■ Tender-first start to rebuilding the sole-surviving Worsdell J21
THE long road to reconstruction of the now unique LNER Thomas William Worsdell J21 (NER C) 0-6-0 No. 65033 - following the extensive stripping down which began in September 2019 - is now underway at the Locomotive Maintenance Services Ltd (LMSL) works in Loughborough.
The first major item demonstrating tangible progress during 2021 will be the new tender, which is already being assembled.
Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust (LCLT) chairman Toby Watkins said: “Restoring the J21 is an understatement; it’s more accurate to say we’re bringing it back from the dead! “
Progress
“New locomotive frames, new tender frames, new boiler backhead and new firebox wrapper were all uncosted items which have set the project back,” he said. “Despite these shocks, a healthy response to our fundraising efforts has meant that the work will carry on in 2021, but we need to find an extra £40,000 if we are ever to steam it.
“Estimating the work required on a steam locomotive is something you can never properly do without fully stripping it down. It’s akin to carrying out a survey of a historic building by peering through the window.
“To spend nearly £800,000 overhauling an 0-6-0 ‘Simple’ may seem unfathomable, and some of you must be wondering if we’re goldplating the wheels or lighting the fire with paintings from the National Gallery. This a very thorough, oncein-a-lifetime overhaul that will set it up for many years to come. It will be worth it!”
The decision to build up the largely new tender, which has new frames and a new tank but retains all the original fittings, allows LMSL to free up workshop space and create a vehicle which can be easily shunted around, in turn making the creation of a locomotive rolling chassis later this year that much easier.
The tender and driving wheels are being refurbished and fitted with new tyres at South Devon Railway Engineering Ltd (SDRE). When they arrive back at LMSL later in the spring, the chassis will quickly take shape in readiness for the new tank that is being constructed off-site.
Costs
SDRE will also undertake the construction of a new boiler backhead, the original being too wasted thin and cracked to safely repair. Costing more than £20,000, the new boiler backhead is a further unplanned expense that, along with new tender and locomotive frames, has increased the engine’s restoration cost by £140,000 over the original estimate submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2017.
However, the stripdown revealed that the cylinder block is in excellent condition. When cleaned up, it was revealed as being produced as recently as May 16, 1952, and has therefore seen very little actual operating time in the locomotive chassis prior to the J21’s withdrawal. Its excellent state of repair appears