Churchward County forges ahead

New-build No. 3840 County of Montgomery continues to progress on multiple fronts.

THE contract to assemble the driving wheelsets and re-tyre the existing bogie wheelsets for new-build GWR Churchward ‘County’ 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery has been awarded to Riley & Son (E) Ltd, Heywood.

With a completion date of October 2023, the loco’s builder, the Churchward County Trust (CCT) is launching several appeals to raise the funds to meet this target date. Supporters will be invited to sponsor the acquisition of the new driving wheel axles, the driving wheel and bogie tyres, the driving wheel cranks and the assembly of the driving wheelsets via several separate appeals over the coming months.

The CCT has also announced that all the material required to complete the cab, splashers and running plate is now at

Tyseley Locomotive Works

(TLW) where work is expected to begin on assembling these shortly. Agreement has been reached with TLW to commence protective works for the newly arrived No. 4 boiler (ex-‘Barry Ten’ No. 5227) to be used for

No. 3840. This will entail needle gunning the firebox and barrel, removing the boiler slides to assess the condition of the outer firebox and applying a coat of protective paint to the whole of the boiler.

Platework on the tender is so badly corroded that it is fit only for scrap – all re-usable parts will be removed and stored undercover.

CCT director David Bradshaw said: “2023 is going to be another major chapter in the building of No. 3840 County of Montgomery. The Forty Fund for the casting and machining of the driving wheels and the Cylinder Club for the casting and machining of the cylinders are close to meeting their targets with just £3000 and £11000 respectively remaining of the required amounts. We need to continue the momentum we now have by raising the funds for this next stage in the build”

Visit www.churchwardcounty. org.uk for details.