Engineering update

Formal approval for the construction of 82045’s boiler to traditional design has been received from the relevant authorities. The boiler will be built in the SVR’s Bridgnorth boiler shop although it is anticipated that preparation of some of the more complex shapes may be sub contracted.

The smokebox wrapper spent a few days sitting in the saddle on the chassis before being removed for fitting of the front ring. This now has to be drilled and riveted in place. We have the door and are awaiting arrival of the hinges and various other bits related to the door. Pattern making for the new chimney approaches completion.

The ashpan, now in black, is at the stage of fine tuning of the linkages to the hopper doors.

An order has been placed for casting the rear cylinder covers.

The last few axleboxes are at the stage of machining the serrations in the crowns for keying the whitemetal. Once these are done the next stage will be the whitemetalling. Machining of the spring hangers continues and machining of the keeps for the pony wheel axleboxes is also in progress.

Publicity

Readers of SVR News will know that the latest issue of the magazine contains an article and appeal leaflet aimed at the wider membership of the SVR: it remains our goal to recruit 10% of SVR members to the Trust. It is as yet too early to assess how successful the appeal will be, but Barbara tells me that there is a steady return of leaflets (filled in, I'm happy to say), so let's keep our fingers crossed for a good result. Many thanks as ever to Editor David Williams for being so supportive, also to Nick Ralls for giving us a mention in his General Manager's Notes. The same issue also contained a nice piece about The Eardington Explorer (see below for more details). Further publicity exercises are planned for the remainder of the year. Steam Railway magazine continues to give us excellent publicity, and it was great to see that an article in the latest issue about the South Devon Railway's Works at Buckfastleigh featured 82045 prominently. This was completely unsolicited, which made it doubly pleasing.

Chris spent a day on the SVR in early June taking outdoor-quality Raising The Standard posters to stations up and down the line. These are now starting to appear on platforms, so again let's hope that they will help raise our profile still more on the Railway. Barbara still has a number of these lovely posters, the work of Stockport artist Stephen Millership, for sale (see right), so please let her know if you'd like one. We've had some very encouraging feedback on the poster, including two otherwise reluctant "other halves" who, on seeing it, enthusiastically agreed to its being given wall space rather than banished to the garage!

Fund-raising

As has been said before, this is intimately tied up with Publicity, and it is very gratifying that the profile of 82045 continues to rise in the world of railway preservation in spite of fierce competition. Main emphasis continues to be on the boiler and firebox and, with some very positive news from Tony (see Engineering notes), prospects on this front are looking good. At the time of writing, the boiler appeal is on target and our ultimate goal remains to raise £300,000 by the end of 2016, so there is still some way to go. Other than the boiler, another big item still to be accounted for is the engine's motion (rods, valve gear), and attention is being focused on ensuring that the money is in place when the time comes to start thinking seriously about this.

Special Trains

The 17th April Eardington Explorer was a great success for Bryan Clarke and his little team, raising some £5,000 for the boiler appeal. We held a raffle on board the train, with two prizes on offer: a choice of the beautifully crafted GWR-style headboard or £100 cash. The headboard was won by Rick Jarvis, the cash by Roger Whitehead - who promptly donated it back to the Trust. Thanks, Roger: that was a very generous gesture!

As reported last month, thoughts have turned to the running of a second train next Spring. This one will have a slightly different format, though with Eardington again to be centre-stage. Further details will be published as soon as possible, but in the meantime if you'd like to reserve a ticket (or tickets) please get in touch with Bryan by sending an sae to him at 10A Love Lane, Bridgnorth WV16 4HD, tel 01746 761783, email: bryanclarke44@hotmail.com

Early indications are that this one is going to be a sell-out, too, so it might be a good idea to get in there quickly with your reservation request.