How an industrial loco became a caravan park gate sentinel
Continuing our series in which we help you track down some of Britain’s more elusive locomotives, we focus on an engine with a rather distinctive nickname…
What Hudswell
Clarke 0-6-0ST
Works No. 1885
Where Fold House Park, Stake Pool, Lancashire
For holidaymakers to the Fylde in Lancashire – that flat alluvial plain bordered by Lune estuary to the north and the Ribble estuary to the south – perhaps the last thing they expect to see on their travels is a steam locomotive, particularly one displayed on the well-kept lawn at the entrance to a caravan park.
Upon closer inspection, they may notice the legend ‘The Pilling Pig’ attached to its running plate, a reference to the nickname bestowed upon the locomotives that once worked the bucolic Garstang & Knot-End Railway which traversed this sparse, rural landscape, not far from the spot where this particular engine now stands. They may also be surprised to know that this locomotive has nothing whatsoever to do with the old railway, the Fylde or even Lancashire itself, so what exactly is it and how did it end up acting as the gate guardian to a caravan park?
Welsh wanderer
The locomotive in question was built long after the G&KER closed to passengers in 1930 – by a quarter of a century, in fact. It is Hudswell Clarke & Co. Ltd 0-6-0ST Works No. 1885, built in 1955 for the National Coal Board.
Compared to the locomotives originally built by the same manufacturer for the G&KER, No. 1885 was thoroughly modern. Indeed, it bears more than a passing resemblance to one of the Hunslet Engine Company’s ‘48150’ class 0-6-0STs of 1937 – the design of which was ultimately developed into the ubiquitous ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0STs during the Second World War for the Ministry of Supply. In fact, the cylinder dimensions were identical (18in by 26in), although those on No. 1885 were outside, whereas those on the Hunslet machines were inside, and the driving wheels on No. 1885 were three inches smaller than the ‘48150s’ (4ft 0in vs. 4ft 3in).
No. 1885 was delivered to the NCB’s Lady Windsor colliery near Ynysybwl in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales, on July 4 1955. Almost exactly 16 years later, in July 1971, No. 1885 was transferred to the location with which it is probably best associated – Mountain Ash. This was one of the biggest National Coal Board railway systems in Wales and featured an eclectic mix of locomotives from a variety of manufacturers, as well as a GWR ‘57XX’ 0-6-0PT, No. 7754 – among the last ex-BR locomotives to remain in commercial use in Britain.
The system was a popular haunt among enthusiasts, as regular steam workings continued until October 1980 when the Deep Duffryn colliery closed, curtailing rail operations.
No. 1885 cut a distinctive figure at Mountain Ash, having lost its dome cover at Lady Windsor, making
it instantly recognisable despite the layers of grime that invariably covered the locomotive. Despite its careworn appearance, it was nonetheless a useful machine, and was once alleged to have pulled an 800-tonne train uphill – no mean feat. Alas, its time at Mountain Ash was relatively short, for it was taken out of service at the end of 1977 and subsequently stored at Mountain Ash Central Workshops.
Salvation came in the form of the National Museum of Wales, which acquired the locomotive and sent it on loan to the Gwili Railway, then one of the few operating standard gauge railways in South Wales.
“It arrived at Bronwydd Arms in July 1981,” recalls Gwili Railway Company chairman Matt Bowen. “While the ‘bottom end’ had undergone a comprehensive overhaul with new tyres fitted, the state of the firebox prevented any further work being completed.”
Thus No. 1885 never turned a wheel in anger at the Gwili Railway, and, despite being later purchased outright by the line, it remained stored there for another 20 years when new owners and a new home came calling.
A ‘pig’ in sheep’s clothing
The same family has occupied the land that comprises Fold House Park near Pilling for five generations. Therefore, ancestors of the current generation would have been familiar with the Garstang & Knot-End Railway, the ‘main line’ of which passed barely 250 yards away from where No. 1885 is currently positioned.
Opened between Garstang and Pilling in December 1870, primarily to serve the local area’s agricultural industry, the single-track route was perennially short of money and didn’t open to its original intended terminus of Knott End (note the difference in spelling) near Fleetwood until July 1908. Passenger services were withdrawn in March 1930, with the line between Knott End and Pilling closing in November 1950; the line closed entirely in August 1965.
Throughout its somewhat precarious life prior to the Grouping, the railway employed an eclectic fleet of four and six-coupled tank engines from a variety of industrial manufacturers, including four from Hudswell Clarke. The first of these, which arrived in 1875, was an 0-6-0ST named Farmer’s Friend. It was quickly nicknamed ‘Pilling Pig’, as the sound of its whistle was said to resemble the squeal of a dying pig. This somewhat unfortunate moniker was then applied to all the line’s subsequent locomotives.
Fast forward to the turn of the millennium when the current owners of Fold House Park sought to commemorate the old railway. As none of the original G&KER locomotives survived, they ideally wanted a Hudswell Clarke. Coincidentally, the Gwili Railway was seeking to dispose of No. 1885 – an ideal locomotive for the park’s owners’ needs.
Thus, in July 2001 – following cosmetic restoration which included reinstating the dome cover and painting into an approximation of original G&KER livery (complete with company crests) – No. 1885 moved to its current home, where it has remained ever since.
It may have no direct links to the Garstang & Knot-End Railway or its locomotives, and it may be painted in a spurious colour scheme, No. 1885 has nonetheless been given a new lease of life; its unusual new role was perhaps the best possible outcome for an engine whose damaged firebox precluded a return to steam.
So, next time you’re in the Fylde, why not book a stay at Fold House and visit this curious memorial to the area’s railway heritage?