50026 Indomitable - Update March 2003

At the end of December 2002 loco 50001 "Dreadnought" was finally scrapped at Booth Roe Metals in Rotherham after 11 years in the yard. The bogies were however saved and on the 13th February these were delivered to Bicester for reuse on 50026.

As soon as the bogies were delivered to our site at Bicester in late February we set about stripping them down into their basic components. After 11 years of outside storage we had expect them to be in a bad way. However, although they were hard to dismantle, on the whole the components are in better than expected condition. The several THOUSAND! parts that make up the bogie will now go away for overhaul; all nuts and bolts will be cleaned a plated, the six traction motors will go away for professional overhaul and the other components and frames will be shot-blasted and painted black.

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