Museum News – New Acquisitions

Museum News

New Acquisitions

An opportunity presented itself  recently to acquire by way of private purchase half a dozen items of local colliery railway interest.  Not since the 1960s and early 1970s, when in that period a good relationship existed between the Railway Preservation Society and local National Coal Board management and which resulted in several donations of interest has the chance to obtain in bulk such star items for the museum collection.

McClean

First and arguably the finest piece from the Chasewater Railway point of view is the nameplate McClean from the 1856 built Beyer Peacock, the first of five similar locomotives delivered between 1856 and 1872. McClean lasted one hundred years before scrapping and in her later years was considered to be the oldest loco in the country still at work. The name McClean was bestowed in honour of John Robinson McClean who first came on the local scene as engineer in the construction of the South Staffordshire Railway before later, together with Richard Chawner leased land to mine coal forming the Cannock Chase Colliery.

Marquis
The second of the three locomotive nameplates to arrive is Marquis. The name originates from the first Marquis of Anglesey, a title awarded to the Earl of Uxbridge who fought along side Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. Carried by the Lilleshall Company built 0-6-0 saddle tank new to the Cannock and Rugeley Collieries as their first loco in 1867, she or is it he lasted until cut up at the NCB Cannock Central Workshops during May 1964.

Beaudesert
The third nameplate is that of Beaudesert from the little 0-6-0 saddle tank built by Fox Walker, works number 266 of 1875 supplied new to Cannock and Rugeley Collieries as their number 5. Beaudesert was the ancestral home of the Paget family who became Earls of Uxbridge before being given the title and Estate Marquis of Anglesey. Finally cut up in 1964 the other nameplate of the loco survives and is on display in Kidderminster Railway Museum.

Two locomotive worksplates comprising of a cast iron Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd, 7292 of 1953 and Hunslet 3789 of 1953 have come as part of the deal.
Both locomotives were of the Austerity type, the RSH coming to Littleton Colliery from its previous owner the War Department, in May 1947, originally WD 71483 she became number 6 at Littleton being cut up there in Oct. 1970.
The Hunslet was delivered to Chasetown numbered 3 and was a replacement for the aged fleet of Victorian locos, she later saw service at Cannock Wood and Granville where she met her end after a life of just 16 years.

Finally a possibly unique cast iron sign headed The Littleton Collieries Ltd. with the wording.

The Littleton Collieries Ltd
Notice No Road
all persons found trespassing
upon or damaging any property
belonging to the above company
will be prosecuted.

Quite where the above sign was fixed is not yet known, but enquiries are being made.
It may be a little while before all of the above items are incorporated into our permanent display but the intention is to make arrangements to put them on view as soon as possible.

Barry Bull
Museum Curator
Chasewater Railway Museum

My thanks to Barry Bull for the information and Bob Anderson for the typing! CWS

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1885- Great Northern Railway, Ireland 4-2-2 and 5’ 6” 4-4-0 Beyer Peacock

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1885– Great Northern Railway, Ireland

 4-2-2 and 5’ 6” 4-4-0  Beyer Peacock

Illustration – No.88 when running as a single wheeler.

Two engines built by Beyer Peacock & Co. in 1885, Nos.88 Victoria and 89 Albert.  They were the first newly constructed 4-2-2s with inside frames and cylinders in the British Isles (there were, however, the reconstructed Bristol and Exeter engines.)  They were incidentally the only 4-2-2s ever to run in Ireland.

In 1904 they were reconstructed as 4-4-0 engines with 5’ 6” wheels, bringing them into line with four similar engines, Nos.51-4, which had been built in 1892-5.  Finally, two further identical machines came out in 1905, Nos.104-5.  All were originally named, but these were removed about 1914.  Nos. 51-4 were scrapped in 1950, Nos.88, 89 and 104 in 1956, leaving only 105 still in service in 1959.

As 4-2-2s – Driving wheels – 6’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 1½”,  Trailing wheels – 3’ 7½”,  Cylinders – 16”x 22”,  Pressure – 140 lb.,  Weight – 34 tons

As 4-4-0s – Driving wheels – 5’ 6”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 1½”,  Cylinders – 18”x 24”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Weight – 42 tons

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1882 Beyer Peacock 0-6-4T Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1882 Beyer Peacock 0-6-4T

Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties RailwayHazlewood in 1929

The 0-6-4T was the principal type of locomotive in use on this 48-mile-long railway in the north west of Ireland, since the partition partly in Eire and partly in Ulster.

The first two engines Leitrim and Fermanagh were built in 1882, followed by Lurganboy in 1895, with two more, Lissadell and Hazlewood in 1899.

Three more engines of an enlarged design appeared between 1904 and 1915, Sir Henry, Eniskillen and Lough Gill, whilst finally two more with further minor improvements came in 1950, Lough Melvin and Lough Erne.Lough Erne in 1953

The last two were notable in being the last new conventional steam engines delivered to any Irish railway (In 1958 an experimental steam turf-burning locomotive was built for the CIE).  Although constructed in 1949, they did not arrive in Ireland until 1950.  All the above were built by Beyer Peacock & Co. and the original five engines retained the Company’s distinctive bell-shaped domes to the end.  The SL & NCR never numbered its engines. Leitrim and Fermanagh were scrapped in 1952, and Lurganboy in 1953.  The others remained until the final closure of the railway in 1957.

Leitrim – Driving wheels – 4’ 9”,  Cylinders – 16½”x 20”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,  Tractive effort – 12513 lb.,  Weight – 47½ Tons.

Sir Henry – Driving wheels – 4’ 8”,  Cylinders – 17”x 24”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,  Tractive effort – 16840 lb.,  Weight – 53½ Tons.

Lough Erne – Driving wheels – 4’ 8”,  Cylinders – 18”x 24”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,  Tractive effort – 17100 lb.,  Weight – 54½ Tons.Freight on the line  www.blacklion.ie   Mickey Macmanus

 

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era 1873 – Ilfracombe Goods – London & South Western Railway

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era

1873 – Ilfracombe Goods – London & South Western Railway

Shropshire & Montgomery No.6 Thisbe in 1926.  H.C.Casserley

Eight engines constructed by Beyer Peacock & Co. between 1873 and 1880 to the order of W.G.Beattie for working the steeply graded Barnstaple – Ilfracombe line, then newly opened.  They were of Beyer Peacock’s standard design of the period, a distinctive feature being that the dome, with Salter spring balance safety valves, was placed over the firebox.  The semi-open splashers were embellished with the makers’ handsome brass plates.Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway0-6-0 Ilfracombe Goods loco, Thisbe.  J.H.L.Adams

The numbers were 282-4, 300, 301, 324, 393 and 394, eventually placed on the duplicate list as 0282, etc.  The first six were rebuilt by Adams between 1888 and 1890 with normal domed boilers and increased working pressure.  Nos. 0301 and 0393 were broken up in 1905, but all the others were bought by Colonel Stephens between 1910 and 1918 for use on some of his light railways, No. 282 (latterly the engine had been renumbered 0349) and 0284 going to the Kent and East Sussex as Nos. 7Rother and 9 Juno.  Nos. 0283, 0300 and 0324 became Shropshire & Montgomery Nos. 6 Thisbe, 5 Pyramus and 3 Hesperus, whilst the unrebuilt engine, No.0394, which remained in its original condition to the end, went to the East Kent Railway, on which line it became known as No.3.  All of these engines disappeared during the 1930s except S & M Thisbe, which lasted until 1941.

 Driving wheels – 4’ 6”,  Cylinders – 16”x 20”, Pressure: As built – 130 lb., As rebuilt – 160 lb.,  Weight: As built – 25 tons 16 cwt, As rebuilt – 26 tons 12 cwt.

  The late Colonel Stephens showed a marked inclination towards the London & South Western Railway’s ‘Ilfracombe Goods’ 0-6-0s when he was seeking a further locomotive for his light railway empire.  At least three, Pyramus, Thisbe and Hesperus, went to the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire, and the Kent & East Sussex found a home for yet another, No.3 Juno, here ambling through the Rother meadows close to the castle towers of Bodiam on 14^th March, 1931.  H.C.Casserley.

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era 1856 – 0-4-0WTs – Great North of Scotland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era

1856 – 0-4-0WTs – Great North of Scotland Railway

Two engines built in 1856 by Beyer Peacock & Co. for working the Aberdeen Harbour branch, originally the southern end of the GNoSR, with a terminus on the quay at Waterloo.

They were Nos. 13 & 14 in the locomotive list and were destined to enjoy long lives.  They were re-boilered in 1887 and later used for shunting at Keith and Elgin.  In 1890 they were renumbered 13A and 14A, and lasted on the GNoSR until 1916 when they were sold to the Government for war service, No.14 going to Chilwell Ordnance Depot, Notts.  After the war this engine gravitated still further from its original haunts and finished up at Tarini Colliery in South Wales, where it lasted until 1943.

Driving wheels – 4’ 6”,  Cylinders – 15”x 24”

 No.14A in its later days, but the actual date and location of the photograph is not known.

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era 0-4-2STs of the Cannock Chase & Wolverhampton Railway

Steam Locomotives of a more Leisurely Era

 0-4-2STs of the Cannock Chase & Wolverhampton Railway

Five engines built by Beyer Peacock between 1856 and 1872 for shunting at the Cannock Chase Collieries, Staffordshire.  They had remarkably long lives during which they remained practically unchanged.A view of three of the engines – McClean in the foreground, with Chawner and Anglesey in the background.  Whether the hot water being drawn off McClean is for washing purposes or for brewing tea cannot now be stated with any certainty!

The first engine, McClean, was the 28^th locomotive built by the newly formed firm of Beyer Peacock & Co., who have since constructed several thousand engines for use in this country and all parts of the world.  Alfred Paget followed in 1861, Chawner in 1864, Brown in 1867 and Anglesey in 1872.  Finally, after a lapse of no less than 74 years, when another locomotive was required, the ninety-year-old design was considered so satisfactory that a completely new engine almost identical with the originals was constructed in the Company’s own workshops at Chasetown in 1946, some parts being supplied by Beyer Peacock & Co.McClean

Brown was scrapped in 1926, but the others lasted until 1947 and the early 1950s, and the original McClean, which it had been hoped would be preserved, was not actually cut up until 1956, just a hundred years after having first seen the light of day.  It did not actually attain its centenary as a working locomotive, as it had been out of use for a few years previously, but it was the engine in this country which, up to then, most nearly achieved this distinction.Self-built Foggo

The 1946 locomotive, which received the name Foggo was still at work in the area until 1959.

Driving Wheels – 4’ 0”,  Cylinders – 14” x 20”A once-common wooden coal wagon from Cannock Chase.

Model Rail Forum

Hi
I don’t think that kits are available but if you are ambitious enough, drawings of the original Beyer Peacock engine are available from Manchester Science Museum. These are of the engine in its original form – 0-4-0 before Mr. McClean added the trailing wheels.

The Chasewater Railway Museum has recently taken on loan a double-0 gauge model of ‘Chawner’ similar, of course, to the other four.  This model was built from photographs I believe.

Photos of the model are below.

The real thing:Dimensions:

0-4-2 Saddle Tank with inside cylinders

Driving Wheels                                                4 ft dia.

Trailing Wheels                                                3 ft dia.

Cylinders                                                           14” X 20”

Working Pressure                                         125 lbs per sq. in.

Total Heating Surface                                  645 sq. ft.

Water Capacity                                                640 galls.

Coal Capacity                                                   2½ tons

Weight in working order                               28 tons

Total length                                                       25 ft.  6 ins.

This engine is remarkably large for an ‘industrial’ engine of this period, 4ft. driving wheels, 125lbs boiler pressure, 28 ton weight and 0-4-2 wheel arrangement being better than many main line engines in 1856.