After many months of preparation, the tender tank was finally separated from its chassis on Tuesday 23rd June 2026.

The operation went largely without a hitch, and the tank was despatched to Hill & Webster Handling Ltd in Ashbourne the same day, where it will act as a partial template for the new tank.

Manufacture of the new tank will soon begin, so watch this space.

The last time that the tank and the chassis were apart was 30 years ago, in 1996, as the photo at the bottom of this page shows – when the two were reunited in the final stages of 61264’s 21-year restoration from scrapyard condition.

Work will now begin to clean and refurbish the tender chassis whilst the tank is away, as well as ongoing work to prepare the boiler to be lifted.

Any donation towards the cost of the new tank (£65,000) or the transport costs would be gratefully received: https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QQRZISEZ