THE wheels for No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester have returned to Tyseley Locomotive Works from South Devon Railway Engineering, Buckfastleigh. In mid-December, they were being cleaned ready to receive primer paint prior to being profiled. The rear set of wheels will then be put back into the frames to allow further reassembly to take place.
The core plugs are now fitted to the piston heads and the slide bars connected to the rear cylinder covers. The three sets of piston rings per cylinder are now ready to be fitted into the cylinders with the piston heads being screwed to the piston rod ends. TLW expects to complete the 4-6-2’s overhaul by the end of 2022, despite the problems of Covid-19.