Saturday 5th saw the heat exchanger disconnected from the locomotive and readied for removal as this is thought to be the source of the water contaminating the lubricating oil. Thanks go to Vicky for working on a "big ugly diesel". On Sunday 6th, some of the spares were moved from our old container to our new container now that it is fully racked-out and fitted with lighting. The kettle was tested regularly to ensure that it still worked! Cheers to Doug, Joan & Dave for helping move the spares - an unenviable task indeed. One of the Driver's seats was stripped down and the metalwork repainted. The seat cushion and back are going to be recovered with a new material similar to the old one used previously.

Well, it is now over two years since the loco was purchased and in some respects we have done well and in others progress has been slow. March saw the arrival of quite heavy snow and the thought of working in the very cold temperatures stopped some of us from working whilst the snow was present. The interior of the fan drive shaft covers were cleaned up and painted in undercoat on the 6th - what else is there to do on Mothers Day? Alterations to the electrical system in the store were also carried out on the same day. Sunday 12th saw the exterior of the fan shaft covers undercoated. Some of the spares that we have accumulated over time were dismantled today - a damaged headlight from a Class 47 was stripped of any usable parts and the rest disposed of. Some heaters that we purchased from the scrapman when 37054 was scrapped were removed from the panels they were mounted on (we were unable to remove the heaters from the panels at Glasgow and so we had to get the complete panels cut out of 37054)! A couple of hours were spent on Monday 14th top-coating the fan shaft covers on the inside. The two small covers were painted on both sides. Wednesday saw the painting of the fan shaft covers completed. A start was made on overhauling one of the heater resistors. Thursday 18th saw preparation work for the long-awaited welding of the headcode box at No. 1 end. The Bank Holiday saw Moff putting in a long-awaited appearance to commence the welding of the bottom of the headcode box at Number 1 end. Moff managed about two thirds of the welding during the long weekend.

Sunday 3rd saw 3 volunteers working on various tasks. Joan was sanding down more of the bodyside air filter trays and then painting them as well as needle gunning the holder for the windscreen washer bottles. Doug assisted Chris with cleaning number one cab so that it can be finally finished off. Numerous other items were rubbed-down and painted during the day. Sales of items advertised on www.ebay.co.uk have been steady with all profits going into a bank account set up to hold funds for the locomotive. Sunday 17th saw 5 people beavering away on the loco. The heat exchanger was finally removed from the engine room. Work recommenced on number 1 cab with the floor being needle-gunned then painted with anti corrosion paint. More bodyside filter trays were rubbed down and painted and the hotplate was also tackled. We are still missing a hotplate so if anyone knows where we can get hold of one please get in touch! Thanks to Adrian & Captain Chaos for assisting the usual team of Doug, Joan & Chris. Sunday 24th was very quiet at the loco. Work continued with the cab floor at No. 1 end and the hotplate was finished in primer. Various tasks to keep the loco watertight were also done - good job really because it started pouring down about half five! Friday 29th saw one of the Driver's seat armrests covered in new material - something to do when you can't get to sleep near midnight! The Bank Holiday was a good chance for some serious work to be undertaken. Saturday 30th saw Moff turn up yet again to carry on with the welding of the headcode box at Number 1 end. More of the cab floor in no. 1 cab was needle-gunned then painted as were a few of the pipes that hide under the floor. The hotplate was undercoated as was two new sheets of metal for the cab side interior and numerous other small items. A bit of trackwork was done at the end of the day to use all of the daylight.

Sunday 1st saw the long-awaited return of Danorak to the site! Doug, Joan and Chris were also on site. Tasks tackled today were the draining of the engine oil and removal of the filters ready for an oil change. The hotplate surround was completed in undercoat, more bodyside filter trays were rubbed-down then painted by Joan. Work continued on no.1 cab's floor until the compressor completely died. Dan took a quick look at the heat exchanger and took some measurements ready to make a pair of blanking plates so that it could be pressure tested. Doug continued tidying the engine room up and finding loads of bolts, nuts and spanners in the process! A barbeque was had on Sunday evening as Joan and Doug were camping nearby. Captain Chaos and ED turned up for some grub as well. Monday 2nd dawned wet but soon the sun came out and dried the rain up. A momentous day as far as bodyside filter trays are concerned - the engine room now has a complete set of overhauled filter trays installed - only the ones in the noses to go now! One of the doors on no. 1 end's nose was opened and the rust and old paint removed then it was repainted by Doug. Joan forged on with yet more bodyside filter trays (one day we'll run out of them and will have to find something else for Joan to get on with). The nose at no.1 end was cleared of all the junk that had accumulated there and the floor was half-cleared of all the rust and other dirt. At the end of the day, Chris started painting the floor in the nose at no. 1 end until the paint tin was empty. Saturday 14th saw Joan and Doug working on the remaining bodyside filter trays and now there are only three remaining and these are in quite bad condition. Tidying of the store was also done on this day together with making sure the loco stays watertight. Sunday 22nd saw the return of John who worked on number 1 cab removing the various strips of wood for renovation or for replacements to be made. Chris continued the work on the floor in no. 1 nose end with more of the floor being painted at the end of the day. Dismantling of more parts from 37054 continued. The Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month saw the annual steam fair take place on the site. This year we were surrounded by commercial vehicles instead of the usual steam traction engines and rollers. The loco was a popular exhibit despite the engine not running during the event. A new idea for a bit of fundraising and promotion was to produce some keyrings that were given to people if they voluntarily donated money. There are a few keyrings left so if anyone would like to obtain one please use the contact option on the homepage - there will be a small charge to cover the production & postage costs.