Engineering notes

By Tony Massau

The photos show the outer firebox taking shape as parts are bolted together.

The slidebars have had the bolt holes in their ends counter bored.

The dust shields for the axleboxes on the pony trucks have been made.

Machining of the cylinder lubrication atomisers is in progress.

Publicity

By Chris Proudfoot

One of our chaps said to me last Monday that he was a bit concerned at the dearth of publicity in the hobby mags in recent months, and, hand on heart, I have to say he's right. There has been no lack of progress on 82045: taking into account the circumstances in which we have found ourselves since March 2020, this has been remarkable though for the most part not of the sort to catch the eye of an editor.

This is all set to change within the next few weeks, as the complex assembly of two different pony trucks* is all but complete, and 82045 is very close to becoming a 2-6-2 for the first time, which should make for some eye-catching photographs, which I will try to match with readable captions. There are now four monthlies on offer with the new magazine Trackside, so let's hope we get a decent spread of publicity.

*there are differences between the front and rear assemblies: the leading pony is the same as that on 80079 and 43106, while the trailing assembly is common to the BR Class 2MT and 3MT 2-6-2 tanks. We have collaborated with the group on the Bluebell Railway who are converting a BR Class 2 mogul to produce no 84030.

82XXX in BR Service

As always when I set a puzzle, readers turn up trumps. Thank you to the three people who identified the location of 82040 (see May updates) as Gloucester Horton Road mpd. Eagle-eyed Ron Head also identified the WR 4-6-0 tucked away in the background as 7022 Hereford Castle, which he tells me was one of the last of the class in service. He identified it by the white-painted smokebox door straps. Well spotted, Ron - I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't even noticed it!

This month's photograph shows two old friends of mine from their Welsh days, nos 82020 and 82021, at Willesden shed in 1965. Allocation records for the class tell me that both were transferred from Machynlleth to Nine Elms in May 1965, so I'm guessing that they were photographed at their final staging post during the long journey south. They appear to be attracting some attention, so perhaps their appearance at Willesden was a 'first' for the class. I've no doubt that my greatly-missed old pal Paul Anderson could have told us, as he would have worked on both locos when he was a fireman at Nine Elms (1963-6).