31/07/2022
We had a very good session on The Duke on Saturday. Ben Field organised a clearance operation inside the shed, including shunting, so that the forklift could get into position; we had to manage without the cherry picker, which had a completely flat battery, but nevertheless, Mick and John managed to get the girder clamp and chain block into place, and the chimney was in place before lunch. The next jobs will be to centre the chimney over the blastpipe with a piano wire and mark the smokebox for drilling. The prospect of fitting of the saddletank is starting to come over the horizon.
Meanwhile Simon and Andy were wiring up the 8F van body, which will need another good session before it is ready for connection to an external supply. Keith and Tony were preparing repairs the the van body roof and Dan was sanding down the saddletank to prepare for the undercoat.
Other work around the shed included re-fitting the roof panel to the class 73.
