First cylinder is cast for new L&B Manning Wardle fleet
THE first of nine cylinders has been cast for a planned fleet of newbuild Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts.
Following its successful construction of replica Baldwin 2-4-2T No. 762 Lyn for the revived L&B at Woody Bay, the 762 Club now plans to construct replicas of all four of the original line's Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts – Nos. 759 Yeo, 760 Exe, 761 Taw and 188 Lew.
The first cylinder has been produced at Cerdic Foundry of Chard, using the original patterns from the construction of Ffestiniog Railway-based L&B 2-6-2T No. 190 Lyd, which was completed in 2010. Some improvements to the cylinder design have been made in the light of experience with this locomotive.
The first casting was sent to Boston Lodge works on the Ffestiniog Railway for checking and declared satisfactory. Cerdic Foundry has therefore been given the go-ahead to make the other eight cylinders, along with their end covers and valve chest covers. Nine castings are being produced to leave one spare for Lyd, which has just returned to service following its first 10-yearly overhaul.
Yeo and Exe will be the first of the fleet to be constructed, with Yeo
being built at Workshop X and Exe
at Boston Lodge. The first two sets of castings, including the spare for Lyd, will all be finish-machined at Boston Lodge, while those for Taw and Lew will be placed in store in
Devon until work commences on those locomotives.
Quotes have been obtained for the pony truck wheels from Peak Pattern Co. in Sheffield, which made the wheels for Lyn, and quotes are also being sought for the driving wheel tyres.
Couplers and their springs are also being obtained as part of a larger order for the L&BR, while the next items to be produced will be the motion forgings for two of the locomotives. Larger items such as the main frames will be ordered later; an initial set of frame plates cut for Yeo many years ago have now been scrapped.
It is estimated that each locomotive will cost about £500,000 and take five years to build. Arguably, they will be genuine Manning Wardle products, as the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust owns the original company trademark.
More details of the project and how to help can be found at https://762club.com