The distillation of Scotch Whisky has long been an important activity in the Strathspey area, and from the late 19th century to the latter part of the 20th century railways played a vital part in supporting the whisky industry. The Strathspey Railway is fortunate in having two locomotives that played a key part in supporting the Speyside whisky industry.
Two new videos have been uploaded to Youtube. The first shows the initial start-up and moves in the carriage storage shed. The second shows a brief loaded test run behind Aviemore signalbox hauling the LMS Officer's Saloon. There are also links to these videos on the "Queen Anne Videos" page of this blog.
The clutch plates were sent to the company in Cumbernauld for relining. The new linings were riveted on just like the originals.
On return, the linings needed to be skimmed to fit between the steel plates either side that are pushed together to clamp the friction plate. Unfortunately the Ruston manual does not give any details of the correct thickness. However they do give details of a gauge to check that the plate spacing is even all round which suggested the gap should be between 0.810" and 0.840". The gap between the disks is not easy to measure once things are assembled, but the actual gap was less than this - there had obviously been subtle design changes since the manual was written.
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| Slow and Medium Clutches |
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| Relined Fast Gear Clutch in Place |
The clutch plates were carefully set up in a lathe and skimmed. By a bit of trial and error the optimum thickness was determined to be between 0.780" and 0.790". The process of skimming is also useful in minimising the effects of warping of the steel clutch disk - this can and does happen due to overheating when in use. This of course depends on the plate being set up in the lathe chuck to rotate about the same axis as in the gearbox.
Once the clutch assembly was back together the clutches could be turned by hand although some friction drag could be felt because the plates had been skimmed to leave maximum friction plate thickness. Hopefully the clutches will bed in once in use.
Meanwhile the gearbox casing had been cleaned and was ready to receive the refurbished clutch assembly. Fitting was the reverse of removal, again using the forklift to lift the assembly into the cab. After that it was manually lifted into position in the lower casing.
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| Fitting the Strap |
On the Forklift 
Manoeuvring into the Cab 
Clutches Back in Place 
Underside of the Top Cover
With new gaskets made the top cover was lowered into position and bolted up ready to be filled with oil and tested. The clutch adjustment springs for each gear were adjusted so that the "pull" required to engage each gear via the lever was the same, and not excessive.
The Ruston gearbox is a slightly strange arrangement with separate compartments for the main gearbox and the transfer gearbox (which turns the axis of rotation 90 degrees and contains the forward and reverse dog clutches). The two compartments have different oil levels and are not connected, although oil does get through the bearing between them. On Queen Anne's gearbox there are no dipsticks but there is an equalising valve that lets excess oil drain from the main (upper) gearbox to the transfer (lower) gearbox. The lower gearbox has a tap on the side corresponding to the correct level of oil. To get the correct level, you must put too much oil in the main gearbox and then open the tap - when oil stops coming out, the level is correct!
To improve on this, it was decided to make a dipstick for the transfer gearbox. There is no way to place a dipstick on the gearbox casing that is easily accessible, so it was decided to use a Manometer arrangement to locate the dipstick somewhere more convenient. To avoid machining the gearbox casing (which would risk getting metal swarf inside) the drain plug was extended by a "Banjo Union" arrangement which permits a pipe to be fitted to connect with a separate tube for the dipstick. The oil levels in the gearbox and dipstick tube should then be identical. The following pictures explain how this arrangement works.
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| Banjo, Dipstick Tube and Dipstick |
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| Banjo, connecting pipe and Dipstick Tube |
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| The top of the Dipstick Tube |
Although Queen Anne had not run for nearly a year, and the battery had not been charged, it started first time. The loco was in the carriage storage shed between the crane and the LMS Officer's Saloon. There was enough space to run up and down between these two to test the clutches. It was noted that there was some residual drag in neutral which made the forward and reverse gearbox engage with a "clunk". This should improve as the friction plates bed down.
A few weeks later while the crane was out of the shed, Queen Anne was coupled to the Officer's Saloon and driven up and down the siding behind the signal box. All clutches behaved well and taking off in slow gear with the coach attached was effortless.
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| Firing up |
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| Back out in the open |
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| A successful test |
It is intended to do further tests with Queen Anne hauling various loads around the yard at Aviemore and up to the station and back. However this needs to be done out of season on a day when service trains are not running.
A video of these tests will be posted shortly.
Here are some more photographs of the internals of the gearbox.
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| Clutch drum and various bits |
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| Detail of the clutch operating levers |
The fast gear clutch connects the input and output gears (1 to 1 ratio). The friction plate is gripped between a fixed plate that is part of the clutch drum and a moving plate connected to one set of operating levers.
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| The friction disc with its linings |
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| Clamping plates either side |
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| The fast gear friction plate |
The brown discolouration of the fast gear friction plate is probably due to oil staining and not due to overheating.
The slow gear clutch shows signs of overheating on various parts. The spindles that operate the clamping plates are also discoloured at a place where they are adjacent to the slow gear clutch. The blue colouring indicates that at some time the steel has been heated to around 290 degrees centigrade.
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| Slow gear clamping ring |
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| Slow gear friction plate and spindles |
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| The other side of the slow gear friction plate |
Investigations are ongoing regarding replacement of the friction linings. There is a company in Cumbernauld that undertakes this type of work. In fact they have relined a Ruston 48DS gearbox for a group at Prestongrange Mining Museum.
Another group restoring a 48DS at the Chasewater Railway has also given some useful advice.
It has not been decided yet if riveting or bonding of the friction plates is the best solution.
To remove the gear assembly it was first lifted manually using rope and steel bars sufficienty to enable two poles to be inserted underneath and raise it slightly above the casing.
After that, Queen Anne was towed outside to allow removal via the cab entrance using a forklift. Strops were used to attach the assembly as closely as possible to the tine of the forklift. The lower part of the cab entrance is too narrow for the gear assembly to pass through, but it will fit through the upper part. However it needs to be lifted to the full height of the cab.
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| Forklift in position |
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| Strops attached |
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| Have we got enough clearance? |
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| Out it comes - no problem |
The assembly was then lowered onto a sturdy trolley and wheeled to the Clean Room for dismantling.
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| Dismantling started |
A gear puller was required to remove the ball bearing and roller bearing that form the rear bearing assembly. Following that the gears can be slid off and the rear face of the clutch drum unbolted.
The next part to be removed is the clutch friction plate for Slow Gear. On removing the rear face of the clutch drum the friction material was found to have completely disintegrated. The clutch disc should have a ring of friction material on both sides, held in place by brass rivets. In fact both friction rings had deganerated into a fibrous mass. It is amazing that Slow Gear could be made to supply any drive at all.
It seems likely that the locomotive must have been run for some time in Slow Gear with the clutch slipping, causing overheating and breakdown of the friction material.
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| Friction plate showing the rivets which once held the friction material |
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| The remains of the friction material |
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| Clutch rubbing plate |
To engage slow gear the friction plate is squeezed between the moveable rubbing plate (pictured above) and the rear cover of the drum assembly.
A useful description of the operation of this type of gearbox can be found HERE. It contains colour-coded diagrams showing how power is transmitted in each gear. The website is run by the Moseley Railway Trust.
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| Queen Anne being manoeuvred into place |
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| On Road 4 ready to start work |
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| Central floor removed |
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| Jacking system in place |
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| Packed up with wood blocks |
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| Poles inserted underneath the cover |
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| The gearbox mechanism |
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| An oil pot with its solenoid valve |
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| The LH brush. A very cramped location. |
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| RH brush showing the adjustable mounting arm |
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| The new excess fuel lever on the front of the engine |
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| The brass casting and its lug is shown in the circle |
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| Queen Anne and the Class 31 |
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| Class 37 approaching |
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| In the loop at Aviemore Station |
And a video on Youtube :-
Queen Anne also features in some other Youtube videos of the Gala. See the "Queen Anne Videos" page above for links to these.
While many distilleries had sidings connected to the main line, few had their own shunters. One source quotes the Ardgowan distillery on the south bank of the Clyde near Greenock as having its own Barclay 0-4-0ST built in 1894. Several Speyside distilleries bought their own shunting locomotives in the late 1890s – Glenlossie (part of the private rail network at Longmorn) in 1896, Daluaine 1897 and Balmenach 1897. Longmorn Distillery’s first locomotive was a McLaren 2-2-0 “traction engine” locomotive of 1898.
The reason for mentioning these early locomotives is that we are now in possession of two lamps that were originally fitted to Longmorn’s McLaren 2-2-0 of 1898. A man (name unknown) who had previous associations with Longmorn distillery came to the locoshed to donate the lamps in his possession. It is believed that he was given a footplate ride on Queen Anne at the 2022 Strathspey Diesel Gala – thank you very much for your generous donation. The McLaren was in use until 1948 when Queen Anne was bought to replace it.
The lamps are of a style fitted to traction engines as they have one forward facing lens and a second window on one side. They are a right and left-handed pair that were carried on either side of the smokebox. There is a photograph on the Railscot website that shows the discarded McLaren locomotive at Longmorn around 1951 and you can see a lamp bracket on the side of the smokebox.
Note lamp bracket on the smokebox
Click here to view the full image on the Railscot website.
The lamps are made of tinplate by Eli Griffiths of Birmingham. They had been painted latterly in bronze metallic paint and were in moderate condition. After blasting away the paint, one lamp was in very good condition with only minor corrosion, although the tin plating had largely gone. The other had more corrosion and will need repairs with tinplate. The removable paraffin burners inside were also in need of repair. Their butt-soldered joints had obviously caused problems with leakage in the past and the wick holders were missing.
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| The lamps as donated |
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| Maker's plate on oil burner |
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| Restored Lamp |
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| Restored oil burners |
The Strathspey Railway doesn’t really have any safe storage for historic items so the lamps will remain with Queen Anne for now. One possibility is to bolt on temporary lamp brackets on either side of the locomotive at the front. Queen Anne is already the guardian of one historic item – a Highland Green watering can with the legend “HR REDCASTLE” painted on the side. Redcastle was a station on the old Black Isle line to Fortrose. A long time ago this item had been in the collection of a small museum at Boat of Garten, but it was found in the skip. After repairing the spout, it is now used to top up Queen Anne’s radiator.
The oiling system is still not complete. The brush oilers have been obtained and these need to be fitted in place and connected to the oil pots. Brackets have been made and piping obtained.
The oil pots and their solenoid valves have been fitted and wired in so that they dispanse oil when the engine is running.
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| One of the oil pots with solenoid valve |
The four electrical push/pull switches on the control box were fixed in with mild steel fittings. However these had become corroded in the damp atmosphere of the locoshed. It was decided to make new fittings out of stainless steel and these have now replaced the old mild steel ones.
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| The old mild steel fittings |
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| Control box with stainless fittings |
The Ruston 48DS gearbox has a slightly odd lubrication system. There is a valve that is accessible through a hole in the cab floor and operated by a special key. The valve should be closed while running but turned to the open position when the locomotive is not in use. A sign in the form of a brass disc was created using the CNC router at Kingussie High School to do the engraving. The sign reminds the driver to turn the valve clockwise (close) while running and anticlockwise (open) when stopped. Three Terry Clips were screwed to the bulkhead in the cab to hold the special key to operate the valve.
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| The engraved sign |
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| Special operating key |
Hopefully this will remind drivers of the correct procedure to follow.
The “ignition key” for Queen Anne is kept in a key safe in the office at Aviemore along with other diesel loco keys etc. On a whim, the term “queen anne keyring” was searched online and a Queen Anne whisky keyring came up on Ebay. The price was £1.63 with carriage £1.90 + import VAT as it was located in the Netherlands. So the key is now instantly recognisable inside the key safe.
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| Key Ring |
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| Other Memorabilia |
It was noticed around the time of the 2022 Diesel Gala that when using 1st gear to pull away with a load, the corresponding clutch would slip unless the clutch spring was tightened very much more than it should be. 2nd and 3rd gear worked without problems and provided the load is not too heavy, the loco will happily pull away in 2nd gear.
The Ruston design of gearbox fitted to Queen Anne and many narrow-gauge shunters was very successful and is a constant-mesh type that uses separate clutches to engage each gear. The problem with 1st gear is most likely due to the corresponding friction pads being worn down to the rivets.
Dismantling the gearbox is quite straightforward, and fortunately we have the 48DS manual that gives full details of dismantling and servicing. After removing the cab floor the upper gearbox casing is removed and lifted away. It weighs 3 cwt (150 kg) so will probably require some sort of hoist. After that the main gear assembly can simply be lifted out and taken to the bench for servicing.
The 1st and 2nd gear clutches are removed together. The 3rd gear clutch which gives straight-through drive without reduction takes longer to remove. The friction pad thickness can be observed without dismantling and the 3rd gear pads may not be renewed if they have sufficient thickness left. There are a number of companies that replace clutch and brake friction pads on historic vehicles and it is hoped they will be able to refurbish the friction plates at reasonable cost.
The plan is to do this job over the winter.
