Rugby loco testing station

not seen this before a short clip of the opening of the loco testing station at Rugby


Colin

 

I do love a bit of B&W footage of men in flat caps doing something incredibly dangerous while an RP voice talks about how great Britain's flat-capped men are at doing incredibly dangerous things.

 

A photograph taken on the day. Including Edward Thompson (centre) and Peppercorn (to his right, our left), Sir William Stanier (second from right) and with two of Britain’s most famous Pacific locomotives standing ready for their turn on the Rugby Testing Plant rollers, in honour of Sir Nigel Gresley.

 

On Sat '7th March 1953 I was with a small group going to Crewe works .We had permits for the Works ,Crewe North and Rugby. Crewe South wasn't allowed due to the fact that running lines past either side of the shed. Whilst going round Rugby shed, steam and smoke was seen coming from the roof of the testing station. The leader of the group decided to chance his arm, and went in the office and surprise surprise got permission to enter the plant. They were testing S R 4-6-2 35022,the noise was tremendous. I could shout to the lad next to me and he to me ,but nothing, except the noise of the loco could be heard. We only stayed a few minutes and that was plenty, for me. It was a bit scary with the noise . I doubt if the men that worked there had ear defenders it was a bit before there time.

 

Funnily enough I witnessed steam coming out when trainspotting at Rugby. We had come over from Leamington Spa on the midland line. I guess it would have been the late fifties as on that same day, lo and behold, GT3 came by on a train heading north. The other beauty, was the GC line which you could see from our vantage spot. I've often wondered what loco was on test...

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/rugby_testingstation.htm

Last steam loco tested was in 1959, sand GT3 didn't appear until 1961.

 

Interesting...long time ago so my memory is probably wrong. We, from memory, went to Rugby 2 or 3 times, and also Woodford Halse to get an Eastern region fix after being exposed to GWR stuff too long...

 

A wise decision to get away from all that wildly over-rated Western stuff for a while.........

 

Although according to that website GT3 was at Rugby in 1957?? https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrrm2655.htm

 

And again, looking, the Rugby to Leamington line was closed to passenger traffic in 1959. So GT3 must have been up and running....l definitely saw it...you don't forget things like that. I'll ask my cousin...he was with me...he might have a photo even

 

It seems the loco was there for nearly a year, before moving back to Newton-le-Willows for completion.

 

The official listings from the NRM show GT3 at Rugby Testing Station from 22/07/57 to 31/1/58.

 

There is also this fascinating picture showing GT3 out on test on the mainline, with a makeshift cab but without a tender. So possibly post test station but before it was returned to the makers to be finished and clad?

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrrm2448.htm

 

Well we've wandered of subject again..slightly. But I've always wondered why they made it in that configuration...a crank axle I presume?

 

Crank axle on a turbine?

 

Damn...brain fade again.it needs a service....presumably a gear driven drive to the wheels...mea culpa..

 

Just stringing some thoughts together, but unlike the previous gas turbines, GT3 had a mechanical drive to the wheels, so probably a lot easier to connect it where it is all mounted to the same rigid frame. Being in essence a test bed, to would seem sensible to start with a proven quantity, like the dimensions of the Black 5 frame and then figure out how to couple your new power unit into it. The thought process of; it's available, we know it works, the infrastructure supports it and we can fit the PU inside, is still very relevant to testing today.

 

Another little story. In March /April 1954 The Railway Mag and Train Illustrated were both reporting the first 9F s would be going to Toton and Wellingboro 'to work the Toton to Brent Coal trains. Well ,we waited and waited but none appeared. There was even a photo'of 92000 in both mags. In those days info in mags was a a least a month of more old .So it was obvious there had been a change of plan .However ,someone had heard that 92013 was on Rugby Test plant ,so on Saturday 1st May 1954 ,determined to be the first in our group to see a 9F ,I went over to Rugby .It was standing out side minus tender ,easy to see. When I got back to Kettering later in the day,92009 had been thro' ,it had been on Target 12 a Wellingboro to Corby trip working ,that shuffled between the two yards several times a day, a very heavy train. I did get the first sighting of a 9f .By about one hour.! After then new 9Fs came thick a fast, at least one per week.

 

A thread drift I know, but in the car world some rather strange vehicles were contructed as test beds, one that I've heard of was a running prototype of the Jaguar XJ.S, which was built up in the 'Tub' of an Austin 3 litre, with the boot, wings and grill of an 1800 'land crab' whilst MG built prototype MGF's in Metro van bodies with a 'Lift Up' rear section. There was of couse a lot of standardisation between the MGF and the Metro. In days gone by I used to be around Dunton fairly regularly and would see Cortina pick up trucks long before the P100 came into production. Now hopefully back on to thread

 

The trucks were made in S Africa.