After many years being moved from pillar to post, the long-awaited restoration of the last ‘standard

Scotland was not exactly a stamping ground for Robert Riddles’ superlative ‘9F’ 2-10-0s. Indeed, none of the original 251 locomotives were ever allocated to Scottish sheds and, of those that did run north of the border, such occasional incursions were mostly made by those based out of Carlisle Kingmoor, which only received its first batch of ‘Spaceships’ as late as 1964. So, when No. 92219 – the penultimate ‘9F’ to be built – moved to Boat of Garten on the Strathspey Railway in May 2023, it made a little bit of history in becoming the first of its class to be officially based at a Scottish shed. But, more significantly, the move also heralded the start of its long-awaited restoration from Barry condition, and the beginning of its eventual return to steam after many years waiting in the wings.

Sunday, 29 December 2024

Cleaning out the boiler.

 

In the week leading up to Christmas, now that the front tube plate has been removed giving easier access, the boiler was cleaned out.  There were many buckets of scale that had to be emptied out.

The view from the front, looking towards the firebox tube plate.  The main steam pipe is prominent, also the longitudinal stays, which still have their nuts attached because a hole was simply cut in the front tube plate to release them.

A close up of the firebox tubeplate.

The view has been taken from the firebox end, looking towards the front.




 

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