Veteran loco getting boiler refit

The Oliver Cromwell is being restored in Loughborough

The boiler of a historic steam engine is being lowered into place during major restoration work at an East Midlands railway centre.

The Oliver Cromwell, which is being restored at Great Central Railway in Loughborough, went into British mainline service in 1951.

The engine was originally based at Bressingham Steam Museum in Norfolk.

It ran on the Norwich to London line and went to the museum after it was taken out of service in 1968.

Great Central Railway chief engineer Craig Stinchcombe said the work had taken almost four years to complete.

We are really looking forward to seeing it in steam in three year's time delighting crowds around the country David Ward, Bressingham Steam Museum

He said it was the last working steam locomotive used by British Rail.

"The engine has been stripped down and every nut and bolt has been taken off and restored, then it has been repainted."

David Ward, chairman of the board of trustees for Bressingham Steam Museum, said: "We are delighted to be a full partner in the project to return Oliver Cromwell to steam and then see it working all over Britain.

"We are really looking forward to seeing (the engine) in steam in three year's time delighting crowds around the country."

The parts for the restoration are estimated to cost £70,000, and volunteers are doing all the repair work.

The project is a collaboration between York-based National Railway Museum, the Great Central Railway, Steam Railway Magazine, Bressingham Steam Museum and 5305 Locomotive Association and Loughborough Standard Locomotives Group.