News of Fenchurch's Repair
A view of Fenchurch in the workshop on 29 October.
The boiler was fitted in the frames on 22 October,
following which the new smokebox has been fitted to match up with the new supporting backplate which
had been fitted earlier.
Since then the cladding and tanks have also been fitted.
The weight of the boiler is now carried by a new smokebox backplate which acts in the same way as the
extended front tubeplate of the A1 boiler.
New front sandbox/splashers have been constructed.
One of the pistons has been replaced.
A new mounting plate has been fitted under the cab floor to take the brake cylinder,
replacing the old one which was so corroded that the floor moved when the brake was applied.
The engine's frames are otherwise in excellent condition.
The copper tubes for the dummy condensing pipes have been bent to shape.
We are fortunate to have been given a genuine Terrier chimney cap by Mr R C Riley.
He had been bequeathed the cap by Mr F C Hambleton,
who had acquired it from No 2647 sometime in the 1930s,
when it was stabled at Newhaven alongside Fenchurch.
It has had some minor repairs by a coppersmith who formerly worked in Swindon Works,
and the rest of the chimney is now being made at Sheffield Park.
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Last updated 3 November 2000 by Lewis Nodes.