WHEEL CRACKS PUT WSR ‘4F’ OUT OF ACTION UNTIL NEXT YEAR
LMS ‘4F’ No. 44422 is expected to remain out of service until next year owing to cracks in its wheels. As part of a bottom end overhaul at its West Somerset Railway base, the Fowler 0-6-0’s coupled wheels were sent for tyre turning at Riley & Son (E) Ltd, where the cracks were discovered. All six wheels are affected, although the driving (centre) wheelset is the worst; the trailing wheelset differs from the other two following an exchange in LMS or BR days, and is in better condition. With no pattern in existence for new castings, the cracks will be repaired by welding – but the wheelsets are currently in storage at Riley’s works, as the WSR’s first priority is to complete the overhauls of No. 7828 Odney Manor and ‘Mogul’ No. 9351 this year (see separate story). Owned by the 44422 Locomotive Company, the ‘4F’ is on a 25-year contract to the WSR, which will therefore be footing the bill for repairs – although an appeal for funds through the line’s supporting charity, the WSR Association, may be needed. The price is not yet confirmed, but similar repairs to Thompson ‘B1’ 4-6-0 No. 1264 at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 2016 cost around £80,000. In the meantime, work on the ‘4F’s’ bottom half will continue, with former WSR Chief Mechanical Engineer Andy Forster using Swindon methods to optically align its axlebox horn guides, as was done with resident ‘7F’ 2-8-0 No. 53808 during its 1996-2005 overhaul.