Restoration project on track for historic railway engine

A new cylinder block has been fitted to the National Trust's London and North Western Railway Company's (LNWR) Coal Tank No.1054 by members of the Bahamas Locomotive Society.

The block was lowered into the engine frames after the casting was delivered to the society's Ingrow Loco workshop on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

The new cylinder block was manufactured based on a Crewe drawing, dated 1888, obtained from the Search Engine archive at the National Railway Museum at York.

The society's engineering manager Steve Allsop said: "It's been an interesting project, and not just having the job done, but also meeting the various people involved to achieve the result. It is both remarkable and pleasing that such work can still be achieved in the UK."

Following the installation of the cylinder block, the boiler was lowered into place for trial fitting.

The 1921 LNWR boiler has been the subject of extensive repairs at the Ingrow workshop.

The LNWR Coal Tank was completed at the LNWR's Crewe Works in 1888.

Withdrawn from service in 1939 the engine was returned to traffic following the outbreak of the Second World War and finally withdrawn in 1959.

Saved by a group of enthusiasts, it was the first steam locomotive to be preserved in the UK by public subscription.

The engine was later presented to the National Trust and since 1973, it has been in the care of the Bahamas Locomotive Society.