THE HIDDEN HUNDRED
STEAM RAILWAY tells the story of how a pioneering preservation scheme by a group of students grew into one of the movement’s largest rolling stock collections.
A closer look at one of preservation’s largest rolling stock owners
It’s one of railway preservation’s largest rolling stock owning groups, with the number of items on its books running into three figures - a treasure trove of rare and unique survivors, with a large number in full working order across the country. One might reasonably jump to the conclusion that we’re talking about the National Railway Museum, or perhaps Jeremy Hosking’s Royal Scot Locomotive & General Trust, or West Coast Railways… a major business with the financial clout to match. But in fact, the society under discussion is a far more modest organisation, run by just five trustees and raising most of its money from a sales stand: the GWR 813 Preservation Fund. You may well have picked up a second-hand railway book or several from the stall at Kidderminster station during a Severn Valley Railway gala, and have probably seen or ridden behind the unique locomotive in the group’s charge - 0-6-0ST No. 813 - at the SVR, or during one of its many visits to other preserved lines. You may also be aware that the Fund’s interests extend into the preservation of historic rolling stock, especially wagons. What you might not have realised is just how far those additional interests go. How many other preservation societies - or even smaller railways for that matter - can lay claim to 100 items of stock? Just take a look at the stocklist overleaf. The words ‘light’, ‘bushel’ and ‘under’ spring to mind, not necessarily in that order…
UNSUNG SURVIVOR
But then, the same could have been said about No. 813 throughout preservation, and indeed during its working life. For all its historical significance, and despite touring the country’s steam railways during its last boiler ticket, it never seems to have been much in the enthusiast limelight. This unsung workhorse is pretty much all that’s left of one of the smallest and most obscure pre-Grouping companies - the Port Talbot Railway, or to give its full title, the Port Talbot Railway & Docks Company. One of the last standard gauge main line railway companies to be incorporated, in 1894, the PTR only remained fully independent for a mere 14 years before the GWR took over its railway operations in January 1908. The PTR retained management of the docks, but within the same timescale, it disappeared altogether, being fully absorbed into the Paddington empire from January 1 1922. To work its total route mileage of just 33½, the PTR had an equally small locomotive fleet (numbering a mere 22 at the GWR absorption) but one that was full of interest. As well as the 0-6-0STs and South Wales’ trademark 0-6-2Ts, there were such unusual sights as a 2-4-0T purchased from the Barry Railway in 1899 and rebuilt as a 2-4-2T; Britain’s only six-coupled, and probably most powerful, steam railmotor; and a gathering of 0-8-2Ts from both sides of the Atlantic. Three of the latter came from Sharp Stewart, but during the ‘Great Locomotive Famine’ at the turn of the century - when every domestic manufacturer had a full order book - the PTR joined the Great Central, Great Northern, Midland and Lynton & Barnstaple Railways in turning to an American builder, the little-known Cooke Locomotive Co. of New Jersey supplying two chunky 0-8-2Ts in kit form in 1899.
By sheer chance, however, it was a much less exotic machine that ended up being the sole representative of the PTR in preservation.
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
All of the Port Talbot locomotives were quickly ‘Swindonised’ with standard GWR fittings and, in some cases, replacement boilers, following the 1908 working arrangement. But few lasted long in their new ownership; only one 0-6-2T and one Sharp Stewart 0-8-2T just scraped into 1948 before withdrawal, and all of the 0-6-0STs from Hudswell Clarke and Robert Stephenson had gone by 1934. But while they had been quickly replaced by pannier tanks in main line service, the saddle tanks proved a popular choice for industrial use. Five would go on to a second career in this sector three (Nos. 808, 812 and 816) being sold to South Wales collieries, and two - No. 815 and our star locomotive - travelling further afield to the North East. Sold to Robert Stephenson & Co. for £360 in 1934, No. 813 was then resold to Backworth Collieries Ltd near Newcastle, taking No. 12 in its fleet. By 1966, renumbered 11 under National Coal Board auspices, it was the last survivor of the PTR 0-6-0STs, and as such caught the eye of Pat (Paddy) Goss - now the 813 Fund’s administrator, but then aged 26 and studying at Hull University. He recounts: “Around 1966, the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society published Volume 10 of their History of GWR Locomotives, dealing with the absorbed engines - and going through it, I noticed that No. 813 was still at Backworth. “Few absorbed engines survived - there were one or two others, but they’d had substantial rebuilds - so I thought it would be a good idea to preserve it. I was often told that I was wearing rose-tinted spectacles!”
His first approach to the NCB was rebuffed: “They said it wasn’t for sale and it was still needed as a standby to their ‘Austerities’ apparently it had always been a popular locomotive with a good reputation for speed, not that that was too important on the line down to the coal staithes! “But some months later, I got a letter to say they’d decided to withdraw it and it was available for the scrap value of £320.” It doesn’t sound like much, but in today’s money, that’s around £5,400 - hardly a trifling sum for a student to contemplate, then or now. Fortunately, Pat was secretary of the university’s Railway Society, and reckons: “Without their support, I doubt we’d have been able to do it.” The coffers were swelled through charging admission fees to weekly film shows at the students’ union, as well as outright donations - “and some other silly things,” remembers Pat. “Being students, of course, we used to go to a lot of parties… so we’d collect the empty beer bottles and cash them in!” The purchase of the locomotive in July 1967 was also thanks to a £200 loan from staunch GWR preservationist David Rouse, who died in April 2013 (SR415). He is best known for saving Collett 0-6-0 No. 3205, which had become the Severn Valley Railway’s first locomotive in April 1967 - and at his suggestion, No. 813 joined it, arriving at Bridgnorth by road in November of that year.
YOUTHFUL OPTIMISM
“Immediately, a small group formed to try and steam it,” recalls Pat. “We were all very keen and optimistic, and forecast that it would take two to three years…it took about 20! “In those days, the SVR wasn’t really geared up to restore locomotives, and we had no experience, so it stagnated. “We did a hydraulic test on the boiler about 1970, and had the axles re-profiled at Crewe - as well as acquiring a new chimney to the GWR pattern, a new front bufferbeam, and GWR buffers - but it never got beyond that.” Even so, it should have been a relatively easy restoration - for, surprisingly, No. 813 had gone back to its makers, Hudswell Clarke, in 1950 to receive a new boiler, followed by a replacement firebox in 1962. Why is a mystery - “but that saved its life,” says Pat, and ensured also that, unlike many ex-main line engines in industrial service, it was in relatively authentic condition by the time it was preserved: “Hudswell Clarke just copied the existing ‘Swindonised’ boiler, so it retained most of the GWR fittings, including the Deantype steam manifold and even the sight feed lubricator.” But, he continues: “We didn’t realise that mechanically, it wasn’t in tip-top condition - the NCB had cobbled the motion together.” This would prove to be No. 813’s Achilles heel - resulting in not one, but two, abortive ‘debuts in preservation’. “It wasn’t until 1975 that a group of volunteers at Bewdley started restoring it, to take part in that year’s ‘S&D 150’ cavalcade at Shildon,” recalls Pat. “It wasn’t finished in time, so it could only take part as a static exhibit, but it was cosmetically restored and looked very smart.” Paint couldn’t hide its underlying faults, though: “All the boiler needed was a re-tube, which the volunteers carried out - but the mechanical overhaul was entrusted to a contractor. “Unfortunately, the quality of that work wasn’t high enough - and it failed on its first steaming. “It took part in the SVR’s 1976 Autumn Steam Gala at Bewdley and lasted about six hours. “The left-hand piston hadn’t been assembled properly, so its stroke was too long and it was hitting the cylinder cover - until it went through the end and destroyed it.” Another nine years on the sidelines ensued, until a second attempt was made to return No. 813 to service for the ‘GWR 150’ celebrations in 1985. It was earmarked for the exhibition at Swindon - which, in the event, never took place because of the works’ impending closure - but it did take part in a week-long event at Didcot. One Bewdley volunteer, Peter Simpson, deserves particular credit for this, says Pat, but: “It was still obvious that it wasn’t working properly - the wheel centres and axleboxes were all out of alignment and it was waddling all over the place - so when it returned to the SVR, it was declared unfit to carry on and withdrawn again.” A further shot at restoration was made by the 2857 Society in 1988 - but the group withdrew in 1993, having concluded that “the size of the task was greater than they could handle, in the context of their other commitments.” Fourth time lucky perhaps? Indeed it was: the 813 Fund eventually raised enough (around £90,000) to contract the overhaul to the SVR at Bridgnorth in 1995, with work commencing the following year. Yet when the job was finally completed in 2000, No. 813’s return to traffic was still rather overlooked, taking place without any of the fanfare that such a historic gem deserves.
PROVED ITS METAL
For No. 813’s first movements, on July 11 that year, took place in the middle of the SVR’s infamous ‘boiler epidemic’, as virtually its entire steam fleet went down with leaking tubes and stays. The railway press was too busy covering this to take much notice of No. 813, and as for the SVR itself, any celebrations to mark its return would have been the last thing on anybody’s minds. All that mattered was to somehow keep steam services running. In the SVR’s hour of need, No. 813 proved its worth by helping to do just that - venturing out on passenger trains before it was even fully painted. “That helped our cause a lot,” comments Pat. “It proved that it wasn’t just a shunter and was of some use to the railway!” No. 813 proved itself of use to many other railways - 25 in fact - in a nomadic nine years until its boiler certificate ran out in September 2009. A second major, and even more expensive, overhaul ensued - and once again, the workload was increased, thanks to a legacy of industrial service. At some point during its stint at Backworth, No. 813’s original
coupling rods were replaced with a set made from wrought iron,
which are thought - from the numbers stamped on them - to have originated from North Eastern Railway ‘1350’ class 0-6-0ST No. 1369, built by R.W. Hawthorn in 1876, sold to Backworth in June 1904 and scrapped in January 1942. Now declared lifeexpired, with a hairline crack found in one, they were replaced with new rods to the original design, made by Somers Forge of Halesowen, cut to profile by water jetting at Technical Materials Converters Ltd of Macclesfield, and finally machined by the Boro Foundry of Lye and the SVR. When it returned to steam in August 2016 (SR458), No. 813 was thus even closer to its absorbed GWR condition - although backdating it further to its original PTR appearance is unlikely. The PTR is so far off the enthusiasts’ radar that it doesn’t get a mention in Ernest F. Carter’s otherwise thorough tome Britain’s Railway Liveries, though according to John Lewis’ more recent work Great Western Way, its engines were painted chocolate, possibly lined out. It sounds very attractive, but to make No. 813 authentic for it again would involve a great deal of modification. “One or two people have suggested it,” says Pat, “but you’d have to
replace the buffers, safety valves, injectors and the bunker - which is bigger than the original, meaning it has two rear bufferbeams with a spacer in between. “So it would cost a lot, and there are more important things to spend money on - like the saddle tank. It’s the original and quite fragile in the lower regions.” Such are the vital considerations for a group that - apart from locomotive hire fees - is funded largely from the proceeds of its sales stand, estimated by Pat to be about £20,000-30,000 per year. Rather like a fellow SVR-based organisation - the Stanier Mogul Fund - it doesn’t charge annual subscriptions from its membership of approximately 150, instead relying on donations. “We can’t offer much in return,” explains Pat, “but if people are prepared to give a lump sum to become a member, hopefully they’ll donate again in subsequent years.” Those new coupling rods, for instance, were funded by the group as its own project, at a cost of £30,000 - pushing the total cost of the overhaul to £186,000, half as much again as had been forecast. But the locomotive is far from being the Fund’s only item of expenditure. What of all those wagons mentioned at the outset?
SNOWBALL EFFECT
With four coaches and 95 wagons adding to No. 813 to make a nice round stocklist of 100 items, one might be tempted to wonder if the Fund were deliberately targeting this as some kind of preservation record. But they weren’t. “It just snowballed,” says Pat, describing how they caught the collecting bug with which enthusiasts are all too familiar. It all started, he explains, when the society was looking for a van in which to store parts for No. 813: “There was a group at Buckfastleigh called the Dart Wagon Fund, who made some of their wagons available to other preservationists when they weren’t required by the Dart Valley Railway. “We were going to have a GWR ‘Mica B’ meat van, but it went to someone else by mistake, so we had to accept an open wagon instead - ex-Port of London Authority GWR ‘Open A’ No. 97398, acquired in 1970. “But we still needed a van, so David Rouse obtained one in 1971 - ‘Mink A’ No. 104621 from Round Oak steelworks - and that was the beginnings of the collection. David Rouse was also “acting as a go-between” to secure the former ‘Swindon Test Train’ of Collett coaches for preservation - most of which went to Didcot and the SVR, while one - 1938 Corridor Third No. 1146 - found its way to the 813 Fund in 1969. As more and more steam-era vehicles were withdrawn from BR service, so the group found itself scanning the tender lists and bidding for anything that caught their attention - or unearthing other valuable artefacts hidden away in the corners of goods yards and industrial sites. Somewhat ironically, one unique survivor - GWR grain hopper van No. 42239 - was discovered by Pat and David on the site of what is now Kidderminster Railway Museum; but after its acquisition, its stay at SVR was brief, before it moved to Didcot. As well as its Port Talbot relic, the group has the only known surviving wagon from another South Wales pre-Grouping company - the Brecon & Merthyr Railway. This 1902-built four-plank open, No. 197 (GWR No. 99766), “was ‘Swindonised’ by the GWR as it was a fairly modern wagon for its time,” says Pat, “then it was sold to the Admiralty and survived, out of sight, in Gosport ordnance depot.” GWR 1½-ton hand cranes Nos. 601 and 603 are remnants of an even older pre-Grouping system - having started life as broad gauge Cornwall Railway vehicles - while the Fund’s very first wagon,
No. 97398, also has far more historical significance than its nondescript appearance would suggest. It was built in 1921 at Woolwich Arsenal, under the same government-funded scheme to alleviate unemployment that gave birth to some of the Maunsell ‘N’ 2-6-0s - and is one of just two of these wagons listed on the Vintage Carriages Trust register, the other being on the Swanage Railway along with the last ‘N’, No. 31874. Equally rare and historic is 1931-built ‘Loco Coal’ wagon No. 83831. This 20-ton steel vehicle is similar to a batch ordered by GWR General Manager Felix Pole in 1924, in a forward-thinking attempt to modernise the company’s coal traffic by replacing smaller wooden-bodied private owner vehicles - despite the reluctance of many colliery owners to pay for the necessary modifications to their loading facilities. In the event, the 1926 coal strike and the depression of the 1930s would ensure that funds were never forthcoming for such changes to become widespread - and now, only two other examples of these wagons remain, a 1946 ‘Loco Coal’ vehicle at Didcot, and a mineral wagon at Mangapps. But perhaps the most interesting vehicle of all is 1939-built GWR ‘Loriot Y’ No. 41990. Only two of these unusual four-wheeled well wagons were ever built, and one found fame in The Titfield Thunderbolt in 1952, carrying ‘Old Dan’s coach behind Liverpool & Manchester Railway 0-4-2 Lion - although it’s now thought the Ealing Comedy star was the other, No. 41989, which is rumoured to have been broken up after the filming.
TRAIN SETS
Such is the breadth and depth of the collection that it would be possible to form several authentic GWR rakes from it; not just the SVR’s superb mixed goods, but perhaps milk or other fast ‘perishables’ express freights, for instance. “The SVR is certainly talking in those terms,” confirms Pat. “Now that it has a set of modern hoppers, the older GWR ballast wagons are regarded as ‘heritage’ vehicles - so there is an embryonic proposal for a GWR engineers’ and breakdown train, using our ballast wagons, mess and tool vans, and a redundant GWR steam crane, rather than relegating them to the sidings.” Others might be more difficult to get together, he contends, since the wagons are scattered across eight preservation centres and two private sites - which makes it all the more remarkable that the majority have been restored. How have they managed it? It’s thanks to the dedication of others, says Pat: “The wagons are largely loaned to or otherwise placed in the care of the railways, the agreement being that we’re responsible for the initial restoration and paying for materials, after which the railways maintain them. “A few have been done by contractors, but in most cases volunteers have come forward from the railways, not necessarily 813 Fund members. “There’s the SVR wagon group at Bewdley, for instance, while those at the Avon Valley are maintained to a very high standard by a team led by Oliver Holmes, a young man who’s about to become a trustee of the Fund. We rely very much on people like that.” To restore a wagon “in not particularly good condition” costs around £8,000-10,000 with volunteer labour, estimates Pat - “but if you’re paying someone to do it, that can double. “It cost £15,000 to restore GWR ‘Monster’ Scenery Van No. 594 at the South Devon Railway - all funded out of the sales stand - but let’s just say the contractor was sympathetic to our cause and didn’t overcharge… “We would be reluctant to take on too many coaches for that reason,” he adds. “Restoring a wagon for £10k is one thing - but even with volunteers, a coach can be five times that.” Such vehicles need to follow the example of No. 1146, which has always been maintained at the SVR’s expense as part of its GWR rake. Even so, the group hasn’t entirely stopped collecting; the most recent addition to the fleet was ‘Toad’ brake van No. 68784 at the Avon Valley Railway, acquired in February 2016. Might there be still more? Pat doesn’t rule it out, but thinks: “It would probably only happen if we found something exceptional to enhance the collection, or if something was in danger of being scrapped.” The fund is currently looking at an open wagon that falls into the latter category, he adds. “But it won’t be like it was 30 or 40 years ago,” he comments. “Acquiring a wagon is the easy bit - you need the resources to restore it, and not all railways want them taking up siding space.” He admits: “It is a job to keep track of them all, and we sometimes get accused of neglecting them.” It’s for this reason that changes are afoot in the Fund, to help secure the collection for the future. It is in the early stages of changing its constitution to a charitable trust, which, it’s hoped, will open up new channels of funding. “At the moment, I do 90% of the administration,” says Pat, “but I can’t run the sales stand forever, so there will have to be other avenues of fundraising. “There are currently five trustees including myself, but the aim is to have nine or ten, in order to better cover our spread of interest, including the wagons.”
ABOVE AND BEYOND
Rather like the Great Western Society, which was started by a group of schoolboy locospotters simply to rescue a ‘14XX’ and autocoach, the 813 Fund has grown far beyond its original ambitions into something that its student founders could never have envisaged back in the 1960s. Unlike the GWS, though - and more like the Port Talbot Railway that first owned its locomotive - the Fund has seldom enjoyed a great deal of attention from the enthusiast community. But it deserves recognition - for in the field of GWR preservation, and certainly in its contribution to the wagon restoration scene, its achievements are no less impressive.