What’s Happening To 3801
Why They Abandoned The New Boiler
As many of you will know iconic NSW steam loco 3801 has been the subject of much controversy throughout its life (and afterlife).
According to the Transport Heritage NSW website, it was withdrawn from active service in 1962.
The picture below was taken in 1966 at Leumeah near Campbelltown.
I am not sure about the withdrawal in 1962, as I saw 3801 a few times on regular trains.
3801 was seen at Moss Vale on an up freight when I was on a tour with 3526 and 2705. There is a very nice shot of this on page 129 of “Lenses South”, where she is double heading with 3818. Here is my not so great shot at Moss Vale, taken in March 1967.
You would have to agree that the green used at that time is far more palatable than that of later years!
Anyway after a great fanfare by the NSW treasurer late last 2014, the new boiler returned from Germany only to find it wouldn’t pass muster in Australia.
After considerable lobbying, some funds were set aside to get the Jolly Green Giant working and now they are repairing the original boiler which is expected to be back in service late 2017.
The following is an FAQ taken from the Transport Heritage Website.
Why was the original boiler taken out of service to start with?
The original boiler required major repairs in 2007 which caused locomotive 3801 to be removed from service. At that time, options to both repair the original boiler and to manufacture a new one were considered. It was then decided to seek bids to manufacture a new boiler via an open tender process.Will the original boiler be safe to operate again?
Yes. A team of specialists has thoroughly reviewed the original boiler condition and has developed a scope of work to return the original boiler to full operation at 245psi. This will include ensuring the boiler complies with the relevant safety and certification requirements under Work Health and Safety regulations.Who will be fixing the original boiler?
Transport Heritage NSW will undertake the work required to fix the original boiler employing a mix of paid staff, volunteers and contractors.What work actually needs to be done to fix the original boiler?
Work will include the removal and repair of some parts, the installation of newly manufactured parts, as well as refitting the boiler to the locomotive. New parts will be manufactured in Australia subject to availability of suitable manufacturers and parts.What are the issues with the new boiler constructed in Germany?
There are a number of technical issues with the new boiler which was constructed in Germany which meant that the boiler is not consistent with current Australian Standards and without further work will not meet WorkCover certification to operate as a steam pressure vessel in NSW.What will happen to the new boiler?
The new boiler will remain with Transport Heritage NSW and will undergo further works after the original boiler has been repaired and locomotive 3801 is back in service. Transport Heritage NSW is confident that, over time, the new boiler can become fully operational and can meet Australian Standards.What work needs to be done on the new boiler?
The work on the new boiler involves redesign and manufacture of some of the parts, certification and boiler re-assembly and refitting.Why has so little information about the progress of the new boiler project been released to the public?
Since its arrival in Australia in 2015, the new boiler has been thoroughly inspected by Transport Heritage NSW specialists and its condition carefully documented and analysed. Now that this process is complete, Transport Heritage NSW is now progressing with works.Transport Heritage NSW will provide regular updates on the work program for repairing the original boiler, recommissioning locomotive 3801 and work on the new boiler.
How long will it be until the original boiler is restored?
It is estimated that the original boiler can be restored, installed, tested, and the locomotive recommissioned over a period of approximately two years.When will the mechanical overhaul of 3801 be complete?
This work will be undertaken at the same time as the boiler restoration so all components of the locomotive will be ready once the boiler is ready for refitting.How long will it be until locomotive 3801 is back in service?
Locomotive 3801 is planned to be back in service in the second half of 2017 – however this timeframe is contingent on works proceeding as planned.When will the work on the new boiler be completed?
Work on the new boiler will commence after locomotive 3801 is back in service. It is likely to take over 12 months for the work on the new boiler to be completed after which it will need to undergo the usual rigorous testing and be certified as safe to operate.What are the project stages for returning locomotive 3801 to service?
A Steering Committee comprising representatives from both THNSW and Transport for NSW undertook an assessment of the works required, timeframe and costs for options to get 3801 back into heritage service as quickly, efficiently and reliably as possible.
The Steering Committee reviewed options for both the original boiler and the new boiler, following a thorough inspection and analysis of both boilers by THNSW technical specialists.
The Steering Committee also reviewed technical, component supply, operational reliability risks and mitigations, and formed a view that the boiler works be sequenced in three stages as follows:
Stage 1 – Undertake works on the original boiler
Stage 2 – Reassemble, recommission and reintroduce 3801 for heritage service
Stage 3 – Undertake works to enable certification of the new boiler for use as a spare boiler
Who is now managing the 3801 project?
Locomotive 3801 is owned by the NSW Government. Transport Heritage NSW, a not-for-profit organisation, is now responsible for the project works and recommissioning the locomotive for service as part of the THNSW Heritage Fleet.
THNSW has assembled a Steering Committee that will coordinate works with a mixture of paid employees, volunteers and contractors as appropriate.
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This 3801 overhaul has been a complete and utter cock up from the start. Typical when you have politicians involved though. The new boiler should have been made here in Australia and not on the other side of the world. Sure have an international tender process and then pick a local company. A careful watch on the new boiler construction can easily be made if the boiler was made in Australia. But no. They went for the cheapest option and ended up with a lemon. I don’t blame the Germans. I reckon they got the wrong measurements to begin with as people at “Trainworks” as it was known at the time were sidelined in favour of government appointed consultants. I’ll bet when 3801 returns the people will see hardly anything of her. She’ll have very few mainline runs.
Railway preservation in New South Wales is way back in the dark ages. One only has to visit the UK to see what railway preservation is all about. The state owns very little. A preserved railway owns it’s line, the land, the infrastructure, the carriages, wagons and some of the locos. They have a small paid workforce and hundreds of volunteers. Everyone you see from station staff to guards to the loco crew are all volunteers. Even members of the public can pay to drive steam or diesel locos. They hold events like steam galas, war time weekends, Santa trains, 1960’s weekends Thomas the Tank Engine weekends with Thomas being operational not some static loco like here. They want the business and yes they have a raft of rules and regulations that must be obeyed and they do indeed obey the rules and regulations for they want to stay in business and be operational. They have many volunteers of all ages from the young to the old. They are very keen to get the young involved and keep them involved for they know that the young are the future. Here in Australia it seems to me that if they put a raft of regulations not to mention a semi load of “red tape” in front of organisations then with hope they’ll give up.
Here people can drive a car for the first time on a road under instruction so why can’t a member of the public be allowed to drive and fire a steam loco under instruction and supervision on a little used line. The public can pay for it and it can become an income stream. But no. If it doesn’t suit the politicians and the unions then it can’t happen. It’s never been done before. Everything must be done but nothing must be done for the first time.
I’ve given up on railway preservation in New South Wales as it’s mostly state owned and if your organisation is not affiliated with one of the state owned organisations then you can pretty well forget ever getting a chance to operate. The odds are stacked against you, purposefully. There’s very little money to restore old lines and it takes money, BIG MONEY to restore these lines. Here we’re still in the days of the bucket and spade brigade of weekends. It’ll take and eternity to restore lines by hand. They need machines and huge sums of capital to progress the restoration at a steady pace not the quarter speed snails pace at present. Many lines that groups want to restore will never ever be restored even though they are full of enthusiasm simply because of the amount of money involved and the restrictive regulations put in their way.
Hi Julian, unfortunately much of what you way rings true. They tell us 3801 will run sometime this year, although I wouldn’t hold my breath. I heard David Hill talking earlier this year. He paid for the last overhaul of 38701 and says that the government could use a working 38 to make more than enough money to pay for maintenance. Instead the government continues to regulate preserved lines out of existence. Until we get a rich benefactor like they do in the UK, not much is likely to change.
The good news is that 3526 is running again.
When the federal liberal government took over from labor they had “Operation Sovereign Borders” where they could do as they pleased without telling the public. With 3801 we seem to have had “Operation Sovereign Boiler” and run along the same lines (no pun intended). I know the UK has a much larger population than we have here in Australia but even there, there are many calls on people to donate to this or that. Plus they have a Heritage Lottery fund which dolls out huge amounts of cash to many heritage items including steam locos. We don’t have anything like that here. I’d give money to restore steam locos but once you hand over your money you’re kept at arms length. If I had the chance of a footplate ride once a loco is completed on say the loop line then I’d give good money. But no it isn’t allowed. So I won’t give good money. I’d also want to know what part of a loco my money was going towards restoring. But it’s all “Operation Sovereign Boilers”.
It’s like you next door neighbour asking you to pay for the restoration of his classic car. But once restored you aren’t allowed to drive it. You can only be a passenger and only then under strict supervision.
Julian,
I can understand some of your cynicism, but have you ever been to Chullora to see the work that has been carried out on 3801. There is a paid manager who knows more about steam trains than anyone I know and two other paid employees. They have limited engineering resources that have been donated by individuals or companies. The other work has been done by volunteers. Volunteers ages range from 60+ to 90+, there are doctors to ex railway employees, a good cross section of society.
Work has also been carried out by sub contactors if it can’t be done inhouse. Every system of the engine has been refurbished to the original drawings of which the manager has almost 600. If the engine had been returned to service when the German boiler had returned to Australia approximately 70-80% of the work that has been carried out on the engine would not have done. Parts have been remanufactured that were long past their used by date, and to the original drawings with materials that exceed the original specifications. The next overhaul will require a new smoke box as the present one is near minimum wall thickness because of erosion from heat and hot cinders. As it stands now when the loco hits the tracks it will be the closest to brand new than since 1943. The 1986 overhaul was a patch up job, eg the boiler throat was not properly staid resulting in the boiler operating at 215 PSI.
There seem to be a lot of armchair engineers out there who sit back a criticize but I don’t see too many of them getting to and volunteering some their time to do some of the work or if you have so much money to throw around why don’t you donate some engineering equipment to Chullora, perhaps some sheetmetal stuff to roll and form the external cladding. Did you know that the frame and valve gear have been tested at Chullora and it all worked the first time, I think the volunteers should be applauded not criticized.
John.