Swanage summer gala set is to be a strictly Bulleid affair
SEVEN years after its showstopping Bulleid-centric event to mark 50 years since the last days of steam on the Southern Region, Strictly Bulleid 2 is set to bring together several examples of the West Country and Battle of Britain classes to run across the full 9 ½ miles from the seaside resort right up to its Network Rail boundary at the River Frome.
The March/April event of 2017 saw five of these powerhouses descend on Dorset with SLL’s resident fleet of Nos. 34053 Sir Keith Park and 34070
Manston joined by Nene Valley Railway-based based No. 34081
92 Squadron, the East Lancashire’s 34092 City of Wells, and the Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust’s No. 34046 Braunton for the occasion.
Partnering up with supremos Southern Locomotives Limited, this year’s event will take place on June 7-9. Manston will once again feature, this time being joined by Nos. 34028 Eddystone and 34072 257 Squadron, both of which were absent from the 2017 line-up as they were undergoing overhauls which were not completed until 2021 and 2018 respectively.
Manston will have returned to the railway following its period on loan to the Mid-Hants Railway (where it arrived in December 2023), while 257 Squadron will be making a short visit away from its current base at the Spa Valley Railway.
It is hoped that a fourth member of the SLL collection will be present for the occasion; No. 34053 Sir Keith Park is currently undergoing overhaul, with the front end of the locomotive having now returned to Herston
“The Swanage Railway hopes to once again steal the limelight with another weekend that will be dominated by these iconic locomotives from the region.”
Works in Dorset, having been located at Tyseley Locomotive Works since last year. While there, the boiler has been swapped with the overhauled one taken from No. 34010 Sidmouth; this underwent an initial steam test at Weybourne (where the work had been carried out under contract) on December 8, 2023.
Steam test
Although it was intended to refit the superheater header and elements before departing the works, it was noted that the header needed some repairs and so the boiler was transferred immediately to Tyseley to facilitate a swap with the good header off the boiler that was fitted to that locomotive at the time. Following completion of this work, on February 16, another steam test was performed on the overhauled boiler in the frames, which proved there were no leaks and so facilitated its return to Dorset, where the SLL team has continued reassembling the locomotive.
SLL confirmed that invitations to other operational Bulleid locomotives had been submitted but could not confirm any further details as we went to press. The announcement has come following a hectic programme of winter works for its volunteers, which highlighted the vast complexities that owning groups endure with such a large collection of locomotives.
Unfortunate failures
In addition to progress with Sir Keith Park, 257 Squadron was faced with several unfortunate failures during the festive season. Having spent the summer of 2023 on loan to the East Lancashire Railway, No. 34072 returned to the Spa Valley where it was prepared for service on that line’s ‘Polar Express’ services, but on its second day of running, a universal joint that connects the injector control handles to the injectors dislodged itself and dropped off. Attempts to find it were unsuccessful, hampered by it being within hours of darkness with heavy rain, and so a replacement was borrowed from No. 34053 and ferried to Tunbridge Wells for fitting.
As reported, this mishap was just the first in a streak of bad luck, with a mudhole door joint failing the following week, followed quickly by the fracturing of a bogie spring. The locomotive ran only 10 days for the ‘Polar Express’ season – less than half of what was planned.
Meanwhile, work has commenced on the restoration of No. 34058 Sir Fredrick Pile. With the front half of the locomotive now at Sellindge, on November 7 the boiler was removed from the frames and placed on a raised sleeper stack to allow for better access. All driving wheel springs have been released in preparation for repairs, with hopes that the contractor will confirm they are fit for overhaul and will not need full replacement. The dragbox will need to be replaced with that of No. 35025 Brocklebank Line being recovered for No. 34058.
Before the frames can be lifted to facilitate extraction of wheels and axleboxes, the pistons must be removed; once the wheels are clear, the frames can be cleaned, repaired and treated in the same way that Sidmouth’s have been, with that particular Bulleid having recently had new rivets fitted to the frame extensions, plus a new dragbox fitted.
The overhaul of SLL’s BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80104 also continues on the boiler at Tyseley, where a new front tubeplate has been made and is ready for fitting, while tube holes on the rear end of the boiler have been built up; tube fitting was expected to occur before early March.
SLL has also supported the Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge by presenting a replica Hawkinge nameplate to the museum’s chairman, Dave Brocklehurst MBE.