The Railway Magazine – July 2019

July 2019 •The Railway Magazine•73

A FOURTEEN-coach train hauled

by a pair of Collett‘Manor’4-6-0s

was the undoubted highlight of

theWest Somerset Railway’s 40th

Anniversary gala on June 8-9.

The event celebrated four

decades since the‘Wizzer’

returned steam to Bishops

Lydeard on June 9, 1979, and

was a strong illustration that the

worst of the railway’s problems

are behind it.

This was evidenced by the gala

revenue, which was up 14% on

the budget figure, and the fact

some 1,800 passengers were

carried over the two days.

Proceedings began on Friday

7 thwhen 70 people gathered

for the launch of a new book

commemorating the anniversary.

Tales of theWest Somerset

Railway is made up of

recollections penned by Ian

Tabrett, Allan Stansistreet and Ian

Coleby, chronicling the ups and

downs of the past 40 years.

A new Quantock Steamer

beer was launched by the

Quantock Brewery, specifically

to mark the anniversary. It was

sold exclusively via theWSR’s

buffet cars, theTurntable cafe

on Minehead station and the

Quantock Brewery Shop, with

sales being buoyant all weekend.

Motive power was provided

by both steam and diesel,

with on-hire loco Nos. 7802

Bradley Manorand 7752 both

in service alongside No. 7828

Odney Manor, Type 3 (Class

37) No. D6948 and‘Hymek’

No. D7017.

It was particularly appropriate

to have the‘Hymek’in service

40 years on, but it was the two

‘Manors’that stole the show.

The double-headed special

on the evening of June 8 could

technically be called a‘sell out’,

as 11 of the 14 coaches were full.

However, three of the vehicles

were‘Quantock Belle’dining

coaches, which were locked

out of use ready for use on the

dining train the next day.

Nevertheless, Nos. 7802 and

7828 put in a fine performance,

being heard across the

surrounding countryside as they

negotiated the WSR’s banks.

Minehead’s allocation of

‘Manors’increased to three

on June 18 with the return of

No. 7822Foxcote Manorfrom

Tyseley Locomotive Works.

The Llangollen Railway-based

loco has undergone a full

bottom-end overhaul and is

expected to stay at the WSR

until the end of the season.

Double-headed ‘Manors’ help WSR mark

40 years of steaming to Bishops Lydeard

BR‘Manor’4-6-0s Nos. 7828Odney Manorand 7802Bradley Manorhead the West Somerset Railway’s 40thanniversary 14-coach special

near Blue Anchor during the evening of June 8.EDWARD DYER

SwanageRailwaylaunches£350,000‘T3’restorationappeal

DORSET’S Swanage Railway has
launched a £350,000 appeal to
return London & South Western
Railway (LSWR)‘T3’4-4-0 No. 563
to full working order.
The 563 Locomotive Group,
under the umbrella of the
Swanage Railway Trust, hopes
to raise the money in a suitable
time window to allow the
1893-built former National
Railway Museum loco to steam
again in just two years.
The decision to return the
Adams 4-4-0 to steam came
after a detailed mechanical
inspection of the locomotive by
the Flour Mill workshops in the
Forest of Dean, where the loco
was stripped to its component
parts.
The survey found No. 563
is in a good mechanical
condition, and that restoring
it to operational condition is a
realistic and feasible proposition.
“This is one of the most
exciting locomotive restoration
projects of the last 25 years – a
unique project that will bring
a locomotive most people

thought would never steam

again back into life on the

railway that it was built for,”said

563 Locomotive Group chairman

Matt McManus.

“The Swanage Railway Trust

believes the best way for No. 563

to tell its important transport,

industrial and social story is to

return the unique locomotive to

steam so it can again haul trains

in the Isle of Purbeck for the first

time in some 80 years.”

The‘T3’class has a strong

association with the Isle

of Purbeck, which was an

influential factor in the NRM

gifting the loco to the Swanage

Railway Trust in 2017.

The type was regularly seen

hauling trains from London on

the west of England main line,

across Dorset and down to Corfe

Castle and Swanage.

No. 563 itself was withdrawn

by the Southern Railway in

August 1945, and in 1948

was selected for restoration

and display at the Waterloo

station centenary celebrations,

a move that led to the loco’s

preservation. Anyone interested

in making a donation to the

restoration appeal should send a

cheque, payable to the Swanage

Railway Trust, to the T3 Fund,

Swanage Railway Trust, Station

House Swanage Dorset BH19

1HB.

Alternatively, for more

details and information

visit the project website at:

http://www.563locomotivegroup.co.uk

LSWR‘T3’4-4-0 No. 563 is posed at Corfe Castle station on the

Swanage Railway in 2017.SWANAGE RAILWAY

A £130,000 appeal to buy

LMS‘3F’0-6-0T No. 47493

has been launched by the

Spa Valley Railway (SVR)

after the loco’s owner

Barry Buckfield agreed

to sell the‘Jinty’to the

railway.

No. 47493 is generally

regarded as the SVR’s

‘signature’locomotive,

being the first ex-main line

steam loco to be based on

the railway.

It arrived at Tunbridge

Wells West in 2000, and

operated between 2004

and 2014 when it was

withdrawn for overhaul.

Mr Buckfield, who

rescued No. 47493 from

Barry Scrapyard in 1972,

has given the SVR first

refusal to buy the loco,

and the railway’s new

appeal aims to raise

£130,000 towards the

purchase price.

This has been given a

significant boost with the

securing of a financial

commitment to match

fund any donation

pound-for-pound up to a

total of £50,000, if received

before June 30, 2020.

If funding is forthcoming

the‘Jinty’s’boiler will be

sent to the North Norfolk

Railway for overhaul in

November.

Donations can be

made either as individual

‘one-offs’payments

or through a monthly

covenant scheme. Full

details can be obtained

by emailing jinty47493@

spavalleyrailway.co.uk

Spa Valley

aiming to

buy ‘Jinty’

No. 47493

Plaque

honours

Midland’s

Kirtley

MATTHEW Kirtley, the

first locomotive, carriage

& wagon superintendent

of the Midland Railway,

has been honoured at his

birthplace nearTanfield,

County Durham.

Research by members of

the Midland Railway Society

established that Kirtley was

born in the small hamlet of

Clough Dene, nearTanfield,

where the plaque was

unveiled on May 24 (the

146th anniversary of his

death) by representatives

from Stanley Urban District

Council and theTanfield

RailwayTrust.

Kirtley was born in 1813,

and served the Midland

Railway from its inception in

1844 to his death in 1873.

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