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BLOG - Facts and stories about GWR locomotives & rolling stock

With a collection of locomotives and rolling stock dating from Victorian times to the 1960s, there's plenty to discover.

 

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29 MARCH

A Four-Wheeled Avonside Shunter

No, not that one.

Our little Avonside warrior, No 1340 Trojan, is a favourite with our visitors at Didcot and quite rightly so. She’s the only surviving engine to have served the Alexandra Docks Railway, she is currently the oldest working locomotive to have served with the Great Western, being built in 1897. She is also really small and this makes her far less intimidating to our younger visitors. Dare I say she looks a lot like Percy the Small Engine too?

She is not however a locomotive with a long association with the Great Western Railway. Absorbed in 1923 and sold in to industrial service by the early 1930s. There was another small Avonside locomotive class that had a far longer association with the GWR. Although built close to the time that Trojan became part of the railway, they lasted until nearly the end of steam. They are not widely known today as none were preserved. Which is a shame, because given that they are from the era of Castles and Halls, they are also quite unlike the vast majority of their fellow engines.

No 1106 in an official Great Western Railway photograph taken on 27 August 1926 when the locomotive was brand new. The initials GWR on the numberplate are unusual as normally they were only added for locomotives absorbed from another company. There was a Cambrian Railways locomotive absorbed at the Grouping in 1923 and given the GWR number 1106, but renumbered 1110 on 25 February 1926, so maybe those numberplates were recycled onto the new 1106

The first thing is that it was quite unusual for Swindon to order a whole class of locomotives from an outside contractor in the twentieth century. There were of course many examples of contractors building directly to GWR designs – many panniers came into this world that way as did some of the 56XX class 0-6-2s. Some were not to GWR designs however. The ex Railway Operating Division 2-8-0 freight locos are probably the best known of these, but they were bought because they were available and not specifically ordered. These 0-4-0 locos were a wholesale order to an outside contractor to design and build a locomotive type ‘off the shelf’ as we would put it today!

They were ordered by Charles Collett’s administration from Avonside in the mid 1920s and first entered service in 1926. Let’s take a look at them. Outwardly, they were quite strange looking machines. They had just 4 driving wheels as they were intended as shunters in dockyards. The wheelbase (distance between the two axles) was just six feet, six inches, and this gave them a short and stocky look but enabled them to traverse all but the very tightest of curves. The second thing about them from the rails up is that they have outside Walschaerts valve gear. This was unusual on GWR engines – most being fitted with inside valve gear, usually of the Stephenson design.

This drawing of the 1101 class locomotives was published in the Great Western Railway Magazine, September 1926 edition

Aesthetically, they aren’t quite sure what style of tank engine they want to be! They are in fact side tank engines, but the side tanks have a cut away from the front of the smokebox end to almost the middle of the locomotive. This means that they look almost like pannier tanks! With their short wheelbase under this comparatively large structure, it makes them look top heavy – and heavy is the right word! They were incredibly heavy for their size.

At thirty eight tons, the weight pressing down on the rear axle was nineteen tons and eight hundredweight. That’s the nearly the same axle loading as a Castle class express passenger locomotive! This means that they were pretty specialised in their use. This axle weight means they were on the GWR’s Red Route list, and they were not permitted to travel down lighter-laid branch lines.

No 1105 with the original shape of cab

Another area where they were comparable with the Castles was in their cylinders. Both classes had sixteen inch cylinders although the 1101 class, as they became known, had a shorter piston stroke at twenty four inches as opposed to twenty six inch stroke on the Castles. OK, the Castle is a four-cylinder machine as well, but it’s still quite impressive! Let’s face it – you can’t easily fit four big cylinders like that on a little 0-4-0 tank engine! The boiler pressure was 170 psi and this led to a tractive effort of 19,510 lbf. This was the G.W.R. ‘B’ power class. Again, quite impressive for a diminutive little engine like this. It’s nearly twice the tractive effort of their Victorian grandmother, Trojan .…

There were six of these engines built and they were numbered 1101 – 1106. The one notable modification they underwent was to increase the curvature to the top corners of the cab and bring them in further. Clearly an act designed to stop them banging into the tightly packed structures on the narrow dock and industrial lines where they worked. And that’s what they did. Shunt. They had service lives in excess of 30 years too which shows what good value they represented as well! Time was called on the class in 1959 and the six members of the class were all withdrawn by 1960. They were all scrapped shortly afterwards, so we only have photographs and models to remind us of them.

No 1105 with the narrower cab roof, at Danygraig engine shed

Well, kind of. As these engines were very much an ‘off the shelf’ Avonside design, there are a few preserved examples of very similar machines. So their legacy lives on, after a fashion at least.

No 1105 photographed at Danygraig on 17 September 1946 by Ben Brooksbank


Going Loco 200(ish)!

Also, due to a slight miscalculation on my part, this blog is the 201st Going Loco blog! I was hoping to say thanks on the occasion of the 200th but, as it turns out, I can’t count .… There have been so many people involved in bringing you this blog over the years and I would like to thank them all. Also, dear reader, thanks to you for reading the weekly scribblings of myself and our many, many special guests.

The current Going Loco Team are:

  • Fact checkers: Leigh, Ali and Harry
  • Website Wizard: Rob
  • Drawings Wrangler: Kevin
  • Pictures and English Edits: Frank

And me!

All the best,

Drew


22 MARCH

They Came, They Went, And Nobody Really Noticed Much …

Sorry about last week – I had a fair bit on and wasn’t able to do my usual Going Loco things and Photo Frank stepped up and filled the gap. Many thanks to him and for his fascinating article from the pages of the Great Western Railway Magazine. So, now I’m back, what lovely engine do we have a chat about? I think it’s about time we discussed one of the far less glamorous locomotive types from the era (just) of William Dean.

This type comes out of the ugliest locomotive types ever built by Swindon – the Kruger 4-6-0 and Mrs Kruger 2-6-0s named after the recently defeated Boer War Commander Paul Kruger and his wife. Clearly a derogatory move. They were a horribly ‘lumpy’ design with sandboxes on the boiler and square fireboxes. Not helped by their outside frames and general lack of success as a class. To be fair, they were hugely experimental machines and to give Dean still further benefit of the doubt, it was really Churchward experimenting in his name at this time period too.

No 2601, the 4-6-0 version of the Krugers

They were not long lived and the design of the new freight locomotives was in some ways an opposite to these monstrosities. While it is thought that some of the components from the Krugers were used in their construction, they were more closely related to the Bird / Bulldog or 33XX class and the Atbara / Badminton / Flower or 41XX classes of 4-4-0 passenger engines. These new engines were 2-6-0 or Mogul designs, so echoed the Krugers in being six coupled. Smaller driving wheels enabling the tractive effort to be increased at the expense of top speed.

No 2602, the 2-6-0 with large sandbox on top of the boiler

The first of these new machines, No 33, was completed in August of 1900. She’s quite an unusual looking beast. Outside framed locomotives with more than four coupled wheels are unusual in the UK, which makes it a little visually strange. The lower running plate caused by the smaller wheels also makes it a little odd. She still has all the Great Western Railway hallmarks – the brass safety valve bonnet, green paint and so on. The boiler was a parallel barrelled Standard 2 design with a Belpaire firebox.

No 2610, built in June 1903, with the prototype 2-6-2T No 99 behind

No 33 had a rather massive compensation system for the springing on the leading driving axles, something not perpetuated on the production versions of the machine. The success of No 33 lead to a whole class of these engines being constructed. Between 1901 and 1907 another 80 were built. They were numbered from 2601 to 2680, with No 33 joining them as No 2600 in 1912. As the class construction programme progressed, the boilers were updated to conical Standard 4 types to increase the locomotives’ production rate and reserves of steam. They also received superheating and top feed* from 1911.

The prototype Aberdare, No 33, as built with parallel boiler

They were used on coal trains that ran between Aberdare in the Welsh coal fields and Swindon and many stayed in this duty until displaced by the larger and more powerful 2-8-0 and 2-8-2 tank classes. They were generally fairly well regarded machines but did have an issue in that they had steam powered reverser gear. The reverser gear adopts the same idea (but working in a very different way) as the gearbox in a car. In the vast majority of GWR steam engines, this control is moved by hand, either with a lever or a screw. The Aberdares had this control moved by a steam-powered system. The issue with this was that the setting was prone to drift or move, very slowly, on its own. Because of this, it needed to be constantly monitored by the driver to keep it in check.

No 2615 with a goods train about 1907

They were originally paired with standard GWR tenders but some of them were eventually paired with tenders that were taken from withdrawn World War One Railway Operating Department (ROD) 2-8-0 engines that were bought from the war department at the end of hostilities. This began in 1929.

An Aberdare, with container on the leading wagon and a string of coal wagons at the rear of a lengthy train

The Aberdare class began to be withdrawn in 1934 but the Second World War put paid to further scrapping. By 1944, time was called a second time and the scrappings restarted. This was completed in October 1949 when No 2667 was withdrawn from British Railways service.

No 2656 paired with a ROD tender

Which is quite a surprising record when you think that these little freight engines were thoroughly outdated before the 1920s. They had been surpassed by the later Mogul, 28XX, 42XX and 72XX classes pretty early on in their careers. They weren’t the only outside frame tender engines to make it to the early BR period by any stretch of the imagination, but they were as odd at the end of their careers as they were at the beginning. What a shame that one of these curious locomotives didn’t survive into preservation.

No 2636 hauls an eastbound goods train through Swindon station on 23 April 1946. Photograph by Ben Brooksbank

*Top feed means that the water coming in from the boiler enters the pressure vessel at the top of the boiler. This is a great idea as it means that the water is spread out by a series of trays and that the cold water is spread out more evenly, not creating cold spots.


15 MARCH

This week Going Loco looks at the comprehensive performance tests carried out 100 years ago with the second Castle class 4-6-0, No 4074, which was outshopped by Swindon Works in December 1923. The first Castle, No 4073, had been built in August 1923.

Was it a coincidence that the first six of the class to emerge from Swindon were all named after Welsh castles – Caerphilly, Caldicot, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Chepstow and Pembroke? Maybe to sooth ill feelings in the Principality after the independent Welsh railway companies were absorbed into the Great Western Railway, and lost their independent identities, with Grouping at the beginning of 1923?

So the brand-new No 4074 was painted workshop grey and wheeled out for the official photograph, when there was an ‘Oops red-faces-all-round’ moment. The nameplate had a spelling mistake and read Caldicott! So it swiftly went back in the works and had the offending second T removed.

The photograph with the misspelt nameplate must be incredibly rare and has found a home at Didcot Railway Centre with the Great Western Trust thanks to that expert collector, R King Bird.

The tests were described in the Great Western Railway Magazine’s May 1924 edition, text below:

Tests of ‘Castle’ Class Engines.

The Great Western Railway Company’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Mr. C. B. Collett, recently made a very complete set of trials on one of the new Castle class engines, No 4074, Caldicot Castle, with a view to obtaining detailed information as to the performance of these engines.

Three sets of trials were made on special trains running from Swindon to Plymouth (North Road) and back. The load on the down trips consisted of fourteen heavy 70-ft eight-wheeled coaches and the dynamometer car, from Swindon to Taunton, eleven coaches and the car from Taunton to Newton Abbot, and eight coaches and the car from Newton Abbot to Plymouth.

No 4074 draped in cables and with temporary shelter for people working on the front of the engine, photographed at Millbay sidings. Note correct spelling of the nameplate! Photograph in the Christison album, Great Western Trust, Didcot Railway Centre

On the up trips the load was eight coaches and the car from Plymouth to Newton Abbot, and fourteen coaches and the car thence to Swindon. The trains were timed so as to run, at any
part of the journey, at a speed equal to the fastest expresses running over that* part of the railway.

Measurements and records were made of the following:

  1. Indicated horse-power.
  2. Pressure in the steam chest.
  3. Drawbar pull and drawbar horse-power.
  4. Speed.
  5. Steam pressure, cut off, opening of regulator, and height of water in gauge-glass.
  6. Coal consumed.
  7. Water consumed.
  8. Oil consumed.
  9. Vacuum in the smokebox and pressure in the ashpan.
  10. Temperature of the feed water in the tender.
  11. Temperature of the feed water entering the boiler.
  12. Pressure of the exhaust steam entering the exhaust steam injector.
  13. Temperature of:
    1. Superheater flues.
    2. Steam entering the superheater.
    3. Steam leaving the superheater.
    4. Smokebox generally.
  14. The chemical composition of :
    1. Smokebox gases.
    2. Coal (also the calorific value)
    3. Smokebox ashes.
    4. Ashes in the ashpan.
  15. Weight of the smokebox ashes.
  16. Weight of the ashpan ashes.
  17. Wind and weather.
Indicated Horse-Power and Steam-Chest Pressure.

The indicated horse-power and the steam-chest pressure were measured by means of four Crosby indicators, two of them being of the latest type, with outside springs. These latter were used on the right-hand inside and outside cylinders, being connected to each end of the cylinder in turn by means of a three-way cock. The older indicators were attached to the righthand inside and outside steam chests. Cards were taken from both cylinders and steam chests at predetermined spots, the operator in charge of the indicating giving word to those on the indicator, at the same time signalling the taking of the cards to the dynamometer car by pressing an electric push. The indicating gear was of the pendulum lever type, the lever actuating a longitudinal rod sliding in bearings attached to the footplate. When cards were taken the indicator cords were hooked on to brackets attached to this rod.

The technicians posed behind the temporary shelter on No 4074, at Chipping Sodbury. Photograph in the Christison album, Great Western Trust, Didcot Railway Centre

Steam Pressure, Cut Off, &c.

These were taken by an observer in the driver’s cab, the time at which each change occurred being noted and signalled electrically to the dynamometer car.

Coal Consumed.

In order to measure the coal consumed, the coal space of the tender was increased by the temporary addition of 1 ft. to its height, so that enough coal could be carried to run from Swindon to Plymouth and back. After coaling, the tank was filled to a mark and the tender weighed. On returning to Swindon after each trial the tank was again filled to the same height and the tender re-weighed. The difference in the two weights thus gave the coal burned on the journey. Only the coal actually burnt in running was determined. The fire was made up before starting with unweighed coal and the trip was finished with the same amount of coal in the firebox, as nearly as could be judged, as at the beginning.

Interior of the dynamometer car with apparatus for recording drawbar pull and other factors, Photograph published in the Great Western Railway Magazine, May 1924

Water Consumed.

To measure the water consumed a special indicator was fitted to the tender, enabling accurate readings to be obtained. This indicator was worked from the ordinary indicator float and carefully calibrated by filling the tender through a tested “Siemens” water meter. Previous experiments had shown that the water wasted at the injector overflow was well under 1 per cent, of the total quantity consumed, and therefore negligible. That used for watering the coal, however, was not necessarily so, and was determined in the following manner. An attachment was made to the coal watering cock which closed an electric circuit, and so deflected a pen in the dynamometer car whenever the cock was opened. The total time that the cock was opened could thus be determined. A unit was ascertained before the trials by opening the cock for a given time and weighing the water that passed through. The total amount of water lost in this way throughout any trip could thus be readily ascertained.

Oil Consumed.

The oil consumed was ascertained by issuing a known quantity to the driver before each trip and measuring what was left at the end of the journey. All oil cups and lubricators were filled with unmeasured oil before the trials and again at the end of each run. Only the oil actually used in running was thus recorded.

Vacuum and Pressure in Smokebox and Ashpan, respectively.

These were recorded by means of ordinary “U” tube manometers, the record being taken from the centre of both smokebox and ashpan The manometers were fixed on the front of the engine on the left-hand side, and read by an observer. The latter also operated the cocks for smokebox gas analysis and took the cold junction temperature of “Foster” pyrometer as subsequently described.

Temperature of Feed Water.

The temperature of the feed water in the tender was obtained by drawing samples at intervals and inserting an ordinary mercury thermometer. That of the water entering the boiler was taken by means of a Negretti and Zambra distance thermometer, the bulb being inserted in the delivery pipe.

Pressure of Exhaust Steam.

The pressure of the exhaust steam entering the injector was taken by means of a "Bourdon” pressure gauge specially constructed at Swindon to read low pressures.

Temperature of Smokebox, Superheater, &c.

The temperatures enumerated under item (13) were all taken by means of a ”Foster” six station pyrometer. This instrument is of the thermo-electrical type, and its operation depends on the fact that when two dissimilar metals are brought into contact and the ends in contact are hotter than the other ends, a small electromotive force is generated. By attaching wires to the cold ends and leading them to a suitable meter the difference in temperature between the hot and cold ends can be read. The cold ends in this case were all brought to a box fixed on the front of the engine, known as the cold-junction box. The temperature of this box was read by the observer by means of a mercury thermometer. From the cold-junction box five coils of wire were led to a switch-board in the dynamometer car, by means of which switch-board all of them could be connected in turn to a galvanometer graduated in degrees of temperature. The switch-board was provided with six sets of terminals, one being spare. Readings were taken at the same time as the indicator cards. When the operator in charge of the indicating signalled to the dynamometer car the fact of the cards being taken, the pressing of his push, besides deflecting the pen, rang bells on the front of the engine and in the car thus warning the operator to take readings.

Chemical Analysis.

In the dynamometer car, making chemical analysis of the smokebox gases. Photograph published in the Great Western Railway Magazine, May 1924

The analysis of the smokebox gases was made en route in the dynamometer car by means of the well-known "Orsat” apparatus. The gases were collected from points 9 in. from the front of the tube plate, at the levels of the superheater tubes and the bottom row of flue tubes respectively. Pipes passed from these through the “Orsat” apparatus to the vacuum train-pipe in the driver’s cab. When the observer noted that the conditions were suitable for taking an analysis he opened a cock on the vacuum pipe and at the same time operated an electric push which rang bells in the car and on the front of the engine. On hearing the bell the operator on the engine opened one of the two cocks on the smokebox, thus allowing the gases from the first point to flow into the “Orsat” apparatus. When the analysis had been made the analyst rang a bell in the driver’s cab to advise the observer there that this had been done. The latter then again rang his bells and the operator on the front of the engine closed the first cock and opened the second, thus drawing gases from the other point. When the operation was complete the analyst again rang his bell and all the cocks were closed. The analysis of the coal and ashes was made by collecting samples at the end of each outward trip, and analysing them in the laboratory at'
Swindon.

Wind and Weather.

The direction of the wind was taken by means of a vane and the pressure by a "Lownes” anemometer.

 

Special attachment to the crosshead on an outside cylinder for the tests. Photograph published in the Great Western Railway Magazine, May 1924


8 MARCH

A Century Celebration!


Well, I had a good time last weekend … I think a good many other people did too. I thought we’d take a look at a few of the goings on and let everybody that couldn’t be there celebrate the 100th Anniversary of an iconic locomotive.

There were three locos in steam for the weekend. No 1340 Trojan took the branch line duty and the main demonstration line was shared by No 2999 Lady of Legend in the morning so that No 4079 Pendennis Castle could be posed alongside her 4-cylinder sisters, No 5051 Drysllwyn Castle and No 6023 King Edward II.

One of the aims of the day was to gather 100 Castle related items together in one place, one for every year of No 4079’s existence. Here are a few items that were on show and the stories behind them.

The Great Western Trust put on a magnificent display of their Castle class name and number plates. The first is from Cleeve Abbey. The Abbey series of Castles were rebuilt from Star class engines. Built as No 4071 in February 1923, she was rebuilt in December 1938. It was also interesting in that she was one of the oil-fired Castles and she was so fitted between 1946 and 1948. She was withdrawn in October 1964.

Also of interest were the plates from No 5073. She was originally named Cranbrook Castle when built in July 1938. She was renamed in 1941 to honour the aircraft and service personnel that fought in the Battle of Britain. There were 12 Castles so treated, this one was named after the Bristol Blenheim light bomber. No 5058 was similarly renamed. Originally Newport Castle, she was renamed in September 1937 to Earl of Clancarty. Notice that the aircraft and the abbeys got the little ‘Castle Class’ badge but the Earls didn’t …

In the education department coaches, a number of volunteers loaned some items from their personal collections to add to the total. This lovely O gauge tinplate live steam model of No 4073 Caerphilly Castle was provided by Thomas Macey. This is nearly as old as Pendennis – it was made in 1927 by Bowman Models, founded by Geoffrey Bowman Jenkins in the same year. They weren’t in business for very long and the company was wound up in 1935 after a bit of controversy with a certain Frank Hornby. They are pretty rare items these days and the GWR locomotives are the rarest of them all.

Thomas sent me a fantastic period advert for the toy which I had to include. Harry and Jimmy look well chuffed don’t they?!

Also on show was an item that is (sort of) my own creation. The main picture here is a typically beautiful Stuart Black study of Pendennis Castle but the rest of it is the signatures of not just my restoration team but also the signatures of her final fireman in service, Doug Godden, her former owner, Sir William McAlpine, and the person who launched her back into traffic, Lady Judy McAlpine. It rarely gets seen outside my house, so it is nice to be able to share it with people.

Something else on show was a range of Castle models. There were well over twenty on show from some exquisite O gauge Masterpiece Models owned by the society to a whole raft of the recent Hornby offering in a range of different guises. Here are my two from my ‘Little Didcot’ collection. No 5051 Earl Bathurst and, of course, No 4079 Pendennis Castle.

We also had books, badges and more. Here are two of the above. The book was written by Mike Higson and Kenneth Leech. What is far rarer than the book, is the badge. This is advertised in the back of the book and there aren’t that many of them around these days. If you are a No 4079 fan and you find one, snap it up …

Here is a selection of items from the Australian adventure. The guide is from the meeting of No 4079 and No 4472 Flying Scotsman in Western Australia in 1989. On the left is the press release given out when Rio Tinto kindly donated her to us at Didcot and the cylindrical item is a beer cooler from the afore mentioned tour. Quintessentially Australian …

So, how did we do? Did we get to 100 items? Yes! The only issue is where do we draw the line? I counted 108 items including the nameplates both wooden and real and the Hornby castle on permanent display in our museum. There was however a last minute controversy in that I had included in that first count a model of No 57 604. This is the Class 57 GWR diesel Pendennis Castle. To which I countered that if we wanted to be pedantic about it, I’d get all the photographs out of the four-volume set on display which had at least one picture of each of the 171 Castles in it and most engines had more than one image. That would have put the total way over 350 … Whichever one you believe, the lowest count was still 107, so we claim victory!

Yay!

Another fabulous collection that was on display on the Saturday only was my restoration team! Every now and again, we gather again in the presence of our charge to see how we are all getting on. Tea was drunk, stories told and retold and in the finest traditions of the No 4079 Restoration Team, Dudley’s finest bread pudding was consumed. it was wonderful to see them all. Without them, the day wouldn’t have been possible

 

‘Let them eat cake!’ Well, we did! I had the honour of spending 20 years putting the real thing back together and therefore I also got the honour of cutting up and distributing her likeness in cake form to our visitors on the Sunday! I quickly renamed it Tasty Castle. It was too … Here I am with our events co-ordinator Sarah Jermyn. A fine job she did too organising this one!

A final fantastic addition was a visit from the Paton family. “Who are they?” I hear you ask … Well, Vicky Paton here had a rather famous maiden name. She was born as Vicky Higson. Pendennis fans will therefore have worked out that this is the daughter of none other than Mike Higson – the man who saved No 4079 from the cutter’s torch in 1964. Vicky was born the same year. Can you imagine being 26 years old, having a new baby daughter and then becoming the owner of 120 tons of then 40-year-old Castle class steam locomotive with 1.75 million miles on the clock?

She brought her children and one of her grandchildren as well. This meant that I had the honour of taking them all up to the footplate while she was in steam in the yard. While Vicky had seen Pendennis before, the rest of her family hadn’t and they were quite struck with seeing her for the first time. They hadn’t really understood how important their grandfather’s actions were in saving an enormously historic engine.

It’s one of the great privileges of the hobby that every now and again, you get to put people in touch with their past and their families in ways that wouldn’t be possible without access to objects such as Pendennis Castle. The weekend was well worth it just for that alone…


1 March

Watching the Trailers – the one that wasn’t, then was, but now isn’t again …

So, what’s all the hyperbole? Those of you that know are screaming Railmotor No. 93 at me! It’s a tale of success, over success, failure, rebirth and eventual salvation but to start off with we go way back to 1908. The Steam Railmotors were built in several batches. The last few were built around the end of the first decade of the twentieth decade. As there were a total of 99 Railmotors in use with the Great Western Railway, ours (No 93) was clearly one of the last!

A steam railmotor and trailer at Dawlish Warren. Photograph from Phil Kelley’s collection

They were intended to allow lightly-used branch lines to operate more efficiently. Their influence was a classic example of unintended consequences. The Railmotors made the services really efficient. This meant that they became really attractive to passengers. As a result, passenger numbers went up. Great! Well, yes, except for the fact that the Railmotors did have an Achilles heel. They weren’t that powerful. In order to fit inside the coach body, the locomotive units were small. This restricted what they could do. While they were designed to pull a single trailer coach like No. 92, they couldn’t pull much more than that. The increase in traffic meant that the GWR needed trains capable of moving more passengers. They were effectively made obsolete by their very success at the thing they were built to do.

Steam railmotor No 93 approaching Yatton on 22 May 1929. Photograph by H C Casserley, courtesy of John Lewis

So, what do you do with these machines now that they have become surplus to requirements? The power units were designed for such a niche application, they really didn’t have much use outside that. However, the rest of the coach was REALLY close to being an auto-trailer. So, given the frugal nature of the Great Western, that’s what they did. They became coaches. A little undignified for something that used to be a locomotive in a way if you think about it!

Auto-trailer No 186, converted from steam railmotor No 62, at Southall in May 1933. Photograph by W Potter from Great Western Auto-Trailers by John Lewis

These conversions started as early as 1915, showing how quickly the success or otherwise of the railmotors happened. It wasn’t a quick process either, happening in stuttering pockets until 1936. This seems on the surface to be quite simple, but in fact was quite complex. Firstly, as per overhaul procedure, the roof at the power bogie end was removed and the boiler lifted out. The rest of the power bogie was then removed underneath the frames. This left quite a big hole in the floor of the powered end. The frames were modified and a new bogie was fitted. The body shell required a lot of rebuilding as well. In the end, only one half of the body remained essentially original. They eventually had the same layout as the purpose-built trailers as described in the first in this series (scroll down to the Going Loco blog on 9 February 2024).

No 212 at Reading in 1958, with, left to right, Don Flook, CMEE Inspector (Plant); Jack Dowsett, CMEE Inspector (Road Motor); Ken Gibbs, CMEE Inspector (Plant); Horace Rhodda, Head of Section; Fred Kitchen, CMEE Inspector (Plant); Dennis Norris, CMEE Inspector (Plant). Photograph in the Great Western Trust collection

The diagram O and R Railmotors were among the last converted, No 93 succumbing in 1934 and she emerged from Swindon as auto trailer No 212 to diagram A26 in 1935. Not all of the O or R diagram Railmotors were converted. Six of them were scrapped in their entirety. Clearly their conversion was seen as just not worth it in every case. No 212 was fitted with a pair of 9ft ‘American’ style bogies and was turned out in chocolate and cream livery. She never gained electric lighting, remaining gas lit until withdrawn. She had sandboxes fitted too, to allow her to help the locomotive propelling in slippery conditions. She was fitted with the ATC (automatic train control) signalling system in February 1945 to allow her to work on main lines whilst being propelled.

No 212 soon after arrival at Didcot Railway Centre in 1970. Photograph by Peter Chatman

She was photographed at Wolverhampton in 1949 in a single colour livery – probably plain crimson. Despite being repainted and updated this late, she didn’t last in revenue earning service for much longer. The records indicate that she was withdrawn from passenger traffic in May 1956.

The power bogie for No 93 under construction in 2008. The motion was built in wood to prove it worked before the steel castings were made

This wasn’t the end for No 212. She was then pressed into another role – this time as a Work Study coach at Swindon, renumbered a third time to No 0799014. Auto-trailers were easily converted to mobile offices because the seats could be stripped out, leaving large open saloons for the new purpose. Work Study is a management fad which aims to find the most efficient method of doing a job. Workers under the Work Study gaze tend to carry out their tasks as slowly as possible, so they will not be expected to increase efficiency subsequently.

No 212 as a bare skeleton before conversion to a steam railmotor began

When No 212 arrived at Didcot in the summer of 1970 there was ample evidence of her final purpose in life. The floor was littered with discarded Work Study notes containing such gems as: “Puts on Wellington boots, 10 minutes.”

No 212 setting off, under green cover, from Didcot in September 2007 for conversion back to a steam railmotor at Llangollen, with Heritage Lottery funding

But her Work Study existence gave No 212 enough time to come to the notice of the Great Western Society and the rest is (preservation) history. After a number of years funds were raised to build a new power bogie and a successful application for a Heritage Lottery grant enabled the body to be rebuilt back to its original state. This gave us Railmotor No. 93, back from the dead! The Lottery grant also enabled the restoration of trailer No 92 which gives preservation an example of a Steam Multiple Unit – the forerunner of all the multiple units, both diesel and electric, that exist on the railway network today.

No 93 at Looe in November 2012

An opportunity made possible all because British Railways needed a Work Study office …

No 93 at Didcot Halt with trailer No 92


23 FEBRUARY

Centenaries - As Far As The Eye Can See…

No 4079 Pendennis Castle turns 100 this year. We have a special event to celebrate it on 2 and 3 March – why not come along to celebrate?! We had another century event last year, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the first Castle class locomotive – No 4073 Caerphilly Castle – being completed. There is another centenary next year – that of No 4079’s domination on the LNER / GWR locomotive interchange trials and her attendance at the Empire Exhibition in 1925. Plans for an event here are afoot too .… That’s a lot of centenary celebrations. But we aren’t the first to celebrate a centenary on the Great Western.

Signwriters painting carriage roof destination boards for the rebranded Cornish Riviera Limited and the new Cornishman trains. Photograph published in Great Western Railway Magazine, July 1935 edition

The Great Western celebrated their own centenary in 1935. There were a whole host of events that were conceived to celebrate this and promote the fact that they were basically still the same railway company that had been set up in the 1830s. A remarkable record in anyone’s book. A banquet was held in Grosvenor House Hotel in London for 1,100 people. There were a whole host of updates to reflect the forward looking nature of the company and the Art Deco design movement. Its sweeping streamlined lines, geometric patterns and polished metal and chrome defined the age and had become all the rage on the railways of the U.K. at the time.

The complete ten-coach Centenary Cornish Riviera Limited, alongside the river Teign in Devon. Photograph in the Great Western Trust collection

We have already had a look at the only surviving Centenary coach, No 9635, which is in our collection, so why don’t we take a look at how the Great Western themselves celebrated their 100th birthday way back in 1935. Our source is the Great Western Railway Magazine via our legendary image and information guru, Photo Frank …

The magazine’s July 1935 edition introduced the new timetable for the summer holiday period:

“With the constantly increasing holiday traffic to Cornwall an entirely revised schedule has become necessary, and in this connection the ever-popular and widely-known Cornish Riviera express enters a new phase in its history. The traffic attracted to this famous service has, in past summers, severely taxed the carrying capacity of one train, and to meet the heavy requirements a companion express will be introduced, the two trains to be known, respectively, as The Cornish Riviera Limited and The Cornishman.

The Centenary Cornish Riviera Limited crossing St Austell viaduct in July 1935. Photograph published in Great Western Railway Magazine, August 1935 edition

“The Cornish Riviera Limited will leave Paddington at 10.30 am and Penzance at 10.0 am, and will carry reserved seat passengers only. From Mondays to Fridays it will run non-stop in each direction between Paddington and Truro (279 miles) and convey passengers for and from Truro, Falmouth, St Ives, and Penzance only. On Saturdays, the non-stop run from London will be extended to St Erth (299 miles), and the train will serve St Ives and Penzance only, passengers for Falmouth and Helston travelling by a relief express, leaving Paddington at 10.25 am.

“The Cornishman will cater for intermediate traffic not served by The Cornish Riviera Limited. It will run each week-day, and it virtually becomes the train it is designed to relieve. The down train will leave Paddington at 10.35 am and carry passengers for Newquay, St Erth, Helston, Penzance (due at 5.7 pm), and other Cornish stations. The up train will start at 10.20 am from St Erth, and call at Gwinear Road, Truro, Par, and Plymouth, from which point it will run without intermediate stop to Paddington, where it will be due at 4.50 pm.”

An O gauge model, by Kenard, of Centenary first class dining saloon and kitchen. This is one of a complete rake of Cornish Riviera Limited O gauge coaches recently donated to Didcot Railway Centre. The original of this vehicle is stored in the carriage shed at Didcot

Then the next month, the magazine described the carriages:

“The New Great Western Railway Cornish Riviera Trains

“The article on the Great Western Railway summer service in the July issue of the Magazine intimated that an important new passenger train, The Cornish Riviera Limited, would be put into service on 8 July, leaving Paddington at 10.30 am – the same time as the former Cornish Riviera Express. The rolling stock comprising this train has been constructed in the Company’s Swindon works. It is of a new style and reaches a very high standard in travelling comfort and amenities.

The kitchen side of the Kenard model of the Centenary diner. Note the five circular gas tanks in the underframe, for cooking

“There are in due course to be two such trains, providing a daily service in each direction. At the moment only one has been delivered, confining the use of the new stock from the London direction to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the return journey of the new coaches being made on the alternate days. The new Cornish Riviera Limited carries booked seat passengers only, and runs non-stop to Truro* (279 miles) on weekdays, except Saturdays, when the down train makes its first stop at St Erth*, 299 miles from Paddington.

“Each of the new trains consists of ten coaches of the following formation:

• Brake Compo 36 seats
• Brake Compo 36
• Third Class 56
• Brake Third 16
• First and Third Class Compo 48
• First Class Saloon and Kitchen 24
• Third Class Dining Saloon 64
• Third Class 56
• Third Class 56
• Brake Third 16

The interior of the first class dining saloon in the Centenary diner, as built. Photograph published in Great Western Railway Magazine, August 1935 edition

“All the vehicles are 60 ft long and 9 ft 7 in wide, and have vestibule entrances with over hanging bow ends, which reduce the length of the gangway between the vehicles. The bodies are constructed with fire-proof floors and are completely encased with steel plating. They are carried on massive steel underframes mounted on pressed steel bogies of an improved design, which give very steady riding. The first class compartments are panelled in light quartered oak and walnut, with oval mirrors, and upholstered in various colour schemes in blue, green, and brown. The third class compartments are panelled in gaboon mahogany and walnut, with oval mirrors, the upholstery being in brown moquette.

Interiors of the first class and third class dining bays in the Centenary trains. Photographs published in Great Western Railway Magazine, August 1935 edition

“The windows throughout the train are of extra large size, of the drop type, and are fitted with rayon curtains. The floor covering is of linoleum laid on felt, with carpets and rugs to match the upholstery. Accommodation for twenty-four passengers is provided in the first class restaurant car, which is finished in light quartered oak and walnut. The saloon seats are of the fixed pattern; they are upholstered in brown repp, and have loose, spring-filled cushions.

A Kenard O gauge model of a Centenary brake composite coach. This has a guard’s and luggage compartment on the left, then two first class compartments (blue curtains) and three third class compartments. Note the subtle difference in the widths between the windows of the first class compartments and the third class, giving more space in first. Following habits at the time, first class has one smoking and one no smoking compartment (triangular label), while third class has two smoking and one no smoking

“The kitchen, which is separated from the pantry by a serving vestibule, is lined with stainless steel sheeting and equipped with gas stove, plate warmer, and hot water circulator for supplying hot water to the sinks in the kitchen and pantry. Two refrigerator cup boards are fitted, being cooled by an electrically- operated refrigerating plant carried under the coach. The pantry contains accommodation for the storage of china, cutlery, etc, in addition to wine cupboards, sinks, and serving tables.

The arrival of the St Ives portion of the Cornish Riviera Limited is formed with one of the brake composite coaches. The small road motor (GWR terminology for buses) is to take passengers to the Tregenna Castle Hotel. The photograph was published in the Great Western Railway Magazine, September 1939 edition, titled “Literally at the seaside”

“The third class dining saloon, which is panelled in gaboon mahogany and walnut, accommodates 64 passengers, tip-up spring seats being arranged in groups of four on either side of the centre corridor. Passengers using this service will readily appreciate that they have accommodation fitting to the dignity of a new Cornish Riviera express which, in its performance, adds lustre to an already great tradition.”

The Cornish Riviera Limited in Sonning cutting behind No 6022 King Edward III. Photograph published in Great Western Railway Magazine, July 1936 edition

Don’t you just love the language used in these old publications?! We of course are going to celebrate No 4079’s 100 by making some steam and noise, marketing a new beer and trying to gather 100 different Castle related items together including models, souvenirs and original nameplates being specially displayed from the Great Western Trust’s collection. Sounds like fun and I hope you can join us. The link for booking tickets can be found by clicking here:

https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/product.php/161/pendennis-castles-100th-birthday-party

Thanks once again to Photo Frank and we will see you again next time!

* Although the train was advertised at non-stop, there was a stop, not at a station, for the engines to be changed after the four-hour journey from Paddi


16 FEBRUARY

The Other McAlpine Engine at Didcot

We have a famous locomotive that has the very great fortune to be associated with that towering figure of railway preservation – Sir William McAlpine. He of course was once the owner of our very own No 4079 Pendennis Castle. He also owned No 4472 Flying Scotsman at one point too, but one of the locomotives less well known that was owned by Sir William is an engine that was part of his family firm of engineers. She has sadly reached the end of her current boiler certificate.

No 31 climbing the 1in 13 gradient at Fawley Hill

Thankfully, the overhaul was tendered for and won by our contractors Pete and Ali at Didcot. An agreement with the Great Western Society followed swiftly after as to the use of the works at Didcot as well. The strong links between Fawley Hill and Didcot are quite apparent and there are several volunteers that serve at both railways. The fact that the two venues are relatively close geographically also means that the Fawley volunteers are able to come and work on the loco.

A close up of the compensated suspension

No 31 has amazingly been owned by a McAlpine in one way or another since her construction. She was ordered from Hudswell Clarke way back in 1913. By then the company had been in existence for about 53 years, having been founded in 1860. They had been known variously as Hudswell and Clarke, Hudswell, Clarke and Rodgers (1870), Hudswell, Clarke and Company (1881) and finally became a limited company in 1899.

They weren’t just a locomotive builder either. They worked on prototypes of compartment boats which were an early form of freight carrying inland waterway vessels. Mining equipment was also in their inventory including pit props and other hardware. They ended up being responsible for constructing the casings for munitions in WWII and even post-war nuclear weapons such as the Blue Danube and parts for the Centurion main battle tanks.

During No 31’s previous visit to Didcot, in 2019, she is climbing the coal stage – not so steep as her home incline at Fawley!

On the railway front, they were limited in standard gauge at least to the smaller and industrial scale machines. 0-6-0 and 0-4-0 designs being the most common. This they did successfully for many years. They also built diesel locomotives that were used in a variety of industrial scenarios including underground in the mining industry. They built a range of narrow gauge machines, both steam and diesel. One of the most famous of the diesel versions are those that still operate today on the 20” gauge Scarborough North Bay Railway and the 21” gauge Pleasure Beach Railway at Blackpool. These are unusual in that they look externally like main line steam locomotives. They are in fact diesel hydraulic machines and are amongst the earliest versions of this power train in use on UK railways.

No 31 is a small, 0-6-0 saddle tank contractor’s locomotive that is typical of the designs of the early twentieth century. She is simple, rugged and easy to look after as suits this purpose. One of the remarkable features of the engine is the suspension. It is fully compensated and when you watch her go along you get the feel that she would go over a ploughed field! If you are watching her as she moves, it is much like watching the suspension on an off-road vehicle. Every bump is soaked up effortlessly and the ride from the cab, even at the maximum permissible preserved line speeds, is very smooth.

No 31 with Port Talbot Railway No 813, also built by Hudswell Clarke, at Didcot in 2019

She has Stephenson valve gear as is typical in industrial locomotive design, operating valves for two inside cylinders which are 15” diameter by 20” stroke. She has 3’ 7” diameter driving wheels and a tractive effort of 14,232 lbs force. Not bad for a little engine that weighs no more than 26 tons. Another remarkable feature of the engine is the efficiency and effectiveness of her braking system. This loco always performs incredibly well in this regard which is very fortunate when you consider that she works the steepest adhesion worked incline that we know of at Fawley Hill – an amazing 1:13 at its toughest!

No 31 working Santa Specials at Didcot in December 2019, and displaying the 81M shed code plate

No 31 was originally ordered by the Ministry of Fuel and Power but was delivered when completed to the Robert McAlpine & Sons depot at Cuffley in the southeast of Hertfordshire between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. She was painted in the company livery of Caledonian Blue which she was to remain in for her entire working life. She was used on a series of famous construction projects in her time. The Empire Exhibition and Stadium Complex at Wembley (1923-1924), RAF Boscombe Down (1944) and Llanwern Steelworks (1960-1961) were just a few examples. She was sent back to her builders in 1938 and the engine was extensively rebuilt. One of the biggest visual changes was the swapping of the saddle tank from a squarer original to the curved version she has today.

No 31 worked until 1961, after which she was put into store at the McAlpine yard at Hayes, west London. She went on the scrapping list in 1965 and that should have been that if it were not for a certain member of the McAlpine Family – The Hon William (as he then was) – spotting the engine and her plight. Like so many things railway, she was delivered to Fawley in September 1965 to be preserved. There wasn’t much of a railway at Fawley at the time and the solution to get the engine to her new home was nothing short of cartoon-like.

On 28 January 2024, No 31 was briefly coupled to Pendennis Castle when being shunted into the Lifting Shop

Remember if you will, that bit in the fantastic Wallace and Gromit film The Wrong Trousers – the bit when the train is going along the floor. Gromit is desperately laying track ahead of it to allow it to continue.

In a similar action, No 31 ventured off across the fields of the Fawley Estate on a couple of track panels. Rolling from the first to the second, the first then moved from behind to in front, and the whole process repeated until she was safe and sound! She was also repainted into Sir William’s favourite livery of GWR Middle Chrome Green with all the lining, a livery that has remained with her to this day. The shed at Fawley was also given its own shed code in the same style as the British Railways codes in use at the time. 81 was used as the number, as Fawley is near Henley-on-Thames and this puts it in the London Division of the former Great Western*. The letter code could only be M for McAlpine though. Thus she proudly carries the 81M shed code plate to this day.

On 3 February 2024, with the tank lifted off the boiler, Leigh Drew (left) Didcot’s Locomotive Manager is with three volunteers from Fawley Hill Museum, left to right Tim Breeze, Nigel Parker and Di Breeze

She needs a thorough inspection and will get a boiler overhaul and will be thoroughly inspected mechanically and repaired as well. She is also long overdue for a repaint and if there’s anywhere she is likely to come out of the works in Great Western Livery, I suppose it’s Didcot! The engine has had a thorough boiler washout using our high pressure gear and is being dismantled in order for the inspection and overhaul to commence. I will keep you up to date with the progress of this historic machine.

*The same as Didcot which was 81E under BR.


09 FEBRUARY

Let’s Watch the Trailers

Given that we are on the build up to the return of the pioneer Great Western Society locomotive, No 1466, I thought we had better watch the trailers. They come before the main show, right? I am of course not referring to the lurid advertisements of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster. I’m referring of course to auto-trailers. Depending upon how you look at it, we either have three or four in the collection at Didcot. We will explain that in a future chat .…

No 92 as first seen by preservationists, in use as a mess room at Cardiff docks

The first Great Western Railway auto-trailer was built in 1903. They were built in the matchboard style with the sides of the coach made up of thin, vertical planks of wood. They also had Dean type centreless bogies. This meant that the wheeled trucks under each end of the vehicle were supported on arms sticking out of the sides of the body rather than on a central pin. It is thought that these early vehicles were to be used with the then new steam railmotors of the same design then being built at Swindon.

No 92 had to be lifted and turned through 90 degrees to be reunited with the track before movement for preservation

The design of both the railmotors and their associated trailers progress with the technology and styles of the time. The match boarding went out early on and was replaced with the more familiar wood-panelled style. The sides were covered with a sheet of wooden panelling and where the joins occurred, wooden mouldings were fixed. This gave their outsides an intricate and complex appearance, enhanced by lining out.

No 92 at Taunton in 1976

The centreless bogies also gave way fairly early on, too. The centre pin variety being much easier to produce and maintain. The diagram U coaches, of with our very own No 92 is a member, sported what was known as the ‘American’ bogies. These were, not unsurprisingly, based on American practice of the time and employed a clever equalising beam arrangement to supply the suspension. They were available in both 8 or 9 feet wheelbase versions although the latter was more typical for trailers.

After the award of a Heritage Lottery grant for restoration of the railmotor and trailer, they moved to Llangollen for the work to be carried out. 92 is nearer the camera, 93 is under the green cover

By the time No 92 was built in September 1912, the designs had in some versions grown in size too. The railmotors and trailers were now 70 feet long and 9 feet wide. The internal layout became fairly standard. Going from the end that attached to the locomotive, there was usually a luggage compartment, a small seating area, the passenger doors, a large passenger compartment and then the driver’s cab at the far end. The seats in the diagram U trailers were of the tram or walkover type that could be easily rearranged so that the passengers could sit in the direction of travel.

The SMU (Steam Multiple Unit) coupled together for the first time at Llangollen in April 2013, after restoration. The train can be driven either from the railmotor, or the cab at this end of No 92

An unusual feature of the diagram Us was the fact that they had corridor connections at the locomotive end of the coach. In theory this enabled them to be coupled to railmotors also so equipped but this was not done very often as railmotors thus equipped were even rarer! The corridor connections were not for the convenience of passengers, but allowed the guards through to check tickets.

Coupling 92 and 93 together, showing the corridor connection at the end of 92

They were all gas lit from new, although the march towards the elimination of gas lighting on the railway caught up with No 92 in October 1931. These trailers were very long lived and lasted well beyond the demise of their railmotor partners who were all gone pretty much by the mid 1930s.

Showing off the gas lights (now converted to electricity) while in a tunnel on the Llangollen Railway

As they aged, their beautiful panelling became somewhat compromised in some cases. As the sections became damaged or deteriorated, they were unceremoniously replaced with plain steel panels. This could make these grand old vehicles look decidedly down at heel.

Inside No 92 at Didcot Railway Centre

The diagram U trailers began to be withdrawn in the mid 1950s but the last one in service, No 91, lasted into the early 1960s. Our example, No 92, was condemned in January 1957 and that should have been that but it was used as a mess room for staff from GKN at Cardiff Docks. From here it was noticed by members of the Great Western Society and eventually purchased in 1969.

The SMU passing Radstock signal box at Didcot Railway Centre

It moved from Cardiff to Swindon initially but migrated to the depot at Taunton in 1972 and thence to Didcot in 1977. It was cosmetically restored from then and used as staff accommodation. Eventually, the idea to rebuild the railmotor came to the fore and as part of the Heritage Lottery application, it was proposed to rebuild No 92 as the perfect partner to Railmotor No 93. The numbers are even sequential – clearly it was meant to be! No 92 now serves as a fantastic reminder of those early auto trailers and is a unique survivor of its type. To step on board is to step back in time and that’s exactly our aim at Didcot. Mission accomplished!

The SMU passing Radstock signal box

The auto-trailer that isn’t an auto-trailer next time .…


02 FEBRUARY

The Lucky Thirteen

We talked about No 1363 a LONG time ago in Going Loco. Some of the earliest blogs were on this engine * and while we have covered quite a bit of the engine’s history since she was built in 1910, the current restoration and overhaul has escaped us. Until now .…

1363 taking water in the snow, 1 January 1979

The locomotive hasn’t been steamed since the early 1980s. She was also nearly a century old when the current overhaul started so she has been through a thing or two .… As she hadn’t been touched in so long, she really was an unknown quantity both structurally and mechanically. Only stripping her down would reveal the extent of the work required to bring her back to life. Let’s just say, the answer was that there was a fair bit to do .…

Part of the original frames (upside down) after being cut away, showing the corroded state

The first bit noticed was the fact that the main frames and practically everything else around the cab area was in pretty poor condition. Most of the metal here looked exactly like it was a century old. The steel was thin and dented. Certainly no longer capable of being part of an operational steam locomotive. This rot went right down to the main frames of the engine. In places these were wasted through corrosion to less than half of their original thickness. Considering that this section is where the main brake shaft and the drag box where the coupling to the train goes, it’s an area that needs to be fairly durable .…

Riveting the replacement section of frames

The rear three feet of the frames were replaced in the end. The only major parts that were reused here were the cab steps and the fittings such as the buffers, vacuum pipes, brake shaft and so on. The rest is all new. This replacement programme has continued up from the rear frames. The bunker, in its entirety, was also very badly wasted. The bunker itself had a huge crease in it from a coming together with another rail vehicle sometime in the dim and distant past. The cab floor was in an equally poor condition too and has also been replaced. The cab sides and the front are the originals however. The sanding mechanism was also in pretty poor condition and has been overhauled throughout. The front drag box had been repaired a few times and was no longer fit for service. This is also now new.

The new part of the outer firebox throatplate being welded

The boiler has needed extensive repairs. The lower sections of the steel outer firebox were thinned to beyond acceptable limits and have been cut out. The process for doing this is quite involved. The tricky bit here being that the side panels are on top of the front and rear panels. This means that you have to remove a small portion of the side panel each end to get the front and rear sections off. The remains of the side panels hold the inner firebox and foundation ring in position while the new sections are welded in front and rear. These are then riveted in place and the remains of the side panels cut away and new sections welded in and riveted back together. It’s quite the job .…

The lower part of the throatplate in position, with the welded joint

A number of stays (the things that hold the inner and outer firebox together and prevent the plate work bending under the pressure) have needed replacement as well as the front tube plate. This is the flat panel at the front end of the boiler and, as its name suggests, it has holes for the boiler tubes and a few other items in it.

The crown stays are being replaced. They are caulked, then nutted, but to take account of the shape of the firebox, spacers are fitted between the nuts and firebox top

Each spacer is individually shaped and identified for its position with a code of numerals and dots. The spacers are cast in bronze and two of them have been polished for this portrait

The front tubeplate being marked out by Pete Gransden

Mechanically, the engine was also very tired. The list of parts refreshed or replaced is extensive. The main wheel bearings were the start of it all so that she could sit back on her wheels again. Whilst the wheels were out, the tyres were turned to restore the flange profile back to standard. All of the other white metal bearing surfaces have been replaced. This means the cross heads, the rod bearings and so on. The pins that hold the rare Allen straight link valve motion together were all renewed and the die blocks replaced too. The slide valves were found to be in good condition but the pistons required new rings to be manufactured and fitted.

One of the crossheads stamped with the loco’s number

The cylinders were still in good order and the overhaul uncovered the fact that the cylinders on the engine are not a matching pair. It is thought that one of them is a replacement that is of the same design as the later pannier version of the design. The upshot of this is that despite there being a 1361 class locomotive in preservation, there is only one surviving cylinder to that design! No 1363 also needed to have her suspension overhauled. The team found that there were several pins and other parts that were seized in place and required some quite determined removal(!). All of the pins were replaced and the springs were sent away to be remanufactured back to their original tolerances.

The new cab roof being fitted by Angus Pottinger (left) and Chris Handby (right)

The final big item for the overhaul will be the saddle tank itself. This is what makes the locomotive unique. She is the only saddle tank built at Swindon to survive in preservation. The problem with the tank is that it is quite a complex design with a series of overlapping and highly curved steel plates. An investigation carried out by cutting out a section known to be too thin has shown that the lower tank is in far worse condition than the upper section. The team working on her have a plan, but it’s not going to be a simple repair.

1363’s chassis outside the engine shed on 28 January 2024, with the cab sides and roof and the new bunker fitted

The team working on her have had made amazing progress recently and a project that took a back seat for a number of years while Castles, Saints and Kings ** were completed. It’s now time for this plucky survivor to come to the fore. It will be a great day when ‘the big thirteen’ steams again and she will be a fantastic thing to see. The oldest Swindon-built engine in our collection. A genuine machine produced in the white heat of Churchward’s technological advances and yet a strange anachronism in that she was based on a design that went back over 50 years when she was built.

1363’s chassis with the boiler alongside on its trolley, outside the engine shed during a rearrangement of the lifting shop and loco works on 28 January 2024

She is a lot of things to a lot of people, but the one thing she definitely is, is a rare insight into the small engines of the Great Western before the era of dominance of the pannier tank.

* 24 April 2020 and 12 June 2020

** Our little 0-6-0T King George, not the other one!

 

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