PYOFTHE WCLINASAS3S3IGs-NAE~l~~YYEAR HISTORY
THEClass33s - A Sixty Year History will be published by Crecy on July 30, and TheRMhas three signed copies to give away.
Author Simon Lilley details in-depth the background and history of this versatile, popular and successful Type 3 locomotive, which included a fleet of 12 narrower locos, specifically for the Hastings line.
This is the first detailed published history of the class for 30 years. Between 1960 and 1962, 98 examples were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company.
The book draws on original material from a number of archives and sheds new light on many aspects of these locomotives over their 60 years of service.
You can win one of three author-signed copies which normally retails at £25.
TheRailway
This coal-fired model features three cylinders with Gresley Holcroft conjugating gear.
The copper boiler is silver soldered and hydraulically tested to twice working pressure.
This is a complex model and we have presently booked sufficient factory capacity for the production of just 20 models. If orders are received quickly it may be possible to extend the run a little, but this cannot be guaranteed because of the scheduling of other products (and we have a growing number!).
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Tyseley Locomotive Works has been at the forefront of the new-build steam locomotive phenomenon for three decades, from erecting the frames of to completing the 41 GWR'Grange'.However, its own LNWR'Bloomer' project may be the most ambitious yet as it sets to re-create a complete Victorian express train, as GaryBoyd-Hopediscovers.
Tst
HE High Speed 2 rail link, or HS2 for short, remains a hot - and often controversial - topic of discussion for the nation's media. The section linking Birmingham with London is set to open in 2026, promising A-to-B journey times of just 52 minutes between the capital and a brand new terminus at Curzon Street in the heart of Birmingham.
They say history has a habit of repeating itself, and where HS2 is concerned this particularly rings true. For it was at Curzon Street, on the very site of the new terminus, that what were arguably Britain's first high-speed inter-city trains used to operate more than a century and a half earlier, hauled by the pioneering London & North Western Railway (LNWR) 'Bloomers'.
And if that historical coincidence was not enough, by the time the first HS2 trains do finallyrun into Curzon Street, a fully operational 'Bloomer' re-creation should be up and running, too ... or at least it will ifTyseley Locomotive Works (TLW) has its way.
The fact that TLW is building a replica of one of James McConnell's 2-2-2s is not new
Work on the Single began in 1986 and reached an advanced stage of construction, but later stalled owing to TLW's growing contract engineering business. However, after more than two decades on the side lines the 'Bloomer' project was relaunched in mid-2019 as the centrepiece of the TLW /Vintage Trains Pioneer High Speed Train project.
This ambitious scheme will not only see the 'Bloomer' completed, but will also include the construction of a two- or three-coach period LNWR train built to full main line specification, with aspirations to run with the locomotive on short-haul demonstration runs around Birmingham.
But why build a 'Bloomer' when Tyseley is inherently all about the Great Western?
Collaboration
A prime driver behind the project is the possibility of a unique collaboration with HS2 and Birmingham's Curzon Street development, thereby demonstrating the complete evolution of the steam engine and Britain's national railway network.
Vintage Trains spokesman Denis Chick says: "With HS2 virtually across the road from us, we want to work with them to draw attention to the historical connections of steam in Birmingham, in particular, its first high-speed connection with London and the tremendous contrast in technology.
"The 'Bloomer' has been gathering dust for many years as the busy workshop has got busier. HS2 has given us a great reason to get on with it."
And why not!
To understand the historical significance of the 'Bloomers' to both Birmingham and high-speed rail travel in general we must wind the clock back to 1838 and the opening of the London & Birmingham Railway (L&BR).
The L&BR cannot claim to be the first inter-city railway.That honour lieswith the Liverpool & Manchester Railway,where Robert Stephenson's world famous Rocket made history and went on to shape the future of the steam locomotive. Yet the L&BR was the first inter-city line to be built into London, and at 112 miles long was also the first true main line railway of any significant length (the Liverpool & Manchester being little more than a branch line at just 31 miles).
Coincidently (or not) it was Robert Stephenson who engineered the route of the new railway,which started at Euston station in London and ran north-westerly to Rugby, where it turned westwards to Coventry and on to Birmingham and Curzon Street. The terminus, with its Roman-inspired entrance
building designed by Philip Hardwick, was shared with the Grand Junction Railway,thus providing full connectivity from London and Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester.
The line officiallyopened throughout on September 17, 1838, when the first passenger train from London to Birmingham completed the journey in a jaw-dropping 5½ hours. It may seem slow by today's standards, but for the early Victorians it was the equivalent of supersonic flight.
Main artery
In 1846 the route was taken over by the LNWR, becoming the main artery of the company's Southern Division. The following year saw James McConnell assume the role of locomotive superintendent at Wolverton Works, where he quickly set about equipping the company with a fleet of locomotives capable of reducing journey times. The results were his 'Patent' and 'Bloomer' classes.
Much of the design work on the 'Bloomers' was carried out by one Charles Beyer, who went on to found the famous locomotive engineering firm Beyer, Peacock & Co. These were the 'Azumas' of the day, featuring innovative design elements, including high-pressure 120psi boilers and a patent design of firebox with hopper grates capable of burning coal.
Up until this point steam locomotives had largely burnt coke owing to it being a smokeless, albeit expensive, fuel. McConnell's firebox enabled coal to be burnt with minimal smoke, thereby making long-distance running a much more cost-effectiveproposition.
The original design was derived from the six 2-2-2s built for the LNWR by Bury, Curtis & Kennedy in 1848. McConnell beefed the design up with the use of plate frames, larger boilers, and 7ft diameter driving wheels, and contracted Sharp, Stewart & Co to build the first 20 between 1851 and 1853. The firm built a further five for the LNWRin 1861/62, at the same time that Kitson & Co completed five, and Wolverton itself another 10.
They were used primatily on London and Birmingham expresses, as well Rugby to Stafford servicesfrom 1860. Most were later rebuilt during the 1860s and 1870s with Crewe-built boilers, while the introduction of water troughs meant the locomotives' original 2,000-gallon tenders could have their capacities reduced to 1,700 gallons.
Strangely, the new locomotives quickly earned the nickname 'Bloomers', and all because of the wife of an American lawyer. In 1851, the same year the first of McConnell's new locomotives emerged, one Elizabeth Smith Miller shocked New York society with her radical new fashion of a knee-length skirt and lightweight, ankle-length underwear, inspired by the pantaloons of Turkey.
GreatExhibition
One admirer of Miller's 'Turkish dress' was Amelia Bloomer, the editor and publisher of a temperance journal, The Lily.Bloomer soon adopted the style and advocated it to her readers, many newspapers dubbing it the 'Bloomer dress'.
The US nation was seized by a 'bloomer' craze that soon found its way across the Atlantic, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace providing the catalyst for many Victorian women to ditch traditional long skirts and petticoats in favour of the 'Bloomer dress'. When McConnell's 2-2-2s emerged with their shallow frames revealing most of the bottom of the driving wheels, the crews at Camden shed soon began referring to them as
'Bloomers', and the name stuck, even finding its way into official LNWR correspondence.
Regardless of their humorous nickname, the new 2-2-2s were hugely successful, bringing journey times between London and Birmingham down to two hours. It was such a leap forward that these times were rarely bettered even after the introduction oflarger, more powerful locomotives, and would not really be cut further until the West Coast Main Line was electrified.
Consequently, 11 smaller-wheeled versions with 6ft 6in driving wheels were built in 1854, primarily for secondary fast main line and branch servicesin the Southern Division.
Seven were built by R & W Hawthorn of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and four by Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows. They were followed by a further 20 locos, constructed at Wolverton between 1857 and 1861. Naturally, these smaller locomotives earned the nickname 'Small Bloomers', the 7ft examples becoming 'Large Bloomers'.
To further confuse matters, Wolverton turned out three more examples in 1861 with larger 7ft 6in driving wheels, together with McConnell's patented firebox. Five of this new 'H' classhad been ordered for the fastest expresses, but they turned out to be heavier than expected and the final two locos were cancelled.
'Extra-large'
The three completed locos were placed in store, although one was exhibited at the International Exhibition in South Kensington from May to November 1862. They were eventually rebuilt with normal boilers in 1866 and survived in service until withdrawal in 1880 and 1882. They became known as 'Extra-large Bloomers'.
During their heyday the 'Bloomers' were the fastest locomotives working over the LNWR main line. The first was withdrawn in 1866, but the last remained in service until 1888 when the classwas superseded by more modern LNWR types. None survived.
The impact that the 'Bloomers' had on the LNWR's Birmingham expressescannot be understated, and as a consequence their absence in the preservation ranks was felt by many to be a glaring omission. Among those who shared this opinion were the team at Birmingham RailwayMuseum (BRM) which, despite its strong connections to the LNWR's great rivals the GWR, felt something should be done to rectify the situation.
The year 1988 not only marked the 100th
anniversary of the last 'Bloomer' withdrawal but also 150 years since the opening of the London & Birmingham Railway. If ever there was a
'right time' to get such a project off the ground, this was it.
It must be remembered that at that time, the concept of the new-build steam locomotive by preservationists was almost unheard of. The project to build a new Peppercorn 'Al' Pacific was then still a far-off proposition, and apart from replicas of the Rainhill Trials competitors and George Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1, new-build steam had largely been confined to the British narrow gauge.
Undeterred, the BRM's chief engineer
Bob Meanley produced plans and designs for a 20th century 'Bloomer', which would be built as much as possible in the museum's own workshop at Tyseley. The museum had been successful in obtaining a £40,000 grant from Birmingham City Council to kick-start the scheme, and the 'Bloomer' project was given the green light.
Much of the impetus in developing the project came from the discovery of a pair of original McConnell tender underframes at the defunct BR depot at Northwich. One of these - No. 603 - was later found to have been paired with Wolverton-built 'Small Bloomer' No. 3 when it was allocated to Nuneaton shed.
A third McConnell tender chassis, complete with wooden brake blocks and full brake gear, was discovered at Machynlleth on the former Cambrian Railways system, where it had served as a tank wagon. Parts from these tenders were incorporated into the designs for the new locomotive, which would be numbered
670 after the museum's Warwick Road postal address (there being no particular logic to the numbering ofLNWRlocomotives, the railway simply used the next number available off the production line).
As consequence the tender for the new No. 670 was one of the first items to be completed, using the frames of one and the wheels and brake gear from the others. During repairs to the tender frames original LNWR paint samples were discovered, and subsequently copied and conserved. From these Bob Meanley was able to match and re-create the lined green paint applied to the LNWR Southern Division locomotives; the rebuilt tender (complete with new Tyseley-built tank) being so treated.
aOf course no steam locomotive is complete without its boiler, and BRM contracted marine specialists Babcock to build an all-welded steel boiler to a Meanley design. The boiler cost around £25,000 to complete (the equivalent of almost £60,000 today).
Meanwhile, the enormous 7ft driving wheels and leading and training wheels were cast by Goodwin Foundry at Stoke-on-Trent, while Precision Machinery Ltd at Lye manufactured the cylinder block. As further donations came in other components were ordered, including the ornate brass dome cover.
The loco's frames were erected at Tyseley around the new cylinder block, and before long the non-driving wheelsets were in place and the boiler fitted. The driving wheelset and crank axle were also assembled but not fitted at this time. Thus, a little more than 100 years after the 'Bloomers' disappeared from Birmingham, a new example of the type could be seen in the city once more.
In 1999 the team at Tyseley realised their long-held ambition to return regular steam services on the national network when it introduced the summer Sunday 'Shakespeare Express' between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon. It was a landmark moment for the Birmingham Railway Museum, and one which would shape all future operations at Tyseley.
The prospect of running regular railtours meant the Tyseley workshops would have to maintain the main line locomotives to the highest standards, while at the same time developing a growing contract engineering business.
It was felt, therefore, Tyseley's status as a museum was inappropriate for the expanded operation, and the decision was made to close Birmingham Railway Museum. In its place came the two organisations that form the backbone of modern Tyseley - Vintage Trains as the charter operator and Tyseley Locomotive Works for the upkeep of the collection and the contract work.
Inevitably, the 'Bloomer' found itself on the back burner as the new businesses grew, although the project did not stall entirely.
Work continued whenever time and funding permitted - much of the motion being manufactured after a £20,000 bequest was received in 2008.
However, No.
Weldedboiler
670 remained low down the
priority list, but the coming ofHS2 coupled with Vintage Trains' independence as a train-operating company provided the perfect platform to relaunch the project for a brand new city audience.
Duting the annual TyseleyOpen Weekend in June 2019 Vintage Trains chairman Michael Whitehouse officiallylaunched the Pioneer
High Speed Train project to not only complete No. 670, but also create a complementary train of three four-wheeled carriages to represent a typical LNWR train of the period.
Partnership
A fundraising appeal was subsequently established to raise the £300,000 required to complete the design and manufacture of 'Bloomer', which is to be carried out by sponsored apprentices and young engineers employed at Tyseley Locomotive Works. This is part of the project's legacy, as it will enable those involved with the build to keep heritage engineering skillsalivewhile learning for themselves how to construct one of railway history' missing links.
A partnership with Aston University has been proposed, allowing engineering students to play a role in the design of the carriages and learn practical skills On November 15, 2019, the project reached a new milestone when the large single driving wheelset was positioned beneath the locomotive for the first time using the Tyseley wheeldrop. It was believed to be the first time in living memory that a standard gauge Single had been wheeled in a British locomotive works (the broad-gauge replicas of Iron Duke and Fire Fly also being Singles), and made No. 670 a 2-2-2 at last. A further boost came later that month when the 'Bloomer' and its tender were exhibited at the annual WarleyModel RailwayExhibition on November 23-24. It was the most complete the locomotive had been since construction began 31 years earlier, and gave the thousands of show-goers a flavour of what the finished loco will look like. Unsurprisingly, it proved to be a popular attraction. At the time of writing in mid-2020 work on No. 670 was ongoing, and thoughts have turned to the proposed rolling stock. Fundraising for the three carriages will continue after the loco has been finished. These will be built by the Metropolitan Railway Carriage & Wagon Works, which following the purchase of the historic name is now part of the Tyseley portfolio. The vehicleswill be constructed in compliance with modern regulations while 'TLWhopes to have Britain's only steamable Single operational in time for the opening of the new Curzon Street station, and perhaps have it play a part in the official formalities'. remaining authentic in appearance and operation, using three ex-British Railways brakevans' chassisas their basis. TLW hopes to have Britain's only steamable Single operational in time for the opening of the new Curzon Street station, and perhaps have it play a part in the officialformalities. Yet such a laudable goal is entirely dependent on Tyseley's ability to reach the initial £300,000 target. There are severalways in which supporters can contribute, from volunteering on the physical construction at Tyseley,to making monetary donations or sponsoring components (see page 56). BloomerClub A Bloomer 670 Club has been established, membership of which is set at £670, payable in a lump sum or through 10 monthly instalments of £67. A string of incentives is available to those who join the club including: ■ Invitations to view the construction of the loco and train as work progresses. ■ Regular electronic newsletters. ■ An invitation to the commissioning of No. 670. ■ The opportunity to drive the loco at Tyseley (available to donors of £1,340 or more). For more information on how you can support the project, and details on the Bloomer 670 Club, write to Vintage Trains Charitable Trust, 670 Warwick Road, Tyseley,Birmingham Bll2HL. Alternatively,telephone 0121 708 4960 or visit the dedicated project website at: www.pioneerhst.co.uk (please note at the time of writing this website was still under construction). ■ straighot utofthebox- Nosetting or springcalibrationto adjust Sosimpleto use. VERYLARGECAPACITaYndsoeasy -