INDUSTRY TO IS LAND
At 140 years old, the last surviving ‘E1’ 0-6-0T has cheated the scrapman twice, despite being the victim of sabotage…
William Stroudley’s famous ‘Terriers’ are among the most tenacious survivors of the steam locomotive world. Seventy years after bigger and more powerful locomotives ousted them from the London suburban traffic for which they were designed, they would still be going strong as the oldest locomotives at work on BR, with no fewer than ten living on into the 21st century in preservation. But the last remaining example of their larger cousins - the ‘E1’ 0-6-0T - is, if anything, an even more remarkable machine. Withdrawn from main line service a full nine decades ago this year, it is surely unique among steam locomotives in having been deliberately sabotaged to prevent its preservation. Yet, if all goes well, it could be back in action to celebrate not only the centenary of its withdrawal and sale into industrial service, but the 150th anniversary of its construction as a milestone locomotive for Brighton Works.
100 NOT OUT
When it next turns a wheel, the ‘E1’ will be starting a new life on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, in the guise of No. W2 Yarmouth - the first of the four island ‘E1s’ to be withdrawn in 1956 - filling a major gap in the picture presented by this living museum of Vectis railway history. But when it started life 140 years ago, as London, Brighton & South Coast Railway No. 110 Burgundy, it was feted for a quite different reason - as the 100th locomotive built to Stroudley’s elegant designs. On April 13 1877, just over three weeks after it entered service, the great engineer-artist invited his foremen, together with the Mayor and Alderman of Brighton, to a banquet at the town’s Old Ship Hotel - where a toast was drunk to the ‘E1’ in Burgundy wine. “That’s something we’ll have to recreate,” says Bob Huxtable, the IoWSR’s Engineering Manager. “Perhaps we could get one of our local vineyards to make us a special ‘E1’ wine.” However, unlike another celebrity locomotive of Stroudley’s design with which it now rubs shoulders at the IoWSR - ‘Terrier’ No. 40 Brighton, winner of a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878 - the ‘E1’ received no special tankside inscription to record its status, instead settling down to an undistinguished career in the LBSCR’s green-liveried goods locomotive fleet.
BY THE TIME IT WAS PRESERVED, IT WASN’T REALLY AN ‘E1’ ANY MORE, APART FROM THE BOTTOM HALF
Nor would it receive the recognition that it deserved for a great many years to come.
INDUSTRIOUS ‘E1s’
Like the ‘Terriers’, although some ‘E1s’ would survive well into BR days, many others were early candidates for withdrawal - the first as long ago as 1908. No. 110 was among the pre-nationalisation casualties, having been placed on the duplicate list in 1907, and being withdrawn in February 1927 still carrying LBSCR livery four years after the Grouping - complete with its original Stroudley boiler and copper-capped chimney. But now came the first twist in its amazing tale of survival. It was the first of five ‘E1s’ to find a new use in industry, being purchased by the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company on April 5 1927, for £925. With 998,698 miles already ‘on the clock’, however, whether it was a good second-hand buy was another matter. Just two years into its new career, it received a replacement boiler built by Bagnall (the boiler plate records a works number of 7496 and a testing date of September 2 1929), which drastically altered its appearance, with a different dome and pushing the tanks outwards due to its greater diameter. It had also received the same chimney as the rest of the CRC fleet, described as a ‘Rawnsley Standard’ after the system’s workshops, but which sat uncomfortably on this Victorian tank engine. Richard Bellchambers, who later became the ‘E1’s’ owner, describes it frankly as “horrible” and Stroudley himself surely wouldn’t have thought much of it either! Richard expresses his surprise: “You would have thought there would be plenty of locomotives for sale at that time - yet they bought one that needed a new boiler. “So by the time it was preserved, it wasn’t really an ‘E1’ any more, apart from the bottom half.” But although it had, in his words, been “heavily got at”, its second life in industrial service did at least mean that it survived to be preserved nearly 40 years later - by which time it had outlasted every other example of its class in BR service. Though not everybody wanted to see it saved…
“SABOTAGE!”
The ‘E1’ acquitted itself well in CRC service, with plenty of power in reserve for the five-mile Cannock Chase branch from Hednesford to Rawnsley, and the parallel Littleworth Tramway. Barry Bull - museum curator for its first preservation owners, the Chasewater Railway - says: “It was the biggest locomotive the colliery had, and it was regarded as the doyen of the fleet until they got ‘Austerities’.” But after it was involved in two fatal accidents - one of which involved the death of a ten-year-old girl on a level crossing just outside the pit - the superstitious staff began to believe that the locomotive was jinxed, and turned against it. So much so that, after its last steaming in 1963, somebody drilled a quarter-inch hole in the outer firebox wrapper, in a calculated bid to ensure that it could never run again. Richard adds: “The state of the inner copper firebox would have prevented further steaming anyway - but at that time, I don’t think it was realised what boiler repairs would become possible as the preservation movement gathered pace.” Yet somebody at the colliery must have had a change of heart - for when a pioneering preservation scheme sprang up just down the road, the National Coal Board couldn’t have been more helpful. Either that, or they saw an easy opportunity to get rid of it. That scheme was a largely forgotten one from the very dawn of the movement. Long before anyone dreamed of the Heritage Railway Association, there had been calls as early as 1959 for enthusiast efforts to be co-ordinated on a national basis - leading to the formation of the Railway Preservation Society that year. The idea was for regional branches to focus their efforts on a local branch line; a worthy aim, but one that would never be realised in its entirety. Today, only three such groups survive - the London Railway Preservation Society (now the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre), the SRPS at Bo’ness, and the West Midlands RPS, which became the Chasewater Railway.
TWO ‘COAL TANKS’ TOGETHER
In 1960, the latter moved into its first home at Hednesford, where Charlie Ives of Penkridge Engineering offered the use of his railconnected private site, and where the Cannock colliery branch connected with the Bescot-Rugeley line. Links were forged with the NCB system at an early stage, for the society’s first two items of rolling stock - Great Eastern Railway, and Maryport & Carlisle Railway six-wheel coaches - came from the colliery workmen’s train; and the group first came into contact with the ‘E1’ before its withdrawal, in a rather unusual way. What could possibly link this LBSCR relic with two other preserved locomotives - LNWR ‘Coal Tank’ 0-6-2T No. 1054, and ex-Barry Stanier ‘8F’ 2-8-0 No. 48173 at the Churnet Valley Railway? The answer is that in April 1961, after the ‘Coal Tank’ was preserved by private subscription, and restored to LNWR livery at Crewe Works, it was the ‘8F’ that towed it from there to Hednesford - and the ‘E1’ that shunted it from BR metals onto the Penkridge Engineering site! With the ‘Coal Tank’ now in working order, the restoration of the ‘8F’ having started at Cheddleton, and the ‘E1’ also lined up for a return to steam, perhaps they could be reunited for a gala one day? The ‘Coal Tank’s’ stay was only ever intended to be temporary, however, for it moved to the National Trust’s Penrhyn Castle in December 1963, leaving the society without a locomotive. But they had no trouble obtaining one… “The NCB offered the ‘E1’, saying: ‘You can have it now and pay later, we’ll deliver it for free’,” recounts Barry. It arrived around Christmas 1963, and was a perfect present: “They allowed us to pay the purchase price of £240 over goodness knows how many years.” The Coal Board helped out again in 1970, when the Penkridge Engineering site was sold and the society had to move out - “although we’d never paid a penny in rent,” says Barry. During the evacuation of the stock to the Brownhills branch (now the Chasewater Railway), the ‘E1’ was moved back to the colliery, where the NCB’s low-loader could access it more easily. “They’d move anything for us at no cost,” remembers Barry. “For the ‘E1’, they had to hire a bigger trailer, but only charged us the £47 bill.”
BUYERS’ MARKET
At Chasewater, the ‘E1’ was regularly given protective coats of paint, but even discounting the firebox damage, a return to steam never looked a likely proposition: “We never had a boiler inspection done,” says Barry. “About the mid-1970s, a group of members started an appeal, but no funds really came in.” Eventually, in a story that will be familiar to many preservationists, it had to be put up for sale in 1978 to raise much-needed cash - to acquire and extend the running line. “We only had a quarter of a mile of track, and leased a section at the other end from the Coal Board,” explains Barry, “but in between were 600 yards owned by BR. “Selling it did cause a bit of a rift - some members didn’t agree with it and drifted away - but we know that we did the right thing for the society and the engine, and we’re pleased that it’s ended up on the Isle of Wight.” The asking price was £5,000, which equates to about £26,000 today - a reasonable sum for such a unique and historic artefact. Surprisingly, though, despite the strong enthusiast following that the LBSCR still commands - thanks largely to Stroudley’s beautiful designs and eyecatching livery - just three enquiries were received. “Norman Payne, the Bluebell’s locomotive engineer of the time, came to inspect it,” recalls Barry, “but at that time they were also about the ‘9F’ from Barry scrapyard [No. 92240, which moved to the Bluebell in October 1978].” Even considering the ‘E1’s’ poor state, this is a somewhat surprising choice, given the Bluebell’s LBSCR pedigree - not to mention the fact that, in its early days, the last survivors of the class were on its hit-list for preservation. The final Isle of Wight example (No. W4 Wroxall) and the last one on the mainland (No. 32694) had just about survived long enough, being withdrawn in October 1960 and September 1961 respectively - but sadly, like so many other engines, sufficient funds simply weren’t available.
Similarly, a chance to get the ‘E1’ across the Solent was missed at this point: “We had a tentative enquiry from a gentleman in Leamington Spa on behalf of the IoWSR,” continues Barry, “but he never came to look at it.”
BOILING POINT
In stepped Richard Bellchambers, together with two other members of the East Somerset Railway - Barry Buckfield (owner of LMS ‘Jinty’ 0-6-0T No. 47493 and Barclay 0-4-0ST Works No. 1398 Lord Fisher) and Dean Knights. Says Richard - also the owner of Barclay 0-4-0ST Works No. 1719, named ‘Lady Nan’ after his wife: “It was fairly early days for the ESR then, and we felt that the ‘E1’ would be an ideal size. “It wasn’t in very good shape - but it was reasonably complete.” Secured in August 1978, the ‘E1’ duly arrived at Cranmore on September 11 that year. Then, Richard recalls: “It stood around for a while, as is the way of these things, while we contemplated what we were going to do with it.” Later, he bought Barry’s and Dean’s shares, in 1982 and 1989 respectively, and the overhaul was duly started around 1986: “It was agreed that if I funded the boiler overhaul, the ESR would look after the rest of it. “In those days, boiler work was beyond us at Cranmore, so on March 28 1988 it was sent to a contractor in Warrington, who had done ‘Lady Nan’ and whose work we had been pleased with. “Unfortunately, the price kept growing” - perhaps not a surprise after the Cannock vandalism, but the saga was only just beginning... “My phone rang at work one day, and the person on the other end said: ‘You won’t know me and you’re not going to like this call - I’m the official receiver for the boiler firm…’ “I went up north and picked out the items that were mine - the boiler and some of the tooling needed to finish it. Fortunately, there were two or three other companies under the same directorship, so the job was transferred to one of them. “In the meantime, the boiler was stored at a Vauxhall dealership that had some spare space!” The overhauled boiler returned to Cranmore on October 27 1989, and the ‘E1’ made its first moves under its own steam for nearly 30 years on July 19 1992. After running-in and attending to minor snags, it made its public debut at the ESR’s ‘Mendip Steam Dream’ gala of October 1-3 1993 - as nobody had dreamed of seeing it before. Its smart new coat of Southern Railway green, as No. B110, was an entirely new look - showing how it would have looked had it remained on the books of the SR, which gave Brighton engines a ‘B’ prefix to their number. It was more authentic in one respect, though; the “horrible” Rawnsley chimney had been replaced with an LSWR Drummondpattern example, as fitted to the four Isle of Wight ‘E1s’ - and which was, ironically enough, loaned by the IoWSR, being thought to have originated from an ‘O2’ 0-4-4T. “So now they’ve got it back!” chuckles Richard, who still has the cast ‘CRC’ letters in his garage - while the “horrible” chimney remained at Cranmore as a donation box, and Chasewater have the Cannock Wood nameplates and the No. 9 (or 6) numberplates. One other small modification to bring No. (B)110 a little closer to its original appearance was a plywood toolbox, in its distinctive Stroudley position behind the bunker. Sadly, all the effort would be rewarded with only a relatively
short period of service. Away from the ESR, the ‘E1’ paid just one visit to another preserved line, to the Bristol Harbour Railway for the ‘International Festival of the Sea’ on May 24-27 1996. But immediately upon its return to Cranmore, recounts Richard: “Our mechanical foreman at the time condemned it due to several fractured firebox stays - and it never steamed again. “We did take out the firebox and the front tubeplate, but decided that the boiler was beyond repair - it would have cost as much to build a new one. “That was beyond my means, and the railway wasn’t exactly flush with cash at the time either, so we more or less abandoned it.”
ACROSS THE SOLENT
Little more would be heard of the ‘E1’ for 15 years, although it was reassembled for display, and in June 2011 donned yet another all-new livery BR black with the fictional number ‘32110’ - to publicise the launch of a £20,000 appeal by the ESR to purchase it (SR391). “I was quite happy to sell it, as there was no way I could fund it,” says Richard. But as we now know, the ESR would never get the chance - for another line had long wanted to get its hands on the locomotive, and thanks to a generous £650,000 bequest, now had the means to do so: the IoWSR. Not that the ESR was losing out on the deal, for thanks to another display of generosity - the donation of the Ivatt Trust’s three locomotives in 2009 - the IoWSR had an authentic class of locomotive to loan Cranmore in exchange: ‘2MT’ 2-6-0 No. 46447. So, Richard concludes: “I agreed a price; the ESR agreed that they’d abandon their purchase plan; and we had a very enjoyable time putting No. 46447 back together!” Such was the amicable spirit and goodwill, he adds: “It was already over on the island before we’d even formally signed the agreement - and before I’d been paid! “The IoWSR was ready to send the Ivatt, and a slot opened up in the transport firm’s schedule, so the ‘E1’ was moved over there on October 30 2012, and we did the formal handover on November 3.”
IDENTITY SWAP
Now the IoWSR’s engineering team are champing at the bit to start overhauling the ‘E1’. Under the leadership of Locomotive Foreman Andrew Summers, an initial inspection is under way to determine the locomotive’s condition, and some parts have been removed for restoration, including the connecting and eccentric rods. The latter were thought at first to be the 1877 originals, but it’s now concluded that this is not the case; their actual provenance remains a mystery! So far, says Bob Huxtable, the ‘E1’s’ condition has proved “much as to be expected from an old, hard-worked locomotive - but many of the original components and features will survive.” The plan is to restore it as closely as possible to island configuration, converting it back to the class’s original left-hand drive, and fitting Westinghouse air braking only; while the life-expired Bagnall boiler will be replaced by a new-build item, to the Marsh design fitted to most of the ‘E1s’ in later years, including all four island examples. A Mr Howard Griffiths has also donated a safety valve bonnet of the correct design, thought to be from Nine Elms. Currently, the locomotive carries a cosmetic coat of BR black as No. W2 - but the bequest has specified a return in Southern olive green, which will allow the IoWSR to recreate a whole 1930s coal train. As pictured in SR466, the railway has recently completed a rake of four LBSCR 10-ton wagons transferred to the island by the SR for this traffic, with a fifth lined up for restoration. “A coal train from Medina Wharf to Newport would have been up to 40 wagons,” explains Bob, “but coal trains to the various yards were usually five or six.” As detailed in SR461, the rebuilding of the ‘E1’ is the heaviest overhaul yet undertaken by the IoWSR, and requires an upgrade of the Havenstreet engineering facilities to match. Says Bob: “A project like this cannot be undertaken within the present resources while still maintaining the operating fleet. Once the assessment of the ‘E1’ is complete we will be better placed to cost the project. Planning for new facilities is still at the discussion stage, with a number of proposals being examined for feasibility.”
SIGNIFICANT SURVIVOR
He concludes: “No target completion date has been set - but we are mindful of the 150th anniversary and the significance of Burgundy in Stroudley history.” While the ‘Terriers’ can justifiably lay claim to the mantle of Stroudley’s - indeed the LBSCR’s - most famous locomotive design, the ‘E1’ is arguably an engine of equal historical importance, yet one that has been overlooked for far too long. But sooner or later, such forgotten machines can get their place in the limelight - and it seems that, at last, the ‘E1’s’ time has come again.