Class 26’s restoration makes significant progress at Whitrope

WORK ON returning 26040 to service at the Waverley Railway Heritage Association base at Whitrope took a significant step forward on May 7, when the locomotive was re-started for the first time in more than 17 years.

The BR blue Class 26 has been at Whitrope for six years after its restoration was initially carried out on an industrial estate at Methill in eastern Scotland by owners Jeffray Wotherspoon and Alistair Douglas. It was returned to operational use at Methil but has yet to haul a passenger train in preservation. It arrived at Whitrope in March 2016.

After a lengthy period of time without any serious attention, the project to return the Class 26 to operational condition has been started by Iain Fitzpatrick, who began volunteering on the revival of 26040 in February this year. Although he has no previous experience of locomotive restoration, he has a background in engineering and the motorsport industry. Mr Fitzpatrick told Railways Illustrated in mid-may: “Where we are is that 26040 ran for an hour-and-ahalf on May 7, with both compressors building up and holding good air pressure. I’m currently chasing down some small air leaks and re-installing some of the pipework that was removed during the front end bodywork repairs.

“All the major components related to the power unit and brakes have, after investigation, been found to be in a serviceable condition and are currently performing so. My immediate focus is to continue to run through my tests with the aim of having 26040 moving again as soon as possible. “The immediate plan is to try and stride towards having it moving back and forward as soon as we can. When it last ran in 2005, everything did work correctly and it was capable of moving. I’m quietly confident this can be achieved again fairly quickly.

“Of course, the owners are delighted. I’ve their support and autonomy to do as I need in restoring the locomotive.”

The condition of the locomotive is testament to the owners who worked on its initial rebuild after the Class 26 underwent asbestos removal at MC Metals in Glasgow following its sale into preservation. The amount of asbestos contained in the Class 26s and its subsequent removal meant that most of the preserved examples required extensive rebuilds by their new owners after work on its removal had been completed.

Bodywork repairs are still required to 26040, although Mr Fitzpatrick said that generally the bodywork is not in bad condition.