Under restoration/Never steamed in preservation

A couple of years ago, I had a day on the footplate of a rebuilt WC (1472 will know which one I mean). It turned out to be the hottest day of the year. The crew - who were both aged 28 and less than half my age were very concerned about my welfare and told me to drink lots of water and to go and sit in the train if it became too much for me - they would not be offended. However, I did the two round trips and at the end of the day I was in better condition than they were

 

Industrials can be hard work in the heat. A hot day on a 14" Barclay 4-wheeler with no opening cab windows or roof and no room to swing the proverbial cat a few years ago nearly melted me,

Jon

 

I am reliably informed that if you want warm, while feeling like you're standing on a pogo stick, try a USA tank!

 

Yes, but don't they have an ice cream machine built into one corner?

 

There were quite a few Midland 0-6-0s fitted with (slightly oversized) tender cabs for branch working, but I think they came off in early LMS days.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

Hopefully this will work for everyone: Captioned "Mike Busby fitting a nut to one of the new crown stays inside the inner firebox of the boiler of 2-8-2T No 7202." From Didcot Railway Centre Facebook. Someone has a nice eye for an image.

 

Today's facebook update from the 7200 trust mentions the possibility of their boiler being sent off for repair.

 

Not really sure if this is the correct place but an interesting email has just been sent to Southern Locomotives Shareholders

"The new supporters we refer to are all those we have been able to contact from the 35025 Brocklebank Line Association , all of whom have agreed with their Chairman Brian Seddon’s proposal to put ’25 in the care of Southern Locomotives. Before everyone thinks we’ve taken total leave of our senses, we have made it clear that we can’t guarantee restoring it! However, the Owners believe that there is more chance of something happening to it rather than leaving it slowly rusting away at Sellindge, as it has for the past 12 years. We will expand details of this locomotive later"

Maybe there could be a race to be the 6th Merchant steamed...

Andrew

 

That is great news about Brocklebank! The SLL group have got a great team, lots of expertise and a solid fundraising base. Although they say they have others to get back in service before possibly starting on #25 I hope they do start on it soon.
The list on post#137 is getting shorter with Thornbury Castle also having moved to the GCR and its restoration started. We have just got to get Covid 19 sorted......

 

Really good news about Brocklebank Line! Nice to see that the 35025 Brocklebank Line Association have made a sensible decision, something which another group I can think of took rather too long to do.

Richard.

 

Great to hear news on 35025 ...maybe SLL could get some volunteers to start a small group like Friends of 80150 on Mid Hants Rly and start collecting parts , do some minor fundraising , so when its time comes , there will be at least a start made and it wont just sit again ...a suggestion for the future.......

 

I thought they sold Port Line as it was too big?

 

They did, along with 35022

However, if someone approached you to offer you a loco (closely related to the majority of the locos you currently look after), and bearing in mind that this loco was previously reasonably well along the restoration path, why would you say no?

What I don't understand, is why it is implied that SLL are the only hope for this loco (no disrespect intended to SLL). As I understand it Greg Wilson of the CVR tried to buy it several times.

Keith

 

Not knocking it, its an obvious home for it

 

Absolutely! Not sure where it would run if/when it's restored. Swanage would seem to have enough Bulleids to keep them going.

Keith

 

I think that we may never know exactly what was offered and what the details of the SLL arrangement are with the Brocklebank Line Association (I believe the majority shareholder is Brian Seddon?) but I think it is safe to assume the present situation was the best option now, for the future of #25.

 

Thank you for bringing a big smile to my face at a time when cheering news is in distinctly sort supply. As Ghost/Keith has pointed out, perhaps a surprising decision given the previous approaches made by Greg Wilson and also, as SLL itself has pointed out, it will not guarantee restoring it, but certainly, the prospects of 35025 being restored are a lot higher than they were previously. Where it will run when complete is another matter, but that's very much for the long term, with 34028 and 34070 to get back to working order, 80104 to overhaul and 34010 to finish, but hopefully at least some conservation can be undertaken and the loco saved from further deterioration.

Given he can turn round a Black Five in a matter of months, I think SLL will have a job to beat Ian Riley now he has started work on 35009!

On further reflection, I wonder whether the SLL option was preferred to selling it to Greg Wilson because, according to the SLL e-mail, the former members of the Brocklebank Lne Association look as if they will become SLL members, in which case you could say that at least they will still have an ongoing stake in their locomotive which wouldn't have been the case if it had been sold on.

 

Here are three pictures (July 2004) of #25 just before it left L'bro.

 

I think it was more to do with the fact that the cash from the sale enabled the SLL to restore other locomotives at that time. They do now seem to have a solid financial base for their various projects.

 

The size of the MNs was definitely stated at the time as a major deciding factor in the sale of 35022 and 35027. They were considered too big for the Swanage Railway, and SLL at the time considered itself the main supplier of motive power to the Swanage railway.

However since the arrival of 30120, 563, 31806, 31874 and 31625 along with 30053 still being there, the Swanage Railway doesn’t have such a heavy reliance on SLL.

So perhaps SLL are now diversifying and have other plans for 35025.