SPIRIT OF SANDRINGHAM MOVING TO NEW HOME

New-build ‘B17’ No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham has secured a new engineering base, at CTL Seal of Sheffield.

Previously based at the Llangollen Railway, the underconstruction Gresley 4-6-0 was forced to find a new home after the line announced it was shutting down its contract engineering business (SR508), leaving the project without a base and engineering team. It will be the second new-build project at CTL Seal, alongside ‘Clan’ No. 72010 Hengist, which has recently launched an appeal for its boiler (SR509).

The move to CTL Seal later this year will also unite the ‘B17’s’ frames with the pair of original GER/LNER tenders currently stored at the Mid-Norfolk Railway, which the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust was instructed to remove to free up siding space. The tenders are expected to move to Sheffield in mid-September, with No. 61673’s frames to follow in October or November.

To mitigate the relocation costs, the B17SLT has launched Sandy’s Fighting Fund, named after the project’s teddy bear mascot. The move is expected to cost “around £5,000,” said project spokesman John Peat, “if we can piggyback on some other stock moves so there are no empty lorry returns. This depends on certain railways’ plans coming to fruition in the right timescale. It is a critical dependency to keep the cost down.”

Donations can be sent to B17 Steam Locomotive Trust (Sandy's Fighting Fund), Brian Hall, 171 Clifton Road, Shefford, Bedfordshire SG17 5AG, or via bank transfer to the B17SLT (account number: 53357821, sort code: 20-41-12).

● William Cook Cast Products is to cast the hornblocks for Spirit of Sandringham’s driving axles soon.