The Railway Museum has released an update on the overhaul of steam locomotive No.60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, which is taking place in York.

Llangollen Railway

A number of items have now been sent to the Llangollen Railway, where the boiler is undergoing its overhaul. The major parts which have been sent were the ashpan and the smokebox door. The Railway Museum has been over to the Llangollen Railway to see the progress on the boiler.

The boiler is still upside down which makes it easier for the ashpan to be lowered on to the foundation ring.

Progress has also been made on the fitting of the rivets, as well as trimming and caulking the plates.

Work is continuing on the caulking and dressing of the rivet heads on the outside of the foundation ring.

Gauge frames for the locomotive have been tested in place and the gauge glass tried during their visit to the Llangollen Railway. This is to ensure the frames line up so the glass tubes are now fouled. All seems to be ok at the time of update.

The regulator stuffing box has been removed, this has allowed the flange face on the boiler to be examined – this is an important joint that is difficult to get to when the locomotive is in service. The face has been fitted to the stuffing box after it was repaired.

One of the main reasons for the visit to the Llangollen Railway was to discuss the final testing of the boiler.

Superheater

It was hoped that the superheater header would be sent to Llangollen on the same transport, but it is yet to be tested at higher pressures, which the group want to complete. During testing, the group had trouble in maintaining pressure above 250psi due to a seal coming out from below a sealing plate. This has been identified as being caused by the plate flexing. New plates have now been obtained and now they have been drilled to fit them. Everything is now ready for it to be resealed and tested again.

Bogies side bearers

Work is also progressing on the locomotive bogie side bearers. The left side has been tacked up. The locating pins were then driven out and the assembly welded on the bench. Whilst that work was going on, the last hole in the right bearer was drilled through. These plates have been taken down and prepared for welding.

Tender

The roof for the corridor tender has seen the last replacement section trimmed and fitted. Work on the water filler space will better here as it is in better condition.

An effort has been put into the descaling and cleaning of the bottom of the tank. The bottom plate forms the bottom of the tank and the foundation of which the tank is built on. This bottom plate is now exposed so can be thickness tested.

Measuring of the tender frames, axleboxes, and wheelsets is ongoing.

Reverser

The reverser stand has been painted with top coat gloss. A coat takes around half a day to apply due to it needing to be done with a small brush.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

All of the new thrusts have now been fitted to the locomotives axleboxes. The first axle box has been put on the horizontal borer at Grosmont MPD (North Yorkshire Moors Railway).

This is excellent news to hear the work progressing on this fine locomotive. We look forward to it returning in the future.

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