County of Montgomery’s second cylinder cast
THE second cylinder for new-build 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery has been cast by Hargreaves Foundry in Halifax.
Pouring for the second cylinder took place for the 18in by 30in cylinder in mid-April using a sacrificial polystyrene pattern produced by specialist patternmaker Premier Patterns to designs by Churchward Country Trust design engineer Elliot Powick. After cooling and cleaning, the cylinder was inspected for and approved by the trust in late May.
No. 3840’s cylinders are the first GWR type with inside steam pipes to be cast using the polystyrene method. The locomotive’s first cylinder was cast last autumn.
Both will now be taken to Roach Precision Engineering in Brierley Hill and allowed to naturally destress over a period of up to nine months. They will then be machined in tandem with No. 3840’s extension frames, which are already on site in the same works.
The patterns and casting have been financed by the trust’s Cylinders
Club, which was established to raise the necessary £40,000 to cast and machine the cylinders, and which is now halfway towards its target figure.
Trust chairman Gary BoydHope said: “Having both cylinders successfully cast is a fantastic achievement, and our thanks go to everyone who had supported the Cylinders Club so far. We are now tantalising close to having the cylinders fitted to No. 3840’s frames at Tyseley but cannot do so until they have been machined.
“With the locomotive’s boiler soon to move to Tyseley, the coupled wheels currently being machined and all steel work for the running plates, splashers and cab now on order, the prospect of seeing a County 4-4-0 is just around the corner.”
Gary appealed for more supporters to join the Cylinder Club in order to complete the machining stage.
The club aims to attract 40 supporters to each donate £1000, either as a one-off sum or in instalments over up to 40 months.
Members receive incentives that include an invitation to the launch of County of Montgomery and a seat on the locomotive’s first train.
The completed locomotive is expected to join the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway fleet.
Full details of the appeal can be found online at www. churchwardcounty.org.uk or by writing to: The Treasurer, Churchward County Trust Ltd, c/o 4 Green
End Barns, Ramsey Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27 5RH.