Heritage Railway – August 01, 2019

IanMatthews paintingthe2HAPintoBRlivery.LOCOMOTION

PeterandMaryJarvis,withMotorRail4wDM No.1935of1 920 Nocton,which

ranontheNoctonEstatespotatora ilwaywhenPeter workedth ereasa

schoolboyduringtheSecondWorldWar.LCLR

Urie LocomotiveSocietywelcomes

supporters to Ropley open event

ByGarethEvans

THEUrie Locomotive Societyheld an

open eventati ts Mid-HantsRailway

baseonSaturday, June 29,to showcase

recently-overhauled Urie S15 No.506.

The4-6-0 could be enjoyedatclose

quarters in its shinySouthernwartime

black liverywith sunshine lettering.As

highlightedinour last issue,No. 506

wasformallyrelaunched into MHR

traffic on June 2.

Chief among theattractions on

offerwasthe chancetoenjoyashort

footplate ride on No.506 within the

confines ofRopley yard.

In additionto guidedtours of the

MHR’s workshops,visitorswerealso

welcomedby members of the ULS

team to view the latest progress on

the group’s other Urie S15, No.499.

As featured in issue 250, No.499 is

currently underrestor ation, having

never run in preservation and is being

returnedto as near its original as-built

1920 condition as possible.

Thesocietysales cabin, which offers

railway and Urie itemsforsaleto

help supportthe group’s restor ation

work,was also open in the picnic area

overlooking the locomotiveyard.

Watchavideo ofafootplateride on

No.506 at http://www.therailwayhub.co.uk/

category/video/

Rece ntlyre turnedtot heMid-HantsRailway’s operationallocomotive poolafter

an18-yearabsence,UrieS15No. 506wasundoubtedlythestaroft heshow at the

UrieLocomotive Society’s June29 openevent.GARETHEVANS

turned down classmates’evening

invitationsto meetgirlsbythe

local windmill, but he had other

ideas.Instead,Peter choseto spend

hissparetime trainspottingat

Blankney&Metheringham station

(sinc ereopened,after closure

in the 1960s,asMetheringham,

whereLNER B17‘Sandringham’

4-6-0swould run through.

LCLR spokesmanJohn Chappell

said:“We’ve all been fascinatedby

Peter’srecollections of our historic

trains in theSecondWorldWar–

he’s givenusarare glimpse into

the role theyplayedinfeeding

the nation in the most difficult

of times.”

on September 22, the museum
organisedapublic eventwhich gave
visitors the chancetoinspectthe
finished carriage’s refurbished interior
and find out moreaboutvolunteering.
Work is no wunderwaytor estore
the second carriage and is dueto be
completedby the end of theyear.
Theclass,which comprised 209
sets builtat Eastleighworksbetween
1956-63,formed partoft he Southern
Region’s expres sfleet, andthe name
2HAP–BRClass 414–indicates
thatthe train isformed oftwo
carriages–only one of which has a
toilet compartment.
No.4308was builtin1 959for phase
one of the KentCoast electrification,
a£25 million scheme thatreplaced
stea m-hauled trains fromLondon
to Dover, Folkestone,Ramsgateand
Sheerness.Alongwith therest of the
class,itw as withdrawnin1995and

joined the NationalCollection in 2006.

Head ofLocomotionSarah Price

said:“Since2006, workshop trainees

and volunteers at Locomotion have

restored 18rail vehicles,makingavery

significantcontributionto preserving

the UK’s railway history–something

they can bevery proud of.”

Future

Chris said:“Without ourteam of

volunteers whowereacti ve inYork and

Shildon, therestor ation couldnot ha ve

beencompleted.”

However, thereare no plansto

returnNo. 4308to working order.

An NRM spokesman said:“Itwon’t

run again.Thereare plans in the

operationalvehicle strategy to look

at having an EMU thatcan run using

batterypower,but thetechnology’s

somewayoff and itwon’tbethe 2HAP

thatwould runat Locomotion.”

Writetous:Heritage Railway,MortonsMediaLtd,POBox43,Horncastle, Lincs LN 96 LZ. Heritagerailway.co.uk 41