Engineering Update – 17th December 2025
In 2024, the pair of brackets to carry the brake-shaft were cast by FSE Foundry Ltd in Braintree (see Engineering News June 2024). These are currently being machined at Northern Heritage Engineering Ltd, Darlington (see https://northernheritageengineering.co.uk / https://1863mountaineer.co.uk ). The brackets are being machined to the Great Eastern Railway drawing, Nr 6677 of 1907, which itself is updated from a drawing dated 1885. Small modifications are noted in the two drawings and highlight the differences between the initial 1884-1887 batch of locomotives, designed by Thomas William Worsdell, and the 1903 – 1909 batch of locomotives, as redesigned by James Holden. Numerous other modifications and additions are also seen on the 1907 drawing for the later class G69 (F6) locomotives and other changes as the design evolved. These drawings are held at the Essex Records Office on behalf of the Great Eastern Railway Society.
In the photograph above, a flat surface and shoulder is being machined where the bracket will mount to the frame. To the left of the casting is the boss that will be machined to house a steel bush that will allow the brake-shaft to rotate when the brakes are applied. Holes for the mounting bolts will be added at Tyseley Locomotive Works and marked from the holes already drilled in the frame plates.
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