Chasewater Railway's new locomotive could be ready for Easter
Chasewater Railway could soon be about to welcome another locomotive to its ranks as work to restore Dunlop Number 6 draws to a close.
A team of around 30 engineers have been working on the Stafford-built steam train for the last two years.
Now work on the train, which served its time working at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, is due to finish in around a month.
Mark Sealey, the chairman of Chasewater Railway, hopes to have the train up and running around the two mile heritage line in time for Easter.
He said: "We have been completely rebuilding it over the last two years and it is about to return to traffic. We hope to have it running for Easter but cannot promise that.
"It worked for probably 10 years at Fort Dunlop so it is local history, even more so because it was built in Stafford by Bagnall in 1941."
Asked about the rebuilding process, Mr Sealey, 54, from Rugeley, added: "It has taken two years so far. It has had everything done including the boiler.
"We did all the work locally except the boiler which was done by a company in Loughborough. It cost around £25,000. It has been a difficult project however. Years ago it was bought by a dealer who also purchased another identical locomotive. He then combined the two and solid it to Dunlop.
"This has meant we have been dealing with two locomotives, as opposed to one.
"Also, it had been restored before some years ago but not to its original Bagnall design. We have got hold of the original drawings so time has been spent unpicking some of the restoration work done before."
A core group of around 25 to 30 volunteers have been giving their time up at the weekend to rebuild the locomotive, with others giving their time up during the week.
