Piecing together the 76077 jigsaw

AFTER three decades of slumber, dismantled and stored on wagons at Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76077 quietly slipped from public consciousness as a patina of rust developed over its remains. However, since the plan to restore the locomotive began in 2018, andToddington Standard Locomotive Limited (TSLL) was established, its rebirth is proceeding at pace.

While the boiler remains at Toddington waiting for its turn ‘in the works,’ the chassis is rapidly taking shape at the workshops of Locomotive Maintenance Services in Loughborough. It looks much more like a locomotive again – with a considerable amount of metal that had corroded beyond redemption now replaced.

The engine has had a bent front