The Railway Magazine – July 2019

72 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019

‘P2’motion appeal

passes £170k mark

THE A1 Steam Locomotive

Trust has announced the

Motion Club has raised

£170,000 of its required

£210,000 to fund the

manufacture of the motion for

new Gresley‘P2’No. 2007Prince

of Wales.

The Motion Club was

launched in April 2018 and

aims to recruit 175 supporters,

each donating £1,000 (plus

Gift Aid).

Isle ofWight general

manager steps down

ISLE ofWight Steam Railway’s

general manager PeterVail is

stepping down.

MrVail’s 14-year tenure has

seen considerable investment

in the railway, including the

opening of the £1.2million

Train Story visitor centre, the

return of two Ivatt‘2MT’2-6-2Ts

to steam, and the return to the

island of a Stroudley‘E4’0-6-0T.

New firebox needed

for Didcot’sTrojan...

DIDCOT Railway Centre’s

ex-Alexandra Docks & Railway

Co 0-4-0ST No. 1340Trojanwill

require a new inner firebox

before it can be returned to

steam.

The Avonside-built loco

is currently at Locomotive

Maintenance Services in

Loughborough, where it was to

be overhauled.

However, during the fitting

of a new firebox tubeplate it

was found the copper firebox

cannot be welded.

...and new cylinders

for‘47XX’re-creation

TYSELEY LocoWorks

consulting engineer Bob

Meanley is leading the design

of new cylinder blocks for the

GreatWestern Society’s (GWS)

new-build Churchward‘47XX’

2-8-0 No. 4709.

The previous plan to utilise

the cylinders from‘28XX’

No. 2861 has been abandoned

owing to the high cost of

repairing and modifying them

for use with the larger‘Swindon

No. 7’boiler.

The GWS hopes to wheel

the loco’s chassis at Llangollen

later this year.

Charitable status for

Erlestoke Manor Fund

THE Erlestoke Manor Fund has

followedVintageTrains and

the South Devon Railway to

become a Community Benefit

Society.

The SevernValley Railway-

based group is now afforded

charitable status, giving greater

protection to the locomotives.

It owns and operates

Nos. 7802Bradley Manorand

7812 Erlestoke Manor.

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Steam & Heritage Track Record

‘King’ and ‘A4’ to head 15-engine

NorthYorksautumnsteamfest

DIDCOT’S GWR‘King’No. 6023

King Edward IIwill break new

ground for the class this autumn

when it takes a starring role in the

NorthYorkshire Moors Railway’s

(NYMR) September 27-29 Autumn

Steam Gala alongside‘A4’Union of

South Africa.

The visit will mark the BR blue

Collett 4-6-0’s first foray north of

the Midlands since the completion

of its restoration, and represents

the first operation of a‘King’over

NYMR metals.

Its performance over the former

North Eastern Railway line, and in

particular on the gradient out of

Grosmont, will undoubtedly be a

cause of much interest.

No. 6023 will not be the only

Western Region interloper at

the gala, as it will be joined

by the Great Central Railway’s

Hawksworth‘Modified Hall’

No. 6990Witherslack Hall.Likethe

‘King’, No. 6990 was once an Old

Oak Common loco and the two

would have shared shed space

back in the day.

The NYMR event will therefore

be the first time the two 4-6-0s

have been in steam together since

their 81A days; No. 6990 was under

overhaul when No. 6023 visited

the GCR in 2012.

For those of a non-Swindon

persuasion the presence of

No. 60009Union of South Africa

will add an element of Eastern

glamour. John Cameron’s‘A4’is no

stranger to the NYMR, and was

originally expected to visit the line

for the season-opening operation

in early April. Unfortunately,

over-running repairs resulted in

the Pacific being replaced on the

roster by No. 34092City of Wells,

setting the‘A4’up for a delayed

visit in the autumn.

Returnees

The‘big name’guest locos

will not have the spotlight to

themselves, however, and many

eyes will be on single-chimney BR

‘9F’No. 92134, which will make its

gala debut at the event.

The 2-10-0 is currently in

the final stages of a lengthy

restoration at Grosmont, and

is expected to make its first

preservation moves over NYMR

BR‘9F’No. 92134 receives attention to its smokebox on June 18.The single-chimney 2-10-0 is set to make

its post-restoration gala debut at the NorthYorkshire Moors Railway this September.PAUL MIDDLETON

New cylinders for ‘flagship’Hagley Hallreach Bridgnorth

THE highly anticipated return

of Severn Valley Railway (SVR)

flagship No. 4930Hagley

Hallhas moved a step closer

following the delivery of the

‘Hall’s newly machined cylinder

blocks to Bridgnorth on June 14.

The new cylinders were one of

the last machining jobs carried

out by Harco Engineering in

Brierley Hill, which worked on

a number of railway projects in

recent years, but which went

into administration in May.

Delivery of the cylinders will

now enable the workshop team

to focus on the reassembly

of the bottom end. This is

expected to be close to

complete in time for when

the‘Hall’s’boiler returns from

overhaul at Northern Steam

Engineering’s site in Stockton.

No time has been wasted, and

on June 18 the cylinder blocks

were trial fitted in the frames.

While still some way from the

final fitment, the trial fitting

demonstrated the cylinders

lined up with bolt holes in the

frames with ease.

Work has carried on with the

4-6-0’s tender, with attention

centred on the pipework

underneath. The loco has also

received new cylinder cladding,

the old material having been

used as templates during the

fabrication of the new cladding.

Other sections of cladding

have been refurbished and

undercoated prior to refitting.

A return to traffic during 2020

remains the target for the SVR,

with work currently on target to

achieve this aim.

The new cylinders for No. 4930Hagley Hallare trial fitted within

the frames at Bridgnorth on June 18.ANDY SWEET

metals later this summer.

Also returning to NYMR service

this summer, and thus appearing

at the gala, will be ex-Lambton,

Hetton & Joicey Colliery 0-6-2T

No. 29 and Southern Railway‘S15’

4-6-0 No. 825, which are both the

focus of attention at Grosmont,

with their respective comebacks

imminent. Furthermore, the North

Eastern Locomotive Preservation

Group’s Peppercorn‘K1’Mogul

No. 62005 will arrive back at the

railway in September after a

season operating the‘Jabobite’in

FortWilliam.

The remainder of the gala

locos will be drawn from the

current operating fleet, including

‘B1’No. 1264 (which will reunite

with No. 6023 after their

respective appearances at the

GloucestershireWarwickshire

Railway in May), BR‘4MTs’

Nos. 76079 and 80136,‘Schools’

No. 926Repton, NER‘Q6’0-8-0

No. 63395 and‘J27’0-6-0

No. 65894, and LMS‘Black Five’

No. 5428Eric Treacy.

It is also expected Paul

Middleton’s newly overhauled

Cockerill 0-4-0VBTLuciewill make

an appearance.

“The NYMR has gone through a

lot to get our operating fleet to a

position that enables us to supply

a consistent steam-hauled service,”

general manager Chris Price told

The RM.

“We are rightly proud of the

efforts put in by our volunteers

and staff who have worked

tirelessly to get us to this point.

“This year’s gala is a celebration

of that hard work, and we are

delighted to welcome Nos. 6023,

60009 and 6990 to help us in

doing just that.

“I would also like to thank the

locomotive owners, societies and

railways for the loan of these prize

assets for what would seem to be

our biggest gala to date.”

Tickets for adults and

concessions are priced at £27,

children £13.50 and families

(2+2) £56. Multi-day tickets are

also available. For full details and

advance booking visit: http://www.nymr.

co.uk/Event/annual-steam-gala

No. 6023KingEdwardIIwill become the first‘King’to operate over the NorthYorkshire Moors Railway when it

visits for the gala. It is seen at the GloucestershireWarwickshire Railway on June 1.MARTYNTATTAM