Help County of Montgomery parts move to Tyseley

THE Churchward County Trust (CCT), which is constructing new-build GWR 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery is appealing for well-wishers to assist with the £6000 cost of moving the boiler and tender chassis from Didcot Railway Centre to Tyseley Locomotive Works (TLW) in the coming weeks. It is hoped to carry out the movement sometime in June – the aim being to tie it in with the arrival of the boiler for No. 1014 County of Glamorgan to Didcot, enabling low loader costs to be shared. By mid-May, preparations to relocate donor locomotive, former ‘Barry Ten’ GWR 2-8-0T No. 5227 were complete. It was planned to lift the boiler in late May after the loco’s move into the workshop at Didcot Railway Centre. Meanwhile, the four coupled wheels for No. 3840 have gone for finish machining at Boro Foundry, Stourbridge, and most of the components required to construct the running plates, splashers and cab have been ordered. Four GW1 (Matthews) buffer stocks have been cast by the Severn Valley Railway. TLW staff plan to start assembly during July. Both cylinders have been cast – the second of which was due to be inspected in mid-May. If that is successful, both will be taken to Roach Precision, Brierley Hill to naturally de-stress for six months, after which they will be machined in tandem with the extension frames, which are already at Roach. Once the boiler is at Tyseley, CCT will appoint an insurer/ inspector to enable the extent of the work required to be confirmed. Donations can be made online at www.gofundme. com/f/moving-3840s-boilerand-tender-to-tyseley – or by cheque payable to the Churchward County Trust and posted to CCT, 4 Green End Barns, Ramsey Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 5RH.