Patriot wheels make progress

AN ALTERNATIVE supplier for the new axle material needed for newbuild Patriot 5551 The Unknown Warrior has been found. An 18-month lead time was initially expected from the South African supplier but this has now receded. After the discovery of cracking on one of the driving wheel pans it was decided that the other five driving wheels would be tested. These wheels have yet to be shotblasted before the testing can be carried out. Active liaison with Riley & Son (E) to get this done is ongoing. The left-hand side expansion link has been fitted and the inside expansion link has been removed for assessment. Face-to-face engineering meetings with main contractor The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust have resumed at West Shed, Swanwick, with the easing of restrictions. Heritage Boiler Steam Services has completed the tooling of lateral stays on the boiler, with 1,500 stays. Next will be completion of the slide bars, followed by work on the transverse stays. Leaky Finders, working on the tender frames, will now move on to the brake shaft support brackets, hand brake linkage and support brackets. Visit www.lmspatriot.org.uk for more details.