A big thank you to everyone who has contributed donations to the project recently. As a result of this great effort the front tank is now receiving some attention. The old repair patches are being cut out and renewed with new steel sections. Some internal baffle plates will also be replaced. When the hot work is completed the whole tank will be sand blasted and prime coated by a specialist contractor. Our onsite spray painter, Peter Reynell, will soon apply some serious top coats of basic black. It has been a few years since Peter first painted 6029 but he assures us that he has not lost his skill in this area. Maybe a bit slower though.
This Sunday the 16th of May is our next workday and the leading bogie and leading engine unit will the top priority tasks. If we realise a good turn up of volunteers for the next few workdays we will soon be fitting both bogies and the front tank to the leading engine unit. WOW!
Ian has almost completed the cladding around the firebox area and he will soon be looking for a new Job. Ian has offered to put his skills to work on the mechanical lubricators, well done Ian. Bruce is also working away at home on the power reverser and Mike & Co are progressing well with the Cab at Eveleigh. He advises that the assembly stage is about to start.
So as you can see we are progressing on several fronts so please make the effort to come along and help get 6029 steaming. Again, if we get good numbers we should see the leading engine unit back together in the next couple of months.
Please note our project supporters are now listed on this page. Particular thanks to Goodwin Alco. Also thanks to Mike for keeping the blog page up to date and our project mascot, Oscar the Border Collie.
Alan Gardner
