The LMS Patriot Project has sent RailAdvent an update on progress made to construct Patriot 5551 The Unknown Warrior.

A new supplier for the axle material has been found for the locomotive.

Back in Early May, RailAdvent reported that the South African supplier had an extended 18-month lead time on the materials due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, delaying the parts until Autumn 2022, but this has now reduced.

Following on from the cracking on the driving wheel pans being found, it was decided that the five other driving wheels needed to be tested.

These, at the time of writing, still need to be shot blasted before testing can take place, but communications with Riley and Son are ongoing to get this done.

The expansion link for the left-hand side has been fitted successfully to 5551 at West Shed, and the inside expansion link has now been removed for assessment.

Face-to-face meetings have now resumed at West Shed after a number of months thanks to the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Late May saw the latest meeting at West Shed, which focussed on the technical assessment and quality assurance reviews, which have started with The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, the main contractor who is assembling The Unknown Warrior.

The task of tooling the lateral stays on the boiler has been completed by Heritage Boiler Steam Services. This has been progressing steadily since the coronavirus pandemic began, with around 1500 stays completed over that time period.

Next up for completion are the slide bars, followed by work on the transverse stays.

Work on the tender frames for the locomotive, currently being completed at Leaky Finders, has moved on to the brake shaft support brackets, hand brake linkage and support brackets.

If you would like to become a member of the LMS Patriot Project or to donate towards the construction of 5551 The Unknown Warrior, please visit the LMS Patriot Project website.

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