Bluebell Railway Atlantic Group
2007 progress

Early 2007

Other photos below show a pair of the main driving wheel castings being moved, the completed brake rigging on the tender, and various fabricated and cast components (including steam brake cylinders and pistons) before, during or after machining.

August 2007

The other photos below show Keith Sturt and Tony Funnell milling out the frames, Fred Bailey taking a turn at milling the mainframes, two views of the special purpose slotter produced for the project, and the main frames being slotted for the horn guides.

We are at present machining the main horns in the main workshop, and have almost finished the bogie horns. One bogie wheel has been machined, but the others will be done once we have made further progress on the main frames. We are planning to start machining the frame stretchers in the very near future.

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September/October 2007

• Mechanical
  • Mainframes machined and erected - see photos below
  • Main frame stretchers fabricated and machining under way
  • Design work on cylinders proceeding apace
  • Patterns being made for casting the tender water filler and the superheater header (the latter will also be adaptable for casting replacement superheater headers for rebuilt Bulleid pacifics)
• Wheel Appeal
  • A generous grant of £30,000 from the Buebell Railway Trust means we should be able to finance the assembly of the driving wheels this winter
  • We need to raise another £7,500 - see wheel sponsorship details
• Open days: Giants of Steam - 20-21 October 2007
  • Atlantic House open
  • Members on hand to answer questions
  • Sales stand
• Christmas Cards
  • The first of a new series of cards by Matthew Cousins
  • Features 32424 Beachy Head in early British Railways malachite Green at Bournemouth, on a Brighton - Bournemouth return working.
  • Cards cost £1 each, or £9 for 10.
  • Postage £1 any quantity
  • Available by post from Matthew Cousins, 1 Sunnycroft Close, Scaynes Hill, RH17 7PT (Cheques payable to 'Bluebell Railway PLC')
    - or from the sales stand at Sheffield Park
  • Also available with 'Best Wishes'
  • Some of the previous designs remain available, at the same price
• 50th Anniversary of Beachy Head's last run
  • April 2008
  • Details available in 2008 as to how we will mark this event
• Sales
  • Our thanks to Mike Wells and his team for their continued good work on the sales stand. Come and see him at 'Giants of Steam'
  • Buy an Atlantic Mug (in blue, black or green)
  • Good books, model railway items and railwayana always needed for the sales stand. No magazines please - items can be left at Atlantic house when open - staff usually working there on Weds, Thurs and Sundays.

Would you like to sponsor a specific part of the locomotive? The latest component list is now available, from which you can choose a wide variety of important parts of the locomotive. You can use the combined Sponsorship and GiftAid form available as a pdf to donate the cost of a specific item.

Main frame stiffeners being rivited (left) and the main frames being lowered from trestles to the floor (right).
(Click on photos for enlargements - photos courtesy Fred Bailey)

Both frames upright on the floor, supported by the pair of gantry cranes (left) and the first frame lifted onto the frame stands (right).

Both frames on stands with temporary stretchers loosely in place (left) and with the stretchers tightened (right).

The frames erected - viewed from the back of the loco (left) and some of the machined frame stretchers ready for fitting (right).

December 2007

Other current news is that work is now set to start on the assembly of the wheelsets, with the full £45,000 required now available. Steel for the crank pins is being obtained. The castings have gone to Rileys for machining, and the tyres will be sourced from South Africa.

The inch-thick steel tubes which will form the heart of the fabricated cylinders have been purchased.

The project open days in October were very successful, with many supporters able to see current progress at first hand, and money continuing to come in - but of course more is always needed.

The erection of the frames back in October has generated a lot of coverage in the railway press, and much favourable reaction and interest in the project.

More recent news updates

• Most recent news.

Older news updates

• Background and early progress
• September 2001: Repairs to tender chassis.
• More photos of the project.
• March 2002: Modification of front end of tender.
• November 2004: Loco Frames ordered.
• December 2004: Bogie frame components arrive - also Feb.2005 news report.
• 2005 - Loco main frames arrive - tender frames nearly completed - start of construction of the shed.
• 2006 - Loco driving wheel castings delivered - drilling of the main frames and hornguides - building of the shed completed.

Project Funding

A fund raising appeal for the estimated £300,000 required to complete the project was launched in 2000, and a combination of gifts made via the Bluebell Railway Trust, and standing orders set up to provide a steady income to the project have now made over a third of the total available. Whilst this has provided funding for the present work, more is going to be needed to complete the project, and the best way in which you can help is by setting up a small, regular, standing order to the Bluebell Railway Trust under Gift Aid, since this enables the Trust to reclaim the basic rate tax you have paid, and (if you are a higher rate tax-payer) enables you to reclaim some tax as well.

A combined Donation, GiftAid and Standing Order form is available as a pdf document.

For further details contact David Jones.

A donation is made to this project when you buy Historical Transport Film videos from Beulah.