The team is excited to be turning a corner with the mechanical work on 499. We are now bringing a significant number of hitherto hidden treasures out of storage and reinstalling them on the loco, including the massive reverser reach rod and expansion link brackets.
The splashers are all but complete on the left hand (driver’s) side and a start has been made on finalising those on the right.
The brake rigging has also been retrieved. Our first job here has been to bore and fit new bushes to the brake hangers.
Jamie’s labour of love on the plumbing for the steam heat and vacuum brakes is nearing completion, save for the last sections rising vertically into the cab.
As you can see, our attention in recent months has increasingly pivoted back to the loco chassis. We want to make sure we are as ready as possible for it to move into the main workshop when space is available. Once inside, the focus will be on setting up the driving wheel horns and axle boxes. So we are keen to complete as many jobs as possible before the driving wheels and bogie are in the way.
Although the tender tank is taking up less focus, the team has now completed the riveting on the left-hand side and the tender is ready for turning. We are hoping to complete this at the same time that 506’s boiler is lifted back onto its frames. In the meantime, we are continuing building the low level fillers.
Our brand-new boiler appeal to help us fund a new smoke box tube plate for 499’s boiler is now live. We are very pleased to say we have already raised the first £1,000 but have a target of £20k to cover the steel, rivets and labour costs. Replacing the tube plate is work over and above that which we had originally budgeted for the boiler overhaul.
Our team appreciates any support you might give which will be a tremendous help in us out-shopping 499 as soon as possible. The easiest way to donate is via the new Paypal for the appeal.
The boiler repairs for 506 are progressing as well as we could have hoped. The Watercress Line’s contractor having completed some copper welding to star cracking around a couple of stays. The Ropley workshop staff have now tapped the stay holes and will be installing the new stays as soon as they are available.
The chassis has now been re-wheeled and the refresh of the paintwork is complete, ready for the boiler. We are very much looking forward to seeing 506 in early BR livery as 30506. This was the longtime ambition of our late chairman, Mark Pedley.