Most of our volunteer's efforts at the start of the year must  necessarily be devoted to the winter maintenance tasks on working locomotives so there is a limit to what we are able to do.  However, our contractors at Roach Engineering are progressing our new drag box.  The photo shows it part machined - it is now finished and awaiting delivery to Toddington  As you can see, its a big chunk of metal!  It will be really good to get this in place on the loco.

As the year progressed, the new rear drag box replaced the old, badly corroded one.  The picture below shows it temporarily fitted to get everything lined up - not as simple as it sounds as the years of service and the wait for restoration have caused varying amounts of corrosion to the frames but eventually we were happy with the fit and drilling of the new casting could commence.

The next photograph shows the first of the hot metal rivets in place.

To ensure there is no movement, the temprary bolts are removed only as each rivet is put in place.  The bolts that are left can only be replaced by rivets when the side pieces of the rear assembly are put in place - but before this happens these pieces need to have some corrosion cut out and a new section welded in - the photo below shows one with the old cut out and the new piece ready to go in - as can be seen it is a substantial section.

To fit in the new drag box, the "step supports" had to be removed to allow access - once removed these were seen to need some remedial work with badly corroded sections cut out and new platework welded in - this formed part of the training for our volunteers on an arc-welding course. We also decided that two of the steps themselves were beyond repair and one had been lost prior to our ownership so three new steps have been manufactured - again part of the training course.

Three trainees, under supervision can be seen fitting in a new section prior to welding. 

As well as the rear drag box, the front one needs replacing - as it takes the whole weight of a train when running tender-first we can't take any risks with corrosion and the component was badly wasted.  The front drag box comes as a "flat-pack" and has to be built up then drilled and riveted.

The picture above shows the bottom section ready for trial fitting - and below, the two sections temporarily bolted in place ready for the many holes to be drilled - both sides where it fits into the frsmes and the fron where the buffer beam will be fixed.

As with the rear, some of the supporting platework has some severe corrosion and we have cut ourt and replaced where necessary -below are two sections showing the wasted pieces

       And below is the new section in place - we did find some "weathered" plate so it does match quitre well! 

We have also made some more progress with the overall rivetting project - the new footplating we have made needs lots of holes drilled to match the existing fixing points.  We have acquired a set of heavy duty, centre point  punches - we choose the right size for the existing holes in the framework (and they are far from all the same size!), quick tap on the punch through the existing hole and mark the new platework then get to work with the mag drill.  In the picture, the pilot holes have been drilled and Roger is about to start on the final size holes.

Now we have the funds (thanks to you, our supporters) for the new smoke box, we are getting quotes for the next stage - this will be the purchase of the door ring and the door itself.  We have bought a new "curve mag drill" which will be invaluable in drilling the many holes both for the door end and for attachment to the boiler in due course. 

In the machine shop at Toddington, our eccentric straps have been completed - a next stage is to have the eccentrics themselves machined. To progress this we have acquired a "dummy axle" that will be used to mount the eccentrics in the machine shop and get them true.  Then will come the application of the bearing surface of white metal - to get ready for this stage we have sourced 50kg of (very expensive) ingots of the metal.  Fortunately, the material machined off can be recycled.

The new rear eccentric straps matched with the existing parts - all the bolts that hold them together had to be made to match.

Metal restoration has played a large part in our work to date - hardly surprising considering the many years in the open since withdrawal in 1963!

The reverser frame is largely in good condition but wioth some localised corrosion where the damp coal dust accumulated under the cab floor - here it is when still attached to the rusting floor

The frame was removed and the rusted section cut out.

A new piece was ordered and then carefully cut to the exact size to match - we cut the corroded sections well back to get a really solid repair.  The edges were then shaped to allow a good weld to made - here we are ready clamped up for the welder.

The end of the year brought the National Lottery Heritage Fund project to a close.  Our evaluation showed that all our objectives had been met and the participant feedback ws very positive with real progress made on training, skill transfer and development.  Much of our project will provide a lasting legacy.