News Archives
Latest News 
December 2022
Another cracking photo from Robin Procter with 34028 Eddystone going like the clappers!
From the Chairman
Much has happened in the last few weeks, to our locos and to the future shape of our organisation. As it includes other groups we have not been able to mention everything previously, though the rumour mill seems to have worked as usual.
The first item on the agenda is 34072, 257 Squadron . This locomotive is currently on the Spa Valley Railway working hard on Polar Express duties with a planned return to Swanage in January.
However, since writing the last update we have been advised that there will be a significant reduction in timetabled services at Swanage next year, owing to continuing drop in "turn up" passengers over recent years. With the current economic climate the Railway feels that it is unlikely that 2023 will see too much of an improvement, so to have three Pacifics of which only one would be used except on high days and holidays would seem illogical. That said, Swanage will still be the home of two Bulleids, Eddystone and Manston , both with long boiler tickets, a pair of Pacifics no other railway can match.
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Archimedes discovered the principle of levers around 230 BC, and the Chairman Simon demonstrates how a piece of pipe on the end of a spanner can make full value of it while removing the 36 remaining studs in Brocklebank Line's manifold at our Autumnal workshop. Whether the Greeks used a gas flame to free corroded studs is unknown, but Allan seems familiar with the technique. Photo: Simon Troy (who somehow also appears in the photo). |
34072 will in future be based on the Spa Valley though it will be available for hire for much of the year, especially 2023. As many readers will remember '72 travelled extensively in the early 1990s and seemed to spend more time on tarmac than rail - with multiple visits to the North York Moors, East Lancs, Severn Valley, Bluebell, etc, and since then has travelled quite extensively to various Galas.
One railway it didn't visit and indeed one which has never had a Bulleid Pacific grace its metals is the Kent & East Sussex. We expect that 257 will be the star attraction over Easter and many other events until returning to the Spa for a June steam-up at Tunbridge Wells. More details will follow in the New Year.
The second item is that some time ago we were approached by the Mid-Hants Railway with a view to forming a long term strategic relationship. Between us we have 10 Pacifics, some of which need restoring and some without tenders, so it seems to make an awful lot of sense if we can assist each other. For example we borrowed Wadebridge's bogie for use with Eddystone earlier in 2022.
One loco at the Mid-Hants is 34058 Sir Frederick Pile which is still in the early stage of restoration. Its supporters have done as much as they can, given its location at the end of the headshunt at Alresford, to protect the locomotive from the elements by painting the boiler and cleaning and painting the frames as far as possible, given that the boiler and wheels are still in situ.
Our current discussion focuses on '58 and how we might cooperate in its restoration. We had a long association with the late Mike Vout, the previous owner for whom Willie Bath organised many of the new parts for the locomotive, such as connecting and coupling rods, many non-ferrous parts, tender frames and wheels etc. We regard this as a the first step in a very positive development for the future of Southern Locomotives.
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Back to the business of restoration. New welding gear has arrived at Sellindge, so work can start on repairing Sidmouth's frame extensions and preparing them for the installation of the new dragbox next weekend. The latter is perfectly drilled as per the drawings but as is quite usual, the guy drilling the holes in the frames at Eastleigh the first time round clearly wasn't looking at the same set of drawings, so much redrilling and welding will be necessary before the dragbox can be fitted. With the help of our friendly scaffolders and donations of tarpaulins, Sidmouth is tucked up for the Winter with a temporary shelter over the dragbox area so that our welders and riveters can proceed with some protection from the elements.
34053 Sir Keith Park has taken Manston's place in Herston Works and is currently being stripped and readied for its transfer to the North Norfolk Railway for its boiler swap, a complicated and expensive exercise. It will then return to Swanage for reassembly. 80104's boiler overhaul at Tyseley described below is costing a small fortune as further problems have been discovered.
80104's boiler overhaul at Tyseley described below is costing a small fortune as further problems have been discovered, so we would ask any readers who would like to see a Standard Tank back in Dorset or to support any other aspect of our work to request a share application form from the Chairman, at the earliest possible opportunity.
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And lastly some 100% good news: 34070 Manston re-joined the operational fleet at Swanage on 1st December and the following link to a video taken by Mike Hall will enable you to see and hear what your contributions have achieved here . We do hope that as many as possible will visit the Railways that we're involved with, to buy a ticket and ride behind steam.
Simon Troy
Chairman
34072 257 Squadron
After a short delay caused by an earlier vehicle breakdown 34072 257 Squadron and tender left the Swanage Railway on the 3rd November and arrived late in the evening at Tunbridge Wells West. Unloaded the following morning the first warming fire was raised, followed by a driver training day on 13th. All was well and our locomotive hauled the first of 119 Polar Express departures on Friday 18th.
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All 24 days are now sold out - that's over 43,000 tickets. We must hope that the Squadron performs as well as Sir Keith did last year; the following comment from Jonnie Pay who is the Commercial and Financial Manager of the Spa Valley is indicative of other reports we have been receiving:
"Just to say that 257 Squadron is an absolutely amazing engine, I was out on her first thing getting assessed as a driver and last night doing a trial timing train, and the atmosphere with the mist and an engine like that was just pure magic. I've no doubt that a lot of people are going to spend November and December in total awe of the engine."
257 Squadron will take part in the Spa Valley Winter Steam Up on 7-8th Jan and possibly other days.
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257 Squadron will be the beneficiary of the superheater elements which were removed from Sir Keith Park's boiler in the Summer. They have been pressure tested at Herston and are ready for further use.
34028 Eddystone
This locomotive is the only one of our fleet with nothing significant to report. It has just finished its latest stint in service and at the time of writing is awaiting a boiler washout and weighing before being prepared for the Steam and Lights service. |
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34070 Manston
Manston finally left Herston on 2nd November and was carried to Norden where it rejoined Swanage Railway's track after five years and three months since its withdrawal for repair and overhaul. It was then towed to Swanage where a fire was put into the locomotive on the 7th. Everything was fine and it was moved under its own power for the first time on 14th. Two days later it was passed for running by our boiler inspector, and successful loaded test runs took place on Thursday and Friday. Some work has been needed on the tender with needle guns removing some corrosion and a few weld repairs were also necessary on the tender tank.
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We were pleased that following the inspection a completely new boiler ticket was granted so we have until 2033 before we (or someone!) has to start the whole process again. Hopefully it will be back in revenue earning traffic very shortly to celebrate its 75th birthday - as many will know this locomotive was the last Southern engine to be built prior to nationalisation in November 1947 and had the last 21C number allocated, whilst 257 Squadron was the last locomotive to be painted Malachite Green.
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One of the issues which contributed to Manston's delayed return to the rails was the weaknesses found in the frames of the Bissel truck. Significant corrosion was found in the structure, needing new steel sections to be welded in. Part of the cause was the current design which has undrained areas where ash and water can gather. We have added cut-outs to the frames to reduce such accumulation. Ash has also tended to gather above the axleboxes and we have fitted covers to prevent this.
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The final result of Manston's five year overhaul can be judged by this video by Mike Hall, who was one of the volunteers who worked on the project. Turn up the volume, note the perfect three cylinder exhaust, and enjoy.
34053 Sir Keith Park
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Following storage at Corfe Castle station for a couple of months Sir Keith Park was transferred to Herston Works via Norden on the same lowloader that had brought Manston back to the Railway. The major job of dismantling the locomotive to prepare it for its transfer to Weybourne on the North Norfolk Railway is underway.
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Within days the cab had been stripped, the motion partly removed, valves stripped for removal, cylinder covers loosened off so that the pistons can be taken out, brake rigging removed, smoke deflectors released and nameplates removed. We also need to remove items such as the regulator for fitting into the new (ex Sidmouth ) boiler, which is well on its way to completion. The hydraulic test will hopefully take place in January and the steam tests in February when we have sent all the necessary parts such as the safety valves, regulator, gauge glasses, etc, having had to overhaul them first. These photos from Neville Crook show some of the variety of parts needed to build a Bulleid Pacific.
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Brake rods, each carefully labelled, and each needing to be cleaned and painted and with two or three pins and bushes to be refitted. | Brake levers and pins, to be cleaned and painted and with pins to be refitted. |
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Part-worn brake blocks, spacers and other parts. | A Stones generator, speedo gear, injector pipes, lubrication pipes and sections of the running plates. |
34010 Sidmouth and 35025 Brocklebank Line
One of our volunteers donated two new tarpaulins with which we have encased Sidmouth's frames to protect all the new paintwork, which was just as well as we've recently had heavy storms. We haven't covered the frame extensions as we hope to start work on installing the new dragbox. With Sidmouth encased we can turn our attention to Brocklebank Line and will follow the same route although there will certainly be more needle gunning. Whilst the exterior of the frames just look messy with peeling paintwork where areas weren't prepared properly, the inside is in much worse condition. The difficult to get at areas appear to have been painted with hardly any preparation of the surfaces at all, so there's much rust and scale. |
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As with Sidmouth we're removing the horn stays one at a time to prevent any stress on the frames, stripping them down to bare metal and repainting. We will then reinstate them one at a time having cleaned all adjacent surfaces. The axleboxes themselves look in very good condition and hopefully little work will need to be done on them prior to reinstatement.
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The cab is looking good at Herston although hopefully it will be brought into the Works shortly to protect it from the weather. For reasons which cannot currently be revealed we will now be fitting the cab out more extensively than planned. The first job is to organise the bronze window frames, a long and expensive job as they are really complicated consisting three sliding windows and wind deflector, so a lot of machining is necessary.
All of SLL's current funds are devoted to current overhauls so much of the kit such as grit blasters, needle guns, electric tools, etc, to undertake initial restoration on both Sidmouth and Brocklebank Line have been self-funded by the team, to the tune of many thousands. However, now that major finance will be needed in 2023 for our Merchant Navy we hope that those who want to see '25 restored will help us when they can.
80104
Work continues on the boiler thanks to our sponsor who is lending us the majority of the funds for the extensive work being carried out. Whilst the front tubeplate has had to be renewed it was thought that the rear one was in satisfactory condition. However, on removal of the tubes it has been discovered that most of the firebox tubeplate holes have been expanded to an unacceptable size, presumably during its last overhaul. The larger the holes means there is the less material between them which can compromise the integrity of the tubeplate. So according to the BR handbook we now have to repair the damage. The cost of a new copper tubeplate would be astronomical, so we are relieved to be advised by Tyseley that the current one can be repaired. Tyseley's experience with GWR copper tubeplates is valued, though the additional repair will cost around £20,000, money we don't currently have.
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Our Tyseley volunteer team have been working on the rest of the locomotive preparing it for quite extensive work to be undertaken at Herston on its return. Many parts including the brake gear have already been transferred to the Works. As it hasn't had a full overhaul in its 25+ years in service there is much to do. Not least is the copper lubrication pipework which is beyond repair by the normal annealing process.
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The frames and wheels were steam cleaned at Tyseley but with the driving wheels in situ there were some areas which couldn't be reached. Therefore much time was spent manually cleaning the hard to get at places before painting could commence. At the last working party in November, all the driving wheels were painted black along with much of the frames that could be accessed. Even with the extra work required the boiler is pretty much on schedule though the bottleneck may be at Herston unless we can increase our staff; if Sir Keith Park and 80104 arrive at the same time it's going to be tricky. However, there is much to do on both locomotives in Birmingham and Norfolk before this possible eventuality, so we'll just have to see how it pans out.
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Norman
New arrangements for the completion of Norman's overhaul are progressing, albeit slowly, and we hope to be able to make a further announcement in a few weeks.
Waterloo to the West Country
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September 2022
Robin Procter likes panned photos and once again he's caught 34028 Eddystone 'at speed'.
From the Chairman
Our last update was in May, so it's time to report on what's happened over the summer and our plans for the rest of the year. One thing that's crystal clear is that everything associated with the overhaul of steam locomotives is taking longer and costing more. As you will see below work on Manston found several unexpected issues delaying its return to the Railway, and impacting Sir Keith Park's timetable. However it's not all bad news and good progress is being made with 80104 and Sidmouth , whilst Eddystone and 257 Squadron continue to perform well. As ever our progress is constrained by available cash, and if you're thinking of supporting us, now would be a very good time.
Simon Troy
34072 257 Squadron
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We are most grateful to the Swanage Railway for allowing 257 Squadron to spend time at the Spa Valley Railway on Polar Express duties in November and December, a welcome lifeline which will help us fund our projects into 2023. With the loss of potential earnings from Manston this year and predictions of price rises, finances are tighter than usual. To enable this to happen we're contracting the Swanage Railway to replace 257's superheater elements with those from Sir Keith Park , which are going to Swanage on 19th September from the Spa Valley. If we'd use our own team for this job it would stop our work on Manston . 34072 will to be back at Swanage early in 2023 for the line's reopening in the Spring following some major embankment work.
34028 Eddystone
Eddystone has been performing well, and has been in regular service over the summer, though the extreme temperature and drought meant steam gave way to diesel for a period in August. Earlier it paid a visit to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway's S&D; event.
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Back in July Eddystone visited the Glouctershire Warwickshire Steam Railway for their Somerset & Dorset themed gala. 34028 was a
star attraction as it had actually worked on the S&D; in the early 1960's. Here the loco is basking in evening sunshine at the Toddington MPD. Photo: Alex Clements |
34070 Manston
As mentioned above, several unexpected problems have been encountered with Manston's overhaul which have been quite surprising, as the general impression back in 2017 was that little work would be needed to return it to service. One major problem which led to another was the discovery that the white metal in one of the trailing truck axleboxes had slipped. This had gone unnoticed when it was in service, at Tyseley, and then again on its return until a scuff mark on the trailing truck frame was spotted.
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This discovery led to the whole locomotive being lifted so that the truck could be rolled out, which meant the complete dismantling of all the pipework at the back end along with several other items. Having moved it from beneath the locomotive the truck's frames were found to have considerable wastage and some of the platework needed to be replaced. Its time standing in the open at Tyseley had exacerbated the problem of water sitting in remnants of ash and dirt unable to escape. We have now made drain holes in the relevant areas to prevent the problem reoccurring and will be looking at our other locomotives for the same problem. We're hoping that the locomotive will be transferred to the Railway towards the end of October for running in.
34053 Sir Keith Park
The main task of the Summer has been to remove the superheater elements for transfer to Swanage for further use in 257 Squadron . This wholly unpleasant task was carried out over four weeks in boiling hot weather with the loosening of the bolts by members of our Sellindge team, led by Martin Stables on a Tuesday, with Liam Treveil and volunteers the following weekend. They will go to Herston for pressure testing on 19th September along with the petticoat.
As you'll see below, Sir Keith Park travelled to Swanage via the Great Dorset Steam Fair, arriving at Norden on 31st August where the locomotive was offloaded and towed to Corfe Castle Station sidings where there is more security. Coupled to Manston's tender it will remain there until a double low-loader movement, first moving to Norden and thence Herston, followed by Manston's return to the Railway. Target date - end of October.
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The first job will be to remove the regulator and send it to the North Norfolk Railway as Sidmouth's was removed and utilised on one of our locomotives following accidental damage at Herston many years ago. A lot of work was done to the current regulator in Herston prior to its departure for Tunbridge Wells, so it was considered the best option rather than overhauling and rebuilding one of those we have at Herston or Sellindge.
We know that swapping boilers between Sidmouth and Sir Keith Park will be complicated, and it's not getting any simpler as we now have to get several parts such as the safety valves and regulator overhauled prior to the NNR being able to do their steam test.
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Clearly this couldn't start until its boiler ticket expired but our main problem has been that our staff could not spend time overhauling SKP parts at the same time as trying to get Manston into traffic. This hasn't been a particular problem insofar as the NNR are running about nine months late with the boiler, which is now expected to have its hydraulic test at the end of October and steam test in December.
The plan is for staff and volunteers to dismantle Sir Keith and prepare the boiler for lifting early in the New Year so that it can be transferred to Weybourne. The complex process of switching boilers will then commence. This is complex from the start; getting the entire locomotive into Weybourne Works will not be easy. The planned sequence probably be 1. Detach existing boiler and smokebox from loco 2. Lift the existing boiler with smoke box and ashpans/hoppers from loco. 3. Detached existing boiler from smoke box and ashpans/hoppers, 4. Repair ashpans/hoppers lift existing boiler. 5. Connect the newly overhauled boiler complete with superheater header, elements & boiler fittings to smoke box. 6. Connect overhauled boiler and smoke box and repaired ashpans/hoppers. 7. Lift overhauled boiler/smoke box/ashpans on to loco, 8. connect overhauled boiler/smoke box/ashpans to loco. We anticipate the duration of above work at Weybourne to be 4/6 weeks, starting in March/April 2023
Sir Keith Park at the Great Dorset Steam Fair
Following a clean and polish by the Sellindge team Sir Keith Park was dispatched on the 23rd August to the Great Dorset Steam Fair for display and haulage around the site on an Allelys transporter from 25 - 29th August. Using a stand within the Swanage Railway marquee many of our leaflets were handed out over the five days by Dave Ensor, Mike Hall, Nick Thompson and Malcolm Garner so hopefully a few will be returned with a completed share application form.
Allelys demonstrated how they loaded and unloaded the low-loader - which most of us have seen on the Train Truckers TV programme. They then used their truck to take SKP for a loop of the arena. Next three traction engines were attached to haul truck+lowloader+loco for more loops. Finally the front two traction engines were removed, and a single traction engine showed how it's done!
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34010 Sidmouth
Fair weather and a regular team of volunteers has ensured that virtually all of Sidmouth's frames and cylinders are now totally clear of rust and scale with a coat of Rustoleum applied. Further significant progress is soon to be made at Sellindge with Sidmouth's restoration.
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A method statement has now been prepared and approved as a guidance to repair the trailing sections of the frames. This will be combined with the fitting of a new drag box which we have in stock and arrived from Herston in early September courtesy of one of our neighbours at Sellindge. Frame material is being ordered shortly when we have confirmed the relevant grade of steel. A local coded welder with decades of loco experience has been engaged, with other work being covered by the SLL Sunday and Tuesday team volunteers.
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We've organised further expert help with the extensive riveting process which is required, and all the necessary fitted bolts required will be organised and applied on site. Also arriving from Herston will be a well-travelled new front buffer beam which will be offered up and riveted into position following on from the drag box installation. To coincide with this work the site has organised the long term loan of some appropriate welding equipment.
35025 Brocklebank Line
Whilst the cab reconstruction is proceeding well at Herston, we have chosen not to spend much time on 35025, as this would compromise the completion of Sidmouth's frames. Having said that the loco's tender tank has had a lot of attention; Roy Carlo has press-ganged several into helping him remove all the loose paint and rust and the entire tank should be primered by mid-September to help protect it this Winter, and hide the original Malachite Green which we got down to. The vast amount of internal cleansing of the tank has been saved for rainy days! Whilst it will be far cheaper to repair and refurbish this tank rather than building a new one, we will have to rectify some BR accident damage as confirmed by photographs of it in 1964. We had assumed that most of the severe ripple affects especially down one side were post-1965 but clearly it arrived in Barry after one extremely careless owner!
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Now that we have our new large compressor installed and working, the grit blasting team should be able to make fast inroads on the frames providing that the weather continues to be dry. This will permit restoration to get properly underway. We have extricated the regulator body from the Brocklebank Line container and sent it to Herston where it will be rebuilt along with Sidmouth's.
80104
Work on 80104 continues at Tyseley. A group of SLL volunteers were on site at the end of July to remove parts of the brake gear which will be overhauled at Herston, and removal of more parts of the loco. The good news is that the bottom end has been steam cleaned, saving us a lot of mucky work. More volunteer sessions have been planned for autumn.
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Alan and Jim remove the split pins on the brake hangers. Photos: Malcolm Garner | Jim, Mary and Alan admire the truck load of brake linkage they removed from 80104 at the July session. |
The boiler overhaul continues apace. The steel wrapper sides have been removed from the firebox, all copper flange screws are drilled out in the copper and the plates are ready to be cut out. The palm stays and extra rivets have been cut out along the firebox doubler plate. The palm stay brackets have been overhauled and are ready for refitting when they put the new rivets in the boiler barrel. The copper plate has arrived and the new steel plate for the wrapper and tubeplate will arrive imminently. The small tubes have arrived and the flue tubes are having their ends swelled. Future work includes continued the needle gunning of the inside of the barrel, painting the outside of it along with touching up the frames. Copper pipes must be removed and taken to Swanage for annealing, along with the rest of the brake gear.
Norman
Regretably, little progress has been made in our plan to move Norman to a new site for completion of its overhaul.
SE&CR; Brakevan 55490
The photo reflects the superb job that the Kent & East Sussex team have accomplished in completing the partially restored 'Dance Hall' brake van. It is particularly relevant to the Railway having been built 99 years ago just up the road at Ashford. It seems a long time ago that it emerged out of the fog on a miserable Winter's day at Blunsdon a couple of hours after the arrival of 257 Squadron from Barry courtesy of Bill Trite. It's only taken 38 years but we get there in the end!
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Several Dance Halls survive on heritage railways. You can swot up on them here .
Steam in Ukraine
Everyone is very much aware of the war which has engulfed Ukraine, and the key role which the country's railways have played in their military logistics and the movement of refugees. However very few of us have ever visited that country, and even fewer did so in the age of steam.
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SLL supporter Nick Dodson is the manager of RailFilms, which has published many videos over the past 40 years. Nick's latest video has two roles; to show unique film of Ukranian steam at work as seen in this trailer , and to support Ukranian children now living in Britain by donating the net proceeds from purchases of this video.
On the footplate
Robin Procter and camera took a trip on Eddystone's footplate in July and with the aid of a wide angle lens captured some excellent photos.
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Driver John at the regulator. | Fireman Andy with shovel. |
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Sean Day-Lewis
Author of Bulleid - Last Giant of Steam, Sean Day-Lewis died in June at the age of 90. He lived in Colyton, East Devon, not far from his childhood home at Musbury, where the Southern line to Exeter dips south before climbing to Honiton tunnel. He wrote of how he grew up with the sight and sound of Bulleids just visible a mile across the valley. He became a journalist, writing the Arts and TV reviews and the "Peterborough" political jossip column of the Daily Telegraph. His brief article about OVSB triggered a letter from a reader in Brighton, deploring the lack of engineering enterprise in the nationalised system of the day. This led to a footplate trip on the ACE, and a meeting with OVSB at his London club. There followed a series of interviews at the then-retired engineer's home in Exmouth, which formed the basis of the book, Bulleid Last Giant of Steam, the first Bulleid biography.
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Sean became a Vice President of the Bulleid Society, though advancing age restricted his railway activities and we were surprised when he accepted SLL's invitation to the recommissioning of Sir Keith Park in 2013. He enjoyed the event though made it clear that he preferred unrebuilts to those which had been 'altered' which he said was the term which Mr Bulleid insisted on using. So we arranged a footplate trip on Manston which he treasured, and in return he recounted memories of his time with Mr Bulleid for this website. He was probably the last remaining link with OVSB's working life, and his passing marks a break with the past.
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By chance, on 2nd July, the day after his funeral 35028 Clan Line hauled a steam special to Exeter. As it passed the site of Seaton Junction, a mile from Sean's childhood home, members of the Day-Lewis family were there to hear a long middle-C Bulleid whistle from the footplate in his memory.
May 2022
From the Chairman
During the last few months we have made good progress on most of our projects. Having said that, prices have risen across the board while our income from loco leasing and share purchases remains below pre-Covid levels. We've weathered all manner of storms over the last 40 years and still expect to complete our projects, ensuring that Swanage Railway and the Spa Valley continue to reap the benefits of our work. A new worry, which affects the whole heritage railway industry, is the supply and cost of steam coal, now around £400 per ton. That's particularly frustrating as suitable UK coal exists but the mines are moth-balled, we now have to look at countries such as Kazakhstan and Colombia for supplies, hardly a green solution.
Once again 34053 masqueraded at the Spa Valley as 34095 Brentor, this time for a photo charter on 27th April. Photo:Ian Silvester
We were saddened to learn that John Mullins, who looked after our share register and issuance for 25 years, died in March after a long illness. SLL was represented at the funeral by myself, Geoff Thompson, our previous Chairman, and Bob Bevis who took over from John a couple of years ago. John was a thoroughly nice chap and our condolences go out to his family.
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DX trips for SLL shareholders are back
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After a break of two years (Covid, of course) we were delighted to have two days of Driving & Firing (DX is the normal abbreviation) at Swanage Railway in March. 28 SLL Shareholders made a round trip on Eddystone, supervised by a Swanage Railway crew. For many of our visitors it was their first footplate trip, and where else can you drive and fire a 130 ton Pacific loco? As you'd expect everyone was delighted by the experience; huge thanks to all the train crews, guards and ops folk for making it a success. It should be noted that the price loco coal has risen sharply, and we appreciate the donations made by participants to mitigate these costs.
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34072 257 Squadron
In recent months it has become apparent that we have a problem with 257 Squadron's superheater elements - several have developed a leak and been blanked off. A new set would currently cost well over £30,000 so it seems logical to use Sir Keith Park's which have barely had eight years use given its time at Tyseley and Covid. Therefore as soon as the locomotive has cooled down we will remoe the steam pipes and elements at 75F and send the latter to Swanage, so that they can be transferred to 257 Squadron in the minimum time.
Other than that the locomotive is performing well. As mentioned earlier, it is due to move to the Spa Valley to replace Sir Keith Park on the Polar Express duties in November/December. It is without doubt the most important month of the year for the financial health of both the Railway and Southern Locomotives!
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34028 Eddystone
Eddystone re-entered service in March following the repairs to its tyres at DB Cargo in Toton. It's expected to be running passenger services throughout 2022.
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Eddystone to visit GWSR
34028 Eddystone will be travelling to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway in June for a leading role in the Cotswold Festival of Steam. The gala has a Somerset & Dorset theme, a line on which Eddystone actually worked in BR days. Full details of the gala can be found here.
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34070 Manston
Much of the work necessary to complete Manston's overhaul has been completed. A bent rocker arm was repaired and the valves are all installed, and setting the valve timing is in progress. A new cab floor has been made, all the grate is fitted and working. A new steam brake has been installed, the injectors and associated pipework are complete and with the elements installed the steam pipes have been reinstated in the smokebox. |
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The locomotive is due to be completed at the end of June which is not a moment too soon after being taken out of service in July 2017 following a low speed bump which bent the front frames. It's been pointed out that the cabside numbers on our locomotives haven't quite been completed with the black line surrounding each numeral. This is now being rectified with the aid of a signwriter; it's only a minor item but it does look slightly odd with larger numerals especially on Eddystone.
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Further work has been done to Manston to ensure it enters service in tip-top condition, though it will not have a full re-paint at this time. It will return to service clean but with a 'lived-in' patina. Ironically this means that the new smoke deflectors which were painted in gloss have now been 'weathered' with specially brewed paint believed to be a mixture of gloss and undercoat.
The old smoke deflectors will be sold at auction by Talisman Railwayana to raise funds for our locos' restoration and overhauls. The auction will be at the Gartell Light Railway, near Templecombe on Saturday 15th October. Bids can be made by phone or in advance of the live auction.
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34053 Sir Keith Park
SKP spent another short spell as 34095 Brentor for a photo charter, and then gained a Scottish look with a suitable shed plate and blue front number plate to match two visiting Caledonian Railway locos. It then reverted to its true ID with its nameplates and new crests. Sunday 15th May was SKP's last day in service, and its final runs over the weekend were well patronised.
Ian Silvester made a video featuring SKP running as Brentor for a photographic charter on 21st March.
Our goal is to have the loco back in service in 2023, and we're about to embark on a complex project involving several locations. First there is work to do at 75F prior to its dispatch to Herston Works at the end of May or early June. As mentioned we have had problems with 257 Squadron's superheater elements, and will use Sir Keith Park's which have barely had eight years use given its time at Tyseley and Covid. As as soon as the locomotive has cooled down we will remove the steam pipes and elements, which will be sent on to Herston so they can be installed on 257 Squadron in the minimum time.
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The loco will move to Herston in June where further dismantling will take place. The North Norfolk are a little behind with Sidmouth's boiler overhaul so it won't be ready until July. When that boiler is ready Sir Keith Park will be transferred to the NNR for the complex job of fitting Sidmouth's boiler to Sir Keith's frames. This is the first time that we've swapped a boiler on one of our Bulleids so we're prepared for all sorts of problems. The firebox 'feet' that the boiler sits on have to be in the same place and at the same angle as SKP's boiler were. These feet are placed on plates to allow for expansion and contraction of the boiler as it heats and cools. The NNR will also have the usual problem of fitting the ashpan whilst the boiler is in the air; in our experience the predrilled holes around the edge of the ashpan rarely line up with the studs around the base of the firebox so some last minute drilling and welding has to take place. It's a case of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
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When the boiler is safely in place SKP will return to Herston for completion, and then return for future duty at the Spa Valley Railway. We must thank the Spa Valley, North Norfolk and Swanage Railway for their assistance in this complex and expensive exercise.
34010 Sidmouth and 35025 Brocklebank Line at Sellindge
Progress of these two locomotives is very much intertwined. Currently Sidmouth is having all the attention at Sellindge and there has been a transformation since its arrival last year. Considerable man hours have been spent and it's surprising how much can be achieved in a relatively short period of time, bearing in mind the frames appear not to have been touched since 1964.
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The Sellindge team recognise that the company is making major investments in Manston and the hefty bill for SKP's boiler so most of the Sellindge work and facilities are self-funded by the team. The compressor we borrowed for needle gunning and grit-blasting was unreliable so much of what we intended to do has either been completed using hand tools or left for later. Fortunately we have been able to procure a much larger one which will enable us to make faster progress. The first job will be to finish Brocklebank Line's boiler, the underside and throatplate could have been finished using power tools but it would have been very awkward and time consuming.
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Inside Sidmouth's frames, looking forwards there's still a lot of work to do. | Looking backwards cleaning and priming looks pretty good. Photos: Simon Troy |
We have asked our friends at the North Norfolk Railway for a provisional estimate of the cost to repair Brocklebank's boiler. Our boiler inspector Peter Hawkins, who is now responsible for all our fleet, reported that he was very impressed by its condition so we await the outcome with interest. As reported, like Sidmouth's new boiler, it will need a new front tubeplate having had water pooling behind it for many years, and a 'D' patch under the front of the barrel for the same reason.
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Whilst Brocklebank Line has taken a back seat for the Winter, its cab has received much attention at Herston Works. It will be some time before it's ready as work at Herston turn to Sir Keith Park's after its arrival in the summer. When that's finished the Herston team will start work on a completely new cab for Sidmouth.
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There is still a vast amount of work to do; everything we've done to Sidmouth's frames has to be done to Brocklebank's and we still have weeks of work to get to the really awkward parts inside the frames. This is where the gritblaster will really come into its own - where it's physically impossible to use hand tools. One thing that has become apparent is that Sidmouth was involved in a very heavy shunt at some point, with new platework inserted or repaired by BR engineers. Compared to Brocklebank Line's frames there are a lot of patches some of which look as though they were definitely Friday afternoon jobs, such is the crudeness of the welding! We hope more south-eastern based supporters will join us to help - there's a job for everyone.
80104
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Work on 80104 at Tyseley continues. In late March four SLL volunteers were onsite to work on the boiler. The tubes and flues had been removed, and it was decided that the front tube plate should be replaced. That meant that a large section of the tubeplate could be cut out providing access to the interior. As well as loose scale the walls had a coating of hardened lime scale which eventually succombed to an onslaught of needle guns and power brushes in insulubrious conditions.
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The next steps will be to lift the boiler, conduct NDT on the wall thickness and a close inspection by the Boiler Inspector.
Norman
We regret the say that work on Norman remains stalled, and we are planning to move the loco to another location to complete its overhaul.
Zoom
During lockdown railway clubs across the land went into hibernation as in-person meetings were verboten. As in so many parts of life Zoom partially filled the gap, and our webmaster gave 11 online talks in 2021. Most clubs have now returned to 'live' meetings, though some have found the mix of online and live convenient. If your club would enjoy an online evening rammed full of Bulleid Pacifics please drop Nick a line at nicksidmouth@gmail.com The presentation usually starts with this photo of Sidmouth and 257 Squadron together at Basingstoke - it's the only photos we know of which features two of our locos in BR days.
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Nick's most recent talk was to the Bishop's Castle Railway Society. It's most unlikely that a Bulleid Pacific ever got as far as Bishop's Castle, particularly as the branch closed in 1935!
Battle of Britain Fighter Association
Those who have followed us a long time will recall that following the recommissioning in 1990 of 257 Squadron we became very much involved with the Battle of Britain Fighter Association raising money for them and for 257. We still have a few artifacts from those days - one of them a book signed by 154 aircrew. The book has a short potted history of each of the 3000 who took part with a photograph or a painting of many of the participants.
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It is appropriate for us to sell this now to raise money for Sir Keith Park. Anyone interested should contact Simon Troy (southernlocos@btinternet.com) who also has just a couple of unique prints left from 1992 signed by up to 70 aircrew complete with their squadrons. Ray Evans has kindly and laboriously identified every signature on all our prints (as most aren't for sale!) and it is remarkable when you read what happened to some of these guys who miraculously lived to tell us their tales.
March 2022
34072 arrives at Leicester North during the GCR Winter Steam Gala. Photo: John Tidmarsh.
From the Chairman
With eight locomotives and dealing with several contractors and railways it's inevitable that things will go awry now and then as the reports below will confirm. The damage to Eddystone's driving wheels was a nasty surprise, however we are still on track to have four Pacifics in operation at the same time, albeit for a very short period before Sir Keith Park is withdrawn for its 10 year overhaul. This will be quite an achievement given the circumstances over the past couple of years, and it's solely due to the fantastic support we receive from our 700+ shareholders and through the skills of our team at Herston and volunteers everywhere.
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34072 257 Squadron
After substituting for Eddystone over the Christmas period, 257 Squadron departed for a short visit to the Great Central Railway in late January for their Winter Gala and looked as good as ever, as can be seen from the accompanying photograph.
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Since then we have had two more requests for 257 Squadron's presence in other parts of the country, though these have yet to be confirmed.
34028 Eddystone
As reported elsewhere, Eddystone's driving wheels suffered damage before Christmas on a Train of Lights service. The trains were top-and-tailed and Eddystone's driver failed to notice that the steam brake was applied when it was at the rear of the moving train. To repair the resulting flats on all driving wheels it was transferred to the DB Cargo maintenance facility at Toton, where a ground lathe was available to enable the wheels to be reprofiled without the need to remove them from the loco. The bogie and trailing truck wheels were also turned to maintain alignment, and Eddystone returned to Swanage on 5th February where the motion was soon replaced.
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Fortunately 257 Squadron had been put into service shortly after its return from Tyseley in November, so it could handle the pre-Christmas services at Swanage, though it was unable to visit the Spa Valley to support Sir Keith Park on the Polar Express trains as planned.
34070 Manston
Manston has been the centre of attention at Herston since Christmas and good progress is being made. All the valves were removed along with the cross shafts and bearings. The piston heads and rings are having to be replaced as very worn but fortunately it hasn't been necessary to bore any of the valves, although new pins and bushes have had to be fitted where appropriate. A new piston has been organised for the centre cylinder and we await arrival of new rings being manufactured at Tyseley before fitting.
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The electrics are being reinstated and the damaged chimney has been repaired and awaits fitting. All the cab fittings need to be refitted after the various gauges have been recalibrated. The main steam pipes need to be fitted and the boiler will need to have a hydraulic test before steaming. Brake rigging will now gradually be reinstated with most of it already refurbished; the touching up of the cladding is ongoing and the new smoke deflectors have been fitted. A full repaint will take place at a later date. The long job of overhauling the lubricators and pipework has commenced and hopefully we're still on track for completion in April.
With any luck Swanage Railway will have three operational Pacifics for the summer season - quite an attraction, and one which should bring in many paying customers.
34053 Sir Keith Park
The work on Sidmouth's boiler to be fitted to Sir Keith Park is running three months late, while fortunately Sir Keith Park's ticket has been extended to mid-May thereby earning some extra revenue. The planned boiler swap is exercising our brains.....how to come up with a reliable series of movement between Swanage, Tunbridge Wells and Weybourne while minimising eye-wateringly expensive haulage costs.
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The plan is to bring the locomotive to Herston for stripping and undertake ashpan work, and then transfer it to the North Norfolk Railway. This is more complicated than first thought as it is not possible to get into the yard at Weybourne because the load is too large, so it will have to be offloaded at Sheringham and brought up by rail. The better news is that following discussions between all the parties Sir Keith should still be ready for service in Spring 2023.
Prior to Christmas the locomotive performed faultlessly hauling the Polar Express trains which eventually carried 33,000 people. SLL volunteers made an occasional foray to assist in cleaning the locomotive although it always looked pretty good before the exercise! This year's event is already being planned and hopefully 257 Squadron will be the star attraction as the Swanage Railway have kindly released the locomotive for a couple of months, subject to there being no disasters involving Eddystone, Manston or 31806. Sir Keith Park's next steamings will be during half term.
34010 Sidmouth and 35025 Brocklebank Line at Sellindge
In deepest Kent Sidmouth's frames are being attacked with a variety of power tools and it is clear that after 15 years on a wagon in Eldon's sidings near Norden, literally every square inch will need to be cleaned back to essentially bare metal.
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With relatively good weather the volunteers at Sellindge are making faster progress than envisaged for this Winter. There aren't too many areas which need the grit blaster or needle guns, but the hard to get at areas under and between the frames will require a lot of man hours to get it to the standard required before transfer to Swanage.
All three cylinders have been thoroughly cleaned and will now be measured to ascertain their condition. Allan Highman appears regularly with all the taps and dies and other engineering paraphernalia we need and has been busy reaming out the stud holes around the cylinders and valves in preparation for the reinstatement of the covers. In the meantime he has produced wooden covers to protect the work done. All the horn stays and horn cheeks were removed individually and after fettling, and painting with primer, and the former have been temporarily reinstated. As with Eddystone, back in the 1990's the rear end of Sidmouth's frames are badly wasted and have been partly removed. Measurements will now be made and new plate ordered. We have an experienced welder who is willing to help us, and the frames are a good place to start.
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Between official working days some of the team have been down to organise the containers and generally tidy the site, and parts now almost look respectable! We've got to know the Bulleid double decker guys who are located in the corner of the field and they are keen to upgrade the site and extend the electrics to prevent the inevitable miles of extension leads everywhere. We hope to get mains electricity routed directly into our containers which will save much time at the beginning and end of each day.
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We've managed to add to our collection of tools, mainly through the generosity of individual volunteers, however our plans for a covered structure have been put back due to costs beyond our reach.
80104
On 26-27th January a team of SLL volunteers set to work on 80104 at Tyseley. The straps holding the boiler casing were loosened off along with the bolts holding the cab roof enabling it to be lifted. The grate components were removed and deposited on a pallet. Running boards and hand rails were removed along with other parts. The bunker was cleaned out and painted, although the paint ran out before it could be totally finished. The cab floor was thoroughly cleaned along with associated items underneath. The smokebox was cleaned up. All these tasks have saved a lot of time and money.
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The boiler should be lifted in early March, to be followed by a further visit from volunteers - there should be lots more degreasing and cleaning. We're buying a new tarpaulin to cover the engine after the boiler lift to ensure that it has as much protection as possible over the next couple of years, as most of of the work will beon the boiler, and the rest of the loco is in reasonably good condition.
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Norman
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Work on our Austerity tank's overhaul has not progressed and we have terminated our agreement with our contractor. We are in the process of moving the loco to an alternative site.
Eddystone at Romsey in 1992
SLL supporter Geoff Thirlby sent us photos showing 34028 Eddystone hauling a train at Romsey and Salisbury stations on 28th June 1992. Except, of course, the loco in the photo is not 34028, it's 34027 Taw Valley, temporarily dressed as '28. The loco is bearing the Portsmouth and Southsea to Salisbury via Eastleigh headcode, though it's not clear whether it's also carrying Eddystone nameplates, though Geoff says he saw such a nameplate at a sales stand on Exeter Central station after another steam around that time.
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Geoff recalls that the train was one of several run by Network SouthEast between Eastleigh and Salisbury, where it's seen in an up platform, having somehow been turned. | 34028 / 34027 comes to a signal stop at Romsey station, and Geoff and his young son, in very smart blue outfit, are there to watch. Photo: Geoff Thirlby |
Quite how this came about seemed lost in the mists of history, before the Southern Pacific Rescue Group became part of SLL. So we asked Richard Moffatt, (then the head honcho of the SPRG, and now an SLL director) what he could recall. The plot thickened....
Richard Moffatt: "1992 was also the year of Ashford Railway Works 150th Anniversary. British Railways and Ashford Borough Council put on celebratory festival fortnight with steam trains to Hastings via Rye - all powered by 34027. Taw Valley was to be based for the steam trips at part of the old Ashford Railway Works Building now the area crane shop. She arrived in a filthy condition and then the members of 34028's then owners, Southern Pacific Rescue Group based at nearby Sellindge, arrived mob-handed and clean her up.
The late Mike Whittingstall and I had previously hatched the idea of the partial identity swop in exchange for the deep cleanse when we first heard that 34027 was coming. I telephoned Bert Hitchens to run the idea past him. At first he asked, "Why would you want to do that?" Well, he agreed in the end - even though I'm sure that the plain-speaking Bert initially didn't really get it! It was arranged that Taw Valley would become 34028 Eddystone on the left-hand side of 34027 on the final weekend of Ashford 150 whilst on static display at Chart Leacon Depot. It comprised one of 28's name plates (in black) and on the cabside the '7' was covered with a special colour matched panel with an '8' fixed with vaseline. Finally the '7' on the smoke box door number plate was covered with a stick-on '8'. Bert was so impressed with the cleaning and the partial identity transformation he offered to leave the changes on for a forthcoming railtour - the one with Salisbury and Romsey on the itinerary. Bert had risen to our level of imagination! Left Hand Side was chosen for the swap as that was the side most likely to be adjacent to platform. Eddystone of course at the time was in a thousand pieces back at Sellindge. Restoration was proceeding with appreciable progress with one item, the cab - fully restored, correctly painted and lined out with numerals etc. For Ashford 150 we fitted castor wheels to it and trundled it into one of the Ashford Shopping centres as a sales and promotion stand. Worked very well.
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The reason I mention this is that I believe that the light pacific cabs were built at Ashford Works, then in our time it was restored for us by engineering students at Ashford Technical
College. The paint and lining/numeral job was carried out in the form of sponsorship by Adrian Coney of Reg Coney Signcraft Ltd. Reg Coney, Adrian's father had been a painter at Ashford Works
and had prepared and painted the 'D' class No. 737 before being first moved into preservation at Clapham. Adrian also prepared the colour matched numerals (FOC) for applying to 34027.