Hello Everyone, we appear to have taken a bit of break with updates again but don’t worry work has still be happening.
31463
The main focus is getting the loco painted and as you can see from the below photos it’s progressing nicely.
Since our last update we’ve moved positions in the shed. This was so we could get scaffolding put up to paint the roof, after some planning and shunting by the GCRN we moved to the middle road, which allows the pit to remain in use and gives us full access to the loco. Thank you to the GCRN for doing this.
The bodysides have received 2 coats of undercoat and all the body side frames and grills are in gloss. At this point the scaffolding arrived and is with us for just over a week. During this time 3 coats of gloss have been applied to the roof. Thank you to our volunteers who took days off work and those who spent extra days at Ruddington to make sure this happened. The scaffolding came down and the the loco received two gloss coats of blue and was rubbed down for a third but the cold set in very quickly so it was decided not to proceed and wait for the warmth to return. Painting of the buffer beams has been completed. The bogies have been cleaned and are in process of being painted. The small body side grills have been refitted to the loco making the loco look more complete. Other components are being painted when the temperature permits.
We have started refitting windows with new seals.
The AVR, which was disconnected while welding was taking place has been reconnected and connections to other electrical systems, which were disconnected during load banking have been reconnected meaning the loco is electrically complete.
The overhauled brake distributor has arrived back with us and has been installed.
The opportunity to have the loco axles uat tested was offered to us, which we accepted and the axles all passed.
D8098
After a period with nothing to report, there was a short burst of activity at the end of November 2025 as the locomotive was shunted out from long-term storage in Loughborough South Carriage Sidings and repositioned on Shed Road 3 for an initial assessment to take place. Under the expert guidance of Nigel Ball, the batteries were charged, the power unit barred over and the auxiliary machines were successfully tested. An immediate lack of funds has prevented any further work for now as efforts are being concentrated on 31463’s planned return to service.
1705
1705 “Sparrowhawk” following an appeal for funds by the owning group last summer, several shareholders have pledged a combined sum of nearly £30,000 which will allow for external contractors to be brought in to undertake work on the power unit with the aim of returning the locomotive to traffic sooner than had previously been thought possible. The owning group is currently in the process of acquiring the spare parts that will be needed by the contractors who will be appointed as soon as those parts have been received. The railway has kindly offered to host the contractors with space at Rothley C&W Works for which the group is most grateful.
