UK’s newest steam loco debut as Alan Keef marks 50 years
ON September 24, locomotive builder Alan Keef Ltd opened its workshop near Ross-on-Wye to welcome hundreds of visitors after a four-year break to see what it has been working on over the pandemic.
It was a major celebration for the firm for two reasons – it was the company’s 50th anniversary, and also the public were shown the Corris Railway’s new-build 0-4-2ST No. 10 for the first time.
No. 10 is a 21st century evocation of a trio of Falcon engines built originally for the Corris in 1878 by the Hughes Company in Loughborough, the sole survivor being the Talyllyn Railway’s No.3 Sir Haydn.
Back in time
On site was an exhibition offering an insight into the company’s history over the last half century, with a walk-through display as the central point of the day.
The workshop was fully open, enabling visitors to view the machinery essential for their work and various ongoing projects.
Displays inside included P.44, a replica of a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Sharp Stewart B 0-4-0ST, AK17 0-4-0T Otis for the Cotswold Wildlife Park, carriages under construction and restoration, and trade stands.
Outside, four steam locomotives were in operation, three on the U-shaped 2ft gauge track that runs around the works: Taffy, a De Winton 0-4-0VBT replica built by Alan Keef in 1990, recently returned to steam after 12 years; Woto, an 0-4-0ST 1924-built Bagnall regauged to 2ft; and Peter Pan, a much-travelled 0-4-0ST Kerr Stuart Wren of 1922 which was celebrating its centenary. The star of the show was No. 10, carrying its Alan Keef Ltd No. 91 2022 brass works plate and running on a specially-laid short section of 2ft 3in gauge track.
Work had progressed rapidly in the weeks leading up to the steaming with the completion of the work on and inside the smokebox and the fitting of the ashpan after the boiler had been temporarily removed from the frames for its hydraulic test.
The cab, whose profile is based on that once carried by the original Falcons on the Corris, was completed after the boiler was tested and received its certification.
It was touch and go to get No. 10 ready on time, having first steamed inside the workshops earlier in the week, but on September 20 it passed its official steam test and received its boiler certificate.
The locomotive is not fully completed yet but still requires considerable work, including the fitting of the buffers and couplings, air brake pump, cab riveting, making the internal coal bunker, boiler cladding, wheel splashers, fabricating and mounting the sanding gear. Once all this is done, it will require partially dismantling for painting and then reassembly.
Record attendance
In 2016, Keef acquired the derelict locomotive and carriages from the defunct Dalmunzie Estate Railway in Scotland. After extensive restoration, the two carriages were in use outside giving rides.
One non-railway item of interest alongside No. 10 was The Trotter of Coleford, a one-ton steam roller.
The event saw a record attendance, with the morning very crowded with nearly 500 people passing through the doors and totally nearly 850 for the whole day. The proceeds of the day totalling £6500 will be used to support the nearby village church in Lea, where the firm’s workshops stand on the outskirts.
In future the open day will be biennial with the next one in 2024; a date will be confirmed nearer the time.
➜ Further funds are needed to complete No. 10. Donations can made online at www.corris.co.uk or send cheques, payable to Corris Railway, to: Peter Guest, 38 Underwood Close, Callow Hill, Redditch B97 5YS.