Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1914 – 2-8-0 – Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1914 – 2-8-0 – Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway

No.81 as originally built with tender cab

This railway was jointly owned by the Midland and the London & South Western Railways, and the former was responsible for the provision of motive power. It was not surprising therefore that the locomotives were based largely on Derby practice, and the 2-8-0s introduced in 1914 by Sir Henry Fowler were pure Midland, although, strangely enough, that railway never built anything larger than an 0-6-0 for its own heavy freight traffic. Six engines, Nos. 80-5, came from Derby in 1914, and in 1925 a further five, Nos. 86-90, were built by Stephenson & Co. These latter had larger boilers, but as these were of non-standard Derby dimensions the engine in later years were rebuilt to conform with the original ones as the boilers required replacement.

The S & DJR locomotive stock was absorbed into the LMS in 1930, and the 2-8-0s at first took the numbers 9670-80, but they were soon afterwards altered to 13800-10. On passing into BR hands they became 53800-10.

The class remained intact until 1959, when the first one, No. 53800, was withdrawn. The engines were built for working freight traffic over the steeply graded main line of the S & DJR between Bath and Bournemouth, on which route they have spent their entire working life. To assist in coping with the heavy holiday traffic on Saturdays during the summer months they have frequently been called upon to work passenger trains. For a few months during 1918 No. 85 was lent to the parent Midland Railway which used it on coal trains between Wellingborough and Brent, with a view to constructing some for its own use, but nothing came of the idea. Owing to the absence of a large-enough turntable they worked for many years always facing south, and because of the large amount of tender-first running involved, Nos. 80-5 were fitted with cabs to the tenders, but these were later removed.

Nos. 80-5 – Driving wheels – 4’ 8½”, Cylinders (2) 21”x 28”, Boiler diameter – 4’ 9”, Pressure – 190 lb., Tractive effort – 35295 lb., Weight – 64 tons 15 cwt, BR classification – 7F

Nos.86-90 as built – Driving wheels – 4’ 8½”, Cylinders (2) 21”x 28”, Boiler diameter – 5’ 3”, Pressure – 190 lb., Tractive effort – 35295 lb., Weight – 68 tons 11 cwt, BR classification – 7F No.88 preserved on the West Somerset Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1898 Drummond 4-4-0 London & South Western Railway

 

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1898 Drummond 4-4-0

London & South Western Railway

No. 292 of the earlier class in 1934

Apart from the experimental 4-cylinder engine built in 1897, Drummond’s first express passenger engines for the LSWR consisted of a class of inside cylinder locomotives very similar to those ha had primarily introduced on both the North British and Caledonian Railways, whilst he had been the CME of those lines.  This class, known as C8, consisted of ten engines, No. 290-9, and the boilers were interchangeable with his M7 class 0-4-4Ts of 1896.  The new engines were moderately successful but suffered from too small a firebox which sometimes resulted in a shortage of steam.  This defect was remedied in the following year with a somewhat enlarged version of the same design, in which a longer wheelbase – ten feet between the coupled wheels – allowed the firebox to be lengthened from 6’ 4” to 7’ 4”   This made all the difference, and the new engines were an unqualified success from the start.  66 of the new class were built, Nos. 113-22 and 280-9 in 1899 and 1900, these being turned out from the Company’s works at Nine Elms, whilst Dubs and Co. of Glasgow built Nos. 702-19 and 721-32.  A further batch from Nine Elms appeared in 1900-1, Nos. 300-5-7, 310-14 and 336-8, whilst finally Dubs & Co. built one more in 1901 for displaying at the Glasgow Exhibition of that year, after which the engine was taken over by the LSWR and numbered 773.No. 773 in 1924 as first rebuilt

There were a few differences between these various batches.  The 702 series and the 300s were fitted with Drummond’s firebox water tubes, distinguished by a rectangular casing at the side of the smokebox.  The 300s were provided with wide splashers which could accommodate the coupling rods, and the separate coupling rod splashers of the earlier years consequently disappeared.  They also had the leading sandboxes below the running plate, these doing away with the angular sandbox attached to the face of the leading splasher.  All the engines of both T9 and C8 classes were eventually modified in this way.  Most of the class had the large 8-wheeled tenders as illustrated, but a few have had smaller 6-wheelers at various times (Class C8 was originally built thus).

The major rebuilding of the T9 class commenced in 1922 when No. 314 was provided with a superheater, extended smokebox and a modified design of chimney, and eventually the whole of the class was so treated.  Even before rebuilding they were fine engines indeed, fast and free running, and deservedly earned the nickname of ‘Greyhounds’.  For many years they bore the brunt of main line working over the LSWR heavily graded Salisbury – Exeter line, until the appearance of the ‘King Arthurs’ in 1925.  Although other much larger engines followed them, both 4-4-0s and 4-6-0s, none was found so satisfactory as the evergreen T9s, which were undoubtedly the best of all Drummond’s express engines.  The fact that a number of them still survived sixty years later, whereas all the later designs had gone to the scrap heap, is ample testimony to this fact.  Between 1924 and 1939 a number of them worked on the South Eastern section, where they did fine work on the Kent Coast line.  Between 1935 and 1946 No. 119 was kept in immaculate condition and frequently used for working Royal trains.

The smaller C8 engines were never rebuilt, and were broken up between 1933 and 1938, but all the T9s survived to be incorporated into BR stock in 1948, although in a few cases they never received their new 30000 numbers.  The odd engine, No. 773, had, by the way, been altered to 733 in 1924.

Withdrawal commenced in 1951, but at the close of 1959 there were still about a dozen in service, mostly on semi-main line duties in the West Country, the oldest express passenger engines in the country still in service.

Class C8 – Driving Wheels – 6’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 7”,  Cylinders – 18½”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  LSWR & SR power classification – I

Class T9 (Rebuilt) – Driving Wheels – 6’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 7”,  Cylinders – 19”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Tractive effort – 17675 lb.,  Weight – 51 tons 16 cwt.,  LSWR & SR power classification – H,  BR power classification – 3P

 

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1896 Drummond 0-4-4T London & South Western Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1896 Drummond 0-4-4T

London & South Western Railway

One of the earlier M7 batch in SR days.

Dugald Drummond’s first design for the LSWR after his appointment as CME to that line in 1895.  It closely followed the lines of fifty somewhat similar engines built by his predecessor, W.Adams, but differed in detail, the most noticeable being the chimneys, with an ornamented flared type in place of Adams’ austere ‘stovepipe’ design, and the Ross ‘pop’ safety valves mounted on the dome replacing the previous Ramsbottom type on the firebox.  Certain of the dimensions were also increased.

Although primarily intended for suburban service, some of them were at first put to work on main line trains between Exeter and Plymouth.  Following a derailment at speed near Tavistock they were taken off these duties.

In all, 105 of the class were built, the first 55 between 1897 and 1900.  The later fifty, which all came out between 1903 and 1911, were slightly different in detail with a few minor improvements, the chief being the provision of steam reversing gear.  The numbers of the whole class were 21-60, 104-12, 123-33, 241-56, 318-24, 328, 356-7, 347-9, 479-81, and 667-76.  Until the electrification of the LSWR suburban lines the majority were to be found in the London area, although there were always a few scattered over other parts of the system.  As the electrified area was extended they gradually drifted to the country districts, and many of them were fitted with pull-and-push gear for motor train work on branches.  The only major alteration ever made was to one solitary engine, No.126, which was rebuilt in 1921 with a superheater, extended smokebox, and somewhat higher-pitched boiler.  As such it was a rather ungainly machine, and was never greatly liked.  It was cut up in 1937.  The second casualty to the class was No.672, which in May, 1948 accidentally fell down the lift shaft to the City tube at Waterloo.  The task of recovering it whole was not considered worthwhile, and it was cut up on the spot.  Apart from these two engines, the whole class survived to be absorbed into BR stock and to be renumbered 30021, etc., and no further withdrawals took place until 1957.

These engines are somewhat unique in that (with the exception of No.126), in spite of the design being over sixty years old, they have hardly changed in appearance, apart from one or two minor details such as additions to the number of bunker coal rails, and of course, inevitable changes of style of painting under their three successive ownerships.  Even the pattern of chimney has remained unaltered; this in itself is distinctly unusual as this particular feature of a locomotive is one about which locomotive superintendents generally have their own distinctive ideas, which they more often than not apply to their predecessor’s engines.

Driving wheels – 5’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 7”,  Cylinders – 18½”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Tractive effort – 19755 lb.,  Weight – 60 tons 4 cwt.,  LSWR classification – M7 (first 55 engines),  X14 (the final 50 engines),  Power classification – LSWR & SR – K,  Power Classification BR – 2P

LSWR Drummond M7 0-4-4T locomotive no. 30053 in BR unlined black livery, on display at the Woking 150 Open Day, 29 May 1988. The locomotive had returned from a museum in the USA (Steamtown in Pennsylvania) the year before, and is still a star attraction of the Swanage Railway. Author michaelday_bath / photo on flickr View portfolio on foter.  License  Attribution-NonCommercial License

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1890 – Later Adams 4-4-0 London and South Western Railway

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1890 – Later Adams 4-4-0London and South Western Railway

No.684, one of the 7’ 1” engines, still carrying its original chimney in 1926.

These engines constituted William Adams’ final design of express locomotives for the LSWR.  In all, sixty of them appeared between 1890 and 1896, which although of the same general pattern were divided into four classes.  These may be divided into two groups, the chief difference being in the size of the driving wheels, half the engines having 7’ 1” wheels and the remainder 6’ 7”.  This followed an older tradition on the LSWR, under which it had been customary to build engines with somewhat smaller diameter driving wheels for the hilly route between Salisbury and Exeter than those used on the more easily graded lines east of Salisbury.

The 7’ 1” engines were Class X2, Nos. 577-96, built between 1890 and 1892, and Class T6, Nos. 677-86, built in 1895 and 1896

The 6’ 7” series were Class T3, Nos.557-76, built in 1892-3, and Class X6, Nos.657-66, in 1895-6.

It will be noted that the final engines, of Classes T6 and X6, appeared after Adams’ enforced resignation through ill-health in 1895.  At the time of their appearance the X2 engines were considered to be the most powerful express type then running.

The class performed much good service on main line work; although Drummond’s express engines which followed them displaced them to some extent from top link work it was a good many years before they did so entirely.  All of them lasted well into Southern days, and it was not until 1931 that they began to be taken out of service.  The last, No.563, remained in traffic until 1945.  Fortunately it was not broken up, and after lying derelict at Eastleigh for three years it was restored to its original condition and is now preserved.

563 Preserved at Shildon – flickr

A few of the class at one time or another were fitted with Drummond-type boilers with the small dome and pop safety valves, which considerably spoiled their appearance.  The plain stove-pipe chimneys were also gradually replaced with Drummond’s pattern, but this process was slow, and No.679 carried its original chimney until May, 1929.

With their large driving wheels, the 7’ 1” series in particular were stately looking engines, and earned the nickname of ‘Highflyers’.

X2 – Driving wheels – 7’ 1”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 10”,  Cylinders – 19”x 20”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  LSWR and SR Classification – 1

T6 – Driving wheels – 7’ 1”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 10”,  Cylinders – 19”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  LSWR and SR Classification – 1

T3 – Driving wheels – 6’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 7”,  Cylinders – 19”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  LSWR and SR Classification – 1

X6 – Driving wheels – 6’ 7”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 7”,  Cylinders – 19”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  LSWR and SR Classification – 1

  4-4-0  LSWR X2 Class No 577

Commons is a freely licensed media file repository.

  This photo was taken from an old original photo we came across while helping to clear the house of a deceased friend. I have uploaded it to Flickr in the hope that it might be interesting to steam enthusiasts.

Date 30 April 2011, 11:08   Uploaded by oxyman Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era 1887 – London & South Western Railway Adams 0-4-2

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era

1887 – London & South Western Railway

Adams 0-4-2

No. 644 at Strawberry Hill in 1921.  The brass beading to the splashers was latterly removed from most of the engines

First appearing in the fiftieth year of Queen Victoria’s reign, the engines of this class were always known as ‘Jubilees’.

The 0-4-2 tender was new to the LSWR at this period although it had been found previously on the neighbouring LBSCR and a few other lines, notably the Great Northern and the Glasgow and South Western.  The new engines were intended, and were in fact used, for all manner of duties, except top-link expresses, for which they were hardly suited.  It is recorded, however, that one of them did on one occasion in an emergency work the famous 11 o’clock West of England from Waterloo (later known as the Atlantic Coast Express).

In all, ninety of the class were built: Nos. 527-57, which came out from Nine Elms in 1887-9, followed by another forty from Neilson & Co. in 1892-3, Nos. 607-46, and a further twenty at Nine Elms in 1893-5, Nos. 597-606 and 647-56.  The later engines differed slightly from the original thirty in having the steam chest between, instead of below, the cylinders, and lever reverse together with a few minor improvements.  They were very efficient engines and put in a lot of hard work until they gradually began to be scrapped from 1928 onwards.  Nos. 618, 627,629 and 636 survived until 1948 to be absorbed into BR stock, but were withdrawn in that year, none of them being renumbered in the 30000 series.No. 617 in Southern Region livery – Mike Morant Collection

They all gradually lost their Adams stove-pipe chimneys in favour of the Drummond pattern, and a few of them latterly carried Drummond type boilers.  Most of the first batch were originally given old second-hand tenders of Beattie origin, later replaced by newer ones from scrapped engines of other classes.  A few were latterly dual fitted with both Westinghouse and vacuum brakes.  Otherwise the class remained unaltered throughout its existence.  No. 555 had the distinction of hauling Queen Victoria’s funeral train from Gosport to Fareham on 2^nd February, 1901, where the train was handed over to the LBSCR.

 Driving wheels – 6’ 0”,  Trailing wheels – 4’ 0”,  Cylinders – 18”x 26”,  Pressure – 160 lb.,  Weight – 43 tons 8 cwt.,  LSWR classification – A12 (527-56), 04 (597-656),  SR classification – A12 (the whole class),  LSWR and SR power classification – J.No. 643 at Raynes Park – Mike Morant Collection

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1881 Adams 0-6-0 London & South Western Railway

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1881  Adams 0-6-0 

London & South Western RailwayIllustration:  No.0101 (later 3101 and finally BR 30566) in 1930.

William Adams’ standard freight engine for the LSWR.  Seventy were built between 1881 and 1886, numbered 395-406, 433-44, 496-515, and some scattered earlier numbers.

Fifty of them were requisitioned by the ROD in 1917, and sent to the Middle East, but some never arrived there, having been sunk in transit.  After the war the others remained in the service of the Palestine and Egyptian State Railways, and several survived until the 1940s.

All of the twenty that remained on the LSWR came into the SR at the grouping in 1923.  They had been placed on the duplicate list as 0397, etc., for many years, and the SR eventually gave them numbers in the 3000s, as 3397, and so on.  The only changes undergone by the class were in the boilers, a number of them having at some time carried the Drummond pattern with pop safety valve on the dome, whilst some others acquired after the grouping some boilers from scrapped 4-4-0s which were originally London Chatham & Dover engines.  These boilers were interchanged from time to time amongst different engines.

Eighteen of the class survived Nationalisation and became BR Nos. 30564-81, and the last was not taken out of service until 1959.

  Driving wheels – 5’ 1”,  Cylinders – 17½”x 26”,  Pressure140 lb.,  Tractive effort – 15535 lb., Weight – 37 tons 12 cwt.

These dimensions varied in later years with individual engines.  Some had 150 lb. pressure with 16645 lb. tractive effort, whilst those built after 1885 had a longer front overhang and weighed 38 tons 14 cwt.Old Adams 0-6-0 at Feltham Locomotive Depot

No. 3167 was an ex-LSW Adams ‘0395’ class 0-6-0, built in 5/1883 but lasting until 12/56 – latterly on light duties. Of a large class, it was one of the few not sent abroad during World War I.   © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

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.

Some Early Lines – The Ilfracombe Branch

The Ilfracombe Branch

An almost aerial view of Ilfracombe station in May 1963.  The train leaving is the up Atlantic Express.  G.F.Heiron

The Ilfracombe Branch of the London & South Western Railway (LSWR), ran between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in North Devon. The branch opened as a single-track line in 1874, but was sufficiently popular that it needed to be upgraded to double-track in 1889.

The 1-in-36 gradient between Ilfracombe and Mortehoe stations was one of the steepest sections of double track railway line in the country, and was most certainly the fiercest climb from any terminus station in the UK. In the days of steam traction, it was often necessary to double-head departing passenger trains.

‘Named’ trains like the Atlantic Coast Express and the Devon Belle both started and terminated at Ilfracombe.

Despite nearly a century of bringing much-needed revenue into this remote corner of the county, passenger numbers dropped dramatically in the years following the Second World War due to a massive increase in the number of cars on Britain’s roads, and the line finally closed in 1970.

Much of the course of the line is still visible today, and sections of it have been converted into public cycleway.Barnstaple Junction Station  View SE, towards Exeter; ex-London & South Western Exeter – Barnstaple Junction – Ilfracombe, Bideford and Torrington lines. The Ilfracombe line is bearing left, while the line to Bideford and Torrington runs directly underneath. On 5/10/70 when the Ilfracombe line was closed, this formerly important junction became the terminus of the line from Exeter, the Torrington line having been closed on 4/10/65.  

Date 17 April 1964  Source geograph.org.uk  Author  Ben Brooksbank Permission (Reusing this file) Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.

 History

On 20 July 1874 a railway link was opened between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. The line was originally laid as a single-track light railway, which restricted the type of trains that could use it.

Popularity led to expansion, and much of the line was converted to double track between 1889 and 1891. This was a major exercise, requiring the rebuilding of most stations, and cutting a second bore for the Slade tunnel.West Country Pacific No. 30402 ‘Salisbury’ about to enter Ilfracombe tunnel with the 6.24 pm from Barnstaple in May, 1963.  G.F.Heiron

The line was mentioned as a candidate for closure in the Reshaping of British Railways report (The Beeching Axe) review, in 1963, but it was not closed by British Railways until 1970. Indeed, steam-hauled passenger services and freight operations ceased on 7 September 1964 (with one special running on 3 October 1965), and the rationalisation of the line began. DMU services began, the Waterloo through services were stopped, and the line was down-graded to single track on 25 November 1967.

It was in May 1967, that the Network for Development Plans were issued by Barbara Castle, the then Labour Minister of Transport following a study. Where lines were at the remunerative end of the scale, such as the main trunk routes and some secondary lines, these would be developed. But those that failed to meet the financial criterion, but served a social need were to be retained and subsidised under the 1968 Transport Act. The problem would be for lines that were not in the abovementioned categories could be candidates for closure as they did not form part of the basic railway network. The Ilfracombe line was one of those that fell into this category. It was a line that may well have carried considerable traffic, and perhaps made a small profit, but it did not meet the Government’s social, economic and commercial criteria for retention.

The line was closed on 5 October 1970 the last train being on 3 October. The final train, an 8-car Class 118 DMU, was packed to bursting point.

There was an abortive attempt at saving the line, in the early 1970s, but the preservation movement was in its infancy and the project was to founder as it could not raise the required sum to purchase the line outright. This was because BR had valued the line at £410,000 in 1974, and certainly BR was criticised for charging market values for a potential heritage railway that wanted to preserve it. It must be appreciated that the BR board was under instruction from the Ministry to fix the highest price possible in an attempt to recoup funds to offset the deficit that the line produced.

The last train was formed of a single inspection saloon hauled by a Class 25, 25 063, on Wednesday 26 February 1975. This carried engineers inspecting the condition of the track for possible reinstatement of services. However this was not to be and track lifting commenced in June 1975. The distinctive curved steel girder bridge over the River Taw in Barnstaple was demolished in 1977, adding a significant cost to any future reopening scheme.In May 1961, Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 No. 30476 ’41 Squadron’ nears Woolacombe and Morthoe with the Atlantic Coast Express.  G.F.Heiron

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era – Beattie 2-4-0WT

Steam Locomotives of a Leisurely Era

London & South Western Railway – 1863

 Beattie 2-4-0WT

 No. 0329 after its 1921 rebuilding.  H.C.Casserley

In 1863 Joseph Beattie introduced some 2-4-0WT engines for suburban working which remained a standard type for the rest of his tenure in office, and also for that of his son, W.G.Beattie, who followed him from the years 1871-8.  In all, 88 of the class were constructed, 85 from Beyer Peacock & Co., and the other three built in the Company’s own works at Nine Elms.  They worked most of the London area suburban services until displaced in the 1880s by Adams’ larger 4-4-2Ts, after which many of them were converted to 2-4-0 tender engines.  With three exceptions the whole class was withdrawn between 1888 and 1899, and it could be hardly have been imagined at the time that these three were destined to outlast all their sisters by at least another sixty years, with a life of more than three times that of any of the rest of the class.  Such, however, has proved to be the case.Two of the then three remaining Beattie 2-4-0 Well-tank engines, used on the Wenford Bridge line until 1962, on an RCTS railtour shunting at Hampton Court station in December 1962.  The engines were 30585 and 30587 G.D.King.

The reason for this retention was that they were found to be the only suitable engines for working the Wenford Bridge mineral line in north Cornwall, which has numerous curves and is of light construction.  These conditions still apply, in consequence of which the engines have been several times rebuilt and renewed and, but for the eventual probability of being replaced by diesels, would seemingly have been destined to carry on indefinitely.  Previous to 1921 they had carried boilers and chimneys of Adams pattern, but in that year they received new Drummond type boilers with ‘pop’ safety valves on the dome, although retaining the stove-pipe chimneys for the time being.  Later these were discarded for Drummond chimneys, and amongst other minor alterations steel buffer beams have replaced the original wooden ones.  Otherwise the design has undergone little change.30586 – In spite of their age the 0298 class do a good day’s work.  One is used for the Wenford Bridge mineral line, another for station pilot duties at Wadebridge, whilst the third is kept as a spare engine.  Here is No. 30586, dropping off a fitted van just taken from the rear of a down Oakhampton to Padstow train.  Derek Cross.

The original numbers of the engines were 298, 314, and 329, later transferred to the duplicate list as 0298, etc., whilst in Southern days they became 3298, 3324, and 3329.  On absorption into British Railways stock they were renumbered respectively 30587, 30585 and 30586.  All were from the last two batches built by Beyer Peacock & Co. in 1874-5.

Driving wheels – 5’ 7”,  Cylinders – 16½”x20”, Pressure – 160lbs.,  Tractive effort – 11050lbs.,  Weight 37tons 16cwt., LSWR and SR power classification K,  Br power classification OP

30587 approaching Chasewater Heaths from Chasetown Church Street

 Chasewater Railway was proud to feature Beattie 30587 during the Spring Gala of 2004.  Having a prestigious locomotive working on our lines attracted interest from members, guests and the visiting public.  The occasion provided excellent photo-shoot opportunities and we are indebted to Michael Denholm for allowing us to use some of his photographs.