The Bluebell Railway has issued an update on the progress to overhaul Southern Railway Q Class 0-6-0 No. 541 formerly British Railways No. 30541.

Since the last progress report was issued in December, a major milestone was reached last week when the 4253 Locomotive Company, based at Rolvenden Locomotive Works in Kent, completed the construction of a new tender tank.

The new tank includes parts that could be salvaged from 541’s old tender, and after final snagging items have been cleared, the new tender tank will be transported to the Bluebell Railway at Sheffield Park later this month.

At Sheffield Park, work is continuing on the tender’s chassis, and the first coats of paint are being applied.
A new pressing that was required to complete work on the front dragbox has been sourced, and sections of 541’s boiler cladding that are present at Sheffield Park are being cleaned and primed.

Leaky Finders in Devon has started fitting patch screws to the lap joints between a new outer wrapper and the existing backhead of the firebox.

New stay holes have all been reamed and de-burred in preparation for them to be tapped.

The new stays are being manufactured by Leaky Finders and are being fitted as necessary along the new plate work.

Work on 541’s chassis has concentrated on tidying up some minor items in preparation for the optical alignment work, which is now well advanced.

Optical alignment is being carried out so that measurements can be taken and the whole chassis aligned before work starts on inserting the frame,