34010 Sidmouth - restoration appeal
34010 Sidmouth to be restored
At our AGM on 24th October 2015 new Chairman Simon Troy made the unexpected announcement that the company proposed to restore its fifth Bulleid Pacific 34010 Sidmouth, and invited its 700 shareholders to indicate their support. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with financial support of around £30,000 offered in the first fortnight. On 15th November the company gave the green light to the plan.
Work started early in 2016 on the restoration of SLL's oldest ex-BR loco, which has lain in pieces for much of the time since its withdrawal in 1965.
"It is now or never if we're going to bring Sidmouth back into steam. With the completion of 34072 we will have five locos in revenue earning service. The SLL team are not getting any younger, but we are ready for the challenge of another big project."
"There's never an ideal time to fit a major restoration into a stream of overhauls, but once again our shareholders have indicated their willingness to support us."
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34010 Sidmouth waited 17 years at Woodham's scrap yard before being bought for preservation. It's seen here on 28th February 1980. Photo: S Davison | 34010 spent a further 15 years at Grosmont on NYMR awaiting restoration. Seen here on 29th May 1984. Photo: K W Platt |
The cost of restoring Sidmouth will be around £500,000. While the initial response has been very good we will need much more if we're to complete Sidmouth in parallel with the overhauls of Eddystone, Manston, Sir Keith Park and 80104, not to mention any work our more recent acquisition 35025 Brocklebank Line
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We will need new cylinder covers, pistons, piston rods and valves but we do have the slide bars and crossheads. We also have a new set of coupling rods part machined, along with injectors. We will need to build new running boards, new smoke deflectors, a cab and cab support, to fit a new dragbox, obtain lubricators and a large supply of copper pipe! We have a full set of wheels for Sidmouth, which all now been re-tyred at SDR Engineering at Buckfastleigh.
You can follow the project's progress on the Sidmouth Restoration page.
What happened to Sidmouth?
Sidmouth arrived at Woodham's scrap yard in Barry in 1965, along with several hundred other redundant steam locos. Unlike other scrap yards, Woodham's focussed on scrapping coal wagons and loco tenders as they were a quick and easy source of scrap steel, leaving the locomotives to lay idle, rusting slowly by the sea.
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34010 Sidmouth heads through Raynes Park with a down Ocean Liner Express in November 1962. Photo: Mike Morant | 34010 Sidmouth heads through Wimbledon with an up train in 1962. Photo: John Ray collection |
In 1982 it was bought by Mr Graeme Walton-Binns and moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Little work took place and after 15 years it was acquired by SLL and moved to Sellindge in 1997 where preliminary work was done. In 2006 SLL concentrated its operations at Herston and Sidmouth moved there, although, ironically, we re-activated work at Sellindge when we acquired Brocklebank Line.
Help needed
Restoration of a loco from scrap-yard condition involves uncertainty and surprises, generally nasty! However SLL has restored five similar locos, so we have a good idea of what's involved and how to do it.
The cost will run well into six figures, much of which we will need to raise from our supporters. You can find details on the Support Us page. Some of the simpler work can be done by our loyal volunteers, and we always welcome new help, but there's a core of skilled tasks which must be done by our paid staff and outside contractors.
We hope that our current shareholders will step forward to help us fund much of Sidmouth's restoration all of whom will look forward to seeing the loco in steam again after a gap of over 50 years. Over the past 30 years our shareholders have contributed over £2.6 million, which has funded six scrapyard restorations and several major overhauls, making SLL one of the most productive loco groups in Britain.
A print of Sidmouth for new supporters
To support the overhaul, Richard Green (Locos-in-Profile) has created a new fine art print of Sidmouth, copies of which are offered to supporters. Details can be found here.
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These prints are created in amazing detail, which is reproduced faithfully as a fine art print. Only 350 copies of Sidmouth have been printed, each one is signed and numbered. |
Our print of 34010 Sidmouth shows the loco in late BR livery. The paper size is 690 by 305mm, and the print is supplied unframed. |
Sponsor a Part for 34010 Sidmouth
We're inviting supporters to sponsor specific tasks and components. There is no shortage of items, with something for everyone's budget.
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The boiler will need 32 large flues at £490, and 112 small tubes at £65, which tots up to around £22,960. |
Ron Bennett was a volunteer at Herston for over 20 years. He died in February 2020 at the age of 93. Two days earlier he'd been busy painting parts for 34028 Eddystone. |
- 112 small Boiler Tubes @ £65 each
- Bearing Metal for 6 main bearings @ £150 each
- Five Manifold Valves @ £250 each
- Bricks for the Firebox £250
- Six Valve Heads @£300 each. All sponsored - thank you!
- A new set of under keep pads, £350
- Six Cylinder Covers @£400 each
- 32 large Boiler Flues @ £490 each
- All the paint, £500
- A kit of parts for a new ashpan @ £800
- Three new lubricators @ £1,100 each
- Two new Safety Valves @ £1,200 each All sponsored - thank you!
- A new set of running plates, £3,500
- A centre connecting rod, £5,000
- A vacuum brake ejector, £5,000
If you would like to sponsor something not listed, no problem. Please write the item and amount into the Form, or get in touch and we'll agree the deal.
Sponsors will be rewarded on a scale related to their contributions, not least by the pleasure of seeing the loco back in service and knowing that their generosity was crucial. We expect that Sidmouth will operate on Swanage Railway when it enters service, and we have in mind a range of launch trains, footplate rides and driving/firing trips. It's too early to be specific; please rest assured that sponsors will not be forgotten.
Please print and complete the sponsorship form and send it with your cheque. Many thanks in advance.
If you would prefer to pay by bank transfer our details are: Southern Locomotives Limited, Barclays Bank, S/C 20-90-56, A/C 70826235. Please send us an email so that we can connect your payment with your form.
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Many parts of Sidmouth have been brought out of storage; the eccentric to drive the middle motion is being repaired. |
Special steel blanks to make a new middle coupling rod and new connecting rods were bought some years ago. The coupling rod has been fully machined. |
Donations
If you'd like to make a donation please send a cheque to Simon Troy (16 Arcadia Road, Istead Rise, Meopham, Kent, DA13 9EH) or make a bank transfer to Southern Locomotives Ltd, Barclays Bank, Sort Code: 20-90-56, Account No: 70826235.
Please also send an email to southernlocos@btinternet.com so that we can record your donation correctly.
Be part of it
The restoration of 34010 Sidmouth will be our tenth major restoration/overhaul project. It may prove to be the final loco from Barry scrap yard to be restored. Southern Locomotives has an unrivalled track record at restoring Bulleid Pacifics, however this is only possible with your support, for which we thank you sincerely in advance.