Blue Peter enters next phase of long-running overhaul
THE long-running overhaul of LNER A2 4-6-2 A2 No. 60532 Blue Peter has now reached the stage where many newlymanufactured components are being assembled and fitted.
Locomotive Services Group, which is undertaking the work at Crewe on behalf of Jeremy Hosking and the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, highlighted that “progress of an overhaul of this nature can appear to be quite slow”, citing the need to manufacture, repair, and machine various small parts, but added that “we are moving into the visual production stage where all of the fiddly little jobs to get a kit of parts together suddenly get reassembled.”
The horn guides have had cracks repaired and are now fitted into the frames (which have been aligned ready to fit the axle boxes) with new bolts made on the firm’s CNC lathe.
The middle cylinder had significant cracking and was replaced with a new casting; all three cylinders are now mounted and secured on the frames, with valve and cylinder liners all being renewed. The valve gear has been overhauled, which has included new valve heads and spindles, and valve crossheads metaled and machined to fit the aligned valve guides.
The front bogie centre casting was found to be beyond repair, so a replacement has been cast and machined. Smaller components had all been manufactured and were ready for reassembly once the new casting had been received.
New buffers, draw hooks and shackles have also been produced. All new tyres have been fitted across all axles, with the main driver receiving new crank pins. One-piece pistons have been forged and are currently being machined; once received at Crewe, the crossheads, which have been white metaled, can then be machined.
The Melesco multiple valve regulator has been weld repaired and awaits machining. A new set of valves are currently stored ready to fit to this.
A new tender tank has also been fabricated and is now fitted to the tender frames.
No set date has yet been given for Blue Peter’s return to steam.
The 1948-built locomotive was bought from BR by Geoff Drury in 1968 and became the focus of a campaign by BBC TV’s children’s programme Blue Peter for its restoration. First moved to the former Dinting Railway Centre, it was later placed in the charge of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group and underwent running-in on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway before getting its main line certificate in 1992.
On October 1, 1994, during the first run of a preserved steam locomotive from Edinburgh to Newcastle, No. 60532 suffered a catastrophic uncontrolled wheelslip that led to extensive cylinder and motion damage.
This led to 18 months of repairs before it returned to the main line in November 1996.
Its boiler certificate expired at the end of 2002.