41708

Visited Barrow Hill on a special HST care of UK railtours and enquired about this historic loco I was informed its certificate has expired and there are arguments amongst the owners as to what to do next.What a great pity such an important piece of rail history. Anyone know any more?

 

Its in the dry and accessible to the Public, whats the pity? running it till bits fall off would be a greater pity.

 

A pity the owners are arguing about it is it not

 

Very true, and sadly not a unique situation. There are a lot of big personalities in preservation - no bad thing, they get things done - but the biggest thing to do is to say 'I was wrong' and compromise.

 

I remember seeing it at Swanage during the early to mid-90s, a lovely little engine that would equally be at home on a specific line or as a roving ambassador.

Regards,

Dan

 

A cracking little tool...

 

Couldnt agree more Dan would love to see it in steam

 

A great little loco of which I have fond memories when it was based at the AVR in the early 2000s, as it looked the part and would do all you asked of it provided you treated it with respect. Had one of my more scary footplate moments with it: Upon placing the reverser in full forward, imagine my suprise on opening the regulator to go in the opposite direction for half an engine length before eventually moving forwards. Closer investigation revealed that the weigh-shaft had sheared, and thus the reverser in the cab was no longer connected to the valve gear, and the gear was therefore doing whatever it felt like. However one perhaps have to forgive this minor inconvinience, as at the time it had around 120 years under its belt.

From what I recall it is rather tired mechanically (can't remember about the boiler) and will need quite a bit of work to get it back together.... However, I for one would love to see it back at the AVR. Perhaps we could run it with the 4F if we ever fininsh it in my lifetime.

James

 

Thanks for the story James wish we knew more about what is happening to it .there was a web site but it doesnt work now I asked at Barrow Hill and was told it needed a retube and thats all they seemed to know

 

IIRC there was a proposal to investigate the possibility of a new build Johnson 0-4-4T a few years ago, & 1708 was mentioned at the time as being useful for obtaining boiler dimensions & a few other common parts. Sadly nothing came of it, but I seem to recall that 1708's boiler is not in the first flush of youth, as it were, & the possibility of 'economy of scale' production of two boilers was mooted. It was even suggested that one round-top & one Belpaire boiler would allow variation on both 1708 & the proposed new build. Then 2008 happened, of course

 

Does anyone know who the owners are?
(Looking for a retirement project)

 

Someone at the Worth Valley told me the group that bought 41708 for I think £800 were offered a LMS 2P 4-4-0 for £1200 but declined quite reasonably because apart from the extra cash needed where could you possibly house and run such a big loco?

Hey ho.

Dave

 

As you wish to help it's restoration, perhaps you could ask Barrow Hill if they would pass on your contact details to them?

 

Sounds a bit apocryphal. Were there any 2Ps left when 41708 was purchased?

 

I have prob spoke to the same chap. He has a London accent and has also mentioned a few locos that they could have acquired at the time. Such a shame they got away!

 

The last ones were withdrawn in 62

 

Does anyone know what the dispute is about?

 

You could get the contact details from 1708 locomotive trust