News, 21 March 2025

We have acquired a set of batteries this week. Loco 55019 - owned by the Deltic Preservation Society - has had its batteries replaced and we have been the beneficiary of the DPS who have kindly donated the old set ex-no.19. These ARE NOT intended for our loco use but instead will allow us to test various auxiliary machines. The batteries are nominally 110vDC and whilst we have a charger and a 110vDC power supply neither can provide the current needed to start some of the bigger machines. Even though they are no longer up to the job of reliably starting a loco, these batteries will be more than capable of providing enough current to run machines on test and we are very grateful to the DPS for this gift.

Thank you.

The last of the heating and pressure testing has been completed this week. The engine was heated once again to around 50 degrees C and then pressure tested to show any leaks - internal or external. None have been found and so we are fairly confident that such things as cylinder liner seals and injector pocket seals are all good. The engine has now been filled with 30% anti-freeze and will stay like that until we are ready to start coupling up external pipework.

We've finally been able to turn over the radiator fan housing. This has allowed all the old paint and remaining dirt to be removed and replaced with primer and undercoat - the sequences below show the results of two days work.