The Maunsell Locomotive Society has issued an update on the project to overhau1 Q Class 0-6-0 No.541.

At the Leaky Finders workshop in Devon, good progress has been made on overhauling the boiler and chassis.

Fabrication of the new outer wrapper side sheets has been completed, and work is continuing with reaming the many stay holes, with approximately two-thirds now complete.

A new firehole ring has been drilled and will be ready for fitting after repairs to the inner firebox platework have been completed.

On the chassis, work has concentrated on overhauling and repairing the axle boxes, horn faces and wedges, and new steel plates have been fitted to the horn faces and wedges.

After the axle box crowns were removed, the axle box holes were welded and machined and Magnetic Particle Inspection was used to detect the presence of any surface cracking.

Intensive work on re-riveting the frame stretchers, angles, and bracketry is now 99% complete.

A new replacement tender tank is being fabricated by the 4253 Group, and by the end of October it was approximately 70% complete.

The front of the tank, tool lockers, and shovelling plate are complete and have been painted in protective ‘green’ paint.

Inside the tank, the baffles and bracing are both original and new and have been welded/riveted in place. Fabrication of the tank’s rear section is complete and ready for fitting.

Much of the original beading on the top edges of the tank has been repaired ready for reuse and fitting when needed.

Workshop staff and volunteers at Sheffield Park are in the process of fitting new drag boxes to the tender frames, with the front drag box fabricated and bolted in place ready for riveting. They are also progressing well with other repairs to the tender chassis.

The tender and loco brake rigging has been cleaned and painted by Maunsell Locomotive Society volunteers ready for it to be re-bushed, the outside of the tender frames has been de-greased, and the inside face of the cladding dome cover has been cleaned and painted.

Funding towards the cost of overhauling the tender and provision of a new tender tank is coming from the Maunsell Locomotive Society, which has set a target of £40,000 for its Q Class 541 Overhaul appeal.

The Bluebell Railway considers the Q to be an ideal project for the line, as it is an ideal size, economical to operate, fits in well with the railway’s ‘Southern’ image, and hauled trains in the area during British Railways days.