Strategic Reserve

The fall out from Chernobyl landed in NW England though, so the wind does blow East to West when it's inconvenient to us.

But why bother with a Strat Res unless you can also preserve the operating & maintenance personnel it would need? An irradiated 9F would still work IF and only IF the crew aren't!

 

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=14459

 

Research by people like Peter Hennesy has show the UK government pretty much gave up on the idea of the UK surviving a nuclear attack in any meaningful way in the 1950s. That is why our civil defence was so poor, a small crowed country like the UK would be obliterated. Nordic countries, being sparsly populated and not industrial powers like we were, would get off more lightly so it was worth investing in civil defence, of which strategic loco reserves were part.

Countries like Germany and Russia had their reserves to agument the railways during a conventional war, not after a nuclear attack. Give the road centric planning of HMG in the 1960s, railways were downgraded even for wartime.

 

There may never have been a Strategic Reserve - but it isn't too late.

Lobby the government to build several hundred new V2s (Gresley V2 - not von Braun V2). They seemed to do alright in the last war.

To solve any livery disputes they could be painted in the various colours of the big four - black locos would do very little to raise the spirits of a population under attack.

 

Steam for Scrap - by Nigel Trevena and then the combined volume by Alan Earnshaw gives the background and historicla context, for lists, you need "The Barry List" various editions by Roger Hardingham and the major series by Peter Hands "What Happened to Steam".

Several ex-BR locos languished into 1969 in private yards, notably Cashmore's in Newport, Draper's of Hull and Cohen's of Kettering, 9792 was an ex NCB machine at the end. And of course the 4 locos cut at Barry in the 70s and 1980 (but not the SVR pannier - that was dismantled on the SVR itself.)

 

This site gives you the information you want, but check the second link first before you decide if you think the information is valid or not.

http://www.railuk.info/steam/scrap_search.php


http://www.railuk.info/steam/getscrap.php?id=32

 

For those who believe (hope?) in the UK strategic reserve, I recommend the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe. Among other things, this permits inspectors from signatory nations to enter any building with doors more than 2 metres wide, and believe me, the nations of the former Warsaw Pact have inspected every large UK military base, including Kineton. Having escorted many incoming inspections I regret that we did not uncover any steam locos, other than a derelict WD 0-6-0ST boiler on the ranges at Longmoor, and as the members of the arms control organisation were aware of my railway fanaticism, none was reported to me! Having also worked at the MoD establishment at Corsham, and done the "Tunnel Tour", I can verify that there are no Granges under Box Hill (the Wiltshire one).

Incidentally, the Austrian State Railway (ÖBB) overhauled a large number of 52's in the early 1970's and immediately mothballed them as a strategic reserve, many at what is now the Strasshof Railway Museum. Unfortunately they were never steamed, and most were cut-up within the following 10 years.

@Fred Kerr - The East Germans were pretty good at putting locos "round the back" and conveniently forgetting about them until there was an oil-shortage, or using them as Heizloks (mobile stationary boilers!) - rather like Bill Harvey and 61572. On my several visits to Schlettau (note spelling!) the 24 was also accompanied by 86 1333!

 

the notion of any strategic reserve is laughable, after a nuclear strike ,or accident, who would be left to run any locomotive no matter what type, the radiation sickness would render most of the population that was left alive unable to do anything, and i dont relish trying to to fire or drive a steamer whilst wearing an nbc suit and respirator the only people who would be able to function would be the army and anyone who is trained to survive the fall out and would be busy "controlling " what was left of the population the locos would servive the fall out but the electrics would not , assuming that the blast did not cause to much damage, a basic steam engine without any electronics would be usable, but who would crew it

 

On a visit to the shed at Linz (Austria) in on a Saturday afternoon in July 1972 the Shed Foreman gave us a conducted tour and pointed out a couple of class 52s to us as being owned by the Austrian Army. "We are not allowed to touch them" he said with a wide grin. We could see his point - they had been robbed of anything useful and were little more than a boiler on a wheeled chassis. Apparently, in the event of invasion the idea was that they would be moved up to as close to the Czechoslovak border as possible, then deliberately derailed to block the track to the invader.

Another sign of the times was a third 52 in full working order that was pointed out to us. Apparently coal used at Linz came from Poland, and due to quality problems each batch was sample tested on this particular loco. For consistency only two crews worked this loco. The funny bit was, we were informed, whenever this loco was in works for attention, they always had poor quality coal delivered............

 

hi

i head rumours in the steam railway mag that doncaster works men burried there locos under the cripsnal which has been recently flattened.

Another rumour i heard was a lner a - none of the presevered ones) was seen at RAF adlermasters during 60's - could there be one there? [-o<

ngaugekid

 

sorry i meant A4

 

There are alleged cases of loco _drawings_ and other documents being buried to prevent them being seized by enemy action, I believe at both Doncaster and Stratford. Weren't some GNR documents discovered buried (I think in a old boiler shell?) back in the 60's at Donny? I believe they are mentioned in the book on Stirling Singles by Leech and Boddy.

Maybe that's the source of the rumour?

There was also supposed to be the last Claud locked away / buried somewhere at Stratford, while we are on unsubstantiated rumour - wonder if the Olympians will find it?

 

I think AWRE Aldermaston is rail connected - or at least, it was. It is right beside the Wilts & Berks line, and there are several loops and/or sidings still in existance.

As to the notion of a UK Strategic reserve - of course we all want it to be true. It allows us to imagine what lost gems might be found. I particularly like the idea of locos stored and forgotten in Welsh slate caverns or the underground quarries at Box, waiting for the country's hour of need - echoes of the Merlin/Arthur legends!

 

It's probably been air-brushed out for security reasons ... along with all the steam locos being stored there!! :-$

Richard

 

There is track at Aldermarston station which I believe related to stone trains from there. There is also evidence of lifted sidings beyound the run round loop. See link.

But I'm not sure the base was ever rail conected

http://simon71.fotopic.net/c1593032.html

 

Aldermaston station is nowhere near AWRE Aldermaston there was a MoD system at Bramley off the Basingstoke branch but these werent connected HOWEVER I do seem to remember a disused embankment curving off the Basinstoke branch nearer to Reading in the general direction of AWRE so maybe there was a connection..this would have been for wartime use I would guess when it was an RAF airfield....

 

The Bramley MOD branch was connected to the Basingstoke - Reading line there is a good presentation on it in Bramley station. It still appears on some OS maps butr is long gone.

Have just realised those pics of Aldermaston are wrongly captured and don't tell you what you are looking at.

 

I'm abit 50/50 on this Strategic Reserve, i would like to find a county of 2 or a grange tooked up away in a disused tunnel or in a hanger of some sort. But the valley had one of the Strategic Reserve (it could of been or it was we dont know) and that was LMR 2-10-0 Gordon which the army finally handed it over to the SVR last year.