Engine Fitted To 4415!

Come on down and see for yourselves!  All of this frantic work on the body is of course to enable KS4415 to make a public appearance in Porthmadog during the Welsh Highland Railway 100 event on the 23rd-25th June. Who would have thought that the engine would be fitted before the event? Martin Greenland, Blackburne donkey engine restorer par excellence, that’s who.

A number of the completed components are going on to give a taste of the engineering as well as the appearance of the locomotive. No surprise that the MDB4 is still at Farndon Engineering. The above view shows the cab interior, partially fitted out with the petrol starting engine, starting gear box and radiator. There is a similar view in 15/- Change (which we can flog you out of the back of the cab if you have not already got one).

Now you can play ‘spot the difference’ and complain about the recess on the flywheel and the missing Diesel engine, the front hatch cover is removed in the old view,  no cab handrails in the new…

Ha! Cab handrails now planished (drawing 33362 refers). The one on the right is the replica, turned up by Rob Bishop and all of them have  been planished to within an inch of its life by Rob Collins. They are upside down in the photograph.

This view shows the handrails fitted, together with the cab back and driver seat (both original components).

We have had to let some new steel into the cab back, the majority (coloured red oxide) is original. The angle iron stay stiffens up the back sheet to ensure that overweight drivers do not buckle the sheet, another largely original component with a repair to the top. All of the other angle components are new.

To give the front elevation a bit more character the hatch handles have been recovered from the old hatch and fitted to the replacement.

So, looking more complete than it has done in many a year, 23rd-25th June will see this marvellous Diesel pioneer out and about. Come on over, see the beast, buy the merch!