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1944 - Hudson-Hunslet

Hudson-Hunslet 1944 of 1939 has spent the last few years out of use awaiting repairs to its chassis.

At the start of 2024 ownership of the locomotive changed hands and the new owning group started the task of returning the locomotive to service.

In February a 370mm crack was repaired in the front end of the chassis. It is thought this damage was sustained in the 1970s when dropped from a crane at ME Engineering in Cricklewood. The true extent of the crack was only found a few years ago, which prompted 1944's withdrawal from service. The crack was repaired using the cold stitching method, by an external contractor. Despite the large size of the crack it was repaired in the space of a few hours.

After the crack was repaired a few maintenance tasks were required to return 1944 to running condition. The engine was serviced and an oil change was done on the engine and gearbox. 1944 returned to service in March and hauled a number of passenger trains, mainly on our Working Weekend events throughout the first half of 2024. Despite the successful return to service, 1944 sadly suffered a clutch failure at our Village At War Event in May and has been out of use awaiting repairs since.