The 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust has issued an update on its efforts to build a new locomotive of the Riddles BR 3MT 2‑6‑2 82000 tank class.

After the Trust made progress with the locomotive’s boiler last year, boilersmiths have now completed its main construction.

The Trust has expressed its appreciation for the boilersmiths’ care and attention to detail. They have built a brand new type BR6 boiler. This is the first time that this has been done since the early 1950s.

The next step is for the Trust to engage a company that has portable machining equipment to carry out precision facing of all the pads on the barrel and firebox. This is necessary in order to ensure perfect fitting of all the ancillaries that will be bolted on.

The Trust will then carry out an in-house hydraulic test.

It has ordered steel for the crinoline framework that will support the cladding. It has also engaged a panel beater to make the more complicated shapes of cladding which will be fitted around the corner sections of the Bellaire firebox.

The Trust is also preparing the smokebox for fitting to the boiler barrel. This involves drilling through the rear edge of the smokebox, through the spacer ring. Construction of the hatch on the top of the smokebox, to be used for superheater header lifting purposes, is complete.

Slide bar alignment work is still ongoing. Preparation for whitemetalling is progressing, with the first of the bushes for the coupling rods having been machined. Parts in connection with the valve spindle crossheads are also being machined. The carriage warming reducing valve needs internal parts, and these have now been made.

Finally, the Trust reports that it has carried out more pipe support bracket fabrication related to as taken the vacuum pipework.