Vacuum brake repairs and spring replaced completed in time for ‘Steam Back to the Forties’

Doncaster, UK – 27 September 2026: The Gresley Society is delighted to report that its class N2 No. 1744, Sir Nigel Gresley’s oldest surviving locomotive, has returned to traffic after running repairs and took a starring role at the North Norfolk Railway’s Steam Back to the Forties weekend on 19 and 20 September.

No. 1744, the only remaining Gresley tank engine, re-entered service on the North Norfolk Railway in July 2026 after an eight-year overhaul costing around £800,000. In mid-September a vacuum-brake fault and a broken spring required further attention at the Railway’s Weybourne Works before the locomotive could be rostered with confidence.

Keith Ashford C.Eng MIMechE, the Society’s Locomotive Manager, oversaw a concentrated week of work. The repaired spring was refitted and checked with the engine over the pit. Apprentices steamed the locomotive for static brake testing after the vacuum chamber was found to drop as train-pipe vacuum was reduced during a brake application. The engine was then connected to an electrically driven vacuum test pump, borrowed from the Carriage and Wagon Department, so that the chamber and train-pipe systems could be charged and a series of application tests carried out.

Measurements of vacuum brake cylinder piston travel and brake pull-rod travel pointed to the adjustment of the brake rigging, and the clearance between the brake blocks and the tyre treads, as critical to the chamber’s behaviour. Yard steaming followed, together with an examination of the small ejector. Further in-steam tests were then carried out with Alex Harper-Bourne.

No. 1744 was driven to Sheringham and coupled to empty coaching stock. Three return trips were made with a load of four vehicles, after which the brakes were performing quite acceptably. The locomotive worked the scheduled public passenger service on Thursday 17 September and was then available for ‘Steam Back to the Forties’.

The North Norfolk Railway advertised an all-steam line-up of five locomotives for the weekend: WD No. 90775, GWR No. 4277 Hercules, Hunslet tank engines No. 22 and Newstead, and GNR class N2 No. 1744. The event, held with the wider Sheringham 1940s celebrations, was attended by over 6,200 visitors and featured an intensive steam service between Sheringham and Holt, live music, vintage vehicles and wartime displays at the line’s stations.

Successful running also helps the Society to repay the North Norfolk Railway, which funded completion of the overhaul on the basis that the cost would be recovered through operation of the locomotive.

Keith Ashford C.Eng MIMechE, Locomotive Manager of The Gresley Society, said: “The vacuum brake needed careful attention before we could put the engine out with confidence. After static tests with the apprentices, yard steaming and three return trips on empty stock, the brakes were performing quite acceptably. Seeing No. 1744 back on the public service on 17 September, and then working ‘Steam Back to the Forties’ with the Quad-Art set, is exactly what we set out to achieve. Every mile she runs also helps the Society repay the North Norfolk Railway for seeing the overhaul through.”

Graham Hukins, General Manager of the North Norfolk Railway, said: “No. 1744 is a star turn on the Poppy Line, and visitors to ‘Steam Back to the Forties’ were delighted to see Sir Nigel Gresley’s oldest surviving locomotive in the thick of a five-engine weekend. The Gresley Society has entrusted her to us for the next 25 years, and it is a pleasure to have her earning her keep once again with the M&GN’s Quad-Art set after the recent running repairs.”