BEHIND THE SCENES | Workshop Working Bee Update
There’s been an enormous amount of work happening behind the scenes at Pichi Richi Railway, with our latest Workshop Working Bee on 8 August 2026 continuing work on W934 and 873.
A huge thank you to Jarrod, who organises our Workshop Working Bees and provided this latest update, and to Ethan, Chris, Glenn, Gus and Mark for their assistance.
With a relatively small team of volunteers taking on a substantial workload, a great deal was achieved.
🚂 W934
• Fitting of L/R pistons to piston rods
• Finish machine and thread cut piston rod nuts
• Drill retaining pin holes in piston nuts and fit pins
• Refit rear L/H cylinder cover
• Remove and remachine damaged thread on regulator rod
• Refit L/H gauge glass assembly
🔧 873
• Continue with conversion back to chopper couplers
• Clean out battery boxes and repair rust
• Clean out loose debris in the engine compartment
• Deep clean locomotive cab
• Profile cut and machine four lugs to attach safety chains, with machining undertaken at Ironbank Works
• Modify exhaust stack to original height to allow fitting through shed doors It’s quite a list — and a great example of just how much skilled, hands-on work our volunteers undertake behind the scenes to maintain, restore and care for our historic railway fleet.
👏 Thank you to Jarrod and all the volunteers involved for generously contributing their time, skills and knowledge. And the work isn’t finished yet!
We still have two more Workshop Working Bees planned over two weekends this month, as work on these projects continues.
We’ll keep taking you behind the scenes and sharing the progress. 🚂🔧
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