Southern Locomotives Ltd

News Update - April 2026

Eddystone and Manston at Swanage Railway's Winter Warmer event. Photo: Martin Creese.

From the Chairman

It's been a while since our last update as we wanted to have accurate information about Eddystone's planned excursions over the next few months. These are listed below and also in the Main Line page of this website.

We would mention that Bryan Atkins and Richard Moffatt are hoping to gather as many of the original Eddystone supporters on The Swanage Belle from Victoria operating on 20th May. If you would like to join the train, please specify that you're a Southern Locomotives shareholder when applying for seats on the Railway Touring Company website so that you are allocated seats in a coach set aside for SLL. Please note that the fares are as per the website and no discounts are available.

There's been much activity at Herston, Tyseley and Sellindge, which has been made possible by the continuing support of our shareholders, and of course our staff and dedicated volunteers, many of whom have worked through appalling weather conditions this Winter to ensure that progress is not disrupted.

AGM - HARMANS CROSS VILLAGE HALL

We will be holding our AGM for shareholders at the above location on Saturday 10th October at 1100 a.m. There is ample parking and the address is Haycraft Lane, Harman's Cross, BH193EB. Apparently there's also a steam railway close by so it may be possible to arrive by train from Swanage or Norden, though the October timetable has yet to be published.

TOM RAYNER

We must report the very sad news that long term Director and Legal Adviser Tom Rayner died in February. We first met him when Port Line and 257 Squadron moved to Swindon Works in 1985 and he soon became one of the regulars, though like most he lived a considerable distance from Swindon but commuted there until we moved the locos in 1990, when he then became a regular at the Bluebell and Herston. He and our other lawyer, Nic Drukker, gave invaluable legal help over the decades, getting us through some quite complicated times. A true and thoroughly decent gentleman who never had a bad word to say about anyone, Tom will be much missed by his family and friends. SLL was represented by Bob Bevis at the very well attended funeral, although several others who would like to have been present were in Europe or further afield.

Tom recorded yarns from many footplate men and turned them into articles for our magazine Southern Pacific which can be found in the Links page of the SLL website.

Many of Tom's tales were published in SLL's Southern Pacific magazine, which can be viewed from the Links page.

80104

This will be the next locomotive to leave the Herston Works production line, hopefully in a few months. All the boiler cladding has now been reinstated and painted on the low loader which it arrived on, the only exception being one boiler barrel section where the crane strops will be located when it is lifted on to the frames.

80104's boiler in Herston Works prior to work starting.

With the 'pad' at Norden being heavily utilised by visiting locos for the Swanage gala and availability of low loaders, this movement couldn't happen any sooner. The loco will soon be back in Herston for final assembly with a view to it being in operation for the Autumn Gala.

The backhead is being fitted out and as much as possible done before being dispatched to Norden for reinstatement on to the frames which will be in April

Stewart Robinson, owner of ex SLL loco 80078 has kindly arranged for the manufacture of a new superheater header for 80104, the original having been condemned. We are collecting the original so that Graham can retrieve all the new studs fitted originally, when we thought just an overhaul was needed. Thanks again to Peter for doing yet another 600 mile round trip in the company van to both collect a new chimney for Norman and retrieve the header. The van was a sensible purchase as it's constantly being used between our sites.

Copper spaghetti - all of this will soon be reinstated. The fact that the team know where all this is to go is indicative of their knowledge!

The overhaul of 80104 has certainly been a long and tortuous one and only made possible by a Swanage Railway supporter, who has lent us twice as much money than originally envisaged to ensure the Railway would have a Standard Tank again. Such was the work involved, especially with the boiler, its next 10 yearly overhaul should involve a minimum amount of work. We hope it will be the star of the show at the Autumn gala.

While 80104's boiler was in Herston the frames were stored at Norden.

34028 - EDDYSTONE

Eddystone returned to Swanage after a series of highly successful excursions where it gained many new admirers, not least with the crews. The final tour was from Three Bridges to Bristol and back, but to save many more hours work and time for the support crew, '28 was taken off at Salisbury and returned to Swanage.

Eddystone was used in the Winter Warm-u PhotoL Martin Eames.

Apart from the Winter Warm Up gala during the first weekend of 2026 Eddystone was out of traffic until the Spring Gala. During the down time the annual boiler examination has taken place and a tender modification made. This has both increased the coal capacity and the difficulty of pulling coal down. The eccentric was removed and refitted to allow new felts to be installed together with new studs and cotters. The outside expansion links have been removed so that newly overhauled components can be fitted.

The smokebox spark screens have been modified to reduce spark emission when working hard, based on the arrangements fitted to Braunton and Tangmere. Various components have been overhauled including the sanders, clack valves, blowdown valve and ashpans and work on the bogie has now enabled the axleboxes to be lubricated from outside the locomotive. New brake blocks have been fitted and we now have our own pattern for future replacements.

34028 left Swanage for Southall on 8th April. Photo: C J Rich

SLL Main Line

The 2026 season starts on 15th April.

Planned 2026 main line operations

In all cases contact Rail Touring Company for tickets and full pick-up and drop-off points.

Wednesday 15th April. The Sussex Belle Victoria to Eastbourne.

Saturday 18th April. Great Britain XVIII Paddington to Penzance.

Sunday 19th April. Great Britain XVIII Penzance to Chester.

Saturday 25th April. great Britain XVIII York to Euston.

Wednesday 20th May. The Swanage Belle Victoria to Swanage

Sunday 31st May. Royal Duchy 1. Bristol to Par.

Saturday 11th July The White Rose Kings Cross to York.

Wednesday 22nd July Dorset Coast Express. Victoria to Weymouth.

Saturday 8th August West Somerset Express. Paddington to Minehead.

Saturday 5th September The Wensum & Thames Explorer. Norwich to Reading.

Wednesday 23rd September The Dorset Coast Express. Victoria to Weymouth.

Sunday 27th September. Royal Duchy IV Bristol to Par.

34053 - SIR KEITH PARK

The steam pipe which runs along the top of the firebox to the manifold in the cab fractured in early March. Liam Trevail removed it and Peter Spowage drove it down to Herston Works the following day where it was repaired in quick time. Transferring it back in the van to the Spa, Liam refitted it so that Sir Keith was up and running for the beer festival. Thanks to both of them for ensuring that a drama didn't turn into a crisis! Owing to the installation of a hugely expensive new bridge a little way down the line the Spa has been operating a curtailed service but with track laying starting imminently Sir Keith will soon be back in action over the whole Railway.

Sir Keith Park was in use at the Spa Valley Spring Beer festival.

34070- MANSTON

This is the last season that Manston will be working in its work-stained condition. During the past few weeks routine maintenance has been carried out including an oil change and various pins and bushes have been replaced on the brake gear. Following a visit to the East Lancs Railway for their Legends of Steam weekend on 10-12 April Manston will return to Swanage, and then spending approximately 10 weeks on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway. Following a return to Swanage it is planned to move the loco to Herston in the Autumn where both a piston and valve exam will take place as well as a full repaint.

Manston is still in its 'worn' look, but it will be getting a coat of paint before long. Photo M. Creese

34072 - 257 SQUADRON

Following an extended stay on the Great Central Railway 257 returned to the Swanage Railway in mid-March to appear at the Spring Gala. As usual '72 has been performing well and apart from routine maintenance the only planned work is to replace lubricator components with newly overhauled units, and renew the associated oilers and filters as required when it has its annual boiler exam in the Autumn.

34072 arrives at Leicester North. Photo: Martin Eames

In the last update we reported that it had been decided that 34007 Wadebridge would not be going on the Main Line so the proposed tender swap with 257's would not be taking place. There has now been a change of plan by the MHR and the swap is apparently back on! We're not sure when this will happen as certain work has to be arranged on Wadebridge's tender before it can be utilised with Manston. For instance we've standardised all the water pipe couplings so we can easily swap tenders - Wadebridge's will need to be changed as will the rubbing plate between engine and tender. Then there's a question of matching engine and tender paintwise but we've been assured this tender swap will not see SLL out of pocket, and no date has been fixed when this will actually happen.

75050 - NORMAN

As this is the next SLL locomotive to be transferred to Herston Works a great deal of attention is being given to it at Sellindge. After it was completely stripped of old paint it's had the benefit of a coat of Rustoleum and undercoating is well progressed with top coat being applied in all the areas which will be difficult to get to once re-wheeled. As the rebuild continues we are finding more errors made by the initial contractor which has caused additional work. The axleboxes have had to be completely rebuilt but with the enormous help rendered by our friends at Automation Technologies the final job is now being undertaken. As the cylinders had to be relined it has been necessary to cast two new piston heads so that the piston ring grooves could be modified to fit the smaller bore - these have now been delivered to our machinists who are also producing new slide bars for us.

Mark Chapman has undertaken a serious amount of work on Norman's frames - we see very little of him on Tuesdays and only let him out for lunch, if he's lucky.

One of our shareholders has kindly arranged for a new chimney to be manufactured for Norman - the previous one was regrettably swapped, unbeknown to us, for a scrap one after leaving Yorkshire. Once again Peter will be taking the van to Crewe to collect it.

Work continues on the boiler with all the crown stays now fitted and ground down to size. There is still much work to do and we hope that extra days can be fitted in by our boilersmith as we need the frames and the boiler to be finished at roughly the same time. We will be asking Lawrence to have a small rest from boiler work to weld Sidmouth and Sir Freddie's frame extensions, and then there's the weld repairs to undertake around the axleboxes on both locos. For a successful job this will need to be done during the warmer months. We aim to have the re-wheeling complete within four or five months so that Norman is ready to be transferred to Dorset.

34010 - SIDMOUTH & 34058 - SIR FREDERICK PILE

The Sid Vale Association's premises were full to capacity for our webmaster's presentation to the good folk of Sidmouth, which followed a campaign on the town's poster boards. Several of those present subsequently purchased shares in the loco, and two found their way to the footplate on the DX trips just two weeks after the talk.

Webmaster Nick tells all with Tea & Biscuits!

Sidmouth (the town) was plastered with advertisements describing the loco's history and restoration, and invitations to the webmaster's talk.

Sidmouth's new drag box is now in place. Note the fitted bolts on both sides.

Despite the awful weather conditions endured until recently, the drilling of the frames to take the new dragbox was completed and it was lifted into the frames a few weeks ago. It is now secured by all the necessary new fitted bolts with the next job of drilling all the rivet holes to size along the entire length of the rear of the frames is well underway. Final welding of the new frame extension plates to the original will then be undertaken and finally our riveting company will return to complete the entire job. However before this is undertaken, Allan and Alan will be transferring the mag drill to Sir Freddie Pile and starting the whole process all over again. This will hopefully be quicker given hopefully better weather - a freezing wind, rain or sleet is not too conducive to efficient working, although Alan in his 90th year appears completely oblivious to cold or heat.

We're on the brink of ordering new tubeplates for both locomotives although Sidmouth's boiler was the recipient of a new rear tubeplate during the restoration of Sir Keith Park, so won't be needing a replacement. Our volunteers are doing some of the groundwork for Tyseley staff to remove the tubes from Sidmouth's boiler so that it can have a full examination prior to front tubeplate installation. As far as is possible both boilers will be progressed but at some point assuming we're not the beneficiary of a large sum of money, we will ask Tyseley to concentrate on whichever boiler is considered the cheapest to finish first.

It is our intention to make Sidmouth ready for the Main Line and given financial restraints it is likely that we will utilise Eddystone's current tender. We have a 6000 gallon tender tank ex 35025 but to utilise that we'd have to start from scratch and build a completely new set of Merchant Navy frames at huge expense - something to contemplate if we can get '25 off the ground but it's all down to sponsorship.

We have the steel for a Light Pacific tender frame along with wheelsets, axleboxes and much else for a new tender build which was inherited from Mike Vout, but that will still mean we're a Light Pacific tender short if all our locomotives are to have one. It is certainly our wish to equip each locomotive with one as they are extremely vulnerable to damage as proven at Barry!

35025 BROCKLEBANK LINE

It's always been clear that financially this could be a restoration too far. However, we are spending many man hours ensuring that what we have is protected against further damage. The wheels and frames are stripped and Rustoleum applied with the wheels being undercoated and the frames to follow. The drivers were turned on the Swindon wheel lathe by the previous owners and are ready to go. More recently the rear of the frames will have the same treatment as Sidmouth and Sir Fred and a new dragbox fitted just to keep things ticking over.

Several of the team have spent the last two or three months laboriously restoring these wheelsets - Hugh doing the finishing touches on one of the drivers.

Our hope has been that we will attract a sponsor given that the project is very much a going concern, especially given that the boiler is in much better condition than previous Barry acquisitions.

DX trips for shareholders.

Once again the Swanage Railway team came up with three days of driving and firing trips for our supporters, this time using 34070 Manston. Three days with six trips per day, each with two of our guys, many being new shareholders of SLL. All the Swanage crews were great, and each trip ended with big grins and selfies alongside the nameplate. In 2025 there were no DX trips available as the line was closed for infrastructure issues. This year there might even be a few more days for us if things go well.

Father and son footplatemen Martin and Oliver Wright.

All in all

Thanks to all who have supported us during the year so far. Our staff, our teams at Swanage, Sellindge and Tyseley, and those who've supported us financially. One way or another we've been spending time on all 9 locos, 80104 being the one nearest to completion. Bring it on!

News Update - December 2025

Michael Topham's stunning photo of Eddystone heading to London on 11th November

From the Chairman

EX10

The Sid Vale Association is England's oldest civic society, custodian of the town's history and engaged watching the town's future. It has the records of the two local newspapers, the Sidmouth Herald, which is still active, and the Sidmouth Observer, no longer in print.

The last update was written just after our first excursion to Swanage which whilst highly successful did come to an abrupt stop at Basingstoke. This transpired to be caused by a tiny component in the middle connecting rod which restricts the flow of oil to the big end, working its way loose. It was therefore with some trepidation that we awaited departure of our second excursion operating from Slough to Chester. We needn't have worried as this and the following week's return run from Manchester to Reading went without a hitch, with a lot of high speed running as anyone with access to YouTube or social media will have seen.

The locomotive looked perfect having had the attention of our Southall cleaning team for which we are still looking for new recruits. As we've stressed we don't want to compromise our restorations of locomotives by diverting resources to '28, so we're looking for people who don't currently volunteer. It's about a once a month job if you can assist.

Eddystone sets off from Sheerness with the Armistice Steam Express Photo: Joe Hunter

Our Support Coach left Herston works on 2nd December which coincided with the return of 80104's boiler to Herston for the fitting of the crinolines and cladding. This had been a little delayed by Tyseley's crane breaking down and then the hired in one failing as well!

There will be several months work once 80104's boiler has been reunited with the frames but we're hoping that it will be ready to haul trains at Swanage before the end of 2026. As reported in the last update an unexpected problem of needing a new superheater header has really strained the finances, so any support readers can offer would be much appreciated.

The run on Armistice Day was around Kent with possibly a first visit of a working Bulleid Pacific to the Isle of Sheppey, although a couple of Light Pacifics were towed to Queenborough on the island to be cut up in the mid sixties. Following a 90 minute stay in which Richard Green and Bob Waterman did a roaring trade on the platform with Eddystone souvenirs, the train departed for Dover and Folkestone travelling over the same line as our first foray on to the Main Line in 1990 in connection with 257 Squadron's recommissioning at Folkestone.

34028 in deepest Kent on the 11th December Armistace Steam Express. Photo: Michael Topham

Again, a faultless run back to Victoria, Eddystone attracted a large number of commuters as it arrived towards the end of the rush hour and it certainly gained more than a few admirers. There were three more runs before Christmas, Sunday 29th November saw our first run out of Paddington to Bath and Bristol. On 6th December we ran from Newbury to Rochester and on the 13th it was from Three Bridges to Bath and Bristol again.

Manston on shed on 30th November. Photo: ANDREW PM WRIGHT

Meanwhile Manston continues to give sterling service only being withdrawn temporarily for new clack valves to be fitted as the originals were causing problems. 257 Squadron continues its sojourn in Yorkshire and a decision will be made soon as to how long it's staying at Pickering, which could now be until the Spring.

Working the 1640 ex Grosmont, SR No.34072 '257 Squadron' heads towards Moorgates on the 11th October 2025, at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Photo: Steaming Around Yorkshire.

We don't know whether Wadebridge is going out on to the Main Line now, so perhaps 257 Squadron may not be receiving a high-sided tender after all, but the offer to the Wadebridge guys stands if they do eventually decide to upgrade 34007.

Southern Locomotives now has another fitter in Herston Works. Kaden will be joining our apprentice Tom, who's been with us for 18 months and doing well. As evidenced by the photos, Bailey and colleagues have done a magnificent job on our support coach which Eddystone will take to Southall at the beginning of next season.

SELLINDGE

Far from the glamour of Main Line running (tell that to Graham at 4 in the morning in a freezing Southall shed), work continues at Sellindge and other locations in the south-east. This year tended to concentrate on our WD Austerity Norman, with work progressing well on the boiler, 80% of the unskilled work completed on the frames and with axlebox repairs taking place offsite, along with the manufacture of new slide bars, we will soon be able to start the reconstruction of the locomotive.

Norman's frames are now painted and look very smart.

The frames have now been primed and undercoated externally and internally a coat of Rustoleum is nearly completed. The top half of the cab was turned on its side to make the task of stripping the entire unit easier, and this has now been stripped primed and undercoated.

We have been trying to negotiate the purchase of a new set of tyres for Sir Fred but while we have a quote for the drivers and bogie, we don't have one for the cost of the trailing truck tyres yet. To this end we have been stripping the drivers and they have mostly had two coats of Rustoleum and undercoat, always a pain in the open air as the pockets are either full of water or leaves, or both. There's also a fair amount of sixties detritus as well where Andy and team couldn't get to when it was at Alresford.

Sir Fred's driving wheels are looking very tidy, though they will need new tyres.

The initial riveting of the rear plates on both '10 and '58 went very smoothly which now gives the opportunity of offering the dragboxes up into the frames so that we can ascertain where holes have to be drilled or filled. At the same time we're removing the remaining rivets from Sir Fred's rear frames so that we can ensure that there is no rust between the doubler plates as we did on Sidmouth.

The large pair of arms are not a giant magnet, they're a riveting machine. A very hot rivet is put in place and the hydraulic arms do the work of the hammers.

Once that's done, the new plate sections which replaced the badly wasted ones and which are currently bolted on, will be welded to the original by Lawrence Donaldson and then both sets of frames will have the attention of the riveter once again. Finally the drag boxes will be installed and this lengthy task will be complete on both locomotives, the speed of which very much depends on the weather over the next three or four months. We are basically doing the same job on the rear of Brocklebank Line's frames with the dragbox being built in association with the guys restoring Shaw Savill.

Having already transferred Sidmouth's coupling rods, crank rods and other items to our new machining company, we will be making another collection from Swanage of non-ferrous items along with parts for Norman, now that we are restoring the entire locomotive at Sellindge.

You may be wondering why Mike is standing in an up-turned saddle tank. Could it be that a passing HIAB driver has been persuaded to assist in turning over the overhauled and painted tank prior to lifting into position?

Even on a bad day we have at least 15 volunteers at Sellindge and normally well over 20 so we do achieve a lot. When a dozen angle grinders are being used along with other power tools as well as the electric compressor, it is just as well that we expended a considerable amount of money having the entire site rewired, but it was money well spent for both safety and efficiency.

It is disappointing that we can utilise only a fraction of the land that we have a 99 year lease on, owing to a row of rotting electric units which prevent access to most of the field. They will clearly never be restored but mean that we and the double decker guys who regularly work on the unit that came from Northampton, have to be squeezed on the edge of the field, as you will have noted from photographs of Sir Fred Pile, Sidmouth and Brocklebank Line, it's all rather frustrating but we will continue to improve the site, the first task of 2026 to convert what is now a storage area into a covered workshop.

Norman's wheels are also looking good. Note the two crankshafts at 90 degrees which link to the connecting rods and cylinders.

SUPPORT COACH

Mk1.BR coach BSK 35011 was built by BR in the 1960's and following withdrawal moved to London Transport in the early 1990's for use on "Steam on the Met" services. It had been kept under cover at Ruislip since the termination of those services, and it was subsequently donated to the Swanage Railway.

Richard Green designed a new logo for SLL.

With the closeness of SLL and Swanage Railway the railway donated the coach to SLL and supported the work to convert Eddystone and its tender to main line standards. The locomotive was ready for operation by July 2025 and the first commercial run was on 10th September from Victoria to Swanage and return. That service included a support coach from the service operator the Railway Touring Company.

Meanwhile work on S 35011 continued in Herston Works, receiving a full overhaul, and equipping it for the long hours and harsh condition of steam tours, and the supplies which might be needed en route. The external finish is also very smart, to match the polished loco and smart coaches for the paying passengers.

The coach is now back on Swanage Ralway track, where some remaining work is being completed.

As built the BSK had a lavatory, four passenger compartments, a guard's compartment and a luggage area.

Down the corridor:

In this photo the Corridor is to the right, and the loo is nearest.

By the renown standards of loos on trains, ours looks pretty good.

The next two compartments are as built, four aside seating and high level netting shelf. Those travelling in these compartments will experience a 1960's more authentic than those who've bought tickets, but without the champers, and they'll have to bring their own sandwiches.