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Extension frames ordered for ‘County of Montgomery’

WE are delighted to announce that the order for the front-end extension frames for No. 3840 County of Montgomery has been placed with Roach Precision in Brierley Hill, West Midlands.

In typical Churchward practice, the American-style extension frames will form approximately the front third of No. 3840’s frame assembly, and in due course will carry the locomotive’s cylinders and support the bogie. They will be riveted to the main frame plates (cut in November last year) at a point just behind the bear bogie wheelset.

On the original ‘Counties’ the extension frames were made of forged steel, but thanks to modern CNC manufacturing techniques No. 3840’s will be machined from solid steel at a cost of around £13,000. Roach Precision is no stranger to the manufacture of GWR extension frames, having recently produced a replacement set for Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd’s ‘2884’ 2-8-0 No. 3850, currently under overhaul at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

Gary Boyd-Hope, chairman of the CCT said: “The extension frames represent the last major part of the main frames jigsaw for County of Montgomery, with the exception of the dragbox. Placing the order for them puts us one step closer to having a completed frame assembly for the loco, the erection of which will be carried out at Tyseley Locomotive Works.

“We have already had the main frames and various stretcher plates cut and delivered to Tyseley, and have agreed with the works that it will source and provide the numerous angles and brackets required to turn the myriad plates into a locomotive’s frames. 

“It certainly marks another milestone for the CCT, but it also means that we must step-up our fund-raising and attract more supporters to the project,” Mr Boyd-Hope added. “Having multiple components is one thing, but they will only become a set of frames if we can pay Tyseley to erect them.

“Hopefully this order will show potential supporters, who may have been waiting to see how much progress we made before donating, that we mean business and can deliver a re-created ‘County’ 4-4-0 with the right support.”  

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