Keith Stevens and his team have been forging ahead with the boiler rebuild for NG10 number 61, here is his latest report with a picture gallery.
“Work is progressing well with the NG10 Locomotive Boiler and it has now all been assembled together apart from the Outer Firebox. There is still a way to go and I anticipate completion around the end of October”.
Riveting the dome to new boiler barrel section
Attention has shifted to the tender bogie where some problems have been experienced. Many parts are not original with some items such as the axle box dust shields shown in the photo actually fabricated from wood. This is believed to have happened when the loco was originally set aside for preservation. Lukas Nel and his team are looking for parts with the original look or will fabricate new ones from the NG10 drawings we have.
The springs on the bogie have been pressure tested and the centre part of the bogie is being assembled. All this work is time consuming but necessary to complete the standard of restoration required.
Following on from our last update, the Bloemfontein team are waiting for some parts for the motion and in the meantime have begun to strip the number two tender bogie for assessment and repairs. A complete overhaul is required as expected as many parts are damaged and all are very badly rusted.
We have been training our oxen over the last year or so and have achieved impressively large spans but during late July we inspanned 24 oxen, a number we believe to be the largest span in the world.
