Spamcan81
Established Member
It's be a long while since I posted on this subject and a lot has happened in the meantime. Work is now almost entirely concentrated at Wansford. Our off site "Top Shed" team pretty much completed its work with the construction of the ashpan and that's now at Wansford awaiting the return of the boiler - due on 26th November. Work on the frames is mostly complete and once the centre rod and valve gear has been installed in the oil bath we will be ready to put the wheels back in place. That day is approaching rapidly. Work on the tender continues apace. The wheels have had a good clean - a tough job that - and are about to receive their first top coat. The overhaul of the brake gear is well advanced too. Some work still to be done inside the water tank so our thinner members will be "volunteering" for that task. Our "Wednesday" gang set a new record for the most number of volunteers on a single day - 19 - and some are now turning up on other days too. Once reassembly starts in earnest we won't be able to absorb that many man hours in one go on the loco but there is still the tender to complete and there's always plenty of jobs in the shed to keep the team occupied. Still a long way to go as reassembling a loco isn't an easy task and no point in rushing it. We do however hope to have the loco back in one piece sometime next year.