More ‘County’ parts cast
First cylinder cast as second set of coupled wheels emerge from the moulds for new-build ‘County’ 4-4-0.
THE project by the Churchward County Trust (CCT) to re-create a GWR ‘County’ class 4-4-0 has reached two significant milestones in recent weeks, seeing the first cylinder cast along with the second pair of coupled wheels. The 18in x 30in cylinder for No. 3840
County of Montgomery was cast at Hargreaves Foundry in Halifax during the late summer using one of the two sacrificial patterns produced by specialist patternmaker, Premier Patterns, to designs by CCT Design Engineer, Elliot Powick.
Process
A period of tense apprehension followed as the casting was allowed to cool, then removed from the mould, cleaned up and finally inspected by Premier Patterns and engineers representing the CCT. The subsequent reports revealed that the casting had been successful, paving the way for the production of the second cylinder. Polystyrene patterns have been successfully employed to cast a number of replacement GWR cylinders in the last few years.