FUNDS RAISED FOR FRAMES OF CHURCHWARD COUNTY OF MONTGOMERY
Supporters of the new GWR ‘County’ 4‑4‑0 have raised sufficient funds to cut its frames, just three months after the project was officially launched. Members of the Churchward County Trust (CCT) ‘Founders Club’ have covered the price of around £4,000 quoted by Tata Steel to cut, shotblast and machine the main frame plates for No. 3840 County of Montgomery. It is hoped that the order can be placed by the middle of the year – although more money is needed to cover the front extension frames, which are expected to be cut from solid steel rather than forged, as per the original Swindon practice. Project leader Gary Boyd‑Hope said: “This will be suitable for a locomotive that will only ever run at 25mph – we have no main line aspirations. We have a ballpark figure for the extension frames and are seeking more definite quotes. “It is likely that we will order the main and extension frames simultaneously. The drawings have been obtained and the CAD design is being worked on. Once this is complete, we’ll be placing the order.” He added: “We are talking to Tyseley about having the frames erected there. It would be appropriate that the 41st ‘County’ comes into being at Tyseley, where the last of the class [No. 3833 County of Somerset, in November 1933] was withdrawn.” Agreement has been reached in principle for No. 3840 to be based at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, but a firm agreement is not expected to be reached until Toddington’s main running shed has been extended, which will follow the construction of new workshop and mess facilities. The Founders Club remains open to cover the cost of the extension frames and their assembly with the main frames: see www. churchwardcounty.org.uk Additional funds are ‘in the bank’ thanks to a benefactor who donated around £8,500 to the Great Western Society specifically for the building of a new ‘County’, and has agreed that this sum can be transferred to the CCT. Smaller components are already being collected, with an original GWR vacuum brake valve acquired from the group restoring No. 6984 Owsden Hall, and Ryan Pope of West Somerset Restoration has made a smokebox step. Another of the group’s aims is to create an online database of GWR spare parts and patterns, titled the ‘Swindon Parts & Patterns Store’, providing a centralised source for Great Western restoration and new‑build projects.