August was a really hot month so we took the opportunity to paint over the undercoat that we had applied during May. We got a bit carried away and repainted the whole loco! As i'm sure you'll agree, the loco looks a lot better now compared to when it first arrived. It was only a quick cosmetic paintjob to look after what we'd got by minimising the amount of corrosion. We received many favourable comments from the other members of the working group as we hadn't told them how far we had gone with the 'quick spot repaint'!

In the middle of September a 'phone call was received from a scrap merchant who was about to scrap 37054 and would we like to purchase some parts from it. Obviously we said yes even though the loco was at Motherwell Depot near Glasgow. A van was quickly hired and we set off for Scotland. We spent a day and a half stripping parts off 37054 before we headed back home again.

During Octorber both turbos were craned out of the loco and despatched to a specialist repairer. While the turbos were away, the area the turbos occupy was cleaned up and repainted. There was many years of oil and dirt accumulation and it took a long time to get it to a paint-able standard.

November arrived and we were still cleaning the turbos' area. Another panel of track was laid using a forklift which we hired for a week. We tidied up the field where our loco resides after one of the steam locomotives left for good. The track was laid in two days which wasn't bad seeing the appaling weather that we had to work in. The loco was moved yet again to ensure that it doesn't damage the wheel bearings whilst standing still in the same place for so long. Progress on number one cab was going in leaps and bounds with the cab stripped of paint and then primed. The sandite switch operated by the Driver was removed and the hole filled. It is now almost impossible to tell that a switch was once there.

Painting in number one cab continued with the walls being painted into undercoat. The turbo area was completed and i'll think you'll agree that it looks a lot better than when we first started. The coolant and air pipes around the turbo were painted with the correct colour identification paint to complete the paint job. The end of the generator was painted and the lights in number one cab were made to work for the first time since we bought the loco. All of the light fittings for the Driver's control panel were reconditioned and then reinstated in their proper places. Re-wiring of some of the electrical supply to the control panel was also done during this time.