Merry Christmas!

 

We love this image so much (thank you Richard Pearson)! All that’s missing is some smoke and steam but that’s been ordered and is on its way.

 

Despite the pandemic it has been a great year that has seen us well on the way to getting the J21 in steam again. A big thank you to all our supporters for getting us where we are; not at the finish line yet but a lot closer thanks to you!

 

Have a great Christmas everyone and stay tuned!

News Update - 22nd December 2020

Feeling boxed in!

 

If a picture paints a thousand words then you’re looking at an entire book here! As the restoration of our unique 1902 North Eastern Railway Bogie Stores Van nears completion a number of lost interior features are starting to reappear.

 

Compare the images from before restoration, during the work and now; it hopefully gives a sense of the thoroughness of this first-class renovation.

 

One task we have completed has been to restore the van back to as close as square a structure as possible with an assortment of props, timber sections and wedges. Having got it square, we needed to keep it square and the initial thought was to install some vertical partitions (see the photo to the left).

 

This work is well in hand and the first section to be completed is the guard's high level seat. Stalwart Alan Headech, one of the dynamos behind the restoration, prepared working drawings from our copies of the surviving general arrangement drawings. Alan has completed the carpentry and joinery with the exceptionally fine results seen in these photos which illustrate the steps and seat at the top. The structure has added considerable rigidity to the whole van.

News Update - 19th December 2020

A Little Light Reading

 

This weekend’s reading is the five bids submitted by various specialist firms looking to install exciting displays within our 1902 Bogie Stores Van No.2.

 

Aside from being appropriate and sympathetic to the restored vehicle, the design brief is that they tell the story of the Van and what it did (something unique to us), the story of the J21, and also of the extensive restoration from near firewood to what will be a first-class job when finished early in the New Year.

 

This is the other main part of the whole J21 project and we have been delighted to watch it all come together!

Stay tuned, more to follow soon including progress on the J21’s tender...

 

News Update - 15th December 2020

We're Getting Tyred Now

 

It’s good to post a picture of the locomotive in one piece to remind ourselves every now and then what it looks like complete. For a while yet we’ll be focusing on the various parts that will one day be used to reassemble our engine after one of the mist thorough restorations in preservation.

 

Among recent invoices was one for new tyres for the driving wheels. As you can see here, the holes from the previously riveted tyres were very close to the wheel edge and so he recommended that the best option to save the wheel castings and ensure the longevity of the castings was to “bung” the old rivet holes. This entails reaming each hole, inserting a steel bung and then riveting it into a countersink and then as part of the tyre fitting process these would be skimmed back.

 

There will a lot of work reaming and then bunging 32 holes on each of the 3 wheelsets due to their very worn nature and age. Just one of the many jobs to tackle during this painstaking overhaul.

 

News Update - 24th July 2020

Fight for Funding begins!

 

This rrived on the door mat today... the latest Steam Railway magazine featuring our appeal for £50,000 to build the new tender, fit a new copper firebox and get the J21 back in steam!

 

Our website details schemes for all levels of support that we need if we are to return this forgotten engine to steam. Things are happening again... more to follow soon!