 2003

The first trips were at slow speed 30-40Kph. Then speed and dynamic loads (from the DFT) were gradually increased. The last trip from Palmerston North to Feilding was a stability test and was run at the Wab's maximum speed. This photo was taken at Bunnythrope. 7th July 2003

Everything on the mainline test trip worked perfectly on the trip and a mainline certificate will be issued in due course. 7th July 2003

One valve cover plate had been cracked when the Wab arrived in Feilding. We cast a new cover plate, and Peter machined it in the Society's Ward Lathe. July 2003

Mike Barnes fitting the brand new valve cover plate. July 2003

Click on Photo to see more photos of the boiler work carried out in 2004. October 2004

The Majority of Photos on this page were taken by Stan Jenkins.

Back to Restoration

	The interior of the cab has been sandblasted and painted green. The coal bunker has had the rust removed and new steel welded in place, most of the brass work has been sanded smooth and polished. Most of the valves have been overhauled. The whole locomotive was steam cleaned, to remove the years of built up muck and loose paint.
62kb Click to enlarge		44kb Click to Enlarge

	The boys removing the window frames, so they can be varnished 39kb
	Owen Rush sand blasting the cow catcher prior to painting and refitting. 39kb
	The smoke box has been sandblasted and rust preventing primer painted, this has allowed the smoke box and flues to be inspected, so far everything has been favourable with very little concerns found. This picture shows the flues and superheater bulk heads within the smoke box, 58kb
	The original hinges were only standard door hinges, and had failed due to the very heavy weight of the doors. To prevent this problem new hinges have been made and welded in place 63kb
	Preparing for a hydraulic test; this required most of the fittings to be reinstalled onto the boiler so that the water didn't leak out. This picture shows the sight glass and taps been installed. 15th Aug 1998 67kb
	The boiler was filled with water once all the fittings were refitted to boiler. High temperature sealant was then applied to help seal the steam dome lid. 12th Dec 1998 67kb
	With the sealant applied the steam dome lid was then bolted down extremely tightly so as to get a good seal for the compression tests. 12th Dec 1998 52kb
	We have successfully completed a preliminary hydraulic test, the boiler was compressed to 250 psi, a couple of cracks have been found around the extra row of stay bolts. The boiler inspector has designated a welder to carry the repairs. The welder ground out the cracks and has tig welded up the ground out cracks, we are have re-hydraulic tested the boiler and all appears to be OK. 18th Feb 1999

	At the same time that the main drivers were crack tested we also checked all the bogie's axles. This pictures show the testing in progress. No problems were found.
	After using the needle gun on all of the underframe, we then polished the underframe with buffing wheels mounted to angle grinders, this was a very dirty and messy job. Once clean we then painted the underframe. 1st April 2000
	Both bogies have now been sand blasted and painted, the rear bogie bearings are the brass type and are in good condition. The front bogie's bearings are roller bearing type and these bearings have been inspected by Feilding Steam Rail staff and found to be unserviceable. We have found replacements but at an extremely large cost. The bearings and bogies are now at A & G Prices in Thames, this is due to the Tranz Rail workshops been extremely busy. A & G Price Intend to start work on the front bogies very soon. 28th July 2000
	The wheels were removed back in October and have since been sent to Hutt workshops for new tyres to be fitted, this has been done and the wheels have been cleaned with needle guns and painted. The brass bearings have been stripped and cleaned and refitted. 20th August 2000
	We have made a new backend for the firebox and this picture shows the boys fitting the brass fittings on to the new backend plate. 13th August 2000
	The Local Spray Painter (David Wiseman) painted the backend, and a great job he did. We have now refitted this to the Wab, but we had to be careful not to scratch it. 20th August 2000
	The axles arrived back with their new bearings from Price's in Thames, the tyres were also reprofiled. Here you can see the front bogie being reassembled in preparation for the Wab to be placed back on it wheels and bogies. 16th September 2000
	We hired two large cranes and placed the Wab back on its two bogies and driving wheels. Click on the picture for the full story. 23rd September 2000

	Merv and Paul have been busy welding the super heater elements together. They are gas welded and each weld takes about 20 minutes do to, and there are 12 welds per element, sometimes more if the new elbow bends need to be made. 17th March 2001
	We hired a truck with a Hiab to lift the tanks on, all appear to fit ok, and especially given that one tank was almost completely rebuilt. 31st March 2001
	Now the tanks are on we remember just how big the Wab really is. 31st March 2001

	John Ireland reconditioned the steam turbine, Merv and Mike fitted it to the Wab. 14th April 2001
	Bolting the Tanks to the Wab. 14th April 2001
	Trying to keep the Wab sparking clean. 21th April 2001
	We have now bolted on the connection and driving rods back onto the loco, hopefully for the last time. 23rd June 2001
	A view of the cab of Wab 794. Nearly all equipment is bolted into place. 30th June 2001
	Kevin looking like a spooked possum. Kevin is minimising the air gaps in the bottom of the firebox. 30th June 2001
	The lubricator has been completely dismantled, cleaned and fitted with new sight glasses. This lubricator feeds specific amounts of oil to the valves and pistons at the front of the locomotive. 30th June 2001
	We have now hydraulically tested all of the superheater elements to over 1000 PSI and found a couple of leaks that have been repaired and retested. All the elements are now fitted to the locomotive. We have also pressurised the Westinghouse braking system to check that all the brakes and valves function correctly. We love your pixie hat Mike! 28th July 2001
	This is the smoke box showing the new superheater elements fitted. 11th August 2001
	We fitted the spark arrester in the smoke box once all the superheater elements were fitted. 18th August 2001
	On Saturday the 25th of August 2001 we lit a fire in the firebox, and started steam tests. Within four hours we had plenty of steam and began searching for leaks in the pipework. We found quite a few leaks, but these were easily fixed by replacing the washers. The whistle was tested and appears to work well. 25th August 2001
	On this day we kept the steam pressure below 85 PSI. 25th August 2001
	Kevin fitting one the badges to the Wab's water tanks. 1st September 2001
	Click on Picture, Russell Wiseman pulls the whistle for the first time since 1969, Feilding now knows there is a steam engine in town. 1st September 2001
	Click on the picture for the full story.

	This is us all clean at the Society's Christmas party. Since this photo was taken more people have joined us. We will get a new group photo at some stage.
	The spare AB boiler, Click on Picture for more information.

	This is a picture of the Wab back in one piece for the opening of the Feilding Steam Rail Depot. There are a couple of little jobs to do before it will appear on the mainline.
	This is one of the pistons from the engine unit. The piston rods were found too worn and we have decided to get new ones made. 11 May 2002
	We found during test that the rear bogies were not sitting correctly so we needed to straighten out the anchor bracket that is part of linkage to the compensating beam. This is to get the weight distribution correct. 15th June 2002
	This pipe is connected to the Wab water tanks and the water tanker that will often be towed behind the Wab. This will allow the Wab to operate for a longer time before running out of water. 15th June 2002
	This is a view of the cylinders that the main pistons fit into.3rd September 2002

	This shows the new piston rods, the new guide bars and new slipper plates. 3rd November 2002
	This is a view on the main piston rods. The piston is fitted with new rings. 4th November 2002
	The crosshead has been fitted to the new piston.
	This shows the new slipper plates fitted to the new guide bars. This will mean that the majority of the locomotive steam motion gear is brand new. 4th November 2002
	Wab 794 on the turntable in Feilding. 19th November 2002
	We have installed and tested a Locolog Data Recorder, Click on picture for more information. 1st February 2003
	The Wab is over our inspection pit. Mike Barnes is doing the measuring and Mike Prior is doing the recording. On the ground are tyre gauges, these are X (flange thickness), Y (flange depth), V (guttering depth), and the W (sharpness of the flange) 1st Feb 2003
	Here you can see a Z reading in progress. This measures the thickness of the tyre on the wheel. Tyres on trains are made of steel, tyres on cars and trucks are made of rubber. These readings have already been done, but we wanted to do a recheck before the mainline inspection. 1st Feb 2003

	The Wab had got dirty while being run in the yard, so we decided to give it a good clean. The side tanks polished up well with car polish. 1st March 2003
	On the 7th of July 2003 the Wab ventured onto the mainline under its own steam, with DFT 7104 in tow. The Wab made two trips to Palmerston North and was turned each time. This photo is in the Feilding Yard just before the first trip to Palmerston North. 7th July 2003
	The Wab departing Feilding for Palmerston Nth for its mainline test. 7th July 2003
	The first trips were at slow speed 30-40Kph. Then speed and dynamic loads (from the DFT) were gradually increased. The last trip from Palmerston North to Feilding was a stability test and was run at the Wab's maximum speed. This photo was taken at Bunnythrope. 7th July 2003

	One valve cover plate had been cracked when the Wab arrived in Feilding. We cast a new cover plate, and Peter machined it in the Society's Ward Lathe. July 2003
	Mike Barnes fitting the brand new valve cover plate. July 2003
	Click on Photo to see more photos of the boiler work carried out in 2004. October 2004