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Matt, one of Sean Anthony's sons, has got himself involved in a project to fully restore a 3" Burrell Plastow. Over the next few months we will be following his progress with words and pictures

Berrybrook Steam would be pleased to feature similar restorations by other youngsters so do please contact us so that their efforts can be reported on here.

If you would like to see what other young steam enthusiasts are up to have a look at the Steam Apprentice Club website

 

An introduction by Matt of his early engines followed by a more detailed account of the ‘work in progress'.

Hi, I'm Matthew Anthony, I'm 14 and my dad is the boss of Berrybrook Steam.

I started with my Dads 4" Foster which he then sold to be replaced by a 4" Burrell, double crank compound which I learnt to drive on.  Around this time I got my first Mamod (Showmans)  followed closely by a Jensen stationary engine along with a board and accessories  which I put together to include a man cutting wood, a round-about, a man pumping water and a generator. The set also has got a hand pump and runs off gas. I have displayed this set up over the Devon and Cornwall shows but mainly Trevithick Day. In the meantime my dad purchased a 6" double crank compound Showmans Burrell - The General the scale version of the well known scenic General Gough.

As time went by and I became more and more confident with steam so eventually during May 2008 I purchased (off Berrybrook) a nice 3" Aveling & Porter Maxitrak steam engine which required a lot of repair work and decoration until it was a good working, nice looking engine.

We then decided that I should find a Burrell which I did but it was one of the first of its kind. The engine was a 1960 3" Burrell Plastow, and being so old and used, it needed looking at and after a little consideration and thought I decided to take on the engine and restore it to the best of my ability.

 

I started work on Saturday 6 June 2009 and over the weekend I managed to almost completely take the engine to pieces in a quick but methodical way. Once the weekend was out I had only the tender and a few other bits to remove until it was just a bare boiler.

 

 

 

During the last few weeks I have been making steady progress of the 3" Plastow which I am currently restoring.

I have especially made a lot of progress on Saturday 27^th when I finally took the boiler to be cleaned at Berrybrook by putting it in some kind of cleaner and letting it soak.

I took the tender wheels and flywheel to be sandblasted ready for a coat of paint, these are shown in the pictures below.

 

I also got on with some cleaning during which I managed to shine up all of the items in the  other picture shown here. During that day I sent the horn plates away to be remade and I now have the smoke box, which was a mess, ready to be replaced. That day alone I spent 7 hours cleaning and working on the engine which brings the total to 15 hours spent on it to date.

After examining some of the parts I realised that some of the gears on the crankshaft are not holding on very well and the eccentrics are all loose and not very well assembled so this will be attended to soon.

 

Update  12^th August 2009

I am sorry about not writing about how my engine is coming along.

The reason for that is I have working on a "Mamod scale" organ for a competition to do with the Steam Apprentice Club . I have to make this organ in time to be judged at Dorset steam fair so after that my time will be dedicated onto the engine and getting on with cleaning all of the pieces and getting them ready to go back together. I entered the organ to Dorset and won first prize which was an honour due to the high standard of entrys.

I would also like to thank everyone who have given me great support at Torbay rally and also Powderham show with my project.

 

Update 18th August 2009

 

 

 

As you can see I have spent all day today cleaning and taking paint off lots of parts. As I've been cleaning I have been evaluating each part to see if it needs repairs / replacing or just cleaning and painting. I have the wheels and tender back today after being sandblasted (Thanks to Rob Yelland).

 

I plan to do more work during this week and also leading to Dorset.

Talking to our friends John and Steve at Bridport Foundry on our stand at the Dorset steam fair, they have agreed to help me with sponsorship for some of castings for my engine, I would like to thank them very much for this.

 

Further updates on my progress will be posted onto the web site soon

 

4th September

Today I have managed to fit in another days working on my Plastow. I have carried on cleaning up all of the parts including the reverse lever and the chimney.

The more I am doing the more I am finding needs repairing or replacing. I am beginning to wonder whether I have taken on an endless task!

But I am determined to complete it although it may take longer than I first thought as I am back to school soon.

I am off to Dorset tomorrow night armed with money to buy a chimney base and also a gear selector so at least I can look like I am making progress

Update 12th October 2009

I have had the boiler checked by Farncare and they say the boiler is no good and needs to be replaced.

After extensive phone calls and a plea on traction talk, I have now given AJB Engineering the job but we haven't decided between copper or steel which will be down to the price. Steel was chosen. It should be ready Sept 2010.

Also I need a new tender as the old one is beyond repair, the copper is now with me and the tender will be underway shortly with guidance from Mark Bool who works part time for Berrybrook.

Lastly to add insult to injury I've now had to have a new cylinder block cast with heads, these are going to be machined by a top model maker who has had experience in this scale of engine named Bob.

As I am doing this project it is great the amount of people who have volunteered to help out, as without these friends there is no way I would have been able to take this project on.

My next update should be soon when I know more about the boiler.

 

More news added 15th November

I have recently been informed that the boiler plans have been okayed and the making of it is now underway. The cylinder block is also being machined, after us having to return the first one due to a blow hole inside the bore.

I will update you next once the block is ready and there will also be a photo of it ready to be fixed to the boiler when it arrives.

Report added 26th February 2010

I'm still waiting for the boiler to be made so I can start reassembling my engine. Unfortunately I've ground to a halt as I'm waiting for certain components to be made and returned to me for the assembly. I will keep you informed as to when the boiler is to be finished and I start work once again.

 

For now I am helping dad with the General to get it ready for the new season.