The B17 Steam Locomotive Trust has sent RailAdvent an update on B17 No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham.

Firstly, on the Hornblock Assembly, work has progressed and all six hornblocks are planned for completion in January 2023.

Moving onto the Cannon Axleboxes, machining and manufacturing of the fasteners is now underway at Daniela Works Ltd in Shildon and these should also be completed in January 2023.

The six coupled driving wheels have passed their NDT tests at William Cook Cast Products and have now been accepted.

Next up is the bogies. Forgings for the tyres are at South Devon Railway Engineering, and the roller bearings from Timken are expected to be delivered by March 2023.

Design work of the bogie frame can start once the design of the cylinders have been completed. Quotes for the wheels and their casting have been received from William Cook Cast Products and an order has been placed.

The bogie wheel pattern was loaned to the trust from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which consisted of 10 spokes rather than the 12. After a generous offer from a B17 member to fund a new 12 spoke pattern, the trust compared both designs to identify differences that would mean changes to the roller bearings and bogie frame design.

Ricardo Rail has to approve the bogie frame design before manufacturing can start. Once approval is gained, quotes for the manufacturing of the frame, axle box casting and machining, spaces and fasteners can be obtained.

Quotes for the smokebox, smokebox door and door hinges have been requested from the trust’s proposed supplier and a Smokebox Appeal has been launched.

Design work for the cylinders and motion should be completed by the end of 2022 and the designer can then move onto the bogie design. The cylinder design has focussed on making a fabricated cylinder and saddle to replace the original castings.

If you would like to find out more information on 61673 Spirit of Sandringham, you can do so on their website: https://www.b17steamloco.co.uk/