Toddington gets first choice over new GWR County
GWR Churchward 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery could be based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway – once a regular haunt for the class.
A new agreement between the Cotswold heritage line and locomotive builder the Churchward County Trust gives the railway the first option to be the home of No. 3840 when it is completed at Tyseley Locomtive Works.
The agreement, which supersedes an earlier ‘agreement in principle' between the two, would see the engine based at the railway's Toddington workshops, where it would become part of the fleet.
The railway's plc chairman, Richard Johnson, said: “While we clearly don't know what our railway's locomotive requirements will be in 10 or 15 years, which is when the new County is likely to be available, I'm thrilled that we are being offered first choice for the engine's future base.”
The original County express 4-4-0s, which were introduced in 1904, had a particular association with the GWR Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham route, over 14 miles of which the heritage line operates on today.
Members of the 40-strong class used to haul WolverhamptonPenzance express services, thanks to a weight restriction over Stonehouse viaduct which, prior to its later strengthening, precluded the use of larger locomotives. Superseded by more powerful 4-6-0s, Churchward's Counties were withdrawn by 1933.
Trust chairman Gary Boyd-Hope said: “The line will – hopefully – make the perfect home for County of Montgomery, as not only is the route an historically appropriate one for the County class, but the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway today remains a stronghold for beautifully restored and maintained Swindon-built locomotives. I hope we will see County of Montgomery proudly steaming out of Toddington station with its first train in 2033, in time to mark 100 years since the last of the original class was withdrawn.”
The main frames of No. 3840 have now been erected at Tyseley. The work has included the assembly of the main frame plates which were cut in November 2018,the installation of the supporting stretcher plates with associated brackets, and the fitting of the horn blocks and spring hangers.
The new rear dragbox has now been welded up and after final machining to achieve an exact fit. It is expected be installed in the frames during early April.
The next phase of work on the frames will involve having the cab, splashers and running plate with supporting brackets manufactured, while work on the new cylinders and coupled wheels takes place with suppliers in Halifax and Sheffield.
Machining of the front end extension frames, meanwhile, is on hold until the new cylinders have been cast and allowed to de-stress
naturally. This will enable the final machining of the extension frames and cylinders to be carried out simultaneously.
A standard Swindon No. 4 boiler of the type used by the class and currently carried by unrestored 2-8-0T No. 5227 has been set aside by the Great Western Society (GWS) at Didcot Railway Centre. A large number of components have also been obtained via the GWS, including the bogie wheels, axleboxes, horns and a suitable Churchward 3500-gallon tender chassis.
The trust has now ordered the four 6ft 8½in coupled wheels to be cast by Trefoil Steel in Sheffield using the pattern loaned by the GWS, which was previously used to cast the wheels for Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend – identical to those of the Churchward Counties.
Each wheel will be made of highquality cast steel, with those for the leading axle differing slightly from those of the trailing wheelset.
The Counties and the Saints had two different designs of wheel; the leading driven wheels having a 5¾in centre boss and the rear wheels a 4¾in centre boss. The pattern as loaned has the smaller boss, and therefore the first two wheels for No. 3840 will be cast from the pattern as it is. But it will then be altered to allow for the larger 5¾in boss. The modification work will cost £2700.
Funding for the wheels has been provided via the trust’s Forty 4-4-0s Club, set up in early 2019 to raise the £40,000 for the casting of the wheels and their assembly onto axles.
The club allows supporters to ‘adopt’ one (or more) of the original 40 County 4-4-0s, all named after British and Irish counties with which the GWR had connections. More than half of the 40 locomotives have so far been adopted, paving the way for the placing of the order.
Membership costs £1000 (payable in one lump sum or in eight payments of £125 by standing order) and comes with a package of incentives, including an invitation to the launch of No. 3840 and a seat on its first train.
Counties still available for adoption under the scheme are Nos. 3801 County Carlow, 3802 County Clare, 3803 County Cork, 3804 County Dublin, 3805 County Kerry, 3806 County Kildare, 3809 County Wexford, 3810 County Wicklow, 3812 County of Cardigan, 3813 County of Carmarthen, 3818 County of Radnor, 3822 County of Brecon, 3823 County of Carnarvon, 3828 County of Hereford, 3838 County of Glamorgan and 3839 County of Pembroke.
➜ Visit www.churchwardcounty. org.uk or write to: The Treasurer, Churchward County Trust Ltd, c/o 4 Green End Barns, Ramsey Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 5RH.