Lewin - on the home straight now...

Lewin – on the home straight now…

Below: Dan and Tony have glued up and secured the buffer beams together and onto No.18.

Below: Injectors and associated sandbox and water valve have been completed and now await the fitting of the pipework, which will be installed next week.  The rods pass through tubes in the bunkers, to protect them from coal being tipped into the bunkers when in use.  Note also the grey painted balance pipe to the left of the sandbox and passing underneath the boiler.

Below: An overall view showing latest progress – there are differences since the last similar image…  It is planned to bring the loco back to Beamish in coming weeks, where it will be enclosed in a tent and then the painting, lining and varnishing will be completed.

Note: Anyone who has tried to e-mail me recently may have received a bounce back – we have had an IT failure and it is now unlikely that I will be able to pick up any e-mails until July 23rd.  If you require to contact me urgently or in reply to a message I have sent to you, please do so by telephone.  Sorry for this inconvenience – its incredibly frustrating!