63601 Boiler Extension

Lifted from the GCR Announce Yahoo messaging group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCR-Announce/message/244

My main news this week is very exciting and concerns the O4 locomotive. As you
may know we were expecting to wave a fond farewell to its latest operational
career at the Steam Railway Gala event in October. The ten years since the first
steam test in 1999 seem to have gone very quickly. The museum have very kindly
agreed to 63601 remaining on GCR metals pending its next overhaul but that was
unlikely to have been in time to celebrate its centenary in 2012. However, in a
piece of very good news and after discussions with the boiler inspector, it
seems the engine will steam on to its 100th birthday. Following the major boiler
repairs the engine received in 2002, the boiler ticket will now expire in 2012.
Our partners at the National Railway Museum and Steam Railway Magazine (where
readers raised so much money for the initial return to steam) are delighted with
the news, as are we. It means we can put some money aside and carefully plan for
the next overhaul, plus look forward to marking the engines 100th 'birthday'
with it in steam.

One note of caution, it is of course elderly and will only continue running
while it is in good health. After carefully protecting the only Great Central
engine steam for so long our experts at the shed will be planning to do just
that. So here's to a few more years of the O4 but let's not take them for
granted

 

thats brilliant news can't wait to go and see it again now \/