| Oct 2004 | 2004 Fund Raising Income Over £10,000 |
| Oct 2004 | Youngest Supporter Visits Oldest Loco |
| Sep 2004 | 100 Friends |
| Sep 2004 | Restoration Progress |
| Apr 2004 | 'Recollections' |
| Mar 2004 | Safety Valves Save No. 5637 |
The hard work of the Cotswold Steam Preservation Fund Raising Team has brought in income of more than £10,000 to the project to restore Great Western Railway steam locomotive No. 2807 to working order.
This total has been raised by the C.S.P. shop sales stand, bric-a-brac sales and the tombola game. These have been set up at Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (where No. 2807 is based) most Sundays and Wednesdays throughout the season, and at most of the special events held at the railway.
A dedicated band of volunteers have turned out in all weathers to make sure that money continues to flow into the project and allows restoration to proceed at a good pace.
In fact the season finished on a high at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway 'Day out with Thomas' event. This event was very well patronised and many of the visitors tried their luck on the C.S.P. tombola. Indeed so much so that the game ran out of tickets on the Sunday, the second and last day of the event. Luckily this happened just as the game was about to be packed away. This is the first time that the C.S.P. tombola game has run out of tickets. The tickets are held in a rotatable drum, and five tickets are picked out per go. Remarkably the last winning ticket turned out to be in the last five tickets picked out.
"There is still some way to go, but this is a good step in the right direction", commented Stuart Farrimond, Fund Raising Officer for C.S.P.
It was a lucky day for Great Western Railway No. 2807 on Saturday 25th September. The locomotive's youngest supporter, 9 year old Reuben, came to visit.
Reuben is mad about steam trains. He just can't get enough of them. So his Mum and Dad made him a 'Friend of 2807'. The Friends receive four quarterly issues of 2807 News, which keeps them up to date with progress on the loco.
Reuben's Mum and Dad brought him along to Toddington, on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, to visit his favourite steam locomotive, No. 2807. They were greeted by Mary Molesworth, who runs the Friends group. Mary showed them to the entrance to the yard, where Mary's husband Roger took over for the 'tour'.
Reuben was shown the boiler, the frames, and the tender, all currently under restoration. He was helped up onto the tender for a closer look and was able to see the metal sheets for the coal chute and top plating ready to be welded into place.
So 9 year old supporter met 99 year old loco.
The opportunity was taken to show Reuben the running locos currently at Toddington, and also other locos undergoing restoration. Reuben's Dad commented that they look so much bigger when you're at ground level rather than viewing them from the platform.
Mary then treated the whole group to drinks and cakes in the Flag and Whistle tea room.
The family thanked Mary and Roger and Reuben went away equipped with a notebook and whistle that were presented to him by Friends of 2807.
Cotswold Steam Preservation are pleased to announce that they have signed up the 100th member of the 'Friends of 2807' group. The Friends of 2807 is a group of people who want to be part of the restoration of No. 2807. They receive quarterly editions of 2807 News, the C.S.P. magazine, which contains reports on progress in a number of areas including restoration and fund raising, as well as railway-related articles .
The Friends of 2807 group is run by Mary Molesworth, and Mary and her husband Roger visited the 100th member, Phil Hodges, at his home in Sutton Coldfield. Mary presented Phil with a print of No. 2807, by Frererick Lea, to mark the occasion. Mary commented "100 was great, but 200 would be even better!".
"It was particularly exciting to be able to go to Phil's home and present him with his print in person", added Roger.
Phil became a member courtesy of his friend Mick Simmons, who is new friend (of 2807) number 99! It is not unusual for people to be 'gifted' a Friend membership, and it is indeed a novel gift as it brings four editions of 2807 News spaced through the twelve months.
Phil and Mick visited Toddington, on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, and were treated to a guided trip around the yard to see No. 2807 under restoration.
The 100th member is all the more significant as No. 2807 is 100 years old in 2005. No. 2807 is the oldest Swindon built locomotive outside of a museum. In fact, there are only two older G.W.R. Swindon built locomotives still in existence.
There have been some significant steps forward on the restoration on G.W.R. No. 2807 by Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.)
Chassis
The big news on the chassis is the return of the crossheads and pistons. These are very chunky pieces of metal, especially when they have to be moved and manoeuvred by man power alone! The return of these parts is very significant as it allows progress on the locomotive motion.
Boiler
More stay holes in the firebox sides were reamed and tapped and stays were fitted.
Some loose stays in oversized holes were moved to other holes where they fit perfectly. More holes were prepared ready for stay fitting. The total of fitted stays now stands at around 200. Meanwhile pilot holes have been drilled through the old stays at the front of the firebox ready for their removal and replacement with new stays.
Tender
The tender water valves have been fitted and some of the remaining parts located to get them 'plumbed in'. Metal has been cut to form the coal chute and remaining top panels. Although these are now ready to be welded into place, they won't be fitted until the water valves are complete because it restricts access to the valves.
The tender dome has received some attention. The dome fits above the inlet from the water trough scoop and disperses the inflow of water. The dome had some corrosion holes in it and it was decided to remove the bottom 3 inches. A ring will be made up which will be welded on to the bottom of the dome to replace the piece that was removed.
The last of the main stays, which stretch from one side of the tender to the other and hold the opposite sides of the tender in place, has been welded in. Two small stays which fit either side of the coal chute are also in place. The internals of the tank are now completed.
Siphon
The siphon is receiving some much needed care and attention. The doors are being renovated by G.W.R. Carriage and Wagon Dept. and C.S.P. are scraping, rubbing down and re-painting. The siphon sides are also receiving similar treatment.
C.S.P. are considering adding Sunday Restoration Team days to attract new volunteers and speed up the restoration. For further details contact Roger Molesworth or Steve Price.
Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) owned No. 2807 will be 100 years old in 2005. This is very special for C.S.P. because No. 2807 is the oldest locomotive built by the Great Western Railway and now owned privately. The occasion will be celebrated in a number of ways. One of these is to publish a 'Birthday Book' of recollections of the 28XX class, and other steam railway memories.
To help with the cause, C.S.P. want to gather together as many recollections and memories as possible. They are requesting the help of people who can remember the days of steam in the U.K. In particular, memories of the 28XX class, Great Western freight locomotives, freight workings, events, happenings, characters, places, procedures. The set of recollections and memories will become a repository of the past and provide an insight into the life of those who worked on or were in some way connected with the railways, or were customers or interested onlookers.
A questionnaire has been prepared to help people to provide the information that is requested. This can be found on the C.S.P. web site at www.GWR2807.co.uk, or by emailing recollections@GWR2807.co.uk.
The names and county of residence of contributors may be published, but no other personal details will be disclosed to anyone outside of C.S.P.
C.S.P. are also interested in photographs of No. 2807 in service. They already have quite a collection of such photographs, but there must be more. And if anybody has any cine film of the 28XX class or Great Western freight locomotives during their working life then C.S.P. would be very interested to hear from them.
Cotswold Steam Preservation (C.S.P.) are pleased to announce that they have been able to give assistance to the 5637 Group by signing an agreement to loan their safety valves.
The 5637 Group originally bought the valves in 1984 as part of a batch being organised by another railway organisation. A batch of around twelve castings were sent away for machining. During this process, it was found that most of the safety valves had some form of defect. Traditionally Swindon themselves had something like a 60% failure rate for safety valve castings. The 5637 group had their safety valve repaired and it both satisfied the boiler inspector and passed a 300psi hydraulic test. It lasted 5 years in operation.
Then at the end of 2002 it was noticed that there was a steam leak at the side of one of the repairs. It was found that the escaping steam had cut its way through the soft metal and a second repair was sanctioned. During this second repair it was discovered that a large crack had made its way through the casting via two 7/8" BSW threaded holes. These holes secure the spring pillar bars to the casting. The boiler inspector condemned the casting.
The 6695 Group at Swanage lent their safety valves for the whole of 2003 while the second repair was being attempted, but their boiler will be back in steam by June 2004 so their safety valves had to be returned.
This is where Cotswold Steam Preservation came into the story. The 5637 Group contacted C.S.P. and explained their predicament. The result was an agreement to loan 2807's safety valves for a minimum of two years. The safety valves need to be re-calibrated for the lower working pressure of the boiler on 5637, and the 5637 Group have committed to have the valves re-calibrated to 2807's 225 p.s.i. boiler when they are handed back.
Peter Todd of the 5637 Group said "I would like to take this opportunity to thank C.S.P. and its members for their kindness in helping 5637 out in difficult circumstances."
Fred Leach, Chairman of C.S.P., commented "I am very pleased to think that we can help fellow restorers and operators where we can. I look forward to future ways in which C.S.P. and the 5637 Group can benefit each other."