Monday 9th October 2023

Just a short update this week after last week’s lengthy blog.

Sam gingerly removes a washout plug from FR 20The boiler of Furness Railway No. 20 was successfully washed out on Friday as part of the process of winterising the locomotive. Sam had previously drained the boiler on Wednesday and loosened the plugs. Removing the bottom drain plug is quite a tricky task if you want to avoid an involuntary shower! The plug is located behind the injector which gets in the way of the rush of water and sprays it liberally in all directions. The photos show Sam gingerly removing the plug and then the aftermath!Sam trying to escape the rush of water from FR 20's boiler

4979's front right coupling rod looking all the better after some attention from Fred's cup wire brushFred gave the newly acquired front right coupling rod for 4979 Wootton Hall a good polishing with his trusty cup wire brush.

5643's cut off superheater element block ends ready to go to TyseleyKeith separated the superheater block ends from the rest of 5643’s elements in readiness to take them to Tyseley for the elements to be renewed.

Elsewhere, there has some tidying up in the shed and some more small finishing jobs tackled in the Great Eastern Railway royal saloon No. 5.