For months Lady Sylvia has been the star of rallies and steam gatherings up and down the country. Now, as another season draws to a close, it’s time for a little rest, reflection and repair.

This winter, her team has booked her in for a full mechanical and cosmetic refresh – the vintage equivalent of a spa retreat. Her tender (the water and coal carrier that follows faithfully behind) has developed a few age-related leaks, so she’ll receive new steel plates and rivets. The feed water pump and injector will be stripped, cleaned and recalibrated to ensure a perfect, steady feed to the boiler. The boiler tubes will be descaled, gauges tested, and bearings checked for wear. Finally, her paintwork will be touched up, brass polished, and motion oiled until she gleams once more.

“Everything we do is about preservation, not alteration,” says SAC Chairman, Paul Stingmore. “Lady Sylvia has earned every one of her rivets. We just make sure she stays fit to steam safely for years to come.”

Come spring, when the rallies begin again, she’ll roll out of the shed with steam curling from her safety valve, gleaming in the sunshine as though she’s just left the works. Her whistle – that familiar, cheerful note – will announce her return to the road.

This winter’s spruce-up isn’t just maintenance; it’s the continuation of a story that began in another age, when power came from coal and water and machines were built to last a lifetime.