Let’s get 4561 rolling
November 2025
More Progress on the Side Tanks
Paul Orrells reports more good progress at Minehead, all of the fixing holes for the outside sheets have been drilled.
The sheets were then tack welded together at the front, and the combined sheet was then laid down to weld from the seam from the back.
The front and rear welds were then all completed and the welds now awaiting dressing.
October 2025
Work continues on the Side Tanks
Work has proceeded extremely well on the right hand tank over the last few weeks as per the attached pictures.
7/10/2025 – The photos below show that the two bottom halves of the tank have been welded together, with the curved front section of the tank with its 8 inch radius bend temporarily mounted, along with the baffles and stays in place welded to the bottom of the tank.
9/10/2025 – The next two photos show the front curved section being drilled and attached to the angle iron frame above the front splasher.
We have also ordered the first of the inside sheets that supports the reverser stand, which should also be with us in about 10 days.
September 2025
More progress on the Side Tanks
As we approach the end of September 2025 Paul Orrells writes:
The two bottom floor sections and the two front sides of the tanks have returned to Minehead following shot blasting.
The small items which had been removed from the old tanks have also been shot blasted – these have now been painted in red oxide and put away for the time being until they are needed.
The floor sections were then suspended in the air so areas for further welding could be masked off prior to applying the first coat of the 2 part epoxy coating.
The two front sections with the curved ends have also been coated – on the inside (water side) with the 2 part epoxy and on the outside with red oxide. We have done it this way because we found on T2061 that it was very difficult to get a good finish of topcoat over the epoxy, so building up layers of gloss paint over the red oxide should result in a better finish.
With the areas masked off, Buzz should continue welding into October to include joining the two bottom plates together.
August 2025
Side Tanks
A team of 4 volunteers in Minehead workshops who built the replacement water tank for tender T2061, presently running with Odney Manor, have made arrangements to take on the building of the replacement side tanks for 4561 as a project. The work is taking place at Minehead managed by the WSR.
The existing set of tanks built in the 1980’s have not survived 30 years in storage very well. When made some details of size and shape were either not known or could not be easily fabricated with the facilities available resulting in a reduced water capacity. A new set of tanks will overcome these issues, with full capacity 4561 will not need to stop for water at Williton.
To ensure that the finished items are as close as possible to the original Swindon product we have obtained a high resolution copy of the correct November 1920 drawing number 59801 “Side tanks, cab and bunker, lot 201” from the National Railway Museum. Armed with this information and by using sample patterns to offer up against the locomotive frame we are working towards reliable good fit.
The 1980’s built tanks have been transported to Minehead and all of the re-useable fittings such as air vents, steps, handrails, beadings have been removed and placed in store pending cleaning. The tanks themselves will be kept until the end of the project so that we can compare old with new and investigate any differences.
To ensure that the floor of the tanks are flat and true a build platform has been constructed within Minehead workshops upon which one tank will be constructed followed by the other. The right hand tank is being built first, but parts for both tanks are being ordered together. All components are being shot blasted to ensure a surface suitable for painting. For internal surfaces subject to being submerged in water a two pack epoxy paint is being used. Externally normal heritage vehicle paints will be used as they are easier to achieve a good base for a gloss finish.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings for the floor plates have been used to produce laser profile cut parts, these are on the build platform so that parts can be added as the build continues.
Internally each tank has 7 supporting frames and all 14 of these have already been finished and painted. The frames being assembled within a jig to ensure they are all the same size and shape. The 7 frames for the left hand tank will now be put into store until required.
One of the completed and painted frames within the jig showing how spacer blocks were used to assemble the shaped edge to the correct profile.
A trial assembly of the frames for the right hand tank took place recently, each frame in it’s appropriate position. This is a view forwards on the outer face of the tank.
A view on the front face of the tank. The large cut out in the floor plate right foreground is an opening for the leading coupled wheel which will be covered by curved plate work. The bolted down angle iron on the left is to attach the outside sheet of the tank.
This view is rearwards on the inside face of the tank. The internal face of the tank is shaped towards the rear to allow additional room for the boiler’s firebox
A driver’s eye view of the tank. The shaped slot just in front of the gloves is for the reversing handle, other holes are for various water fittings.
The two curved pieces of bottom angle iron which come around the front of the tank, one for the LH tank and one for the RH tank. The slots will be filled with weld and ground back to make a smooth surface.
How the angle iron was bent. Heated red hot the slotted straight piece was pulled around the curved former to reach the desired shape.
All words and images by Andrew Forster.
19th February 2025
Boiler
It’s been a while since we bid goodbye to 4561’s boiler and waved it off on its journey to Rileys. Riley’s then had to complete a full assessment of the boiler and come up with a proposal for the refurbishment, with input from BES and the WSR engineering department.
On 26 January, Trustee Jeff Price reported “4561 boiler is in bits at Riley’s awaiting copper firebox crack detection by BES and the manufacture of a new coned barrel section before the work moved on to the next stage of boiler throat plate rectification plus the repair program for the copper box. The old cone section has been condemned“
Meanwhile, back in Somerset work continues on other parts of the loco.
Side Tanks
A decision has been made to fabricate new tanks for the loco to provide water capacity as originally designed . The first image below shows the steel frame and brackets on loco 4561 where the tanks sit. There should be a single row of holes 9 inches apart on the outside angle iron to which the base of the tank is bolted.
As shown by the second and third images, volunteers have had made a thin steel template of the tank bottom plate. A new CAD drawing was produced using the original GWR Swindon drawings, from which the template was laser cut. The template is to the correct size and shape, has the cut outs for the wheel splashers and has the correct locations of the fixing holes.
Connection Rods
As you can see from the images below, the inside faces of the rods are extremely rusted and pitted and we are trying to clean these up as best we can although they are not normally in view. The first two images show the inside of one of the rods before the work started.
Apart from a better appearance, removal of the pitting reduces stress concentration areas in the rod which should much reduce the chance of any cracks appearing. A smooth surface also allows for more reliable non-destructive testing of the rods.
The third image in the block below shows one inside edge having been cleaned up.
The work is still ongoing.
The first two images below show the recessed inside of the rod being cleaned up, and the final image shows the face at the end of the rod having been cleaned up. The counter bore where the bearing flange sits is very pitted and this will need machining.
