THE painstaking restoration of one of the great British locomotives reached a crucial stage yesterday.

The City of Truro is reputed to be the first steam locomotive to break the 100mph barrier and is being refurbished at the National Railway Museum, in York.

Yesterday, visitors were treated to a rare glimpse of the work under way as the engine was carefully reunited with its boiler.

The Great Western Railway 4-4-0 reached the landmark speed on the Ocean Mails express route to London Paddington on May 9, 1904.

It is being restored to steam to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the famous speed record at Wellington Bank, in Somerset.

City of Truro will also be one of the stars at the National Railway Museum's rail festival celebrating 200 years of rail progress since the birth of the steam train in 1804.

Railfest, which runs from May 29 to June 6, will be the locomotive's first public appearance in the north of England after its return to running order.

Much of the restoration work has been carried out in the workshop at the museum, but the boiler was returning to York after repairs at the Flour Mill workshops in the Forest of Dean.

Published: 10/01/2004