THE ROSTER
LOCOMOTIVES IN FOCUS
GWR & CONSTITUENTS
1340: Work has resumed on the contract overhaul of Didcot Railway Centre’s 0-4-0ST Trojan at Locomotive Maintenance Services of Loughborough, following a pause owing to the coronavirus lockdown.
LMS has fitted 308 stays to the all-new copper inner firebox, and it is hoped that the locomotive will steam again later this year. Its previous boiler certificate expired in 2011, and it arrived at LMS (via a short stay at the nearby Great Central Railway) in January 2017.
The boiler has also received a new firebox tubeplate and firehole door ring, as well as a new ashpan. New tubes are next to be fitted, prior to out-of-frames hydraulic and steam tests, and reassembly of the locomotive.
Work on the engine’s bottom end has included a piston and valve examination, overhaul of the axleboxes and valve gear, tyre turning, realignment of the slidebars, repairs to the bunker, a new brake ejector and new components for the safety valves.
Built by Avonside in 1897,
No. 1340 is the oldest engine in Didcot’s operational resident fleet. It originally worked for Messrs Dunn & Shute of Newport Town Dock before being sold to the Alexandra Docks Railway in 1903 and absorbed into GWR stock at the 1923 Grouping. Sold into industrial use at Netherseal Colliery, Burtonon-Trent, in 1932, it later worked for Alders of Tamworth before preservation in 1968, but was not restored to working order until 2002.
1466: The Great Western Society is appealing for £60,000 to ensure that its ‘14XX’ is back in steam for 2021, the 60th anniversary of the group’s formation to preserve it.
The Collett 0-4-2T, which last steamed in 2000, is undergoing a contract overhaul at the hands of
Western Steam Engineering, on the Dean Forest Railway. Its wheelsets have received new tyres at South Devon Railway Engineering, and repairs to the motion are largely complete. A new bunker is being assembled, following the rebuilding of the rear end of the frames.
Extensive boiler work is still required, including copper welding to the firebox, replacement firebox crown stays, a new foundation ring and new smokebox, as well as a full re-tube. The SDR has also produced a replacement smokebox tubeplate, along with the corner sections for the bunker.
It is estimated that the overhaul will cost £300,000 in total. Donations can be sent to 1466 Appeal, Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot OX11 7NJ or made at https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
The GWS was first mooted in 1961 when Jon Barlow wrote to The Railway Magazine to suggest that a ‘14XX’ and autocoach should be preserved. The group acquired No. 1466 and autocoach No. W231 three years later.
It is planned to outshop the locomotive in the livery it carried when first restored in the 1960s green with ‘Great Western’ lettering and the number 1466.
SR & CONSTITUENTS
W24: Two of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s engineering staff have been unfurloughed to restart work on the overhaul of ‘O2’ Calbourne, supported by a small team of volunteers.
The aim is to have the flagship Adams 0-4-4T back in steam for the IoWSR’s 50th anniversary in 2021, possibly alongside Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST Invincible, which was the other mainstay of the line’s fleet in the early days of operation. Last steamed in BR lined black in September 2019, Calbourne is to return in Malachite green.
Prior to the lockdown, said IoWSR general manager Steve Backhouse: “The overhaul of Calbourne was progressing well – minor issues with the firebox had been sorted and we were getting close to being able to lift the boiler back onto the frames. We’re still very hopeful that W24 will play a starring role in our 50th anniversary celebrations next year.
“Invincible was already a little further down the queue. Ideally we’d love to have her running at some point during 2021, but she’s not as critical to the plans.”
BR STANDARD
76077: Locomotive Maintenance Services of Loughborough has completed the restoration of the BR ‘4MT’ 2-6-0’s pony truck – a major step towards the aim of re-wheeling the ex-Barry engine this year.
Evidence of a derailment in BR days was found, along with several parts from Southern Region locomotives: the centre casting from classmate No. 76054, the axlebox horn guides from ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T
No. 80019, and axleboxes from Ivatt ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T No. 41294. These are presumed to have found their way onto the truck when No. 76077 – then allocated to Sutton Oak – received a Light Intermediate overhaul at Eastleigh Works between January 20 and February 29 1964, at a time when the former LSWR workshop was using spare capacity to take on work from the London Midland and other BR regions that were running down their own steam facilities.
They are not the only parts from scrapped engines on No. 76077 – the restoration will also benefit from the connecting rods of No. 76080, which was cut up at Barry in 1972.
Rescued from Dai Woodham’s yard by Chris Hinton for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway in 1987, No. 76077 is now owned by Toddington Standard Locomotive Ltd. Approximately £25,500 has been raised in recent weeks through the sale of shares at £100 or more, and a list of components will shortly be made available for sponsorship. Details of the project can be found at https://standard76077.com
It is estimated that the total cost of the restoration will be around £450,000-500,000, excluding the construction of a new tender, as it is planned to initially run the engine with a hired-in tender.