Following our visit to HBSS Ltd (boilersmiths of Huyton, Merseyside) we have given them the go-ahead beginning in the new year to assemble the two sections of the barrel and then to fit the new barrel to the reconfigured and restored donor firebox.
This is an excellent step forward and with the work now underway on the smokebox, the locomotive next year really will start to look like the real article.
On the day of the visit to HBSS Ltd, Richard Croucher of The 1014 GWR County Project (left) and Mike Bodsworth, acting Locomotive Manager with prime responsibility for pressure vessels for the GWS, stand either side of the donor firebox from LMS 8F 48518
During our visit to HBSS we also confirmed all the dimensions for the new front tube plate which will enable the completion of the boiler.
