‘NIGHT OWL’ REBORN
How Didcot and Llangollen are re-creating a giant of Swindon steam
In accordance with long-standing railway tradition, a locomotive only exists once the frames have been laid - and so, with their construction at Llangollen last year, it can be said that the 10th ‘47XX’ 2-8-0, the Great Western Society’s new-build No. 4709, is now well and truly a reality. Having reached this major milestone, let’s reflflect on the achievements of the project so far - and the challenges ahead. Designed towards the end of George Jackson Churchward’s reign as Chief Mechanical Engineer at Swindon, the ‘47XX’ 2-8-0s were effectively a ‘stretched’ version of his successful mixed traffific ‘43XX’ 2-6-0s, primarily intended for fast freight traffific between London and other major centres on the GWR network. Much of this work took place after dark, giving rise to their nickname of ‘Night Owls’ - though in later years they were remembered by enthusiasts for their performances on summer Saturday holiday expresses. Research reveals that the GWR also used them for such duties long before nationalisation. The ‘Night Owls’ made full use of standard GWR parts, save for the No. 7 boiler - slightly bigger than that carried by the ‘Castles’ but smaller than that on the ‘King’. However, prototype No. 4700 did run for its fifirst two years with the Swindon No. 1 boiler (carried by the ‘Star’, ‘Saint’ and ‘28XX’ classes) because the No. 7 boiler was not available when the fifirst chassis was complete. Before commencing the construction of No. 4709
Research reveals that the GWR used ‘47XXs’ on passenger duties long before nationalisation
a considerable amount of thought and planning was undertaken to determine the extent to which standard parts from other scrapped Great Western locomotives could be used. Taking Churchward’s standardisation policy as our starting point, we examined a number of the ‘Barry Ten’ locomotives, which then appeared to have an uncertain future, to see what could be saved and recycled, rather than be left to be possibly scrapped. Long negotiations followed with the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VofGC) to explore what became known as the ‘Three Counties Project’. From this followed the Hawksworth County Project, now well advanced with the conversion of ‘Modifified Hall’ No. 7927 WillingtonHall to a ‘County’ 4‑6‑0, No. 1014 County of Glamorgan, using the fifirebox of Stanier ‘8F’ 2‑8‑0 No. 48518. Parts from the ‘Barry Ten’ locomotives not required for the ‘Three Counties Project’ were offered for a ‘47XX’ 2‑8‑0. The 4709 project thus found itself with three donor engines at its disposal: Collett ‘5101’ 2‑6‑2T No. 4115, Churchward ‘5205’ 2‑8‑0T No. 5227, and ‘28XX’ 2‑8‑0 No. 2861. Part of the agreement with VofGC was that all parts of No. 4115 common to a Churchward ‘County’ 4‑4‑2T would be set aside for this future project, to be developed outside the Great Western Society, but using any suitable patterns and drawings held by the society from the ‘Saint’ Project ‑ also now nearing completion. Fortunately, the surplus parts were to become the core of No. 4709. These included the three 5ft 8in driving wheels, the complete pony truck assembly, extension frames (including the bufferbeam), the motion bracket together with the motion bracket stretcher, and the lever reverser mechanism. The similarities and standardisation did not stop there. The ‘47XXs’ and the ‘5205’ tanks have many parts in common, in particular the horn guides, axleboxes and underkeeps. As a result of a fractured left‑hand cylinder, No. 5227 was an unlikely candidate for any future restoration. Instead, the boiler is earmarked for the third ‘County’ ‑ a replica of Churchward’s ‘38XX’ 4‑4‑0 ‑ should this go ahead in the future. In the meantime, No. 5227 is to remain on static display at Didcot as a reminder of what Dai Woodham gave to the world of railway preservation, and how many of today’s working steam locomotives began their new lives. Finally we come to No. 2861, which has yielded the cylinder block and much of the braking system for No. 4709. The frames were scrapped, but yielded spares to help other ‘28XXs’, while the frame work for the cab sides, roof and