Tornado's boiler this morning arrived back at Darlington Locomotive Works following a nine month overhaul at DB Meiningen, Germany. The long journey home began on Friday, around a week after the boiler passed its hydraulic test. The overhauled lubricator and air pump also returned.
Over the coming weeks, the boiler will undergo various preparations, such as dropping the fire grate into position, enabling a steam test to be conducted under the supervision of the boiler inspector.
Once this test has been passed the cladding will then be affixed, and the boiler will move to Locomotive Maintenance Services, Loughborough, to be reunited with the frames. There follows a busy period of finishing the reassembly of the locomotive ready for operations in the spring.
With the cold snap we are experiencing, the boiler will be kept inside between tests, and temperature changes, such as during the steam test, will be gradual to avoid damage. If you were to attend the Works open day this Saturday 17th December, you could see the boiler up close before it is wrapped up in its cladding!
All the time that Tornado remains under overhaul potential earning opportunities are being missed, which means we are more reliant than ever on donations from our supporters. If you are able to make a donation towards the overhaul, every little helps and a lot goes a long way! The Overhaul Club remains open, and one-off donations are very welcome.
If all supporters donated £20 in December, we would enter the new year with an additional £40,000 to go towards our locomotives. Please give what you can.
Click on the images below to enlarge.