A superb response to the Great Western Society’s proposal to build a new example of Churchward’s iconic 47XX 2-8-0 mixed traffic locomotive means that the scheme will now definitely be taken forward. Extensive interest has been backed by cash donations and a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes work has already taken place.
The project has also received a major boost following the acquisition by the GWS of three donor locomotives (4115, 5227 and 2861) and a 3500 gallon tender from the Vale of Glamorgan Council in May 2010.
In October 2010 the GWS appointed Paul Carpenter as 4709 Project Manager working under the direction of GWS Locomotive Manager Dennis Howells MBE, who has masterminded the restoration of 6023 King Edward II and the construction of the power bogie for the ex-GWR Steam Railmotor No. 93, both of which have recently been completed. Since October Paul has assembled a Core Design Team which has spent the winter researching and acquiring original works drawings. These are allowing the Project Team to identify parts from the donor locomotives which are suitable for the 2-8-0. This work has revealed that there are far more parts in common between the 47XX and the donor locomotives than had been anticipated.
In particular, the front end assembly of the 4115 – which shares the same coupled wheel diameter as the 47XX – will make a significant contribution to the project. The 2884 and 47XX locomotives had identical cylinder blocks with the exception of the saddle and it is proposed to use the cylinder block from 2861, which has the later block with outside steam pipes. The team has devised a unique method of accommodating the different saddle support diameters which has found favour with the approving bodies. 2861 will also provide many other parts for the 47XX.
Study of the drawings has also indicated that many components below the running plate of 5227 are also common with the 47XX class. In particular the axle boxes and horns from 5227 can be transferred directly to the 47XX class. This is quite important as we knew that the trailing coupled axle box was of a unique design.
5227 has a badly damaged cylinder block (part of the block appears to have been blown off, possibly with the front cylinder cover), so consideration is being given to sectioning the cylinder block as an educational exhibit at Didcot to show how a cylinder worked. The Swindon No. 4 boiler from 5227 has also been earmarked for the proposed 38XX 4-4-0 as part of the Three Counties Project, if and when that project is progressed.
‘Team 47‘ has also produced a Project Plan which sub-divides the work into 15 modules. This allows for flexibility during the construction programme and location of the works with parallel work streams. Preparations are being made to start physical work on the 47XX Project and it would be nice to be able to cut the frames and drill them in the near future to establish the first step towards the chassis.
The Society intends to retain all the parts from the donor locomotives for future use, either as spares or for use with other projects. The team is also in discussions with potential sponsors and these talks look very promising.
The Society already has a 4,000 gallon tender in its possession which is relatively complete although it requires a full overhaul and restoration.
If you are interested in seeing a 47XX 2-8-0 grace the railway again, there are two key things you could do to help the project progress:
If you would like to give financial support with a donation of any size or a regular contribution, please contact Richard Croucher, Chairman, Great Western Society, at Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7NJ (chairman@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk).
Equally, if you would like to join the working parties for this historically-important project, please contact Paul Carpenter by email at pcarpenter100@btinternet.com
GWR prototype Gas Turbine locomotive arrived in Didcot West Yard in Tuesday 19 July. Due to height restriction the locomotive had been transported off it bogies and so two cranes were used, firstly to lift the bogies back onto the rails and then to place the locomotive onto the bogies.
The locomotive will now need to be formally inspected before it can be towed across Network Rail lines to Didcot Railway Centre, but this is expected to happen within a week or so, after which the locomotive will be displayed at the centre.
The locomotive was originally ordered in 1946 by the Great Western Railway from Brown Boveri of Switzerland, but not delivered until 1949.
The locomotive spent its working life hauling express passenger trains from Paddington before being withdrawn in late 1960. The machine, as is perhaps inevitable with prototypes, proved neither reliable nor cheap to run. After withdrawal the locomotive was kept at Swindon Works for four years before being repatriated to mainland europe where the gas turbine was removed and the locomotive used as a testbed for experiments on rail-wheel interaction.
Once these experiments were concluded the locomotive was put on display in Vienna in 1975 and was eventually secured for preservation in the UK in the early 1990s initially being stored at Crewe.
Click on the picture below for a short archive clip of 18000 in action, from the British Pathe archive.
One of the final major steps in restoration of 4079 Pendennis Castle's running gear - fitting new valve and cylinder liners - took a step forward on 12 July when valve liners were shrunk into place.
The job was carried out by John Marrow and Duncan Ward of Bryn Engineering, with assistance from members of the 4079 restoration team. Each of the locomotive's valves which control the four cylinders has two liners, front and back. The liners were shrunk by cooling in liquid nitrogen before being pushed into place, where they become a tight fit when they expand on warming up.
Didcot Railway Centre and nearby Cholsey and Wallingford Railway have got together to offer diesel locomotive enthusiasts the opportunity to ride behind four 08 diesel shunting locomotives in one day, on Sunday 31 July, for the first time in South Oxfordshire.
Better known for using steam traction, the use of a diesel locomotive on passenger trains is something of a first for Didcot Railway Centre. This is also the first time that Didcot has hosted a joint event with the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway
In celebration of this link, there will be admission discounts at each venue, on production of the admission ticket from the first. First Great Western runs trains from Cholsey to Didcot (normal First Great Western fares apply), with trains from Didcot to Cholsey departing at 21 minutes past the hour and trains from Cholsey to Didcot departing at approximately 6 minutes past the hour.
As always with preserved locomotives, the usual clause of ‘subject to availability’ applies. At Didcot Railway Centre the diesel locomotive is expected to be in action on the branch line between 11:00–12:00 and on the main demonstration line between 13:00–14:00 and 16:15–16:45. Between 14:00 and 16:15 08604 will be shunting the TPO set ready for the TPO demonstration at 1500.The GWR diesel railcar will also be in operation (and for the steam fans 5322 and Fire Fly will also be hauling trains).
Built by British Railways between the years 1952 – 1962, the 08 class of diesel shunters was the largest single class of diesel locomotive ever built in the UK, numbering 1193 in total. Two of the three 08 locomotives at the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway also saw industrial service after being retired from British Railways, both going on to work for Guinness of Park Royal, London, in 1985, for a further 12 years, before entering preservation.
Another hugely successful open day at Didcot Railway Centre on Saturday 11 June was a testament to the public interest in the three newest steam locomotives in the UK built to main line designs - Fire Fly completed 2005, Tornado completed 2008 and Steam Railmotor No. 93 completed 2011.
One visitor commented: “Came again yesterday, 4hrs from Manchester on train, 3rd time this year, another superb event and the railmotor on the branch line looked awesome - oh and not forgetting the A1 which looked amazing as well”.
Tornado is on view daily at the railway centre until 17 June, although she will not be in steam and some of the time will be spent on routine maintenance.
The Steam Railmotor is next scheduled to be in steam on Saturday 18 June and then on 25/26 June, when Fire Fly will also be in steam.
On Thursday 9 June 60163 Tornado arrived at Didcot Railway Centre from The North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The journey took the locomotive through Carlisle, Crewe (where there was an overnight stop) and Birmingham.
The locomotive is sporting its new British Railways brunswick green livery and Friday's job is to polish the locomotive in readiness for the steam day on Saturday. The locomotive will remain on display at the centre until 17 June, but is only expected to be in steam on Saturday 11 June, when it will be joined by newly launched Steam Railmotor No 93, and broad gauge replica Fire Fly.
As well as offering those in the south their first sight of Tornado in her new livery, the day offers a unique opportunity to see the UKs three newest steam locomotives, in steam, at the same venue.
A trial carried out at Didcot Railway Centre in driving rain on Monday 30 May involved coupling steam and diesel powered carriages together to provide the world's first SDMU (steam and diesel multiple unit).
This offers a real freedom of choice hitherto denied to passengers, of selecting to travel either in a steam or diesel unit in the same train. In railway marketing terms it is sure to be a winner. To judge by passenger loadings in the photograph the steam portion of the train proves to be more popular with travellers.
More seriously this unusual combination concluded the Steam Railmotor No. 93 launch weekend with a spectacle never seen before, and unlikely to be seen again, as the diesel unit has now been returned to Chiltern Railways. The Steam Railmotor however remains at Didcot Railway Centre and is scheduled to run on 4, 11, 18, 19, 25 and 26 June.
Didcot Railway Centre was delighted to be presented with the Engine Shed Society's - Depot of the Year Award.
The plaque was presented to Richard Croucher by Eddie Lyons, Chairman of the Engine Shed Society and long standing Great Western Society member. In his youth (in the 1960s) Eddie produced a comprehensive book on all Great Western Engine Sheds, published by OPC and regarded by many as the definitive work on the subject. Last year's award went to Barrow Hill.
The aims of the Engine Shed Society are:
As 2011 is the European Year of the Volunteer, and 1- 7 June Volunteers Week, Didcot Railway Centre will be holding a New Volunteers Day on Saturday 4 June.
This is a fantastic opportunity for prospective volunteers to join those at the railway centre, in helping to ‘recreate the golden age of the Great Western Railway’ by operating the trains, maintaining and restoring the 'exhibits' and interacting with our visitors.
On the operating side, there is currently a particular need for guards, signalmen, and station masters.
Maintenance and restoration includes not only, work on our locomotives and rolling stock, but also, on civil engineering and landscaping. At present for example we are especially looking for project managers and structural engineers to manage forthcoming site development projects.
Visitor focused work can include staffing the ticket office or the shop, stewarding the relics museum, or helping on the catering side. We also need help with administration, such as managing our membership, and with our education projects.
There are structured training programmes, and we would emphasise that previous railway knowledge or experience is not a requirement. Enthusiasm and common sense, however, are highly valued!
Saturday 4 June is a regular steam day, so, new volunteers will get a chance to see how the centre operates, and see how the various roles work together.
Prospective volunteers should come to centre entrance where they will be directed to the Enquiry Office. They will then be shown round the centre and introduced to any groups in which they may have an interest.
Come to Didcot Railway Centre and discover the volunteering opportunities available. Your help and enthusiasm is needed and it is a great way of meeting new friends!
For more details, please telephone Didcot Railway Centre on 01235 817200, or e-mail for more details.
New build Peppercorn A1 Pacific locomotive 60163 Tornado will visit Didcot Railway Centre from 9 to 17 June.
This will be the first opportunity for most people to see 60163 Tornado, in her new, British Railways, Brunswick Green livery.
On Saturday 11 June, for one day only, this world famous locomotive will be in steam and working at the railway centre, together with newly launched Steam Railmotor No 93, and broad gauge replica Fire Fly. This offers a unique opportunity to see the UKs three newest steam locomotives, in steam, at the same venue. (Whilst the Steam Railmotor is in many ways a restoration of the original machine of 1908 - the power bogie, or locomotive part of the vehicle - is all new build).
Other than on 11 June, Tornado will be on static display at the centre during her visit.
The Great Western Society would like to thank the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for the visit of 60163 Tornado.
In order to celebrate the return to traffic of Steam Railmotor No. 93, Didcot Railway Centre will be featuring a variety of railcars, railmotors and multiple units, spanning 100 years of development, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend (28-30 May).
The oldest vehicle in use, and the star of the show will, of course, be Steam Railmotor No. 93 of 1908, which is to be formally launched on Saturday 28 May.
The Railmotor will be joined by other vehicles from the Didcot collection, including a typical Great Western/British Rail (Western Region) Auto Train, featuring 0-4-2T locomotive 1466/4866 on static display, and the fully operational GWR Diesel Railcar No. 22 of 1940 which has recently returned to traffic with a newly refurbished interior.
The 1960s will be represented by a class 121 'bubble-car', courtesy of Chiltern Railways, hopefully in 'original' green livery. First Great Western will be providing a class 165 'Thames Turbo', built in the 1990s, and a brand new Chiltern Railways class 172 'Turbostar' will bring us right up to date.
Photographic line-ups of these units in various combinations are envisaged throughout the bank holiday weekend and it is hoped that we will be able to offer rides in some of the visiting units as well as in our own steam railmotor and diesel railcar.
Following a 13 year restoration, involving the manufacture of a new vertical boiler and power bogie, Steam Railmotor No. 93 is to be officially welcomed back into traffic over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend (28-30 May).
During the weekend there will be line-ups featuring; the steam railmotor, an auto train, GWR Diesel Railcar No. 22, and three or four more modern diesel multiple units (courtesy of Chiltern Railways and First Great Western). The steam railmotor will be giving rides on each day of the event.
The launch ceremony itself will be at 11:30am on Saturday 28 May and will be conducted by Adrian Shooter, CBE, Chairman of Chiltern Railways. One hour later, the new dedicated steam railmotor shed will be officially opened. The shed, which is a copy of the railmotor shed at Southall, was built largely with a legacy from Charles Whetmath, and the ceremony will be performed by his Aunt, Mrs Joyce Hancock.
The, now unique, Railmotor No. 93 is the forerunner of all self-propelled multiple unit trains, around the world. The importance of this vehicle in the development of such trains cannot be under-estimated and the display of vehicles at Didcot Railway Centre over the weekend hopes to do justice to this pivotal role by showing something of the evolution of such trains.
Built in 1908, the railmotor was withdrawn in 1934, and converted to an auto-trailer, for push-pull working. Condemned in 1956, it was subsequently converted into a mobile office. The Great Western Society acquired the vehicle in the early 1970s with the intention that one day it would be restored to its original condition. Work started in the early 1990s to build a new power bogie to the original design, and thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to rebuild and restore the coach at the Llangollen Railway.
Now resplendent in 1912 crimson lake livery, it is only when you step aboard this unique vehicle, that the scope, the depth, and the quality of this restoration can be fully appreciated. The railmotor exudes period atmosphere, exhibiting the extreme attention to detail and authenticity that has characterised the restoration from start to finish. Bearing in mind that, not many years ago, this was a derelict hulk, every detail of the period interior has been faithfully recreated. For example, the exquisite fabric for the roller blinds was specially woven in Holland; the seating moquette was made to the original pattern, and the gas lights were recreated by specialists, Sugg.
On Saturday 30 April Didcot Railway Centre was visited by Jim Noble, the great, great, great grandson of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. While at the railway centre Jim, along with his five-year-old son Zebedee, rode on the broad gauge Fire Fly, an exact replica of the original built in 1840 that would be instantly recognisable to their illustrious ancestor. The right hand photograph shows Jim and Zebedee at the controls of Fire Fly, standing exactly how Brunel would have stood on Monday 13 June 1842 when he drove the Phlegethon, a sister engine of Fire Fly, on Queen Victoria's first ever train journey, from Slough to London.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, born 1806, was the illustrious civil engineer who built the Great Western Railway and designed many of the bridges, tunnels and stations which are still used today by trains that are heavier and faster than even he could have imagined. Among Brunel's visionary ideas was the broad gauge with rails seven feet apart, which enabled the Great Western Railway to build larger trains that ran faster than those on other companies. However, the advantages were outweighed by the disadvantages of not being able to run through trains where broad and standard gauge met. The last broad gauge lines were converted to standard gauge in 1892, and Didcot Railway Centre is now the only place with a broad gauge running line to exercise Fire Fly.
An appeal has been launched to return the unique George England 0-4-0WT WTCo No. 5 (known as Shannon or Jane) to full working order in time for the Great Western Society's 50th anniversary celebrations in September.
The appeal is a collaboration between the National Railway Museum who own the locomotive, the Great Western Society, and Steam Railway magazine.
The appeal target is a mere £14,000, as although it is 35 years since the locomotive last steamed, initial inspections indicate that she does not require too much work.
Last used at the Stockton & Darlington 150th anniversary celebrations in 1975, Shannon was withdrawn with a suspected crack in the copper tubeplate. Modern techniques can now fix such fractures with relative ease. Most of the work will centre on the boiler which also requires a de-tube, de-scale and re-tube.
Built in 1857, No. 5 is the only remaining standard gauge locomotive built by George England, the only other 'Englands' being two foot gauge examples on the Ffestiniog Railway.
The locomotive was originally ordered for the Sandy and Potton Railway in Bedfordshire, where she was named 'Shannon'. After various moves she was purchased by the Wantage Tramway company in 1878 where she became No. 5 (and unofficially known as 'Jane'). Jane spent a fairly uneventful life at Wantage until closure of the line in 1946, after which she was displayed at the GWRs Wantage Road Station until that too closed in 1965.
The National Railway Museum say “Shannon is a particularly rare and special locomotive in the collection, due to her age and style of manufacture. To ensure that her originality and character are kept for future generations, we are writing a Conservation Management Plan for the engine, something we insist on for any conservation or restoration work. This details the locomotive's construction, its history, its significance, but also includes a condition survey and engineering assessment. An options appraisal is included to ensure that the possibilities are fully explored but also allow for the engine not to be compromised in any way that the NRM are unhappy with - this complies with our duty of care to such an ancient and fragile machine. Thus it is that we will explore the materials, previous repairs and restorations and work out a careful way forward as a result, whilst complying with statutory requirements for boiler work and such like. It is a fascinating and necessary piece of work, and will stand for all time alongside the locomotive as a significant conservation management tool.”
When returned to steam it is believed that No.5 will be the oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive in the western hemisphere, and possibly, the world.
On Tuesday afternoon two visiting main line locomotives arrived at Didcot following their recent appearance at the West Somerset Railway Spring Steam Gala. 6024 King Edward I and BR Britannia Class 4-6-2 No. 70000 Britannia were serviced on shed before Britannia continued on to West Coast Railways depot at the former GWR shed at Southall.
6024 King Edward I, will be remaining at Didcot over the Easter Bank holiday and we would hope to pose the two Kings together on occasion. On Easter Saturday, 23 April, 6024 and newly restored 6023 King Edward II will be double heading on our main demonstration line - The first time two Kings have been seen working together in 49 years!
The crowds came out to witness the 'coronation' of the Great Western Society's latest, and most ambitious, restoration project - 6023 King Edward II at Didcot Railway Centre. Boosted by the 300 or so travellers on the steam-hauled 'Coronation Express’ railtour from Birmingham, the centre was extremely busy all day.
The railtour was double headed by 4965 Rood Ashton Hall and Castle class 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and the opportunity was taken to pose King Edward II with the visiting locomotives, and one of Didcot's Castles 5051 Earl Bathurst.
Great Western Society Chairman, Richard Croucher, outlined the long history of the project, and thanked all those involved, before asking Steve Davies MBE, Director of the National Railway Museum, York, to perform the official launch.
Mr Davies speech was full of superlatives including; ‘breathtaking’, ‘awe inspiring’ and ‘the stuff of dreams’. He described the locomotive as ‘a living embodiment of that quintessentially British characteristic – determination’, explaining that ‘only the determined could hold the vision of this day in their sights for the last two decades - only the determined could pour energy, strength, ingenuity, patience, willpower, devotion and sheer grit into a project of such magnitude in the quantity required to secure their goal’. He also emphasised the importance of this and other projects currently being undertaken by the GWS in the preservation of national heritage - ‘here to tell a story for a modern generation’.
6023 will also be running during the Easter and May Day bank holiday weekends. Over Easter the only other King in working order, 6024 King Edward I, will be visiting Didcot Railway Centre, primarily for various maintenance tasks to be undertaken, but we would hope to pose the two Kings together on occasion and definitely intend to double-head the pairing on our main demonstration line on Easter Saturday.
See also, a report from BBC News website, and an article in 'The Telegraph'.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
The final touches are now being applied to 6023 King Edward II in preparation for his formal return to service on Saturday 2 April at Didcot Railway Centre.
The Great Western Trust museum at Didcot Railway Centre reopened for the 2011 season on Saturday 19 February and is now open on every day that the railway centre is open to the public.
Among the new exhibits for 2011 is a whistle which came from 6028 King George VI after it was wrecked in the Norton Fitzwarren accident of November 1940. The whistle was found in a field adjacent to the crash site by a schoolboy from Blundell's School who had cycled out to view the scene the day after the accident.
Also newly displayed for 2011 is the 7 1/4 inch gauge model of the 4-4-0 Gooch which was bequeathed to the Trust by Professor Sir Hugh Ford who died in May 2010.
Sir Hugh started his career as a premium apprentice at the GWR's Swindon Works in the 1920s, and went on to help to revolutionise the production of both plastics and metals in Britain. He built the model of Gooch as a retirement project and ran it on his garden railway and at the Guildford Model Railway Society. His wish was that the model would be housed for public display as close as possible to Brunel's original GWR main line. His obituary can be found on The Telegraph website.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Colin Firth may have done a good job with King George VI's stammer, but the Oscar for recreating the authentic voice of a GWR single-chimney King goes to 6023 and the restoration team at Didcot.
The almost complete locomotive had its first test steaming on 20 January when it moved under its own power for the first time since 1962. It was also the first occasion that the exhaust beat of a single-chimney King had been heard since the mid 1950s. There are a few snags to be fixed before the locomotive can be painted ready for its public launch, but overall the test steaming was a success.
6023 King Edward II will be formally launched on Saturday 2 April 2011 at Didcot Railway Centre by Steve Davies MBE, Director of the National Railway Museum, York. 6023 will also be running on Sunday 3 April, and during the Easter and May Day bank holiday weekends.
In its 50th anniversary year the Great Western Society has launched the most important appeal in its history which, if successful, will see Didcot Railway Centre secured for generations to come.
As well as the Society’s 50th anniversary, 2011 marks 44 years of its occupation of the former GWR engine shed at Didcot. Since the GWS took up residence at 81E in 1967 many thousands of voluntary man-hours have gone into creating Didcot Railway Centre, which today covers some 20 acres and includes not only the Grade II listed shed building and coal stage, but also a locomotive works, carriage shed, turntable, transfer shed, museum, two standard gauge demonstration lines and a broad gauge railway.
Many of us have come to think of Didcot Railway Centre as an institution – home to the remarkable GWS collection of locomotives, rolling stock and thousands of GWR artefacts. It is a place where the Great Western Railway will always live on... or is it? The reality is that the site’s future is far from certain. The present lease held by the GWS expires in 2019, a factor that has made it difficult or impossible to obtain grants for many of the projects the GWS wants to undertake. The need to secure the Society’s tenure at Didcot is paramount.
After very lengthy negotiations, Network Rail has now agreed to grant the GWS a new 50 year lease at a much reduced rental of £1,000 per annum, compared to the present rental of £13,800 per annum. The purchase price of the new lease is £125,000 plus expenses, with 50 percent payable on completion and the remaining 50 percent a year later.
Acquisition of the new lease will enable the GWS to make progress on development plans, including extension of the museum, construction of a Broad Gauge Engine House, reconstruction of the station building from Heyford, improved public access, a visitor centre with upgraded catering facilities and an enlarged shop, repairs to the coal stage and water tower, and development of the Centre sidings area.
At the expiration of the new lease in 2061 Network Rail or its successors will be obliged to offer the Society a further lease; this arrangement is as close as you can get to a freehold on active railway land.
People can help either by making a one-off donation with a cheque made out to Great Western Society Limited, or by spreading a contribution with a monthly Banker’s Order over 10 months. Either send your cheque to Richard Croucher, Chairman, Great Western Society Ltd, Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon OX11 7NJ, or complete the Banker’s Order form on the Appeal Leaflet.
The Great Western Society is a Registered Charity (No. 272616) which allows contributions to be supported by the Gift Aid scheme at no further cost to the donor. Any surplus money raised will be put towards the further development of Didcot Railway Centre.
The GWS needs to act fast to secure the new lease and hopes that as many people as possible will feel able to contribute towards this vital step, at the same time making the Society’s 50th anniversary year one to remember forever!
Steam Railmotor No.93 is now in the final stages of restoration and the public launch has been fixed as Saturday 28 May at Didcot Railway Centre.
After that date it will enter traffic at Didcot and be operated on both the main demonstration line and the branch line on days to be advertised on this web site.
Richard Croucher, Chairman of the Great Western Society said:
“The entry into traffic of Steam Railmotor No.93 is probably the most historically-important event in railway preservation today representing as it does the doyen of self propelled railway vehicles, the successors of which can be seen throughout Britain's railways today with the Diesel and Electrical Multiple Units. This is the culmination of the best part of a quarter of a century's work which began with the painstaking investigation of GWR Steam Railmotors in the 80s by the late Ralph Tutton who unearthed a plethora of information which allowed the Great Western Society team to design and build the power bogie for the Railmotor and the eventual restoration of the original 1908 coach body.
Following thorough research, physical work began on the Project in 1998 which has been managed by a small project team, and since then members of the Society and other supporters have raised over £750,000 which has not only allowed the power bogie to be built, but also a new Steam Railmotor shed - based on the original which stood at Southall. This sum also included our contribution towards the restoration of the coach and the auto trailer No. 92 which has been mainly funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £768,500.
We hope that all railway enthusiasts and members of the general public will appreciate riding in a vehicle in the style of a century ago.”
The long-awaited public launch of 6023 King Edward II has been set for Saturday 2 April 2011 at Didcot Railway Centre. The locomotive will be in the early British Railways blue livery, with the launch being performed by Steve Davies MBE, Director of the National Railway Museum, York. 6023 will also be running on Sunday 3 April, and during the Easter and May Day bank holiday weekends.
Richard Croucher, Chairman of the Great Western Society said, “This is the culmination of more than 20 years work at Didcot, which has been our most ambitious restoration project yet. It is a tremendous achievement by a group of volunteers and our supporters who have raised over £700,000 and put in more than 40,000 hours work. It was probably the biggest ‘no hoper’ at Barry and 6023 has subsequently inspired other projects such as the Saint and the County. We hope that all railway enthusiasts will appreciate seeing a single-chimney King in action again, for the first time in more than 50 years.”
6023 will remain on display at Didcot Railway Centre until early June, when the locomotive will depart for the Mid-Norfolk railway to undertake mileage accumulation in preparation for entry to running on the main line later in the year. The locomotive will return to Didcot for the main summer season from mid July onwards.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway will be issuing its own timetable for when 6023 will be running in June and July.
On Sunday 24 October Dennis Lovett of Bachmann Europe presented limited edition 00 scale models of pannier tank 3650 to Brian Thompson and Kevin Dare, two of the stalwarts who masterminded the locomotive's 20-year restoration project at Didcot.
The model shows 3650 in its Stephenson Clarke livery which it carried between being sold out of British Railways service in 1963, and preserved in 1969. 504 limited edition models were produced in association with the 3650 group in November 2009. Kevin Dare signed all 504 certificates and the model was sold by the Bachmann Collectors' Club. At the time of writing only a handful remain available.
3650 ran briefly in the Stephenson Clarke livery after restoration was completed in 2008, before being repainted in GWR green with the GWR roundel logo that it carried when new in 1939.
Didcot's project to create County class 1014 County of Glamorgan has been presented with a GWR whistle for the locomotive to carry when restored.
The whistle was handed over on Saturday 23 October by Simon Foote to Richard Croucher, chairman of the Great Western Society.
Simon Foote explained the provenance of the whistle: “During the winter of 1965-66 I spent a number of Saturdays photographing the remaining steam workings north of Oxford in the area around Heyford station along with an old school friend, Graham Hartley”.
“We travelled out from London by train and, in the evenings, called in at Oxford engine shed to look around before catching the evening train home. During one of these visits to the shed a BR employee gave Graham the whistle which came from a GWR Hall 6900 series loco, possibly 6947 or 6957. I can't be sure which loco it was as there were many Halls withdrawn at this time. My records show 31 stored there on 8 January 1966 including, you may be interested to know, 7927.”
“Sadly Graham died of a brain tumour in 1994 and the whistle was kindly passed on to me by Graham's widow Pat, and his daughters Emma and Kathryn. I know we will all be very pleased to see the whistle go full circle, so to speak, and return to a GWR loco.”
“I am sure that it will be a very moving time when we hear it blown after all this time, and appreciate that it may be some years before it happens.”
More information about the County can be found on the project website.
As ever funds towards the project are more than welcome.
Download the County appeal form (Word format)
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
In 2011 we hope to be able to give public access to part of our centre-sidings area for the first time, in order to allow inspection of the new Steam-railmotor Shed and of course its contents!
Sadly the area has become something of a dumping ground over the years and now contains a mixture of materials for future projects, materials recovered by dismantling and, if we're honest, a lot of complete and utter rubbish! So that we can sort through and see what we want to keep, the first step is to make some room by getting rid of the rubbish and to this end a long weekend was arranged from 8 to 11 October to start to address the issue.
Good progress was made, but there is still more to do - so if you wanted to help but hadn't heard about it or couldn't make it - don't worry your chance will come.
On 15 September our Main Demonstration Line played host to a tamping machine provided and operated by Amey.
The machine was finally able to complete the consolidation of the track from the junction to the platform, which was re-laid last winter, so we should now be able to lift the temporary speed restriction which has been in force over the summer.
Apparently the machine is named 'Lynx'!
Bill Carslake celebrated his 80th birthday on Saturday 28 August with a ride on locomotive 5322 at Didcot Railway Centre. Afterwards Bill said it was a “Great day”.
In the 1950s and 1960s Bill was a steam train driver based at Newbury. He had joined the Great Western Railway at Glyn Neath in the 1940s and then moved to Gloucester. When he married he moved to his wife's home town of Newbury, and drove trains on the branch lines from Newbury to Didcot and to Winchester, as well as the main line to Westbury.
After the Newbury to Didcot and Winchester branch lines closed in the 1960s, Bill left the railways and worked for the Milk Marketing Board, then on the buses and finally for the ambulance service.
Signwriter David Kynaston from Llangollen spent a week at Didcot at the end of August lining and lettering the 1891-built Dean 4-wheel brake third coach 416 at Didcot.
The 19th Century Coach had recently been restored by volunteers at Didcot and carried passengers for what is thought to be the first time in more than 70 years, at the Railway Centre late last year.
The coach has four passenger compartments, each with a door on either side lettered THIRD in gold leaf. The guard's compartment has a door similarly lettered GUARD each side. There is also an extremely ornate GWR symbol each side in an art nouveau style. Each panel of the coach's wooden body is of course elaborately lined.
On 28 August David was assisted by fellow signwriter, Mark Josling, from Pinner.
More information about David's work can be found at: http://www.davidkynaston.co.uk
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
The locomotive team at Didcot is planning a quick overhaul of prairie tank No. 4144 over the coming winter. The boiler needs to be retubed and restayed, but hopefully not much more attention will be required. To allow this work to begin, the boiler was lifted from the frames on Sunday 15 August.
At about 2.30pm on Thursday 12 August work started on the new Steam Railmotor Shed (The Charles Whetmath Building), with the digging of the first hole for the foundations.
The previous couple of days had seen the plant and machinery transported to site from the West Yard, and the final marking out to ensure that the building is erected on the correct alignment.
Although we do not yet have all the funds necessary to complete the building, what we are able to erect is a basic structure which will be sufficient to house the railmotor when it arrives in fully restored state next year.
More Information about the Steam Railmotor and Trailer Project and the shed can be found on the Steam Railmotor Project website.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
If incentive is required then we can provide one! All profits from the Heavy Freight Mob's Black Python real ale bar on Saturday 28 August will be put towards the quick re-entry into service of a Didcot favourite - Prairie tank No. 4144.
The locomotive team at Didcot is planning a quick overhaul of No. 4144 over the coming winter. The boiler needs to be retubed and restayed, but hopefully not much more attention will be required. It is currently planned to lift the boiler from the frames on Saturday 14 August.
The Black Python will be open throughout the Bank Holiday weekend with profits from Sunday and Monday going to support their more usual worthy causes of 3822 and 7202.
One of the iconic names from GWR history, White Ball, where City of Truro's legendary speed of 102.3mph was recorded in 1904, is now commemorated at Didcot. A vintage Somerset County Council road sign has been restored and set up close to the broad gauge area at the railway centre.
The village of White Ball in Somerset is about a mile from Burlescombe, just across the border in Devon, where the bridge rail for Didcot's broad gauge trackwork was discovered in the 1980s, so it is appropriate to record the name in the same vicinity.
The Rev. Edward Carter of St Peter's Church, Newlands Avenue, Didcot, did a sponsored turn of 3650 on the turntable on Sunday 1 August. The event raised hundreds of pounds for St Peter's.
Rev Carter commented, “Everything went very well. After the service lots of people came along to cheer me on, which was very nice. I was a bit nervous at first, but as soon as I got a bit of momentum going, the loco started to move. It was very satisfying.”
Following a successful steam test work has progressed on 6023 King Edward II with cladding and pipework being fitted to the complete boiler.
A milestone was reached on Saturday 24 July when the boiler was gently reunited with the frames using the 50t gantry in Didcot's lifting shop.
This epic restoration from scrapyard condition is now in its final stages. For the record, the team who fitted the boiler were: Peter Turner, Karl Buckingham, Pete Gransden, Dennis Howells, Tony Johnson, Nick Crook, Mike Rudge, Martin Walker, Richard Varley, James Bushnell and Phil Neale.
The total refurbishment of the Society's 1940 built GWR Diesel Railcar is nearing its final stages.
This vehicle is one of only two examples remaining, and the only one in running order. It is powered by two 9.6 Litre 8-Cylinder AEC engines through a Wilson epicyclic gearbox.
Externally it has been almost completely repanelled and repainted. Since then much work has been undertaken on its mechanical and electrical systems and the final stage is the interior refurbishment.
The interior has been repainted and the seats have all been re-upholstered in GWR green shell pattern and await re-fitting. On Saturday 17 July green linoleum is shewn being fitted on the floor of the large saloon. The small saloon has already been completed, with the newly upholstered seats installed.
A re-liveried locomotive was unveiled on 20 June to mark the 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway.
First Great Western teamed up with the Great Western Society to launch Class 57 No. 57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’, which had been repainted in original Great Western Green.
The repainted Class 57 was unveiled at Didcot Railway Centre alongside a much older engine of the same name, which is currently undergoing restoration work at the centre.
57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’ was built in 1965, as part of a fleet of 512 similar locomotives. It was renumbered as a Class 47 in the 1970s and, in 2004, was fitted with a different engine and reclassified as a Class 57 giving it the capability to haul the sleeper service between Paddington and Penzance. It was named Pendennis Castle shortly after starting this service.
The steam locomotive No. 4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’ was, when new, pitched against an LNER A1in a series of trials in 1925, and proved the better of the two. The GWR then sent the locomotive to the second Wembley Exhibition in October 1925 where she was displayed next to Flying Scotsman.
During an almost faultless 40-year career she clocked up 1.75 million miles and remains in its original condition. She was sold by British Railways in 1964, and was eventually bought by the world’s leader in finding, mining and processing the earth's mineral resources, Rio Tinto. The company shipped it to Australia in May 1977, where she was used to haul tourist trains before the need for a complete overhaul saw her withdrawn in 1994.
The cost of repairs was high and she was donated to the Great Western Society at Didcot, who agreed to repatriate it. Shipped back to England in 2000, a lengthy restoration project is still ongoing and it is hoped the Pendennis Castle will be back in use in a few years time.
First Great Western Operations Director, Kevin Gale, said: “It is very exciting to be able to celebrate our heritage in this way. A huge thanks goes out to the Didcot Railway Centre for their support and agreeing to host the event. It is a great contrast of the history of the railways, while looking forward to the future and what exciting developments lie ahead”.
Drew Fermor, Pendennis Castle restoration team leader at Didcot Railway Centre, said: “We were delighted when we found out that FGW’s Pendennis Castle was coming to meet ours during the 175th anniversary year of the original Great Western Railway.
It is fantastic that FGW has continued this long tradition by giving the name to one of its locomotives and even more so to see it in a highly appropriate livery this year.”
Great Western Society chairman, Richard Croucher, said: “We still have more work to do on our Pendennis Castle but we hope that, when she is complete, the two locomotives can perform together out on the main line as a living demonstration of both the fascinating history of the Great Western Railway and the vital contribution that it still makes to our modern society.”
Didcot Railway Centre finished its highly successful nine day GWR175 Extravaganza with perhaps a less noted, though no less noteworthy, achievement on Sunday 9th May.
For the first time, at Didcot, we fielded an all female crew when a train on the main demonstration line, hauled by Pannier Tank No. 9466 driven by Marie Saville and fired by Ann Davies, came under the control of guard Ann Middleton. As an added bonus, Sarah Sewell was present on the platform in her capacity as trainee Station Staff.
It's not just fun for the boys at Didcot Railway Centre!
Whilst the GWR 175 Extravaganza was taking place a Didcot, it was announced, on May 4, that the Great Western Society is to be given the remains of: Prairie Tank No. 4115, Churchward 2-8-0 No. 2861 and 2-8-0 Tank No. 5227, together with a 3000 gallon tender; by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
This follows on from the acquisition, from the same source, in 2005 of 7927 ‘Willington Hall’ and an 8F boiler as part of our project to build a replica Hawksworth 4-6-0 ‘County’ class locomotive - 1014 ‘County of Glamorgan’, with some of the Hall parts also going to the Llangollen based project to build a replica Grange - 6880 ‘Betton Grange’.
The existence of the ‘Barry Ten’ – the last ten locomotives to leave the famous South Wales scrapyard of Dai Woodham – led some to think that recovered key components could form the basis not only of the new Hawksworth ‘County’ 4-6-0, but also several other locomotives including a new Churchward ‘County’ 4-4-0 and a 4-4-2 ‘County Tank’ (The Three Counties Project), as well as a 47XX 2-8-0.
The Council of the Great Western Society sees these locos as seed corn for the future as well as being a useful source of spares.
There are no immediate prospects of any work beginning on a ‘County’ 4-4-0 or ‘County Tank’. However, following an article in 2002, floating the possibility of building a 47XX 2-8-0, quite a large number of people came forward to offer help and assistance – both physical and financial – but for various reasons the timing then was not ideal. In many respects the present timing is not ideal either, but there is widespread feeling that the opportunity to embark on construction of a 47XX should be grasped whilst there are people willing to contribute to the project and the Barry Ten locomotives are still available. It is clear that the Society does not currently have the resource to tackle a project on this scale and if it is to take place then it will need to be on a separately funded and organised basis (See separate story below).
The GWS would like to acknowledge the efforts made by the Vale of Glamorgan Council with regard to the remaining Barry Ten locomotives and thank them for the support they have shown the Society.
If assurance is needed that this has been a wise move, one only has to think back to 1970 when auto trailer No. 212 was acquired for preservation. At the time the idea of restoring such a cannibalised hulk seemed like wishful thinking, yet today with fully restored Steam Railmotor No. 93 poised to emerge, it is revealed as the visionary move it was.
We believe that there will be interest in both the 47XX and Three Counties Projects and invite those interested to come forward by contacting the GWS Chairman Richard Croucher at Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7NJ, or by e-mail to chairman@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
The GWR 47XX large-wheeled 2-8-0 is a locomotive with almost universal appeal. Churchward’s final masterpiece, just nine of which were built between 1919 and 1921, were designed for fast goods work but were frequently used on passenger services – especially holiday expresses on summer Saturdays – a role that was honoured in the late 1950s by the application of British Railways lined green passenger livery to the whole class. It is in this guise that most enthusiasts remember these imposing engines with great affection.
The idea of building a new 47XX 2-8-0 was floated in an article in 2002. Recent speculation in the press has rekindled interest in such a project and people have naturally looked to the Great Western Society as the organization that could possibly undertake the task.
In a similar vein to the GWS Saint Project, which has utilized parts from a ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0, any scheme to build a new 47XX could make extensive use of GWR standard parts from other remaining ex-Barry locomotives that have little or no chance of being restored in their own right. Thee GWS has secured an option to acquire prairie tank No. 4115 and Churchward 2-8-0 No. 2861 as parts donors for a 47XX 2-8-0. No. 4115 would yield three of the four 5ft 8in driving wheel sets needed together with the extension frame assembly, whilst No. 2861 would provide an outside-steam-pipe cylinder block which can be modified to suit the 47XX, as well as the pony truck. The 4,000 gallon tender which came to the GWS with Maindy Hall could be used with a 47XX following a thorough overhaul, but many other parts, not least the boiler, would have to be manufactured.
When Churchward put No. 4700 into traffic it carried a standard Swindon No.1 boiler, the same type used by the 28XX class, as well as ‘Hall’ and ‘Grange’ 4-6-0s. However, testing soon showed that a larger boiler was needed for these engines and the new No.7 was created specially for them – no other locomotives carried this boiler and it is considered that the great majority of people would prefer to see a new 47XX carry the No.7 boiler.
GWS chairman Richard Croucher said: “We know that it is technically feasible to build a 47XX 2-8-0. Many of the parts are available and even the unique No. 7 boiler can be built in the UK. We also know that many, many people would like to see a 47XX running once again.”
“Whilst the GWS would be happy to coordinate such a project, as well as contributing the experience gained on other new builds and the extensive research and preparatory work already carried out for a 47XX, the Society does not currently have the capacity or resources to undertake another major locomotive project. For this reason we propose creating an entirely new team to tackle this project as a stand-alone entity outside the GWS, which may be incorporated as a charitable trust. The physical work of building the locomotive could be undertaken at Didcot or elsewhere – we have a completely open mind at this stage.”
“As the appeal of the 47XX extends far beyond the traditional GWR sphere of interest we are hoping that many people not previously involved with the Great Western Society will support the project,” Richard added. “But, before we can move forward with this we need to know that there is a good prospect of raising sufficient funding for the project, that we will be able to source and coordinate all the necessary skills and – most importantly – that we can assemble a project team composed of people able to devote the considerable amounts of time and expertise that the project will require.”
“To get the ball rolling I would like to ask everyone who may be prepared to support the 47XX project just to make contact, either by writing to me, Richard Croucher, Chairman, Great Western Society, Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7NJ, or by email to chairman@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk. At this stage all you need do is write a couple of lines saying how you think you could help – perhaps by making a regular or one-off donation, contributing a skill such as draftsmanship or engineering, or best of all by becoming a member of the project team. Please do not send any money at present.”
“If there is sufficient support for the idea we propose to call an open meeting later this year at Didcot at which all interested parties can attend to learn more about the project, the work done so far and the diverse ways in which it will be possible to help. Our invitation to pledge support will remain open until 31 December 2010; at that time we will judge whether the project is viable based on the support indicated.”
One thing is certain: this call to action is the last realistic chance to make a 47XX project happen. If the task is not commenced in the next year or two there just won’t be enough people with the interest and commitment to see it through. So this really is make or break. There has been a lot of talk about building a 47XX over the years and now it’s time to turn words into actions. Will we see a 47XX run again, or will Churchward’s final triumph be consigned forever to history? It’s your choice.
The visiting locomotives are starting to arrive in time for next week's GWR Extravaganza.
5029 'Nunney Castle' and Bill Parker's prairie tank, No. 5521 were already on shed at the weekend 24/25 April, where they were photographed next to some of the resident locomotives.
By Wednesday 28, 7827 'Lydham Manor' from Paignton and Mike Little's 0-4-2 tank No. 1450 had also arrived at the Railway Centre, and are pictured being given a final brush-up.
3717 'City of Truro' was delivered to the west yard at Didcot on Wednesday and is waiting to be shunted across to the Centre as is Dennis Howell's Pannier Tank No. 9466 which arrived in the west yard on Thursday.
By the opening day of the extravaganza, on Saturday 1 May, we should be in a position to enjoy the spectacle of 14 GWR designed locomotives in steam, and as many again on static display. Along with all the other attractions it should be quite an event.
Shunting of locomotives and rolling stock to get everything into position has been going on for the last week or so as final preparations are made, and it is becoming clear that this is going to be the gala event of GWR 175!
After passing a hydraulic test on 15 March, the boiler of 6023 ‘King Edward II’ was ready to contain fire once again - for the first time in 48 years.
Therefore on 28 March project leader Dennis Howells & GWS chairman Richard Croucher jointly lit the first fire. The boiler was allowed to warm through with pressure building slowly over the following week.
After many steamings to fine tune the boiler it was time for the official steam test. This took place on 12 April, the boiler was brought round above working pressure to lift her safety valves and passed the test successfully.
Now the group can work towards reuniting the boiler with the frames.
A replica 2nd class broad gauge coach, which has been rebuilt at Didcot, entered traffic at Easter.
The vehicle was originally built by British Rail to run with replica Broad Gauge locomotive 'Iron Duke' during the GWR 150 celebrations in 1985. With a body constructed in softwood, it suffered quite badly from wet rot in the intervening 20 years before arriving at Didcot on loan from the NRM. It has now been completely rebuilt, from the chassis upwards, in 'iroko' hardwood by Pete Silver and the Fire Fly team.
The coach was relaunched into service by Helen Ashby, Head of Knowledge and Collections at the National Railway Museum on Good Friday. Broad gauge trains, including this coach, are next scheduled to run during the first weekend (1 - 3 May) of Didcot's GWR 175 Extravaganza.
Didcot Railway Centre will feature in a series of programmes presented by Dan Cruickshank on Great British Railways to be broadcast on National Geographic channel during May. The programmes are being made by ITN Factual, and filming took place at Didcot on Saturday 20 February
One of the programmes concentrates on Brunel and apparently involves Dan Cruickshank and Steven Brindle, author of a biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, speculating on why the broad gauge ended up just a quarter inch wider than 7ft and also discussing the spartan conditions offered to 3rd class passengers at the beginning of the railway age, as exemplified by our open broad gauge coach
Another programme in the series will cover the role of railways during World War I, and for this episode Dan Cruickshank spent some time on the footplate of locomotive 5322 with Alex Beasley and Pete Gransden. 5322 served in France during 1917 and 1918 hauling supplies from Calais to the Western Front, and is restored in Railway Operating Division khaki livery.
The programmes featuring Didcot are to be broadcast on the National Geographic channel at 21:00 on Wednesdays 5 and 12 May.
The most recent meeting between the Great Western Society, in the company of our local MP, Ed Vaizey, and Network Rail representatives, finally took place at the end of November.
The meeting began with the Manager who had been responsible for the Great Western Route Utilisation Survey (GWRUS) outlining what this had entailed. Amongst the suggestions were proposals to build a new flyover at Didcot East and two new platforms on the avoiding line. Both had been examined and costed in detail and we were told that neither stood up as a business case. It is assumed by the Society therefore that any risk to the main demonstration line is beyond the horizon. However, Network Rail have reconfirmed their desire that this chord of land should be treated separately to all the other land at Didcot Railway Centre.
We then had a discussion as to what use Network Rail might wish to make of the site and none of the Network Rail representatives could see any reason for wanting to take back any part of the site. This has been reiterated in a subsequent letter from Network Rail offering the Society a new 35-year lease and advising us that in the very unlikely event of the site being required for operational use, compensation would be offered in respect of any investment made. We accept that it is impossible to foresee the future and at some time in the future rail expansion could affect our site, but this would be subject to compensation terms.
Network Rail have taken away a number of points we made, including our desire for the period to be longer than 35 years and we will continue negotiations to try and better the terms. In due course the agreed proposals will need to be submitted to the Office for Rail Regulation and it is probable that this process will also take some time.
Nevertheless this is a very positive step forward with Ed Vaizey commenting that “We are making progress, and we will get a lease that the railway centre can live with”. Richard Croucher, Society Chairman, added that “this is a great boost to the future - by allowing us to invest in refurbishing the historic locomotive depot buildings, which are listed, as well as realise our master plan for the site. The railway centre already has a collection of international importance, and site improvements will make it world class, on a par with any other national railway museum.”
Over the weekend of 26/27 September Didcot Railway Centre marked the 150th anniversary of Brunel's death.
As well as replica broad gauge locomotive Fire Fly, two 19th Century locomotives, tank engines 1338 and 1340 were in steam. The event also marked the re-entry into passenger service of 19th Century Coach No. 416. This coach has recently been restored and was carrying passengers for what is thought to be the first time in more than 70 years!
With the recent closure of the rail siding at Milton Depot, Didcot Railway Centre temporarily had no means of getting large loads (such as visiting locomotives) on or off the premises.
We have therefore developed our siding in the DBS west yard to provide a concrete pad for coal deliveries and to infill the siding to allow locomotives to be unloaded.
As always this has required a large amount of paperwork in the background to ensure that the Great Western Society has guaranteed access, initially for a fifteen year period, and to gain the necessary permissions to undertake the work. We have also received confirmation that we can move locomotives and other heavy loads over the bridge giving access to West Yard, and that various transport firms are happy to use that route.
The work was completed on 18 September (on budget and five hours early!). As expected the first locomotive to use the new facility, on Wednesday 30 September, was 'Thomas' arriving for his October holiday!
During Tornado's visit to Didcot, Britain's two newest main steam locomotives were posed together. A1 4-6-2 Tornado, completed 2009, and broad gauge 2-2-2 Fire Fly, completed 2005, made a unique scene, representing state-of-the-art express passenger steam locomotives of the 1940s and 1840s respectively.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester visited Didcot Railway Centre on 23 August and discussed plans for the centre's future development with Peter Jennings, duty manager on the day, and Richard Antliff, civil engineering manager.
Lord Faulkner, who was chairman of the Railway Heritage Committee until he recently stood down on his appointment as a minister in the government, and was visiting Didcot in a personal capacity, said: “I was delighted to pay another visit, with my grandson, to Didcot. It is a vibrant, successful railway heritage centre, and plays an essential role in telling the story of the Great Western Railway and its wonderful history. My great-grandfather was a GWR driver, and my father worked for the company for a while too. During my visit I was comprehensively briefed about Didcot's plans for the future, and I hope that I may be able to help their aspirations come to fruition.”
The set of four jacks recently installed in the carriage shed at Didcot were used for a real job for the first time on Saturday 22 August to lift Mk1 brake first coach No M14007. Previously they had only been used for testing and training purposes.
The coach is owned by the Railway Carriage Company and is currently on hire to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust as the support vehicle for Tornado. The opportunity was taken to carry out maintenance on the bogies during the two week rest from main line running while Tornado visited Didcot.
The jacks were obtained by the Railway Centre from Swindon and refurbished by Matterson Cranes of Rochdale, the original manufacturer. In the process the lift capacity of each jack was increased from 6.5 to 8.5 tons, making them capable of lifting the Ocean Saloons which are the heaviest coaches at Didcot.
On Sunday 16th August A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado, Britain’s newest main line steam locomotive, arrived at Didcot Railway Centre for a short stay.
The locomotive stayed until 2 September.
3650, now resplendent in GWR green with ‘shirt-button’ logo, was officially launched into traffic over the weekend of 13 -14 June.
3650 has been restored over the last 20 years, and the launch provided the opportunity for those who had been involved to re-acquaint themselves with 3650 and the 3650 group.
The Great Western Society owns three of the eight Super Saloons introduced by the Great Western Railway to carry passengers from Plymouth to London who had disembarked from the Trans Atlantic liners.
9113 - Prince of Wales, is at present undergoing a full restoration which started with major repairs to the timber framing. The latest sign of progress is the first of the large picture windows being fitted over the May Day bank holiday weekend.
A painting of Clifton Down station by the artist, Stella Whatley GRA, was presented to the Great Western Society at 12.30 on Sunday 3rd May.
Stella is a member of the Guild of Railway Artists, being one of the first to be elected to full membership on foundation of the Guild in 1979.
The 100th anniversary of Radstock North Signalbox was celebrated on Saturday 2 May.
The celebrations featured a 100th Birthday Cake, and musical accompaniment from the Goring and Streatley Concert band, which includes a member of the Signal & Telegraph department among their number. There was also a small exhibition showing how the signalbox was rescued and restored.
The occasion was also marked by the opening of King's park, a newly landscaped public area opposite Radstock Box.
Eric King was a long time
supporter of the Bristol Group's signalling project and we were pleased to welcome his widow Joyce King to declare the park open. Joyce also presented a GWR memorandum, given to her late husband in 1931, to the Great Western Trust. Eric, a Radstock resident, had won a scholarship to study at Bristol University and went to Radstock GWR station to enquire about season tickets. The memo shows the rates at the time - 1 month £1.13s.0d (£1.65) and 3 months £4.8s.6d (£4.43).
Radstock North Box, built at the Great Western Railway’s signal works at Reading, replaced an earlier MacKenzie & Holland box, at Radstock on the North Somerset Line from Frome to Bristol, in 1909.
In 1975 the signalbox, which was no longer required for railway operations, was purchased by the Bristol Group of the Great Western Society. With roofing slates and windows still in place it was transported to Didcot by low-loader and transferred to the railway centre by rail. It has subsequently been re-erected, on a new brick base, and now controls the steam trains on the centre’s convincingly reconstructed branch line.
The Great Western Society met representatives from Network Rail during January to press its case to acquire the land currently occupied at Didcot Railway Centre. We hoped this would bring about the long term security of the site. This will allow the gradual development to enhance access to the collection.
At the meeting Network Rail tabled a new proposal which would break the current area occupied into separate lots:
The Society reiterated its desire to acquire the freehold or a long (99 year) lease on the land with the exception of the area occupied by the main demonstration line, in order that it can develop Didcot Railway Centre for future generations to enjoy.
The consultation process with the various railway operating companies is still on going, but we have heard subsequently that possible proposals to increase the capacity in the Didcot Parkway area and between Didcot and Oxford may impact on some parts of the site area currently occupied by the Great Western Society although nothing specific has yet been put forward.
The negotiation process continues. Many people and organisations have come forward to offer their assistance and we are encouraged by the support which has been shown. A member of the public, who is not a member of the Great Western Society, has set up a petition on the Prime Minister’s website and we would like to thank everyone for their support.
Were ever chairs more elegant than these provided for railway passengers? The Great Western Railway’s legendary Ocean Saloon carriages, built in 1932, were the ultimate in luxury travel, and their Queen Anne wing armchairs reflected the furnishings in drawing rooms of great country houses that the clientele could be expected to frequent.
Now after forty years in preservation at Didcot Railway Centre the chairs are looking tired, so 54 are getting a makeover at Asnew Upholstery in Abingdon. The Didcot team have sourced moquette from John Holdsworth of Halifax and have raised funds for the work from sponsors of individual chairs.
Three Ocean Saloons are preserved at Didcot – 9112 Queen Mary, 9113 Prince of Wales and 9118 Princess Elizabeth. 9113 is going through a major overhaul at present.
The Ocean Saloons (also known as Super Saloons) were introduced by the GWR to capture a share of the transatlantic traffic. The thirties were a decade of great ocean liners and intense competition to capture the blue riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. The GWR did not have an ocean liner port, but ships were able to anchor off Plymouth for a short while and unload the time-sensitive mails into small steamers that carried them into the harbour for the train journey to London.
Passengers in a hurry to get to London would also go ashore on the steamers and then be whisked from Plymouth to the capital in four hours in a train of Ocean Saloons. By then the liner would have upped anchor and continued to Cherbourg to land passengers for mainland Europe, before crossing the channel to dock in Southampton a day or two after the passengers who went ashore at Plymouth had arrived in the capital.
The Power Bogie and Boiler for the Steam Railmotor project, which had been on display in the engine shed, have now gone to Llangollen to be united with the rest of the vehicle which is under restoration there.
The boiler was loaded into the Society’s Sleeper wagon, and the power bogie onto a ‘Salmon’ hired from D.B. Shenker (the new name for EWS). After an inspection by the D.B. Loads Inspector, the vehicles made the short trip to Didcot’s West Yard, for transfer by crane to road transport for the journey to North Wales. The trip to Llangollen was without incident, unloading being done on Friday 16 January in the station goods yard.
The bogie and the coach body, which is under restoration, are not in a position at Llangollen where they can normally be viewed, but we are pleased to announce that there will be a further opportunity to inspect progress at a gala event in April. This will be during the Llangollen Railway's ‘Steel, Steam and Stars II’ gala, from 18 to 26 April 2009.
The Boiler and Power Bogie will be on display in the Locomotive Works at Llangollen and the body and underframe (which will by then have been reunited) will be on display at Pentrefelyn Carriage and Wagon Workshop. Members of the project team will be on hand at weekends, to answer questions on the project.
Roger Orchard has taken up the post of Operations Manager as of Monday 5th January 2009 and is responsible for the day to day operation of the Railway Centre. Roger was successful in the recent interviews held for the post and comes with experience of project management, resource management, health and safety and many heritage railway aspects.
Roger describes himself as “a 54 year old who luckily lives about 3 miles from Didcot”. Asked about his background Roger sums himself up as follows:
“Having spent most of my life somewhere near the main Bournemouth to Waterloo main line I do have a passion for things Southern (not a good start!). My interest in railways started with the usual Triang train set then swayed towards railway preservation which has resulted in 40 years involvement, the majority of which has been with the Swanage Railway. I still have a 16mm garden railway and play drums in a local band, http://www.fourtuned.com. My working life has mainly been in telecommunications with BT but I have recently had 4 years experience of working in Formula 1 as a Facilities and Health and Safety officer. So I promise I won't start painting things Southern and erecting Bulleid signs everywhere. I'm here to carry on the work of the Society and ensure that the Centre's operation and its standing in the preservation world is best in class.”
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Now that 5322 has entered traffic, we are turning our attention to 1363. For more years than we care to remember, we have been wanting to commence restoration of 1363 and work will shortly begin on dismantling the locomotive in preparation.
Withdrawn from Laira in November 1962 and purchased by the Society in 1964, 1363 ran during the 1960s and 1970s at Totnes, Bodmin and Didcot finally being withdrawn from traffic pending a full overhaul at the very end of the 1970s. As such the last mechanical overhaul was in BR days in 1958 when it received a Heavy General at Swindon and so it will be receiving its first full overhaul in preservation. It will be necessary to replace part of the engine main frame as well as the rear drag box and 1363 will also need a new ash pan. The coal bunker was damaged just before withdrawal – indeed this ‘war’ damage almost certainly saved it and will need to be replaced and we know that the saddle tank also needs to be replaced.
Already we have just under £10,000 in the restoration fund, including some donations which had been held in escrow for 1363 for many years, as well as contributions which have been made to the restoration this year as a result of a couple of photographers charters organised by Phil Neale.
We hope you will agree that 1363 has been out of action for far too long and support us with this year’s Christmas Draw which is being devoted to getting its restoration under way. The draw will be held at Didcot at 2.30 pm on Saturday 3rd January.
1363 will be a very useful addition to the working fleet giving Didcot a further small locomotive to work the Branch; when it was operational 1363 was a popular locomotive amongst crews and we look forward to that happening again.
As usual, donations will also be most welcome and we are also providing a Banker’s Order form for those who feel that they may like or be able to provide regular monthly support to this restoration. At this stage we anticipate that the restoration will cost in the region of £60/65,000.
5322's return to active service in khaki was marked by a ceremony on Remembrance Day, Sunday 9 November - 90 years after the locomotive was on war service in France.
The locomotive was dedicated by Colonel S Cheetham MBE, TD, who outlined the role of the Royal Engineers and the Railway Operating Division during the first world war and later conflicts. Col Cheetham is the Senior Railway Engineer in the Corps of Railway Engineers, providing railway engineer consultancy to the Army and advising the Engineer-in Chief on railway policy.
A local folk singer, Hugh Crabtree, also performed a medley of first world war songs.
The ceremony also marked the completion of a 13 year restoration, which has recently seen 5322 move under its own power for the first time since September 1976. The engine has been restored as far as possible to its original 1917 appearance, when it served with the Railway Operating Division (Royal Engineers) on the Western Front.
In its day 5322 was a typical GWR workhorse. One of a 340 strong fleet, they became the most widely used tender engines on the GWR, and the engine's own history, being shedded everywhere from Chester to Weymouth, is a testament to their usefulness. Today, it's now one of just 2 survivors, and is therefore extremely important in telling the story of every day life on the GWR, while its history with the ROD only increases its significance.
Not having had a full overhaul since the late 1950's, the engine's condition before the most recent restoration began was extremely poor, however we hope that our efforts have managed to breathe some youthful life back into the old thing.
Twenty GWR 2-6-0s were built in 1917 and sent when new to France. This was in response to a call from the army in the summer of 1917 for the British railways to supply a further 160 locomotives to help with transporting supplies from the Channel ports to the front line.
Frank Potter, General Manager of the GWR, reported at the time to his board of directors that these locomotives, "should as far as practicable be of one type, ie 0-8-0, and of high power, and arrangements were therefore made for them to be supplied by as few Companies as possible, these Companies in turn being allocated engines from the stock of other Railway Companies. In the case of the Great Western Railway, we have no engines of the 0-8-0 type, and it was impossible to release any of the 2-8-0 class as they are employed exclusively on the Admiralty coal traffic."
It was therefore decided that the GWR would supply 2-6-0s, which Frank Potter explained: "The Great Western type of 2-6-0 engines is in point of power and efficiency practically equal to other Companies 0-8-0 engines." Nevertheless, the GWR drove a hard bargain, as Frank Potter continued: "The whole of our stock is, however, badly needed for traffic work in this country, and it was, therefore, stipulated that the materials should be supplied by the Government to enable new engines of the class to be built, an output of five per month being aimed at."
A serving officer with the ROD, C E R Sherrington, recalled an encounter with 5322 in France in 1918. He wrote an article about it for the Great Western Echo in 1973:
"That night nearing the level crossing at Pont des Briques, where one turned off for the Mess, an eastbound train was rapidly overtaking me. A glance at my watch led me to hope that it was RCL* 21 running on time from Calais (Riviere Neuve) to St Omer, Hazebrouck and one or more railheads. There was no mistaking the type of locomotive – by the beat of its exhaust – a GWR Mogul, thus confirming that it was, almost certainly, one of the 53s doing such splendid work on those supply trains for the II Army.
She overtook me at the Pont des Briques crossing, with its metal rolling gates, and it was easy to see her number in large white letters on the tender – ROD 5322. Behind her were the customary 44 or so wagons, the supplies for two divisions. The gross load was some 770 tons: the wagons were not vacuum fitted, but, of course, had the French screw couplings.
The Great Western Moguls were admirable locomotives for this work: their predecessors on it, the Beyer Peacock 4-6-4 tanks, which were built for the Netherlands but never got there, were splendid machines but had inadequate brake power, being designed for suburban passenger trains. The LNWR class 27 0-8-0s, though fine pullers, had small diameter wheels for this work, and were more suited to heavier, slower, trains."
* RCL stood for Ravitaillement Calais – Ligne
At the Annual General Meeting in September I mentioned our growing frustration at the lack of progress in negotiations with Network Rail to purchase the site and the fact that we had referred the matter to our local MP who had, some time ago, offered his help if we needed it.
The Great Western Society has held a lease for the site since the 1970s which runs until 2019; however there is a clause enabling Network Rail to give the Society six months notice to quit if it so chooses. The Society’s management has always felt that we should attempt to secure the long term future of Didcot Railway Centre by acquiring the freehold or a long term leasehold.
In 2002 Ian Smith and I opened negotiations with Network Rail to achieve that aim which culminated in a letter from them in May 2007 saying they were prepared to sell the site subject to ORR approval, which would be submitted following confirmation that there would be no knock-on effects in the Didcot area from the rebuilding of Reading station. Having clarified the site would not be required in connection with either the construction of a new diesel depot (Reading was the chosen location) or, subsequently, the Inter City Express project, it was assumed the projected purchase could proceed.
However, we have now received a further letter from Network Rail saying there has been a change of policy and the offer to sell the land is withdrawn. After six years of effort to achieve long-term security for Didcot Railway Centre we appear to have gone full circle rather than progress forwards. For the moment the status quo has not changed; the security of tenure remains as it always has been but therein lies the problem, it has not been improved which is our aim. A new lease has been suggested but with the short notice break clause which frustrates the larger site development plans we wish to undertake. At present we are awaiting a response from our MP.
Richard Croucher
An independent web site, providing a historical context for the ‘County’ project, details of the restoration and all the latest news on the locomotive has recently been launched.
1014 County of Glamorgan Web SiteThe Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
If you would like to help the ‘County’ project, why not Download the County appeal form (Word format).
The restored air raid shelter was re-opened on Wednesday 29 October by Phil Mercer of BBC Oxford. One of the few surviving shelters, the Didcot example was built by the GWR in 1940 and has been transformed into an evocative experience by the railway centre’s education team, helped by a grant from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited).
With the second world war a subject on the national curriculum, local schools assisted the project that will help to teach the realities of civilian life in wartime. A vintage radio broadcast speeches by Chamberlain and Churchill, and concealed loudspeakers produce the sounds of a bombing raid overhead, while the lights dim as the explosions get louder.
The shelter is built of semi-circular concrete sections, sunk about 2 metres into the ground. Further protection against blast and shrapnel is provided by a layer of earth about a metre thick, topped by stone blocks. It is known as a beehive shelter, because that is what the mound of stones above ground resembles. The shelter is reached by stairs that are curved to protect the doorway. A concrete tube at the opposite end provides an escape route if the stairs are blocked.
Over the years the shelter had become covered with a layer of grass and had a mature tree growing on top of it. During the summer the Didcot civil engineering gang stripped off the vegetation then carefully placed the stones and soil to one side. Once they had uncovered the concrete structure they repaired cracks and covered it with a large pond liner to prevent damage from moisture, then replaced the soil and stones. The shelter's date, 1940, is crudely scratched in the concrete lintel above the door.
The ‘Return To Steam’ tour of Castle Class, No. 5043 ‘Earl of Mount Edgcumbe’ scheduled for 25 October has been rescheduled to run on Saturday 8 November.
The tour will now be double headed with the ‘castle’ being assisted by No. 4965 ‘Rood Ashton Hall’.
The train will run on former Great Western metals, travelling from Birmingham (Snow Hill) to Didcot, via Leamington Spa, Banbury and Oxford.
This will be the ‘castle's’ first long haul train in preservation, since completion of its recent overhaul at Tyseley Locomotive Works. The tour will also provide an opportunity for the ‘Hall’ to repeat its ‘final journey before overhaul’ which visited Didcot on 15 March!
Fares include admission to the Didcot Railway Centre.
The Railtour is being run by Vintage Trains Limited. For more details see the Vintage Trains web site.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
30742 Charters ran another of their 'night-shoots' at Didcot Railway Centre.
Star of the show was newly restored GWR Pannier tank 3650 in the Stephenson Clarke blue livery which it carried in post BR colliery service. The engine had been allowed to get suitably grubby leading up to the event. The locomotive will soon be repainted into GWR green so this was the only opportunity to see the engine in blue on a night shoot. It was also one of the last opportunities to photograph 1363 in BR black, as dismantling for overhaul is imminent. The evening focussed on the shed and coal stage with Panniers 3650 & 3738 joined by 1363, 5051, and 3822.
Great Western Pannier tank No. 3650 passed her insurance boiler examination on Wednesday 23 July and the restoration team then took her for a celebratory run on the branch line.
3650 was built in December 1939 and withdrawn in October 1963, when she was sold to Stephenson Clarke for use at an open-cast coal mine at Gwaun-cae-Gurwen. It appears that the locomotive then worked with the minimum of maintenance and was in dreadful condition when preserved in 1969. However, the Great Western Society believed she was worth buying as it might be the last chance to acquire a pannier tank. When 3738 was later purchased from Barry, this was in far better condition and was therefore restored first. 3650 is the result of 20 years dedicated work by her restoration team to repair the damage of six years in industrial use.
The Stephenson Clarke livery is a temporary one for 3650s running-in period. She will then be painted in GWR green, with a ‘shirt-button’ roundel as originally turned out in 1939. The repaint might take place even before the end of 2008, so industrial locomotive enthusiasts should hurry to Didcot to see an industrial pannier. The 3650 team say that for a small consideration they will make the locomotive dirty to give a more authentic industrial appearance.
The locomotive has since been running on several occasions on a trial basis and, if all continues to go well, is expected to be released into traffic at the August Bank Holiday weekend. It is intended that 3650 will be in steam on all three days of the weekend.
On Friday 4 July, three of the four founder members of the Great Western Society were at Didcot to be interviewed for a 60 minute programme in the BBC4 social history television series Timeshift.
The programme is looking at the last years of steam - from 1948 to the early 1960s, and will examine this era of steam, the emergence of trainspotting, the sense of romanticism and how, despite Beeching and the scrapping of steam trains, all this was kept alive through the preservation movement.
Jon Barlow, Mike Peart and Graham Perry talked about how they became trainspotters in the 1950s and how, as 16-year-old schoolboys in 1961, they decided to preserve a 14xx class steam locomotive. The letter they wrote to Railway Magazine in April 1961, seeking funds, was the start of a movement that became the Great Western Society and of the collection now housed at Didcot Railway Centre.
The fourth founder member, Angus Davis, now lives in New Zealand, and TV licence fee payers might be relieved to know that, unfortunately the BBC4 programme budget was not generous enough to fly him back to the UK for the interview!
The programme TimeShift - Last Days of Steam will be broadcast on BBC Four on Thursday 16 October at 9pm. Thursday evenings have a railway theme on BBC4 at the moment.
The Great Western Trust is pleased to have purchased a Great Western ‘2 foot’ gauge slate wagon, after many years of searching for one, finally giving a ‘large’ item to represent the Great Western’s narrow gauge interests.
The GW ran several narrow gauge lines such as the Corris, the Welshpool and Llanfair and the Vale of Rheidol, and GWR owned wagons of this type also featured on narrow gauge feeders to GWR standard gauge lines.
The wagon concerned has not been finally identified but is thought to be from lot 413, Diagram O.49, ordered January 1903 and numbered 51-100.
It is currently in Devon, but should be brought to Didcot within the next few weeks, although it will need some considerable repairs before it can be put on display. Once on display it will enhance the collection at Didcot where GWR vehicles of 7’ 0 1/4”, 4’8 1/2” and 1’11” will be available for comparison.
An unseasonably late overnight snowfall coinciding with a Steam Day at Didcot Railway Centre provided an unusual opportunity to see steam trains in the snow. This is something that we might expect, though rarely get, on the Santa specials, but did not anticipate in April!
As it was a relatively warm day, if you could get out of the wind and into the sunshine, the snow didn't last long, but for a few short hours we could enjoy what the gentleman from the Met Office described rather predictably as 'a winter wonderland'. We would hazard a guess, however that his 'winter wonderland' didn't have any steam trains in it - ours did!
A steam hauled excursion train from Solihull, hauled by Great Western Railway locomotive No.4965 ‘Rood Aston Hall’, visited Didcot on Saturday 15 March. The run marked what was expected to be the final journey of No.4965 before it's next overhaul.
Once the train, named the ‘4965 Adieu’, arrived at Didcot Parkway the locomotive was detached and came to the Railway Centre where visitors and railtour participants saw it being serviced at the engine shed alongside two of the resident Great Western ‘Hall’ class steam locomotives, No.5900 ‘Hinderton Hall’ and No.6998 ‘Burton Agnes Hall’. It was then turned on the turntable before returning its passengers to Solihull.
No.4965 ‘Rood Aston Hall’ is one of the Great Western Railway ‘Hall’ class, until the end of regular steam train operations a familiar sight in the Didcot area hauling a variety of trains from express passenger services to lowly goods trains. It is now part of the collection of the Birmingham Railway Museum.
The nearly complete power bogie and boiler assembly for the Steam Railmotor Project arrived at Didcot Railway Centre today.
The bogie and boiler were delivered separately by road, and then moved by rail to Didcot Railway Centre, where the two parts were assembled using the 50 ton hoist in the lifting shop.
The assembly will be on public display in the Engine Shed during the summer season when it can be viewed at any time the site is open. This, of course, will be the only opportunity for you to see the boiler and bogie ‘in the raw’ before it is encased in the coach body, so don’t hesitate to come and have a look at this unique sight.
A private night photo shoot was organised by Martin Creese and Phil Neale with the intention of re-creating scenes of Laira shed in the 1950s.
Both 5058 'Earl of Clancarty' and 7909 'Heveningham Hall' made appearances thanks to wooden name and numberplates made by Karl Buckingham. However the real star of the show was saddle tank No. 1363 which had been specially repainted into BR black for the event.
Funds raised by the Photo Shoot will help to pay for the overhaul to full running order of No. 1363 which is due to start later on this year. No. 1363 will remain in BR Black until dismantling for overhaul begins.
Didcot Railway Centre hosted 28 students from St Birinus, Didcot, Didcot Girls School and Faringdon Community College for an Engineering Careers Day on Tuesday 22 January.
The students heard presentations from Network Rail on their Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme, including an insight from a third year apprentice. They learned about opportunities for working as signalling engineers, which included a comparison of modern computerised signalling with the 100 year old mechanical computer within the Railway Centre’s own historic signal boxes.
The opportunities for apprenticeships within the heritage railway sector were explained by a demonstration of the locomotive restoration work taking place at the Railway Centre.
The highlight of the day was a practical demonstration of Thermit welding. This is a special process which uses a chemical reaction to weld two pieces of rail together.
The day was voted a success by the students and organisations represented and is likely to be a regular feature at Didcot Railway Centre in the future.
At precisely 10.14 (County of Glamorgan) on Thursday 10.01 (County of Bucks) the boiler of 8F 48518 was being lifted into a rail wagon at Didcot's West Yard for transfer to the Railway Centre. Once there it will be converted into a GWR No. 15 boiler as a major component in the re-creation of County 1014.
The complete locomotive had been moved by John Antell from Barry to Llangollen on Monday 7 January. The boiler was lifted from the frames on Tuesday and Wednesday. To simplify removal the smokebox, which was described as 'paper thin' anyway, was cut through in front of the tubeplate.
The expansion brackets at the firebox end had rusted solidly to the frames and the boiler had to be rocked to free it. First of all the front of boiler was lifted until the forward end of the expansion brackets came free and wedges were placed in the gap. The front of the boiler was then lowered until the rear end of the expansion brackets were released. In the process large amounts of rust and scale fell out of the gaps between the frames and the lower part of the firebox. The boiler was then lifted back onto John Antell's lorry and arrived in Didcot late on 9 January, for unloading on Thursday.