IS IT THE END OF THE LINE FOR NRM’S ‘GREYHOUND’ 4-4-0?
Swanage summer visit scuppered before Drummond ‘T9’ is even able to haul a train.
THE National Railway Museum’s LSWR Drummond ‘T9’ No. 30120 was laid up and out of use at the Swanage Railway in late August, its continued future as a working engine in doubt, amid fears that the 4‑4‑0’s fragile, patched‑up cylinder block may have reached the end of its life. Hastily transferred to Swanage from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway on July 26, just two days after a head‑on collision there left the ‘Purbeck Line’ with a steam motive power crisis (SR470), the ‘Greyhound’ has not turned a wheel since its arrival. It was due to return to Bodmin in time for the BWR’s ‘China Clay Steam Gala’ from September 22‑24. No. 30120’s cylinder block has been an Achilles heel for many years, being located beneath the smokebox and vulnerable to sulphur‑induced corrosion. When the locomotive was last overhauled at the Flour Mill workshops in the Forest of Dean seven years ago, several holes were discovered in the top of the block. A heat‑resistant epoxy composite was used to fill the holes ‑ but it was always considered to be a temporary repair, and recently steam leaks from the cylinders, through the concrete base of the smokebox, have indicated that a more permanent solution ‑ such as a new block ‑ might be the only solution.
IT BECAME OBVIOUS THERE WERE PROBLEMS AT THE FRONT END MATT GREEN, GENERAL MANAGER, SWANAGE RAILWAY
Explained Swanage Railway General Manager Matt Green: “As soon as the ‘T9’ arrived, we examined it and started to prepare it for service ‑ but during the steam test it became obvious there were problems at the front end. With the ‘T9’ being a National Collection engine we couldn’t just start taking it apart, or put contractors to work on it. But we have been in consultation with the National Railway Museum, and we’re awaiting their advice.” He thought it unlikely that there would be any attempt to steam the ‘T9’ before its scheduled return to Bodmin in mid‑September. A frontline Bodmin & Wenford Railway source commented: “You could say that the ‘T9’ is nearly on its last legs. It’s not looking good for the future running of the engine in the long term.” Steam Railway asked the NRM for a statement on the condition of the ‘T9’, and options for repair. Said a York spokesman: “Upon arriving at the Swanage Railway, some mechanical issues were discovered with the ‘T9’, which we are working with our partners to rectify.” The Swanage Railway plans to put its former National Collection ‘T3’ No. 563 into undercover storage this winter. It has not yet stated where that will be. The Adams 4‑4‑0 will remain on open‑air display at Corfe Castle station until the conclusion of the railway’s October steam gala.