Bill and Iain putting a jack under the J27's frames. The frames of the J72, waiting for the boiler, are at the other end of the shed.
Removing paint and scale with a comressed air driven needle gun.
Neal and Terry in a technical discussion, or sharing a joke.
Some of the equipment which can be used by volunteers with the necessary skills.
One of NELPG's volunteers working on the lathe.
Neal examining the metal surface of the frames after die pen crack testing has been done.
Darrin working on hornstay bolts.
A horn stay bolt is being replaced by reaming out the hole, making a new bolt, machining it to fit then hammering it home.
The J27 frames inside Hopetown Carriage Works. This is a listed building.
This little corner is used for educational purposes. The workshop is opened for visitors on alternate Saturday mornings and this area is used for the introductions (after a bit of a tidy up!)
An educational item, for volunteers as well as visitors, a general arrangement drawing of the J72, at present under overhaul in this shed.
Fred and Chris holding another planning meeting under and around the J27 frames.
Ignoring the activity by Neil and Ian, or lack of it on Jason's part, this shot shows the length of the shed and just to the other side of the loco, the amenety block that the group built inside it.
Our joiners are refurbishing the wooden roof of the J27 cab.
Norman, seen here working on some copper pipe, used to be a pattern maker in the nearby Darlington North Road Works (now a Morrissons supermarket. The windows of the building cannot be repaired until all the legalities of the listing are sorted. Meanwhile they are boarded up. At least they keep the undesireables out.
Here one of the hornstays can be seen and it looks as though three bolts are OK and one is not.
There should be a cylinder block in here. The original was beyond repair and a new one is being cast and machined, at considerable expense. Needless to say the fabrication is being undertaken by contractors but volunteers took the old one out and will put the new one in.
The J27 wheelsets. The axles have been ultrasonically tested and are OK. The crankpins need skimming and the tyres need turning. Believe it or not the most suitable place for doing both these operations on one site, is in Northern Ireland at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland workshops.
Our milling machine in use by a qualified volunteer. He is making a set of valve extracting gear, so that we do not have to borrow one.
Our Lathe.
The work bench, on which the pillar drill stands, was fabricated by one of our volunteers, who is a welder.
Brian admiring some of his handiwork with a brush. The parts of a tank loco well out of public gaze.
The J72 cab roof in undercoat, waiting final assembly and and the finishing of the paintwork.
Racking for parts of a dismantled loco, again made by our welding volunteer.
