Brake gear now being fitted to new G5
FURTHER progress has been made with the Class G5 Locomotive Company’s project to build a new NER William Worsdell Class O (LNER G5) 0-4-4T, No. 1759.
Due to the success of its Put The Brakes On fund, the company has bought the components for the brake gear – hangers, shafts, rods, shaft cranks, lever, turnbuckles, hanger carriers, and pins. They are now at various stages of painting and fitting.
The two rear sandboxes have been fabricated and they are also at the company’s unit in Hackworth Industrial Park, Shildon, ready for viewing at its open days held between 10am and 1pm on the first Saturday of each month.
Furthermore, Boro Foundry has recast the replacement wheel for the trailing wheelset and the testing process is ongoing.
Moving towards the goal of a rolling chassis, the spring hangers have been fitted on the frame.
The company has forging and machining drawings for the connecting rods and is awaiting responses for quotations from suppliers. Its design contractors have almost completed the final drawings for the two water tanks and a new appeal is due to be launched to fund their fabrication.
As the company is building an engine that ran on the successor to the Stockton & Darlington Railway, it will be an active contributor to the S&DR 200 celebrations in Shildon in 2025.
Once completed, it is intended to use the G5 on heritage railways but later on the main line too.
➜ If you would like to support the project, visit www.g5locomotiveltd. co.uk or the company’s Facebook page – Class G5 Locomotive Company Ltd.