From main line to branch line
IT IS not often that these pages reflect the dedication of experienced locomotive engineers, especially those responsible for the repair, maintenance and overhaul of main line engines which in action delight rail tour passengers, linesiders and photographers alike.
Such men rarely seek the limelight, preferring instead to concentrate their energies and thoughts on keeping their respective charges in good running order and financially viable by hiring them out to rail tour promoters and others interested in live steam.
An example of these dedicated men is in this instance Steve Underhill, who during a period of 30 years was the chief mechanical engineer responsible for the well-being of GWR 4-6-0
No. 6024 King Edward I and latterly, LMS 4-6-2 No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth.
An enthusiast of all things Swindon before schooldays, his mother used to take him out in his pram while shopping but always stopped by a local bridge at Sparkhill in Birmingham for her young son to see and hear passing trains.
Steve holds all 11 editions of Great Western Engines, Name and Numbers ABCs; combined editions published by Ian Allan.
His career began not on the railway but by joining a third-generation family business of Henry Jones (Lozells) Limited, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler. Learning the trade, he acquired a Class 3 goods vehicle licence and spent much of his time touring a greater part of Birmingham, driving a lorry and delivering potatoes, cabbages, carrots, apples, oranges and pears to greengrocers.
But his interest in steam, especially the Great Western variety, never left him.
Chance encounter
Out for a Sunday afternoon spin, Steve and Helen, his first wife, happened to pull in by chance at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, in Quainton Road, where No. 6024 was being brought back to life after being rescued from the late Dai Woodham’s scrapyard in 1973. That same year, the 6024 Locomotive Society was formed.
Steve’s visit prompted his involvement with the King and when his new-found friends discovered that Steve had access to a lorry, he was treated as a very popular member – and was kept busy delivering parts to and from Quainton.
Becoming more deeply involved in the engine’s restoration, he often dropped in at Tyseley Locomotive Works for advice from, as he put it, ‘the lads’ – in particular former Worcester shed foreman Don Green, and fitters Eddie Hartwell and Steve Lester.
When work on the King was completed in 1989, the engine entertained visitors by running up and down sidings at Quainton.
The 4-6-0 was moved by road to Tyseley in 1990, after which the society maintained its base at Tyseley.
‘The lads’ and the management team were always accommodating but the engine was moved to Didcot in 1993 for a period because the majority of runs booked by tour promoters were from the London area.
No.6024’s second overhaul was carried out at the MOD’s highsecurity munitions depot at Kineton, Warwickshire, in 1995. How the society and working members gained access is another story…!
Following that, the King returned to Tyseley for its third heavy overhaul before moving to Bristol Barton Hill to work ‘Torbay Express’ trips for Pathfinder Tours.
The 4-6-0’s somewhat nomadic existence includes visits to the West Somerset Railway, Old Oak Common and Southall.
In 1992, Steve was elected as society chairman.
When Steve’s partnership with Mike Wedgbury as joint managing engineers came to an end. Mike left, so Steve became the sole engineer in charge of the double red locomotive.
Asked about especially memorable trips, Steve said they were all outings to remember. “I was privileged to experience exhilarating days out on the footplate,” he said.
Once, the King worked the ‘Eden Express’ from Plymouth to Exeter, breaking a one-hour schedule. “The years between the King coming out in the main line in 1990 – April 15/16, when the engine worked three return trips to Stratford-upon-Avon, and four trips on April 16, working turn-andturn-about with Castle 4-6-0 No. 5080 Defiant – I missed only two trips and loved every minute of it,” he added.
Moving on
Unhappily, Steve became the victim of allegations launched by a small group within the 6024 Society. Those claims eventually led to a court case in which Steve mounted a successful defence and in 2010 was cleared of any wrongdoing, as reported in issue 141 of Heritage Railway.
As a result of this, Steve had left the society in 2007 to continue his career as a locomotive engineer as part of the Tyseley engineering team, which he’d joined in 1992.
The 6024 Society’s loss was a gain for the 6201 Princess Elizabeth Locomotive Society, which asked Steve to care for its Stanier 4-6-2.
Impressed by the engine’s performance on the main line, Steve said he found many similarities with Swindon practices in the engine’s design; not unexpectedly perhaps, considering the length of time William Stanier spent working with Charles Collett at the Great Western’s home of excellence.
The association with No. 6201 lasted for four years; in addition to his spell with King, Steve worked full time with Bob Meanley and the team of locomotive engineers at Tyseley for 27 years.
Steve said that an outstanding trip with No. 6201 came was when it was booked out of King’s Cross to York. On the return journey, Steve – on the shovel – was passed for firing by a West Coast Railways traction inspector.
Another fond memory of the Princess was the occasion of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, when the engine stood on Chelsea Bridge overlooking the River Thames as the royal barge passed underneath. Obviously a man of steam, Steve once admitted that he wished he had been born 10 years earlier, and could have bcome a professional loco man.
Aged 69, Steve retired from Tyseley in March 2021 but after six months of inactivity he sold his house in Hall Green, Birmingham, and moved to Taunton.
His final tasks at Tyseley were a boiler overhaul, including the making and fitting of new casing and copper pipework, and finishing WR Modified Hall 4-6-0 No. 6989 Wightwick Hall. That accomplished, he overhauled the boiler of WQR Hawksworth 0-6-0PT No. 9466.
The move to Somerset proved to be memorable on two counts. Firstly, he could not contain his lifelong feelings for steam and became a volunteer on the South Devon Railway. The second? Steve married his second wife, Angela, on December 4.
“Another memory of the Princess was at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, when the engine stood on Chelsea Bridge overlooking the River Thames as the royal barge passed underneath.”