King
Edward II Project
News
Working on a long term project like this is full of uncertainties, setbacks and unexpected challenges. When your webmaster joined the project in 1999, completion was notionally three years away, and up until now it always has been.
Sections of the project like copying all the pipes from 6000 King George V, were not as straightforward as one would expect. Arriving at Didcot with the copied set, not one of them fitted; each loco had a bespoke set made for it, so we spent two or more years bending the pipes to fit.
We were expecting completion in Summer 2009, but delays in obtaining the boiler flues mean that boiler testing is unlikely until next year. Nevertheless, completion is now genuinely in sight in 2010.
Top Stories
- The boiler stays are all in, and the boiler is in the final stages of painting (black).
- The boiler pipes and flues have all been installed.
- The firebox brick arch segments have been delivered and await installation.
- The crinolines for the cladding have been fitted to the boiler.
- The TPWS is being wired up.
- The ash pan is in the final stages of fabrication and fit.
- The last runs of the mechanical lubricator copper pipework are being installed.
- *The team has received the David Muirhead Award 2008 from the Transport Trust. The certificate was awarded at RAF Hendon by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, on 24th June 2009.*
- The next really big job will be the boiler steam test, which if successful will be followed by the race to get the engine back together and in steam.
Additional Resources
As the workshop is now closed to visitors during working, live work on 6023 can only be viewed from behind the safety barriers. This is to protect members of the public from the various hazards in the workshop from which the volunteers are well protected by proper kit.