As you saw from my previous blog we took the tank out of 26043 ready to be re-lined for another few years use, as this tank had been removed before we expected it to be in reasonable condition, unfortunately that didn't turn out to be true, the corrosion was just as advanced as the previous tank, removing the tank exposed 1 hole and then the shot blasting process exposed several other, meaning overall the tank was in poor condition, and we had got to it just in time.

Bear in mind no less than several weeks ago 26043 was doing this....

26043 leaving stogumber with the author at the controls....

Here we have several views of the treated tank the rippling in the view is a idea of the extent of the corrosion and the fibreglass paste applied fill it, it had eaten through most of the top skin and was working its way through the second skin, however the holes were in the lower corners of the sides. The paint used here is a 2 part epoxy paint called phenguard, its applied in 3 coats with no less then 3 days but no more than 5 days per coat and in between the tank must be kept at 30+ degrees for the paint cure, the tank must also be scrupulously clean before application so the tank had a thorough shotblasting right to the bare metal. The paint is normally used in ships ballast tanks and should provide a good degree of protection

Before treatment and shotblasting the tank looked like this...

The tank interior after steam cleaning but prior to shotblasting the lighter brown covering is limescale stained by the iron from the engine block, at the base of the tank you can see the extent of the corrosion (yes this tank was galvanised when new)

The tank interior post shotblasting you can see how the corrosion has eaten through the top base skin and has started to work on the skin below, unfortunately welding is not really an option here as it would compromise the structural strength of the tank as during construction the tank starts out as 1 sheet of steel bent in to a U channel while the baffles and ends and top are then seam welded on in addition to this as the exterior of the tank is galvanized and its intact this would make the tank vulnerable to external corrosion in an area that cant be seen and would also make welding quite hazardous as welding galvanized metal gives off many nasty gasses. The corrosion voids will be filled in with a two part fibreglass paste and then painted over with the phenguard.

The "refurbished" with its top coat applied drying in the shed.

The tank being lowered into position in the locomotive, to get to this stage the tank must be lifted through the cab door and then "walked" through the cab and into the radiator compartment before being "guided" over the vacuum exhaster (the top of which can be seen in the foreground) and then lowed into position using an overhead gantry it must line up with 7 holes in the floor 2 storm drains 4 bolts and a1 tank drain and its a very very tight fit.

The tank all bolted down now with the radiator frame (which has been repainted) bolted on top the frame itself weighs about 1/4 ton and must be hoisted in by a gantry as its over 6 feet tall.

Compare the above with the previous pictures....

The elements in place.

Final Job is to fit the repainted cowling but some more work is needed to that.