Boiler Overhaul Agreement: Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) in partnership with Ian Riley’s Engineering

CSPL are pleased to announce that after a particularly challenging period for everyone due to COVID lockdowns, via Zoom meetings and many emails, the scope of work to overhaul the Boiler of 2807 has been agreed with Ian Riley’s Engineering Ltd (Riley’s)

This is a huge milestone and will now allow CSPL and Riley’s to move forward and focus on the specific work required to complete the boiler overhaul.

The high-level scope of work has been defined as follows:

·         Replace the front boiler barrel section and smoke box tube plate for new

·         Replace the back head from just below the fire hole door down to the foundation ring

·         Repairs to the foundation ring

·         Work to replace sections of the smoke box and smoke box door plate

·         Complete set of new tubes

·         Various other items to facilitate the above

Brian Gamlin the CSPL Chairman commented:

“ With not being able to visit Ian and his team the process has taken longer than expected, this has been frustrating for all. We are incredibly pleased to have got to this point and reaffirm that we made the correct decision to award this work to Riley’s. My thanks go to Ian, Greg, and Andy from Riley’s and to Gilbert Kitchen the CME for CSPL for their hard work so far”

Comments from The Team at Riley’s:

“Riley's are delighted that CSPL chose to trust us with the boiler work for 2807. The Pandemic has meant that no face-to-face meetings around the boiler have been possible. But CSPL and Riley's have worked together to overcome this, and we are very pleased to have agreed a scope of works and to have the positive support of CSPL that will enable us to start work immediately.”

As we release this information CSPL are planning to restart the HGO on the 31^st March and will work closely with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) over the coming months to get back to an “almost” normal pattern of working. Before lock down the major strip down of the main loco frames was completed. We still have a few little things to do but we can now focus on, and see, the major milestone of putting things back together. We have a long way to go and have been impacted by COVID but the CSPL team are an amazing group of volunteers that will work extremely hard to get 2807 back into steam as soon as possible.

The Board and Directors of Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited. (CSPL)

Posted by Brian Gamlin (Chairman)