The last in a long
line of large tank locomotives to have been built at Brighton
Works, the Standard 4 tanks were closely associated with the last
years of the Bluebell Line under British Railways.
The only one of the two Standard 4 Tanks on the Bluebell to
belong to the railway, ironically this particular locomotive was
not a Southern based engine in its BR days. It was allocated new
to Plaistow shed (33A) from 31 January 1955, being transferred to
Tilbury (33B) when Plaistow closed on 2 November 1959. Following
the electrification of the LT&SR lines, 80100 was briefly shedded
at Stratford (30A) from 23 June 1962 before being shedded at
Shrewsbury (89A) from 21 July 1962 until its withdrawal for
scrapping on 24 July 1965. As with the others it survived at
Barry scrapyard long enough to be saved for preservation,
arriving at the Bluebell in 1978.
80100 was initially considered a long-term restoration
objective once the conversion of
78059 into 84030 had been completed. Many of the required parts,
missing from the engine after its time at Barry, have been
obtained. However, the arrival on the line of 80064 in working order, and later 80151 (a Southern-based loco), removed any priority it might have otherwise have had, and it has since remained the Bluebell-owned strategic reserve, since a Bluebell without a 4MT tank is unthinkable.
The photos from Geoff Pethick show the locomotive shortly
after arrival at the Bluebell in October 1978 (left), and a
little later (below).
Class: Standard Class 4MT Tank
Wheels: 2-6-4T
Class Introduced: 1951
Designer: R.A. Riddles
Built: 1955 at Brighton Works
Purpose: Mixed traffic
Total number built: 155
Number: 80100
Arrived on Bluebell Railway: 5 October 1978
Owner: Bluebell Railway
Current status: Stored under a tarpaulin in ex-Barry
Scrapyard condition.
Length: 44ft 10in overall
Weight: 86 tons 13 cwt
Water capacity: 2,000 gallons
Coal capacity: 3.5 tons
Boiler pressure: 225 lb/sq.in.
Driving wheels: 5ft 8in diameter
Pony & trailing wheels: 3ft diameter
Cylinders: (2, outside) 18" x 28"
Tractive effort: 25,100 lbs
BR power classification: 4MT
