Oliver Cromwell restoration project at the Great Central Railway - Part 2


24/6/06 I visited again today for another working session. I was somewhat surprised to find the right leading wheel still in the state that I left it four weeks ago, so I resumed the scraping where I left off and finished the spokes and rim. I hope that the other five wheels are done before my next visit, but I have my doubts! I was told that progress on Oliver Cromwell should speed up now that another restoration project, on the King Arthur class 'Sir Lamiel' has been completed.


the smokebox is in the process of being separated from the boiler, removing the double row of rivets that were wrongly drilled on the model

the drag frame and rear beam

the rear beam seen from the rear - contrary to what I said under kit 6 on 23/1/06, the large plate is bolted on the rear of the smaller plate - but I think this is an error in the restoration, because I have a book with a photo of 70013 taken in 1967 which clearly shows it the other way round, as on 70000

a set of what I assume are new grate bars, with the old ones in the background, along with some old boiler tubes

the bogie frame, showing the side control springs

the left-hand cylinder, newly machined - I was told that cylinder liners are to be fitted

the front end and saddle

also seen at GCR today - an 8F in steam ...

... and a Prairie tank engine


29/7/06 I visited today for my third working session. I was pleased to see that all six driving wheels had been scraped and primed - they said that after seeing how long it took me to scrape the first wheel, they decided to sandblast the other five! However, they hadn't cleaned out the balance weight pockets before priming the wheels, so I spent the day with another volunteer doing this. It's a messy job and had probably never been done since the locomotive was new. Since my last visit the smokebox has been removed from the boiler, and the front tube plate has been removed and a new one will be fitted. A new front buffer beam has also been fitted, and the frames have had more coats of paint.


the leading wheels, scraped and primed

the inside of the boiler with the front tube plate removed

the new front buffer beam

another view through the left-hand valve cylinder

also seen at GCR today - a BR Standard 4 Tank in steam


2/9/06 I visited again today for my fourth working session. Since my last visit five weeks ago the driving wheels and pony wheels have been painted black, and the inside of the main frames has been painted red, but little else seems to have changed. However, the driving wheels should soon be refitted to the frames. I started cleaning up the shock-absorbing boxes that fit under the main suspension brackets to hold the lower ends of the spring hangers.


the driving wheels, painted black

the pony wheels and axleboxes

the inside of the frames, looking forward from the right-hand centre hornblock - the red paint extends from the rear of the stretcher in front of the front axle to the front of the stretcher behind the rear axle

the frame that supports the steam brake, situated between the driving and trailing axles

the right-hand tender water filter

the spring hanger boxes that I worked on today - the piece in the foreground holds the lower end of the spring hanger, and fits into the box above, with rubber shock-absorbing pads in between

also seen at GCR today - the visiting Merchant Navy class 35030

and the Black 5 45305, a permanent resident at the GCR


Index < Part 1 Part 3 >