The Swanage Railway Trust has reported that its target of £25,000 to restore the tender of Adams 4-4-0 T3 Class No. 563 has reached £24,500, just £500 short of its target.

Although the fund-raising for the tender is near its target, there is still some way to go to raise the overall total of £200,000 for both locomotive and tender, for which the Trust still needs to raise another £175,000.

A few extra costs have recently come to light, such as the need for new springs. The Trust has decided to spend more on refurbishing the driving wheels to ensure they are crack free, but they are not revising their target cost.

Because of the complexities in installing the unique design of the inner firebox, it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict accurately the man-hours required.

Once this part of the project has been completed, hopefully by around mid-year, the Trust will re-assess its target costs to complete the locomotive’s restoration.

The locomotive itself is being restored at the Flour Mill in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. Attention is current;y focussed on the boiler, establishing how to fix the crown sling hanger arrangements to the top of the outer firebox. This is very time-consuming, as the holes in the original outer crown wrapper are not symmetrical but in slightly irregular locations.

The new firebox is slightly different in size and shape from the old one, so it is very difficult to establish the correct location for the crown sling hangers, the only fixed point of reference being the firehole door.

Preparations are being made to fix the boiler support brackets onto the outside of the boiler, with the latest estimate for the firebox to be fitted into the boiler with all the stays in place by June.

That will be followed by installation of the smokebox angle ring, ready to fit the tubeplate and re-tubing; the tubeplate will be left off as long as possible to retain easy internal access.

Work has started on cleaning up the brass beading for the splashers. However, although it is planned to paint it in Drummond-era livery, but with the additional splasher beading it won’t be exactly as it was originally.

The reverser screw has also been cleaned up ready for a new die block to be made to reduce the amount of play.

For more information please visit http://www.563locomotivegroup.co.uk/