Whistle internals

[smr779]

I have recently purchased an LNER standard whistle, of the type with a shut off valve integral with the whistle. Some people refer to these as B1 whistles. I would like to restore this to working order, however, there are two issues:
1) The valve does not seat properly, and
2) The shut of valve has seized.
Does anyone have any hints or tips as to how I can sort this out. Copious quantities of WD40 have failed to release the shut off valve.
Thanks for any help you can give,
Peter

[61962]

Peter,

Not a lot of fitters on this forum then!

My old fella used to say 'when all else fails apply heat'

I think you should dismantle the whistle as far as you can without doing any damage of course. Use spanners that fit well and don't use a vice or a hammer.

My first attempt would be to immerse it in boiling water until it's thoroughly hot and then let it cool. That might just do the trick and break any scale that's making the valve stick.

If that's no good then it needs to be hotter. If you have a gas torch warm it up and let it cool. You might have to do this more than once but eventually it will release. Black heat - brass softens if you get it red. A bit of expansion and contraction works wonders. Once you get some movement it will be possible to dismantle it and then you can clean up the valve faces and try it again. You may have to regrind the faces or have them re-machined if they are too badly scored.

Then once it's re-assembled and working you can get the Brasso out to shine it up again.

Hope that's helpful. Let me know how you get on.

Eddie

[smr779]

Eddie,

Thanks, that's very helpful. Your father has the same advice as my boiler inspector always uses, and I think they're right. But first, as you say, I need right-sized spanners to do the job. I have a 1.25" and 1.625" A/F spanner but currently 1.5" (for the valve cap nut) is proving a bit of a challenge. I have a 38mm socket (which fits nicely) but I think this may damage the brass so I'm not going to try that.

I'll let you know how it goes - the work isn't that hard, getting it apart could well be . . . .

Thanks again,

Peter

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!
I know nothing about the "nuts and bolts" of boilers but a bit about tools.

For tools, try a decent motor factor. There are quite a few American cars around using AF size spanners or even pre-Metric Brits out there.

Most motor factors stock good quality tools for the accomplished DIYer. Please don't be tempted by "Budget" spanners. They're rather brittle.....

[Coboman]

If you use sockets, do not use dual hex ones. Only use single hex and that will minimise any damage it might do. Getting it nice and hot should help no end!

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

If you do use a double hex, make sure its a good one that drives on the flats, not the points. Since buying a Snap-On set some 10 years ago, I've never rounded a nut off since. Snapped one or two, mind! The bolts, not the sockets....

[twa_dogs]

ummmm might be a bit rough-4rsed but give it a good soak in diesel. I've used a tank of scrap diesel to free off both seized mixed metal automotive parts and ferrous signalling components - in the latter a week in diesel freed off components that colleagues had said were not saveable.

[smr779]

In the end, I decided to remove the valve/mounting flange to leave the whistle. This came apart after application of heat via the oven. After straightening out the bell and generally cleaning it up, it now sits on my 7.25" gauge single fairlie