We produce and send a newsletter to members every few months to keep them updated - keep reading to see extracts from the January 2021 newsletter.
We did hope 2021 was going to be better than 2020 but the wretched Covid seems to have other ideas! Of course, the safety and welfare of our volunteers must come first – roll on the vaccinations and (fingers crossed) a return to normality. Once again work had to stop in late December, but we did manage to make some progress even with the short days between the November lockdown and the latest stop
We completed the assembly and painting of the new accommodation bogies – these are now in use under 2807 (the Department’s own set being under 2874) and will be available for many years to come.
We did make a modification on the new set to fit end pieces to the top bar to ensure the loco frames cannot move sideways – the modified top bars are currently in use with the Department’s bogies (we made sure these were interchangeable between old and new sets) and we are fitting end pieces to the set under 2807 – Tony Harris is looking after this task.
Frames
We have continued with removal of wasted metalwork in the cab area – the photo shows just how bad some is. New metal is on site and has been cut to size. Fabrication and fitting is next – there is a combination of riveting and bolting to assemble the framework. This assembly has to be completed before we can continue with the rear buffer beam replacement.
Old Metal
New Sections cut and ready for Fabrication
Our rear frame stretcher is now fixed with some temporary bolts – riveting comes next – this will be completed during a training workshop when we are able to get volunteers back on site. The frame stretcher and its supporting brackets did need some machining as the gauge of steel used in the original construction is no longer available and some shaving was required on oversize pieces
Work continued on the rear buffer beam with removal of more rivets – the image shows Tina, in full protective gear, hard at work with the angle grinder
Steam Fountain
We mentioned in a previous Newsletter that we had ordered a casting of a steam fountain – latest news is that the casting will be poured in early February – hopefully a picture next time.
Ecclesiastical Insurance – a “thank you” to all who nominated us in the latest round of this company’s latest round of grants – 120 charities each received £1000. Unfortunately, we were not lucky this time – but the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Trust was selected. The company is likely to carry out further, similar campaigns and we will try again – look out for our request for nominations (it costs us nothing and we have been successful twice before
The Big Give - Our aim was to raise £4000 in the Big Give Christmas Challenge
Thanks to our supporters we ended the campaign with just under £6,000 when we include the gift Aid – a fantastic result and it ensures we will be able to complete the work on our horns (the site of the work is shown in the photo). We were pleased to see that we gained some new supporters as well as some brilliant contributions from members and friends. We have also gained some valuable experience in this form of fund raising which we hope to put to good use in the future.
Once again – THANK YOU!
And now for something completely different! – A Challenge for everyone
While we can’t do all the activities we should like to at present, we should all still exercise – indeed we do need to keep fit to be in condition when normality returns.
We have set ourselves the challenge of jointly covering 2874 miles. We as many people as possible to join in (and get as much sponsorship as possible to give us a pot of cash to spend on the restoration of 2874.
How will our challenge work? We ask supporters to take ownership of a mileage based on our loco number (28, 74, 87, 287 etc.) and set a target of covering that distance actively (walk, run, jog, cycle) in a target timescale eg. 28 days; 48 days. (also based on our loco’s number. The mileage does not all have to be covered by the “owner” – get friends, partners, children, grandchildren etc. to help – we can improve fitness for many! If you take the dog with you it doubles the mileage; take a partner and the dog as well and it triples. It all counts to your challenge. We will update our website regularly with the progress – i.e challenge miles taken up; sponsorship collected.
For those who are not able to take part actively and can’t recruit family or friends, two of our Trustees would be delighted to be sponsored – both David Holmes and David Foster have set themselves the target of 74 miles in 28 days.
To make the sponsorship easy, we have set up an on-line donations page. Anyone can use this page and it takes care of Gift Aid if that is applicable.
donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/the-2874-covid-19-challenge
To get started simply choose a mileage and time scale. (based on our locos number 2874). Let us know your target (e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone 01643 706943, write to 22 South Park, Minehead TA24 8AL
Please advise us if you are happy for your name to appear on our web site. Update us on progress and please send photos of anything interesting seen on the journey.
Keep Active! Keep Fit! Have Fun!
Get Sponsored!
A sponsorship form can be obtained - contacts as below - for anyone not wishing to use the online system - this should be forwarded on completion, with the amount collected, to the Treasurer at the address below
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. website www.2874trust.org phone 01643 706943
or write to 22 South Park, Minehead, TA24 8AL
Treasurer: The 2874 Trust, c/o John Sampson, Hazlemere, Strensham Road, Upton upon Severn, Worcs, WR8 0PS