Another Garratt to be Restored

NG16 Garratt No. 130 s been purchased from the Exmoor Steam Centre by L & B supporter and Lyn Project Manager Peter Best for restoration by his company Steam Powered Services.

 

Restored for which railway I wonder? Though with it being a Garratt it's a bit of a no-brainer really I suppose.

 

The release actually says it is expected to run on the Welsh Highland.
Regards
Andrew C
Narrow Gauge World

 

I've only seen it on the WHR Unofficial site which mentions running in but nothing more. Does the WHR need another NG16 at the moment? If it doesn't, why would they want to pay hire fees for a privately owned example?

 

Just as I thought, should be a good addition to the fleet, though I must confess I have much more excitement for one NG15s returning to steam.

 

I

I presume if it's not necessarily required then at the very least it should be handy as a spare. As for why from a private owner, the folks there are more than familiar with Mr. Best, so I'm sure they come to reasonable agreement.

 

Are they too big and heavy for the L & B in the future or do the extension plans include their use?

 

It may be that by the time 130 is available one of the others will be due for overhaul and so this will keep the operable fleet at three.

 

It would be an interesting move to bring in another NG/G16, with 5 (87, 109, 138, 140 and 143, 140 could be restored by the railway but I'm not sure about 109) on the railway at the moment and a NG15 being restored.

 

Writing on the L&B Yahoo group (Exmoor-NG) two of the leading officers have made it clear that the L&B sees that the replicas of the Baldwin Lyn and the 4 MWs as the future motive power of the extended railway. Visiting locos and the odd private owned loco such as Isaac are okay but no purchasing or long-term hiring of non L&B engines.

 

The F&WHR facebook page says that it is expected to run on the WHR.

Steve B

 

Why the concern about another NGG16 on the WHR ? The WHR is to this enthusiast remarkably similar to the Natal lines where these locomotives operated during their days in South Africa and the presence of yet another member is an even greater reason to make return visits to sample them again. I admit that having chased them through the Natal uplands - including Zulu territory - I find it easier to chase them in Wales but they are the iconic locomotive for the WHR Caernarvon line.

 

It certainly can't do the WHR any harm to have another big engine available, especially if somebody else is going to do the hard work of restoring it for them. If you think about it, the FfR has three double-Fairlies, but also has a "second tier" of smaller engines available (currently Penrhyn Ladies and Taliesin that can take a share of the workload. At the moment, it doesn't seem that the WHR has really found a role for smaller engines - K1 doesn't seem to see much use apart from galas and photo-charters - so the burden rests entirely on the shoulders of the three NGG16s. Three is just about enough, but if one were to unexpectedly suffer a major failure in mid-season, they'd surely be left a little bit vulnerable. And by spreading the mileage between four engines rather than three, one would hope that they would all need less work when it comes to the "ten-yearly".

That said, though, I must admit that I am also really keen to see 134 in steam, for variety! And, although this is great news for 130, I can't help feeling that the prospect of a return to steam for 109 or 140, never mind 133, is now looking increasingly remote...

 

I would love to see an ever increasing fleet of Garratts on the WHR, but the point is that it will be a significant break in practice for the F&WHR to hire in a loco, particularly one which they do not appear to have need of. It will have to run a reasonable mileage, resulting in substantial mileage payments, to cover its owners costs yet the benefit seems intangible.

 

I agree that 3 is only just enough and can't understand why some funds are not put into fast tracking 134 now it's so close to being ready to have a bit of insurance for the 2015 season...

 

Let's turn the question around: when has 3 never been enough?

 

Well it's always handy to have a spare Garratt or two...

 

Bearing in mind they probably tend to run a three train service on occasions.

 

Is hiring part of the plan? The press release doesn't say that, just that the loco is expected to run on the WHR. The F&WHR has been quite good at getting people to give them things. At the time 87 was donated (including the cost of overhaul) it was said a fleet of 5 NGG16s was eventually envisaged. 140 was also donated and although it hasn't yet run as an entity its boiler and bogies have been in use. 109 was also supposed to come free of charge. Although the plan for this loco to be overhauled by Pete Waterman's apprentices fell through one must assume some long term benefit to the WHR is still possible since they have agreed to store the components, recently delivered from Crewe. And a spare NGG16 boiler (ex 129) has recently been donated too.

 

There's always 1 spare. The railway has done pretty well with only 3 recently, I don't see a crying need for more although it would be 'nice to have', a phrase that covers all manner of sins.

As for 3 trains, do you mean 3 round trips per day or 3 trainsets?