The journey of Hudswell Clarke 1238 back to the operational fleet at Apedale has taken a major step forward today. The boiler inspector attended to carry out the steam test – and pronounced himself happy. We weren’t in the slightest bit surprised by this – the work has been carried by an extremely skilled in-house team. This is the first time we’ve done a boiler overhaul at Apedale, and the team are justifiably proud of their accomplishment. At the same time, Hunslet 1215 (the War Office 4-6-0) was also signed-off for another year – this was looking a bit touch-and-go a couple of weeks ago, but some severe doses of persistence have been applied to this loco to deal with the various problems. The Hunslet will steamed in public on 10 May; the return to traffic date for the Hudswell will be announced in due course.
