News of some of these overhauls is
available via the Loco Works News pages
SECR Wainwright P-tank, No.27
Class: P
Wheels: 0-6-0T
Built: 1910
Numbers carried: 27, ROD 5027, A27, 1027, 31027
Last operational: November 1974
Current status: overhaul in progress - Latest News
Owner: Bluebell Railway
Web Page
The P-class tank locomotives were, in design terms, an updated copy of the LBSCR Terriers. Coming to the Bluebell in 1961, for two years it carried the name "Primrose". In 1963 it was repainted into full SECR passenger livery, and, with No.323, was a mainstay of the Bluebell's operational fleet for much of that decade.
No.27 was dismantled in 1978 for a "quick" overhaul, but, as was so often the case at the time, this was found to be beyond the skills of the basic workshop capability we had back then, so the restoration stalled.
The restoration of 27 to working condition re-started in 2011 following a delay of over 30 years. The work on the locomotive is being undertaken by the Villas Gang and other volunteers, supported by the fund raising efforts of the 'Fenchurch Fund'. Major work is required on the boiler and frames of the locomotive, as well as some significant mechanical renewal and replacement of plate work, including the tanks.
SR Maunsell Q-class No.541
Class: Q
Wheels: 0-6-0
Built: 1939
Numbers carried: 541, 30541
Last major overhaul: 1983
Last operational: 1993
Current status: overhaul in progress - Latest News
Owner: The Maunsell Locomotive Society
Built as a basic goods engine to replace life-expired pre-grouping locomotives, this was Maunsell's final design as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway. It could be described as a competent though not outstanding engine. Bulleid, Maunsell's successor, improved the draughting arrangements with a multiple blast-pipe arrangement and new chimney, and it was in this condition that 541 was withdrawn from service in 1964. Sent to Barry scrapyard, like many other locos there it escaped the cutter's torch and was bought by preservationists.
In 1973 it was moved to Ashchurch in Gloucestershire and moved on in 1978 to the Bluebell, where its owning group merged with those of U-class No.1618 and S15 No.847 to form the Maunsell Locomotive Society. The blast pipe and chimney arrangement have been further modified using BR Class 4 components, in the same way as BR had done to some of the class. This has the advantage of returning the locomotive visually to very close to its original form. Major restoration work saw it return to steam in 1983, operating for the following decade.
This loco is the subject of a rapid
overhaul, and the Loco Works Working Group, who started by overhauling the tender, are now also assisting with work on the loco itself. It is intended to do just the minimum work required to enable the loco to run for about 5 years.
BR Standard, No.73082 "Camelot"
Owner: 73082 Camelot Locomotive Society
Photo by courtesy of Hiroshi
Naito
"Camelot" was one of the Southern Region's allocation of Standard 5s, and when the King Arthur class, which they replaced, were being withdrawn, a staff suggestion led to the names being transferred to the new engines. Modern engines with roller bearings, highly capable and easy to maintain, they were withdrawn long before they were worn out thanks to BR's rush to get rid of steam in the 1960s.
A survivor of Barry Scrapyard, "Camelot" is the only remaining one of these named Standard 5s. It was returned to working order thanks to the dedication of the Camelot Society, which carried out fund-raising and engineering work. The latter included the construction of a brand-new tender body, fitted to frames recovered from a South Wales Ironworks, since, like so many Barry locos, it had lost its tender. It was a core member of the Bluebell's loco fleet for the decade after it returned to traffic in 1995.
The Camelot Locomotive Society prepared the loco for a boiler lift, and the overhaul is now well under way.
SR Maunsell S15-class No.847This class of locomotives, of which this was the final locomotive to be built, were essentially a goods version of the King Arthur class of express passenger locos (N15). The S15s thus became known as Goods Arthurs. Coming to the Bluebell from Barry scrapyard in 1978, its restoration was not started until the Maunsell Society had completed the restoration of their Q-class locomotive in 1983.
The boiler received its hydraulic test in 1988, and although it did not enter service at that time, regulations retrospectively applied mean that the boiler certificate, valid for ten years, started ticking from that test. Hence after a relatively short spell in traffic it was withdrawn for overhaul. The Maunsell Locomotive Society then carried out as much preparatory work for the boiler lift as is possible, whilst maintaining the loco in a presentable condition for display.
The overhaul commenced in earnest in October 2006, with some of funds to finance the overhaul (in the Bluebell's own workshop) already available.
LBSCR Class H2
Project web pages
Current status: construction in progress - latest news
This is our project to reconstruct a Brighton H2 Atlantic based on SR/BR period "Beachy Head". It is based around a suitable boiler which was obtained some years ago, and the project is now moving ahead rapidly, with a building constructed to accommodate the components, the frames cut, wheels cast, cylinders fabricated, and the tender chassis nearly complete. Various other original H2 components have been given to the project, including the locomotive's original regulator handle, and a class identification plate.
The photo shows Brighton Atlantic No.32424 "Beachy Head" at Horsted Keynes with the Locomotive Club of Great Britain "Southern Counties Limited", 24th February 1957.
BR Standard Class 2The photo by Tony Sullivan shows the loco's frames welded to the new rear section in the Bluebell's workshops in December 2011, and thus 84030 can now be said to exist.
The 2MT locomotives were built for light branch-line work. The tender engines, as this loco was originally, were almost unknown even as visitors to the South, whereas the 2MT tanks were used extensively on the Southern Region. Thus, when this loco was rescued from Barry scrapyard without a suitable tender being available, the decision was taken to restore the locomotive in the tank-engine form, of which there are no surviving examples. The last 2MT tank having been numbered 84029, this locomotive takes the next number in the sequence.
The loco will be very useful on the Bluebell, since it will be capable of hauling all but our very heaviest trains. The project is making good progress, and news reports are available here.
Last update 5 November 2012 by Richard Salmon.