The Trust behind the restoration of GWR 28xx No.2874 has presented a winter update covering the work that has been undertaken since last summer.

At Toddington Works on the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway, the locomotive’s boiler has received a non-destructive test highlighting areas needing attention or replacement before the pressure vessel reaches a safe operating standard.

In terms of the firebox, a number of stays near the bottom have been removed to allow for new plate work to be welded in.

The smokebox door ring has been removed while a new one is being made and is nearing completion, ready for installation.

Workers removed the front tube plate from the boiler; a contractor then turned the boiler to allow access to the throat plate and firebox sides for repairs.

The boiler is currently sitting upside down on accommodation bogies, which enables the trust to move the boiler outside when the weather is good.

This affords more space to work around the boiler and firebox, especially when cutting or welding takes place.

This work would not have started without the handsome sum of money which came from The National Heritage Lottery fund.

The work undertaken has allowed heritage engineering skills to be preserved while new volunteers have been given a chance to work on the loco and observe first-hand what assessments, tests, and repairs need to be carried out on a steam locomotive before it can return to steam.

The Trust is also currently working out the provisional final costs of all these repairs, and as such are still raising money to complete the restoration, if anyone wishes to donate to the project they can do so via visiting the 2784 Trust website or their sale stand.