The Railway Magazine – July 2019

July 2019 •The Railway Magazine•93

THE SevernValley Railway has

repainted Class 09 No. 09107

(built Horwich 1961) in BR blue, as

seen at Kidderminster on April 16.

It is posed with an early Class 08

• No. D3022 (built Derby 1953) in
  BR green.
  The‘09’is not an original, having
  been converted from Class 08
  No. 08845 by RFS Industries in

1993.The main difference is not

visible when static, as it is in the

gearing.

The Class 08 has a maximum

speed of 15mph, while the‘09’

can reach 27mph, making it

better for working passenger

trains, but some power is

sacrificed for speed.

PICTURE: STEVEWIDDOWSON

THE opening of the first part
of the Leiston Works Railway
(LWR), Suffolk, fell to a 48DS
Ruston & Hornsby four-wheel
diesel.
The occasion on June 1-2 also
marked the 160th anniversary
of the main line railway arriving
at Leiston.
It had been hoped the
honour would go to a steam
loco (RMJune, p76), but due
to circumstances beyond the
railway’s control, this was not
possible.
Thanks to owner Lawrie
Rose and the Mid-Suffolk Light
Railway, Ruston No. 294266
of 1951 was loaned at the last
minute to give the LWR its first
traction movement in around
51 years, and 10 years from the
project’s inception.
The line ran from Leiston’s

Ruston diesel

opens Leiston

Works

Railway

‘Shredded Wheat’ Fowler

movestothe‘Middy’

The fully restored Fowler 20337 in its original livery at the Davis

Brothers’works prior to delivery to the MSLR.The loco was originally

powered by a McLaren petrol engine, but this was replaced by a

Gardner diesel engine in the 1950s.PICTURE:JOHN REEVE

FOWLER20337 of 1934, a

40hp-type 0-4-0DM, was

delivered to the Mid Suffolk

Light Railway (the‘Middy’)

in June following restoration,

where it will be a resident.

The loco was delivered

new to the Shredded Wheat

Company 85 years ago and

was recently rescued in a very

dilapidated state by current

owner Tony Goff.

It went to the Norfolk works

of brothers Neal and Nigel

Davis in November 2018. They

are members and volunteers

at the‘Middy’and have also

worked on maintaining the

MSLR’s two Ruston & Hornsby

locos.

In a remarkable feat of

engineering it has taken just

six months to turn a rusting

hulk into‘a going concern’.

The Fowler has been

fitted with vacuum-braking

equipment and will be able to

be used on passenger duties,

but as Neal noted:“The

gearing is very low so visitors

will have plenty of time to

admire the MSLR scenery!”

THE EPB Preservation Group
exhibited four EMU vehicles
at the Southeastern Ramsgate
depot open day on June 8.
The quartet was the two-car
EPB No. 5759 and Motor
Luggage Vans Nos. S68001 and
9002/68002. They travelled
down to Ramsgate from their

Southall base by rail on June 7,

returning after the weekend.

MLV No. 9002/68002 is

finished in Network SouthEast

livery, as seen here on display

in the depot at Ramsgate, with

No. S68001 (beyond)in BR

green.

PICTURE: CHRISTOPHER REAVELL

EPB group vehicles

displayed at Ramsgate

Royal Brush

Type 2 for South

Devon gala

THE South Devon Railway’s (SDR)

July 19-21 diesel gala will see a

Class 31 with an interesting history

visiting the railway – BR blue-

liveried Suburban Preservation’s

Class 31 No. 5518 (31101), making

arareappearanceawayfromits

base on the AvonValley Railway.

It was built by BrushTraction,

Loughborough and introduced

to BR service on October 16, 1958

as No. D5518. It was based at

Stratford, East London.

The original BrushType 2

Mirrlees JVS12T engines were

prone to major failures and were

replaced with English Electric

12SVT engines.

No. D5518’s claim to fame

was being the first Class 31 to

work passenger services on

the Southern Region, including

hauling the RoyalTrain conveying

HM Queen toTattenham Corner

station for the Epsom Derby race

day meeting on July 4, 1969.

It was withdrawn by BR in

January 1993 as No. 31101 and

sold into preservation to music

producer and train buff Pete

Waterman, and later to its current

owners, Suburban Preservation.

Class 25 No. D7535 is due to

appear at the SDR event following

a return from its June gala

appearance at theWest Somerset

Railway (WSR).

Class 25 No. D7612, which

attended theWSR event, was

expected to return for the rest of

its extended visit to the Epping

Ongar Railway rather than

returning home for the Devon

event.

125 Group

acquires and

sells Mk3s

GCRNRuddington-based 125

Group acquired its first genuine

HST trailer vehicle whenTGS

(Trailer Guard’s Standard)

No. 44000 joined the group’s fleet

of Mk3s in May.

When the Inter-City 125 fleet

was introduced in 1976, the

guard’s compartment was located

in the power cars.TGS vehicles

were later added to the sets to

provide more passenger capacity

and a smoother, quieter ride for

the guard.

No. 44000 was the firstTGS,

constructed in 1980 to lot number

30953, unique to this vehicle. Until

recently it was in service with Great

Western Railway, and wears their

smart base green colour.

It is in good internal and external

condition, and only minor work is

needed before it enters service.

The group has sold coach

No. 11074 to a company outside of

preservation for main line testing

work as its internals do not really

resemble anything of an HST, for

example, lights, heating vents

and seats. It will be replaced in the

prototype-liveried set by a Mk3a

FO, later this year.

No. 11074 is likely to run on

the main line in its prototype HST

livery for the foreseeable future.

Severn Valley blue and

green ‘Gronks’ comparison

main railway station to the

works of Richard Garrett &

Sons, agricultural engineers,

well known for their traction

engines.

The railway group is

independent of the Long Shop

Museum, but it is the intention

to work closely with the

museum, the aim being to see

Aveling & Porter 4wTG steam

locoSirapiterunning again

long its old line.

See website: http://www.lwr.org.uk

PICTURE: JAMES KINDRED

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