| Dec 2003 | Boiler Half Double |
| Dec 2003 | 10,000 Visitors to Web site |
| Nov 2003 | 40 Years Since Arriving at Barry |
| Sep 2003 | Boiler Stay Fitting |
| Jun 2003 | Valve Cylinder Lining Fitting |
| Apr 2003 | April Records |
| Mar 2003 | Many areas of Recent Progress |
Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) are pleased to announce that the boiler tube sponsorship scheme now has sponsors for just over half of the boiler tubes. As at the end of November, 98 of the 190 tubes had been sponsored. Small boiler tubes can be sponsored for £40, the larger superheater flues for £175. There are currently special offers on both types of tube. The current total of 98 tubes represents £5,540 raised towards the purchase of boiler tubes.
Recently a display board was made for C.S.P. by two members of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Carriage and Wagon department. The board shows the tubes which have been sponsored, and will be displayed along with a list of sponsors whenever the fund raising stall is in operation.
The tube sponsorship scheme raises funds for the restoration of the boiler, and the boiler fund itself is now also half way to its target. This is a real milestone for the project as the boiler is by far the largest and most expensive piece of the loco still to be completed. The boiler fund is fed not only by the tube sponsorship scheme, but also by the boiler bonds scheme and a proportion of the profits from other fund raising activities.
The boiler currently being restored for G.W.R. 28XX 2-8-0 No. 2807 is boiler number 8270, a standard No. 1 boiler. The boiler was completed at Swindon during September 1942 at a recorded cost of £1,562. Between 1949 and 1951 the boiler was carried by No. 6848 Toddington Grange. The boiler has a total heating area of 2,104 sq ft, made up of :
| Superheater Tubes | 262 sq ft |
| Fire Tubes | 1,686 sq ft |
| Firebox | 154 sq ft |
The Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) web site has just received its 10,000th visitor. The web site, www.GWR2807.co.uk, has evolved over a number of years, and is now a superb source of information about C.S.P., about G.W.R. 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 2807, about the Great Western Railway, and about the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, at whose Toddington base No. 2807 now resides. The web site counter started on 14 April 2002 and so the visitor figure represents the last 19 months.
The web site features history, restoration and news sections, along with a gallery, and data about No. 2807. There is also information about how to become a shareholder in C.S.P., how to join 'Friends of No. 2807' and sponsoring a boiler tube. Visitors can also browse through the mail order shop containing branded items and unusual gifts, nearly all exclusive to C.S.P.
A recent addition is the 'Teddies on Tour' section, which follows two of our C.S.P. teddy bears on their travels. Another is the puzzles page where visitors can play an addictive word search game with 'Great Western', 'Steam Locomotive' and 'G.W.R. No. 2807' themes.
It is now 40 years since the November 1963 arrival of G.W.R. 28XX No. 2807 at Woodham Brothers scrapyard, Barry. A lot has happened in those 40 years
The sale of No. 2807 to Woodham Brothers took place during October 1963, and the locomotive arrived at Barry from Severn Tunnel Junction in Noveber. No. 2807 was the oldest locomotive sold to Woodham Brothers. The locomotive had covered a total of 1,427,687 miles in service with the Great Western Railway and British Railways.
No. 2807 sat in the scrapyard, deteriorating and rusting, for nearly 18 years. Then rescue, as on 19 June 1981 it left Barry and moved to the newly established Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, to become the first steam locomotive at the site. The tender followed on 25 June 1981.
The purchase of No. 2807 was aided by a group of enthusiasts called the Barry Steam Locomotive Action Group (BSLAG). The group was set up to try to save the remaining locomotives at the scrapyard once the more glamorous examples had already departed. BSLAG helped the new company, Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd. (C.S.P.), to reserve the locomotive, raise the necessary funds, and then purchase and transport the locomotive from Barry to Toddington.
The locomotive and tender were stripped to a kit of parts for refurbishment and re-assembly. Both were then sent to Birmingham Railway Museum for some major repairs to the frames. After a shortage of money delayed work, it was decided to return the locomotive and tender to Toddington for restoration by C.S.P. volunteers.
A major re-launch of the project in 1993 succeeded in substantially enlarging the volunteer workforce and increasing the financial security of the company. Restoration milestones were reached in June 1996 when the locomotive was re-wheeled, and 27 June 1999, when the locomotive (minus boiler) and tender were moved for the first time, towed from Toddington to Winchcombe for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Restoration Day event.
More recently, the last major items, the connecting rods, were ordered. These were delivered during May of 2003. Also during 2003 the first new boiler stay was fitted. C.S.P. purchased a C.N.C. lathe specially to manufacture the stays, and up to the end of September seventy new stays had been fitted to the boiler. And new valve cylinder liners were fitted using liquid nitrogen to cool and shrink them. And more exciting news is that the tender is nearing completion and is almost ready for a water test.
It has become clear to the group recently that it is unlikely that No. 2807 will be in steam for its 100th birthday in October 2005. This is a disappointment for all of those involved, but plans are being formulated for a major celebration of 100 years since No. 2807's birth.
The main item remaining for restoration is the boiler. Although C.S.P. are producing and fitting stays, there is much work left to do, some of it highly specialised. C.S.P. are actively investigating innovative ways to move forward with the boiler restoration as quickly as possible.
On the plus side, 2003 has been an excellent year commercially for C.S.P. Riding on the wave of enthusiasm from the G.W.R. re-opening of Cheltenham Racecourse station, and making good use of other opportunities throughout the year, has led to some excellent results which will help progress the restoration of No. 2807 in the coming years.
Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.), owners of G.W.R. steam locomotive No. 2807, are making and fitting around 20 new monal metal boiler stays each working day. Working days are currently held on alternate Saturdays at the Toddington base of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. To date, approximately 70 stays have been fitted. It takes 6 minutes to make a stay on the C.S.P. owned C.N.C. lathe. The programming has taken some months to perfect but now stays can be made with ease. Fitting the stays also takes approximately 6 minutes using pneumatic tools.
A new blower ring has been ordered from the 2857 Group at the Severn Valley Railway. The blower fits below the petticoat and is used to draw the fire when the steam regulator is closed.
The C.S.P. shop has a number of new items ready for the end of season Steam and Vintage Gala at Toddington. The new items include child sized T-Shirt and Sweat Shirt, a wooden jigsaw featuring the C.S.P. teddy bears, and a Tote bag decorated with a print of the locomotive. Chuffy and Chips, the C.S.P. limited edition Cheltenham 2003 bears have sold out but there is a new bear, continuing in the theme of their original Fred and Izzie bears, being launched at the October Gala.
Cotswold Steam Preservations Fund raising group, have, since January 2003, attended 19 fund raising events involving volunteers manning the Sales/Tombola/Bric-a-Brac stall. Events have included Cheltenham Racecourse opening, Bournville Model Railway Exhibition in Birmingham, the Cotswold 150 at Moreton in Marsh Railway Station, and a 60`s music night at Lifford Hall, Broadway. Not to mention events at Toddington Station on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, home of the C.S.P. restoration project, Great Western Railway Steam Locomotive 2807. To date, this year, their efforts have raised an astonishing £9,000. And the Steam and Vintage Gala at the Toddington base of the G.W.R., traditionally the biggest event of the year, is still to come. This year's event will take place over the weekend of October 18-19.
Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) have reached another restoration milestone - the fitting of the valve cylinder liners to Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 2807.
On the morning of 6 June there was a special delivery to No. 2807 at Toddington - a van full of liquid nitrogen.
The liquid nitrogen was to shrink the valve cylinder liners to fit into the valve cylinders. The liners were placed into a drum of liquid nitrogen and left for several minutes to cool and shrink. Then they were carried over to the engine. Special protective gloves were worn to allow the liners to be touched.
The liners were pushed into position and had to be held until they warmed and expanded enough to form a tight fit in the cylinder.
The whole procedure went exceedingly well and all four liners (two per valve cylinder) were fitted in less than two hours. This was due to good preparation and planning, and of course a tiny bit of good luck.
The other news on the restoration front is the delivery of the connecting rod blanks. The blanks will be 'rested' for around six months, and then machined. These were the only outstanding major items missing from the kit of parts to restore No. 2807. With the cylinder valve liners fitted, the valve cylinders are already usable, and the cross heads and other smaller items being worked on, the full motion will soon be back together on the chassis for the first time in twenty years.
In the previous press release, Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) said that April was going to be a busy month. Well, it's proved to be much much busier and eventful than expected. Over the month, takings at the sales stand and money raised by a 60s music night amounted to more than £4,500.
April was of course the month in which the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway opened its new extension to Cheltenham Race Course station. This was a magnificent achievement and was always going to draw the crowds. So C.S.P. have for some time been planning to make the most of this opportunity to boost their own fund raising.
C.S.P. started by deciding to run the sales stand every weekend in April. This is something that hasn't been done recently by C.S.P., normally the stall would only be set up at Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway special events. This required a lot of planning by Stuart Farrimond, C.S.P. Fund Raising Officer, and a lot of hard work from the fund raising team. Stuart commented "The month of April was identified as a key opportunity because of the opening, by H R H Princess Anne, of the Line to Cheltenham Race Course Station. The month also included a Thomas the Tank Engine weekend, the Easter Bank Holidays and a Great Western Steam Weekend." As a result of all of the hard work, the sales stand income for April was nearly £3,500, a C.S.P. record. This compares very favourably with an average of £1,000 for a summer month and is an outstanding start to the sales stand season. Stuart added "The month more than lived up to our expectations as each event brought in funds at an unprecedented rate, so much so that at the start of Sunday on the final weekend, we only needed a sale of £25.43p to reach the grand total of £3,000."
The big sellers were the unique rail chair boot scrapers, teddy bears and OO gauge models. The boot scrapers are manufactured by C.S.P. from redundant rail chairs. The chairs are cleaned, painted in appropriate colours, and then a brush is fixed where the rail would have been. The result is a boot scraper which weighs approximately 20kg and isn't going to move easily! The range of teddy bears includes the two bears that were available last year, with the recent addition of two more which have been commissioned especially to commemorate the opening to Cheltenham. The latter two will only be available this year. The OO gauge models of a G.W.R Toad, allocated as Toddington, and Hornby 28xx model customised as No. 2807 have recently been supplemented by models of 'Powell & Gwinnell, Cheltenham' and 'James Taylor & Co., Toddington' 10 ton coal wagons, i.e. one from each end of the newly extended G.W.R. line. Details of these and all other sales lines can be found on the C.S.P. web site, www.GWR2807.co.uk.
Records of the vinyl variety were to be found at the other big fund raising event of April, the 'Sounds of the 60s' night featuring a live band. The event was organised by Mary Harper, widow of Aubrey Harper, their son Paul, who had the original idea, and other members of the family. Aubrey passed away last October. He was 'our welder' and in particular carried out a lot of the work on the tender for No. 2807. The whole family are great supporters of No. 2807 and they decided to organise the event in aid of C.S.P. The event was held at Lifford Hall, Broadway, which is the next destination for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, north of Toddington. The band, 'Ready Steady Go', includes Paul Harper as lead vocalist. On the last Sunday in April, Mary and Paul handed over a cheque for £1,160 to C.S.P. secretary Gilbert Kitchen. The money will be used to commission a new blast pipe in Aubrey's memory. This will forever be known as the Aubrey Harper Blast Pipe. It is felt to be appropriate as the blast pipe creates the draught that draws on the fire, and Aubrey had a habit of setting light to things while welding.
C.S.P. Publicity Officer Steve Price added "These fund raising achievements form part of a strategy to raise the profile of C.S.P. and to ramp up fund raising and restoration efforts in order to realise our stated target of raising steam on No. 2807 for its 100th birthday in October 2005."
March has been a busy month for Cotswold Steam Preservation, owners of No. 2807. So much so that Project Manager Mark Taft commented "There is so much progress being made it's difficult for me to keep up! It's only a matter of time before 2807 will be steaming again." April is also set to be a busy month.
The first of the new boiler stays is about to be produced on the Cotswold Steam Preservation owned CNC lathe at Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The new stays are being made from monel metal. This is a special tough formulation that is expected to lead to much fewer stay problems once No. 2807 is back in steam. Monel is 2/3 nickel and 1/3 copper along with small quantities of other metals such as iron and manganese. It is resistant to many chemicals, oils and salts as well as superheated steam. Monel retains its strength at high temperatures and does not readily oxidise or corrode.
Once stays are being produced at a good rate, and being fitted to the boiler, C.S.P. can continue removing old stays from the boiler. The removal of old stays has been stopped because of fears that damage may be caused to the boiler if too many stays are removed before any are replaced.
On the tender, the plating in of the top of the water tank is accelerating and it is hoped that in the next few months the tank can be filled with water to test for water-tightness. Once completed, the plan is to hire out the tender to provide funds for the restoration of the locomotive.
The connecting rod blanks, that were ordered towards the end of 2002, are expected to be delivered to Toddington in April. These parts are the last major parts required to return No. 2807 to steam. It is planned to send them for machining towards the end of 2003 ready for fitting in early 2004.
We are also awaiting the return of the crossheads which have been sent away to be white-metalled.
The other item to be tackled soon is the fitting of the valve cylinder liners. This requires the use of liquid nitrogen to shrink the liners, which must then be fitted quickly before they return to ambient temperature and form a very tight fit in the valve cylinders.
On the fund raising front, C.S.P. are one-third of the way to raising the £60,000 needed to return No. 2807 to steam, having raised over £20,000 of the target. The majority of this amount is required to bring the boiler up to standard. Fund raising specific to the boiler includes sponsorship of boiler tubes and a boiler bonds scheme.
Other news of note is that the C.S.P. web site (www.GWR2807.co.uk) has passed 3,000 visitors and is already well on the way to 4,000. The site includes news, history, statistics about No. 2807 and the 2800 class, and our mail order shop.