LSWR T3 563

So it didnt ever really need to go to Swanage/Corfe Castle and sit outside? Shame the NRM rushed to get the engine off their books rather than wait until a solid plan for the engine was in place........

 

To be fair she was sitting outside anyway.

 

I think the site at King's Cross needed to be vacated.

 

the Flour Mill wasn't an option at that time.

 

Today we are running a Sunday “Dash for cash” for the the T3.

Donate today to be in with a chance of winning in our Sunday donator raffle.

Swanage Railway themed prize for the winner.

Donate before 8pm tonight on crowdfunder to enter.

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/lswr-t3-no-563-return-to-steam-appeal/

 

It's a lovely picture but no. 577 was actually an X2, not a T3.The two classes were similar (and very elegant) but the X2s had 7'1" driving wheels whereas those on the T3s were 6'7". The same picture can be found on the Wikipedia page for the X2s. There's a fascinating account in one of my many railway books of an X2 taking over the 13-coach Atlantic Coast Express at Woking circa 1930 when the rostered loco failed. It started the train without slipping and made it all the way to Salisbury with a top speed of 74mph through Andover! Given the similarities between the T3s and X2s, the usual five-coach trains which run on the Swanage Railway ought therefore to be child's play for no. 563 when it is restored.

 

yep - I knew it was a X2 but it is close , and as you say , a nice pic.

 

I don't think 13 coaches back then would be a particularly heavy load, but it should nevertheless cope with 5 Mk 1s at Swanage.

 

Probably would have been in the region of 28 - 32 tons per coach tare assuming by 1930 they would all have been bogies on the ACE.

An interesting point with the T3 might be adhesion - I think that of currently operational, or likely operational, preserved locos, the only one with a lower factor of adhesion is a Schools class. At least without a superheater you get a more direct regulator response, but might be interesting in slippery conditions. I think in original usage, they would have been driven hard downhill to carry momentum into the next climb.

Tom

 

A Mark 1 weighs about 34 tons and a TSO can carry 64 passengers, averaging 13 people per ton, the maximum loaded weight would be 40 tons approximately. The Buffets were slightly heavier, so assume maximum 200 tons for 5 Mark 1s. The T3 I would imagine would be OK with that

 

A statement from the SRT trustee, Matt McManus on why we are running a Crowdfunder effort for 563 at this time. I hope that some of you may be able to support us.


https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/lswr-t3-no-563-return-to-steam-appeal

We just thought we would set the record straight about a few things and answer some of the questions we have been asked recently about No.563.

Whilst it is true we have successfully raised money to fund the assessment of No.563, our aspiration for the locomotive is to return it to steam.
We share that vision with our partners at the Flour Mill and although the assessment will establish the overall condition of the locomotive its primary purpose is to tell us how much it’s going to cost to overhaul from that point, to undertake a historical survey of the locomotive so we can document its mechanical past and to establish how we can ensure its longevity as a working locomotive using as many original parts as possible.

We are preservationists, our aim is to ensure that 563 returns as a working locomotive with the original fabric of the locomotive retained. If we were just to replace parts on mass, we wouldn’t have a very original locomotive, that’s not what we want.

However we are willing to use modern techniques and methods to ensure that old parts can be repaired as required in order to make No.563 reliable in future.

At this stage, everything appears to be in our favour. We have a complete locomotive that appears on first detailed inspection to be in good mechanical condition.

Its boiler will require extensive works, but this is nothing new in preservation and past experience has given us the confidence to expect that No.563 won’t throw us any curve balls that we haven’t seen before.

Therefore we take No.563 to the Flour Mill with confidence that a return to steam is indeed possible and we have decided to fundraise for a return to steam because that’s what we feel is in the locomotives best interests as a preserved locomotive on the Swanage Railway.

We want 563 to steam as the T3 it is and we intend to invest in repairs that allow the original fabric of the loco to work again. As we said before, we want the T3 to steam, not a T3 replica.

This return to steam will be expensive and that’s why we need your support now and going forward.
Our Crowdfunder is the first go at fundraising, however it’s not going to pay for the whole overhaul, but what it will do is prime the pump and allow us to click the “GO” button when the strip down is complete.
If we go for grant funding we will have to match fund to a degree and this Crowdfunder is an absolutely essential part of that.

That’s why your support now is so vital.
So please if you can, support our appeal and be proud that you can make a real difference to this exciting project in its earliest days.

Thank you.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/lswr-t3-no-563-return-to-steam-appeal

 

Well I am going to play my part as its a loco that no one has ever seen work and would be a great working loco to add to our preservation movement

 

I think it would look stunning in BR lined black.

Robin

 

Have just finished cooking a stew Robin......I have a big stirring ladle.... do you have any use for it....

 

I have never needed assistance with stirring...

It is wonderful that seeing 563 in service is in prospect.

But as a serious question, what liveries work 563 have carried during her working life?

Robin

 

Well, certainly not BR lined black ...

- Adams "pea" green with inter-twined LSWR monogram on splasher and LSWR on tender (a rather fine portrait in that form in Bradley); piston tail rods; bogie splashers etc.
- Drummond "royal" green (but a shade probably almost the same as the Adams' livery, based on the mixing formula)
- Probably Urie "sage" green (a mid-olive colour), but I can't find definite reference to a repaint
- Maunsell lined olive green as E563
- Possibly Maunsell lined olive green as 563 with standard numerals
- Maunsell lined olive green as 563 with LBSCR sans-serif tender numerals on the side and back (another photo in that condition in Bradley; with Adams boiler but Drummond chimney)
- Maunsell unlined green but with Bulleid sunshine lettering.

The two options for which there is clear photographic evidence are the Adams livery; or the non-standard Maunsell livery with LBSCR numerals.

Tom

 

I seed an orsum pictuer of the T3 las nite on the Swanage Facebook page. Shows how rite it is to be there

 

There was a photo charter using it at Corfe Castle with a smoke generator

 

There's some surprising wording on the appeal page: "It will be undergoing assessment to return to steam in 2018". Do they really mean that, or do they mean that it will be undergoing assessment in 2018 to return to steam at some later date?

Edit: And a practical point: are donations made now eligible for Gift Aid?