Welcome to another short blog post on the progress being made to War Department locomotive No. 3672 Dame Vera Lynn. As we approach Christmas and the New Year this will be the final Vera Blog for 2021.

The locomotive is currently outside the Deviation Shed at Grosmont with Father Christmas looking out of the cab window waving to the passing Santa trains! The tender has been taken to Ian Riley & Sons Engineering for work to begin on its overhaul.

The locomotive tender being taken apart at Ian Riley & Sons Engineering. Image courtesy Ian Riley.

Image courtesy Ian Riley.

Some additional good news is that donations for the appeal have now reached £200,000! Whilst appreciating that times are unusual if you can continue to support us that would be most welcome. Please visit the appeal page to donate.

The team at the Motive Power Department are preparing the action plan for 2022 with a view to realising an ‘into traffic’ date of October 2024, her 80^th birthday.

Image courtesy NYMR Archive/John Holdsworth.

Apart from donations the other ways of helping are to offer any time you can spare to the MPD to move other work forward, particularly on locomotive No. 44806, so that our loco can enter the MPD to have the boiler removed and have the chassis de-wheeled. The other work is to clean up all the removed items ready for stripping and overhaul. Please consider submitting a Volunteer Expression of Interest to help at the MPD.

The Restoration Team wish you a very Happy Christmas and a great New Year.

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Ian Foot, 23 December 2021.
3672 Dame Vera Lynn Fundraising Team Member.