The Bury Standard 4 Group, which is restoring British Railways Standard Class 4 2-6-4 tank engine No. 80097 and Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46428, has issued its latest progress report.

Standard Class 4 No. 80097

80097 was withdrawn from service in October 2022 after it failed with a blown large boiler tube.

The most recent work on bringing 80097 back into service has concentrated on the provision of satisfactory safety valves and the regulator valve.

Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46428

Following last October’s update on progress with restoring 46428, the latest work has concentrated on the boiler.

After a tremendous struggle, the front tubeplate has been removed from the boiler. The problem was that where the tubeplate meets the inside of the barrel a thin bead of weld had been run in, which was a common occurrence on BR engines towards the end of steam. To provide more room for access a section of the tubeplate was cut out.

The next stage is to invert the boiler and move it inside workshop.

Now that the tube plate has been removed a start has been made on cleaning up the inside of the boiler barrel.

The group has concerns about the condition of the barrel, and non-destructive testing (NDT) couldn’t provide a clear picture due to debris interfering with the detection equipment.

It was initially thought a ‘D’ repair would be required, but after being cleaned it appears to be alright, although the Insurance inspector will make the final decision.

The ‘J’ pipe that takes the saturated steam from the take-off in the steam dome to the inlet of the superheater header has been removed for cleaning and storage.

A start has been made on the restoration of the reverser cross beam.

Fundraising

To help raise funds for the restorations, the group held a Grand Christmas Hamper Raffle Draw, with the winning tickets being drawn on platform 4 at Bolton Street station on 21st December.

The first prize was a £150 Tesco hamper, the second was a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky, the third was a bottle of gin, and the fourth was a bottle of wine.

Other fund raising efforts last year were two draws for cab ride draws on the East Lancashire Railway. Donations from these draws will be made to the ELRPS Crab Restoration Fund.