Sittingbourne holding on....

Much to the relief of many, the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway seems to now have a better chance of survival. In addition to powerful council and public support, this news has been posted on the official website:

Until very recently these discussions had proved fruitless and meant that we had to resort to a legal approach to add weight to our case.

In early December an offer was received from M-real which is being considered by both the Trustees of the Railway and Swale Borough Council. We will update this website when further information is available

I urge all to continue supporting the line, through the donation pages avaliable on their website (bottom of this post), so we have an even greater chance of pulling off a marvellous resurrection!

Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway

Save the Sittingbourne and Kemsley!!!!

STOP PRESS!

This is an emergency public announcement on belhalf of a member of the Heritage sector who desperately needs help in surviving. The Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway is an industrial heritage railway operating out of Sittingbourne Paper Mill, which is owned by Finnish company M-real and is currently up for sale. As a result, the railway has been given notice to quit the place they have been for almost 40 years to leave when the lease runs out at the end of January.

The line is attempting to tender a bid to buy the land, and desperately needs our help in raising money. I encourage all railfans and history lovers to dig deep and help our friends in Sittingbourne to keep an important piece of industrial history running. A donation of 20 pounds (50$AU) is not a huge amount, and it will be especially worth it if we can all pull off the impossible, done only with our help.

The donation website.
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway Homepage.

BREAKING NEWS! Tornado's final main line test

Although I'm still plugging along with my LNWR post, I thought it might be best to quickly post up some exciting news that's just been posted on the A1 Trust website, concerning that wonderful engine, Tornado:

Tornado...will haul her final test train on the Network Rail main line from York to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and return on Tuesday 18th November 2008. This test train, sponsored by National Express East Coast, will consist of 10 carriages plus a class 67 diesel locomotive, equating to about 550 tons, and will run at up to 75mph. The new £3 million Peppercorn class A1 60163 Tornado will be wearing National Express livery for the test train as the train operator is the modern-day inheritor of the routes the class A1s were designed to work on.

So, let me just weigh in a brief statement: today, Tueday the 18th, will see Tornado in its LAST tests for mainline running, and thus getting closer to hauling its first main line official passenger train. To make it even better, we'll see it for the first time in a paint scheme other than the plain works grey we've seen it in thus far.

The full post can be read here.

Also, a reminder that the engine needs money to continue to operate, so please free up a little cash and donate something to the A1 Steam Trust! Actually, it would probably be a good thing to donate something to the other new build projects while you're about it too!

Surviving LNWR lovomotives

As a further pre-script to the LNWR 'Battle of the CME's' which I'm currently researching, I will present a short list of surviving LNWR locomotives- and I do mean a SHORT list. Only two pure Webb engines survive (no counted as well as a Webb/Ramsbottom rebuild, and an unusual engine I will mention later!) thanks to the sledgehammer that was Whale's arrival as CME and the later sickle of the Midland Railway faction in the LMS after the grouping. And what they didn't scrap, British Railways took care of later on.

From the 20th Century only ONE LNWR ENGINE survives, (for the reasons above). As it is, the Bowen-Cooke designed G2'Super D'0-8-0 no 49395 is a fine example of the Premier Line, and, incredibly, is back in operation after a protracted overhaul! The engine can be (at the time of writing) found on the Churnet Valley Railway.

The other engines are of course from the previous century. One of Webb's successful 0-6-2T 'Coal Tanks'from 1881 has survived, on the famous Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Currently, it is out of service undergoing restoration, at Ingrow Workshops with work progressing well.

The other Webb Engine is 790 'Hardwicke', one of the legendary Webb 'Improved Precedent' 2-4-0s...but known to most enthusiasts and enginemen as the '6ft 6in "Jumbos"'. It is especially happy that this engine has survived, given its mighty performance in the 1895 "Races to the North". In a magnificent run from Crewe to Carlisle, no.790 reached its destination in just 2 hours and 6 minutes, at an average speed of just over 67 miles per hour! The feat is all the more impressive given that its route included the steep and difficult Shap summit in its path. ('Hardwicke', coincidentally, is not the only famed 'Jumbo', classmate 'Charles Dickens' worked the Manchester-Euston return express for over 20 years- and in doing so covered over 2 million miles- a record for steam locomotives that still stands today! It is unlikely to be broken, much like Mallard's speed record. Sadly 'Charles Dickens' did not survive into preservation, joining many other 'should-have-been-saved' engines). Number 790 is in the National Collection at the National Railway Museum, York.

The last official LNWR engine (not one that was absorbed from another railway company), 'Orion', is ironically, one of the much-demonised Webb compounds (in this case, the 'Alfred the Great' class). The reaction of most enthusiasts to this would be: 'what? they were all scrapped!ALL of them!!' which was true, except for this oddity. It is not, indeed, a full sized engine- but a minature built to run on 9 1/2" gauge track! However, it is still an official LNWR engine- and built in the same manner as its compound brothers. Here it is best to let the official owners, the Stephenson Locomotive Society, explain:

Although only a miniature locomotive, constructed to run on 9 1/2" gauge track, Orion (LNWR 1957 of the 'Alfred the Great' class) was built approximately 100 years ago by G.R.S. Darroch. Darroch was Assistant Works Manager at Crewe until 1941, and he bequeathed Orion to the Society on his death in 1959.

The size of the engine does not diminish this significance. Orion is the last surviving Webb Compound in the world to have been built at Crewe Works by the London & North Western Railway. Orion is one of only a handful of former LNWR locomotives surviving in preservation anywhere in the world, to any scale. Although built for private use by Mr Darroch all the parts of the locomotive were cast and machined at Crewe Works and the locomotive therefore qualifies as a genuine LNWR locomotive. There are undoubtedly other live steam locomotives built as replicas of LNWR prototype designs. The SLS-owned Orion is unique, this example is the only one built by the LNWR in its main workshops and therefore, as mentioned above, is a genuine LNWR locomotive survivor!

In 2005, 'Orion' was fully restored to working order, and can currently be found in the 'Locomotion' centre (owned by the National Railway Museum) in Shildon, County Durham). Thus, despite all the efforts by a number of factions to eliminate Webb's compounds entirely, one has managed to live on! As mentioned, even though it is a minature, it is built to exactly the same specifications as the larger originals! So, thankfully, we can still see one of the odd designs in action, although it was a sad act of history that none of the originals survive(particularly, in my view, the 'Teutonic' class legend, Jeanie Deans).

The other two survivors are not pure LNWR engines, coming into the company via another railway after its absorption into the Premier Line- in this case, the highly profitable Grand Junction Railway, who built the famous works at Crewe! The pleasant lined Columbine 2-2-2 no. 49 dates from 1845, and was the first new engine to be built at Crewe Works! After its retirement from express passenger work, this engine was used to haul directors saloons (having been given an LNWR cab, later removed in preservation) before being withdrawn for preservation at Crewe in 1902! It is currently in the National Railway Museum on static display.

The last steam survivor (an LNWR EMU from the pre-grouping days survives) is quite the oddity, although most visitors that see it at 'Locomotion' would not guess so! Originally built as a Crampton locomotive (with a very low slung boiler- and two MASSIVE driving wheels- 8'6"! Incredibly, these are not the largest driving wheels seen in the UK-according to H.C.Casserley, the Bristol and Exeter Railway had some 9 footers!) 4-2-2 by Francis Trevithick for the GJR. The design was realy an attempt to compete with the very large engines deisnged for the GWR Broad Gauge by I.K Brunel, although, according to O.S. Nock:

One cannot help feeling that these 'fancy' engines- 'Cornwall', the Southern Dividion 'Cramptons', the Stephenson long-boilered 4-2-0s and others- must have appealed to Brunel's sense of humour, not least in the flourish of trumpets with which they emerged from several works.

("The Premier Line", pg 27)

It was later rebuilt as a conventional locomotive by John Ramsbottom in LNWR days, the drawings done by a young F.W. Webb! Like 'Columbine', this engine was used to haul director's saloons, although it lasted well into LMS days- 1927! After this, it was withdrawn and preserved- currently, at the 'Locomotion' in Shildon.

There is a strange legend started by persons unknown, who claim that Cornwall travelled down the Madeley bank at 117mph! Nock's view on this ridiculous rumour is thus:

The tale of 'Cornwall' travelling down Madeley Bank is of course, just fiction, if she had been able to attain anything approaching such a speed with a loaded train, it is tolerably certain that with the primitive brakes [avaliable]..then she would never have stopped in Crewe. For corroborative evidence on this point, ask anyone who travelled on the "invitation Run" of the "Coronation Scot" in 1937!

("the Premier Line", pg 27)

As a side note here, the strange Crampton design has been covered by a number of authors, and a notable account of the various experiments with the odd types (not just by the LNWR) can be found in the book "Experiments with Steam " by Charles Fryer.

I think it best to leave the last words on 'Cornwall' once again to that celebrated railway writer, O.S.Nock, taken from his fine book The Premier Line:

As for 'Cornwall', it can only be described as a freak in its original 4-2-2 condition, with boiler below the driving axle. But the rebuilt 'Cornwall', which dates from 1856, is still with us today, and maintained in fine condition at Crewe Works, and is naturally the subject of great historical interest. The one certain feature of the original Cornwall handed down to posterity is that pair of lovely great 8ft 6in wheels...embodied most successfully in Mr Webb's rebuild of 1858. As existing today she has something of three engineers about her: [the driving wheels] of Trevithick, a modified Allan form of double framing, while her 'upper works' are pure Webb...One feels a debt of gratitude towards Webb for turning the wheels and chassis of a pretty hopeless freak into a handsome engine- and to later Chief Mechanical Engineers for preserving her from the scrap heap!

(pg 26-27)


It is sad that so few of the LNWR's engines survive, particularily mixed are some of the classic classes: the 'Lady of the Lakes' (also known as 'Problems'), DX Goods, the 'Cauliflowers', Whales 'Precursors', Bowen-Cooke's 'George the Fifths'...however, it could be worse- at least we are blessed with a few survivors- and remember that only around 11 LNER engines have survived, despite the advent of the preservation movement during the last years of its designs working life!

Next up, the mighty battle of two great locomotive men, Francis William Webb and George Whale, the CMEs of the LNWR and the final question as to whether Webb was a bad CME or not! (in this case, a preview- the answer is a resounding 'not!')

LNWR Pre-Reading

A Quick note here, just to give a fine review of two magnificent works that should be tracked down post haste by anybody with a casual or obsessive interest in the London and North Western (LNWR to regular folk, The Premier Line to its fans!).

Both books are by Edward Talbot and are a little difficult to find, although the second more so and more expensive. Nevertheless, you will find them magnificent purchases of very good length and quality!

THe First is: 'The LNWR Recalled: Collected Writings and Observations on the London and North Western Railway.'

This book has information on nearly everything to do with the line: not just the usuals like the CHief Engineer or the locomotives, but also stuff like the operating department, engine driver's tales, signalling, freight...and most of the articles are written by those who actually worked on or saw the line in operation! Superbly illustrated, nearly 200 pages! A highlight are the wonderful analayses of the chief mechanical engineers from Webb to Bowen Cooke, complete with personality traits and humerous anecdotes. Those who are unkindly predisposed towards Mr Webb may very well change their opinion after reading up the reality on his tenure, which was far from the disaster writers have made it out to be!

The second book is 'An illustrated history of LNWR Engines'.

This mighty tome contains photographs, sketches and information on every single type of LNWR engine that they survive for! From the very earliest engines to right up to the LNWR's last days before being absorbed in the grouping, many of the photographs and technical drawings will be only found in this book, making it invaluable for the LNWR's fans and those researching the Premier Line.

The one nitpick with this text is that the odd picture is placed in a landscape format, meaning you've got to swivel the book to see it properly, but apart from that there's little to complain about!

So, while this review is meant solely on giving you readers the chance to brush up on some LNWR knowledge, I hope that it may convince the casual observer, who has never heard of or know much about the wonderful Premier Line (note: they called it that for a reason!), to pick up two fantastic books and dive in to some interesting reading!

A final note: you won't find these books in regular bookstores, having gone out of print about 20 years ago. There are a few copies floating around on ebay, you can find them on Amazon and Antiqbook too! However, be prepared to pay a little extra: given these books are mostly sourced from British sellers, combine the high cost of the pound with the fairly high price of the books themselves (there, I've warned you) and you might get something a little high for the ordinary railfans. But, do make the effort and have a look, you'll find them a wonderful buy!

15 Guinea Special Redux!

Hi everybody, long time no post: anyways, in the time gone past three magic things have happened in the UK steam scene:

1. Tornado is at last hauling trains on the Great Central Railway, continuing its tests! The magical sight-and sound- of the lost A1s has finally been reborn.

2. The line up of FOUR A4s at a recent National Railway Museum event- three of them in steam! (although the entry price of just under 33 POUNDS left many rail fans annoyed..

3. And finally, the 40th anniversary of one of the saddest days of them all: the end of Steam in Great Britain, with the re-running of the legendary '15 guinea Special' with the classic 'Britannia' Pacific 'Oliver Cromwell' and three ex-LMS 'Black-Fives'.

Youtube has clips of all three: here are the links:

A4 Line up

Tornado in Operation (with whistle!

15 Guinea Special!

Enjoy the links everyone. For my next article- which hopefully should be a bit sooner- I'll be releasing a break-down of two of the LNWR's Chief Mechanical Engineers- the much maligned (very unfairly so) compound man, Francis W. Webb, and his un-maligned successor, George Whale.

Other British New Builds!

EDIT! Updated 26th APRIL, with new information! See bottom of this article for links to all the pertinent websites of each project.

No matter how much lovers of the steam age wish otherwise, there are a multitude of locomotive classes that have disappeared from the rails seemingly forever. To name a few, from the Southern we lost Maunsell’s W and Z classes, Urie’s H15 and Drummond’s D15, just to pick random types. Nigel Gresley and the other LNER designers have fared the worst in terms of preservation, since many classes have only one representing them despite their considerable fame and excellent service; examples being Gresley’s A3, N2, K4 and V2. Just 11 Gresley engines have survived, sad compared with the many Stainer/Churchward/Collett/Bullied engines which have lived on. Arthur Peppercorn has just two remaining engines: the A2 Blue Peter, and the K1 no.2005. Edward Thompson has only a single design remaining, the B1, of which two have survived. The low number of LNER survivors has been blamed on the fact that only one engine (one of the B1s) was sent to Dai Woodham’s Barry Scrap yard.

However, the audacity and daring of the preservation movement knows no bounds, and thus the opportunity to see at least some of the lost engines reborn has come. After 18 years and 3 million pounds of finance, the first ever new build for mainline steam, a Peppercorn A1, Tornado, is finally finished, and has been broken in on both the main line and in the Great Central Railway- nearly 7000 visitors flocked to see Tornado along with Oliver Cromwell and other famous engines at a GCR gala in late 2008.

UPDATE!!! TORNADO IS COMPLETED. The engine was officially named by HRH Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on 19th of February in a delightful ceremony- and on the 18th of April, Tornado hauled the Yorkshire Pullman out of King's Cross- the first time an A1 has done so in over 40 years!

Tornado is far from the only reborn class. Incredibly, over one hundred thousand pounds have by now been pledged to another project: an original LMS ‘Patriot’. Basically a small-boilered version of the ‘Royal Scots’ (hence the ‘Baby Scot’ nickname), the type was built by Fowler (and some later rebuilt by Stanier, although the new-build will be of the original form), but were withdrawn from service in the 60s too early to be saved by the preservation movement. Already progress is being made: the axle boxes are being lifted from an‘8F’ which has not been restored. In keeping with the convention of naming the class after war-related topics, the new engine will be officially called ‘The Unknown Warrior’ as a special tribute to those who lost their lives in combat. The 'frames appeal' was launched 19th April.

UPDATE!! The website lists the frames as having been already cut at Corus Workshops, but no further information is avaliable. However, interesting news has been released- the Royal British Legion has fully endorsed 'The Unknown Warrior' as the new national Memorial Engine.

Meanwhile, the Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre is proceeding with two magnificent projects of their own. The first is one of the more unusual in that it is a restoration rather than a new-build: Steam Railmotor No. 93 and Auto Trailer No. 92. Already a new vertical boiler has been built and brought to Didcot for the Railmotor, cylinder blocks and a new power have all been completed. As for the auto trailer, restoration of the paneling is well underway with both vehicles now at the Llangollen Railway for the construction.

UPDATE!! As of 12 March, one of the major steps has been completed: the 101 year old wooden coach body has been reunited with its underframe. An experimental fitting of the power bogie, coal bunker and boiler has also been carried out.

The second project? A recreation of a Hawksworth ‘County’. The boiler from the same ‘8F’ that donated its axle boxes for the Patriot is being converted into a proper GWR boiler for the new locomotive. The locomotive is a recreation of County no 1014, ‘County of Glamorgan.’
That is not the only GWR tender engine being re-created! Another lost class, the ‘Grange’, is being restored also: no 6880 ‘Betton Grange’ will be the 81st of its class once completed. As of yet, the boiler and cab have been completed, with attention now focusing on the frames.

UPDATES!!! The 'County' continues to progress- as of March, the running late is being marked out for riveting, and the bogie axlebox springs have been delivered. Unfourtunatly, progess during March was constrained by funding issues.

The 'Grange' as of October, has both rubbing plates (where the tender buffers against the engine) fitted, rear buffer beam fully fitted, with slots cut out, the front saddle plate fitted, saddle plate angle fabricated, four angles cut and fitted below cab, and four other angles fitted to hold the buffer beam and saddle plate. In Feburary, the bogie wheels were being tested, and the side brackets are being machined.

NEWS FLASH! A THIRD PROJECT!
A GWR 4-6-0 'Saint' is being built out of a Hall Class locomotive No 4942 “Maindy Hall” back to a Saint )"2999", 'Lady of Legend'), just as it would have been around 1913. As of August it is not far away from completion, with work being done on the fittings and painting the engine! No further information added as of April '09.

Two BR standards are also underway. One of them, a new ‘Clan’ Pacific, Hengist, I have already described in the previous post. The other is a Riddles 3MT 2-6-2 82000 Class. No. 82045 has as far, progressed quite well: drilling of the frames has commenced at the Severn Valley Railway, although finance is a problem given the desperate need the SVR has for funds to repair flood damage from last year’s terrible washouts. However, upon the completion of the 3MT, the group (The 82045 Locomotive Fund) is actually looking to construct more of the same type for use on heritage railways! This would drastically lower the price involved in building the 82000s and allow the possibility to recreate another lost Standard class: the Class 3 77000 mogul. This is an interesting and very unusual scheme: the idea is that these new standard classes will be used extensively on heritage lines to allow preserved railways the chance to relieve pressure on their other rolling stock. This will allow the various lines to save on maintenance on their existing locomotives (and maintaining/servicing steam engines is not cheap). The Bluebell Railway is also converting one of their 2MT 2-6-0 Tender engines into a 2MT 2-6-2T, mainly because the original loco currently lacks a tender, and the Bluebell railway prefers the use of Tank locomotives.

UPDATES!!! Progress has been made on 'Hengist's smokebox by the South Devon Railway, and the ejector exhaust elbow has been completed. As of April, machine work on 82045 is continuing-the firebox support bracket has been completed. The Bluebell's 2MT tank has had its main extension plates drilled.

But it is not only late-period locomotives that are being constructed. The Bluebell Railway has come very close to finishing a recreation of a locomotive that was cut up at Eastleigh just before the preservation society was formed: the Brighton H2 Atlantic ‘Beachy Head’. Incredible as it may seem, no. 32424 is not so far away from completion! As of March 2008, the main frames have been finished: this means that the locomotive can essentially be said to ‘exist’ again!

UPDATES!!! As of 9th April, water cutting of the Motion parts has begun.

Another old type to be reborn is the North Eastern’s O class (better known by LNER’s designation ‘G5’). Again, this small 0-4-4 tank is being rebuilt with service on the small preservation lines. As of April 2008, the boiler and firebox are on order for construction.
UPDATE- News finally! Quote from their post detailing the construction at Great Northern Steam in Darlington: 'The bogie-frames are near to completion and the bogie, minus wheels & axles should be fully assembled for Christmas 2008.'

STOP PRESS! ANOTHER TWO NEW BUILDS!!
Mentioned earlier in the lack of Gresley types remaining in preservation. One of the most keenly missed was the B17 4-6-0, best known as the 'Sandringhams' or 'Footballers'. What is amazing about the project to rebuild this class is that not one- but TWO!! are planned. One of them will be mainline capable and fully operational, and the other will be a static exhibit. The society is so far progressing well, with the B17 cab ready for painting. An order has been placed for a GER-style tender frame.

LATEST NEWS: APRIL 09: nothing about the engine, but the society had a popular appearance at the Barrow Hill 'LNER Gala' recently. Comparisons have been made between the first LNER new-build (Tornado) and this project, and the society is attempting to live up to the expectations created by the A1 Steam Trust's fine work.

A second new build project is a surprising one- a replica LNWR 'Bloomer'- that is actually not too far off completion! Although the project is relatively quiet, work continues at Tyseley Locomotive Works.

NEW ADDITION! 26th April

As described in a recent post, a replica of a Midland South Western Junction Railway Beyer Peacock 2-6-0, nicknamed 'Galloping Gertie', is a new project launched recently. Currently the engine has no parts yet, the group behind it is still in the stages of planning and publicity. Australian enthusiasts should be extra interested since the planned engine is almost a clone of a design used on our railways bar two differences. We wish them the best! (link at the bottom of the page)

Despite their expense and the amount of time/effort they eat up, the new-builds are really a massive part of the future of the steam preservation movement, at least in Britain. There are really no other forms of transport (air, cars, ships) that can boast a massive movement to return long-gone classes/examples to use. The public interest/media coverage given to the remarkable rebirth of steam locomotives all over (one should look merely at Tornado's publicity) is wonderful and bode nothing but good for future projects.

Perhaps, with some luck, Australian preservation groups might be able to find the funds and time to produce some of our own lost types, although this will remain a pipe dream while existing engines need repairs and restoration.

UPDATE!!! Here are the Links to the various websites:

A1 Steam Trust

Patriot Project

County Project

Betton Grange Trust

Hengist Trust

Railmotor no 93

GWR 'Saint'

B17 Project

LNWR Bloomer

Bluebell Railway 'Beachy Head'

Bluebell Railway 2MT Project

Riddles 3MT Fund

G5 Group

MSWJR 'Galloping Gertie'