Locos at portland

You can pick nits or split hairs - not pick hairs <GD&R>

 

Can we get back on track, , getting back to the locos at Portland , the question was what does the future hold? welll 35018 looks to have a future if as thought its heading to Bury , the S160 is very uncertain, whilst in sevice it suffered from boiler problems mostly to do with staying , it did have a new firebox fitted, but this was a new 50 year old un used box so this might have been an issue in its self but when it worked it was a powerfull economic engine , little is known about the owner , but i thought there was 2 others who also owned shares in it, because they tried to prevent it leaving the MHR so this could be a future problem but if repaired , it could be a very usefull engine to another railway.
I didnt know that Cunard was there i can remember seing her at Swanage in their early days but as her owner looks to moving her prehaps she might have a future , but i cant understand, is that Gambles has the facilities there to do a lot of work that would be needed on these engines , so why are the likes of 35018 being moved away, or is he too busy or to expensive

 

There are things going on with Cunarder behind the scenes; that is all I can say.

I would give more information to prevent being seen as a 'I know something you don't' type, but its really not my place to.

And regarding being 'butchered' to look like a Midland tank, this was entirely reversible; the original saddle tank is still in existence.

 

So is it still heading to shillingstone?? would be great to see some steam there of sorts, if i lived in the area i would help out down there as they seem to have a great team spirit and look to be really going somewhere (although not very far in track length lol, well for now anyway)

 

IMHO Cunarder should be seen as a proper Hunslet product, however that is not to say I am against conversions. There are plenty of 'new style' Avonside B4's kicking around out there and one converted to look something similar to a CM&DP pannier would be rather good. Better than sitting around rusting away and would be quite useful to some of the new generation GWR branch lines, and we will soon have Cranford to show what a B4 should look like. Maybe one day Stamford too.
Back on thread its good to hear something will be done with Cunarder.

 

To save starting a new thread, I thought I'd revive this one given the previous mentions of the loco; Cunarder left Portland earlier this week for a private site in Dorset for overhaul by a new group dedicated to the purpose. The plan is to overhaul the locomotive to original, saddle tank form.

 

Regarding the S160 Martin, I understand that the owner is an American chap, and though I would like to say more this is neither the time of place at this present time. Sad to see it rusting away.

Regards
Chris:

 

As it happens chris i probally have a fair insite as to what has happened, but as you say, its not best put into the open,

when the S160 left the Mid Hants she went to swindon first , i can remember seing her stripped down in the former workshop before it closed i dont know if any work was done whilst she was here though but she did arrive at Portland as a kit of parts.

Given the time its now stood at Portland i would expect that its going to need a full overhaul but at least all of it should be there

 

From memory his name is Richard Stone a friend of JB.

 

We need say no more.

 

Well done Lee Marlow for being discreet and diplomatic, NOT!

Regards
Chris:

 

Hi Chris Willis,

From memory we have named his person before on this forum.

TTFN

 

Is it just me but it seems to me that the ownership of most of the engines involved seems to be vaugue , all seem to be owned by friends , or family members of a certain gentleman, they might well be , but the sceptic in me thinks its more to do with possible tax reasons? for instance the N was i believe going to be help in trust for his son, one of the U's 31806, i think for his daughter with the rest , except for 34016 and 73096 held by friends and family , so who really does own these engines? it could be another reason why dispite being out of ticket for several years, several engines have not been moved away from the MHR when siding space is at a premium , i know there is an agreement in place, but had it been in both parties interest to move an engine away, for say overhaul and use elsewhere then i would bet it would have happened im not trying to re open old wounds, but you must say its certainly interesting

 

Martin Butler. Have you considered the possibility that; back in the 1970s, when Mr. Bunch and his colleagues were acquiring steam locos from Barry Scrapyard - for the Mid Hants Railway, they arranged the ownership of the locos in such a manner, that if anything were to happen to Mr. Bunch, the locos would be safe for the Mid Hants Railway, forever. Of course the MHR could have bought the locos from Mr. Bunch and his colleagues, but like most preserved railways at the time, the Railway was spending all its income on extending track and building projects.
The Southern Steam Trust (Swanage Railway) gave two locos to Southern Locos, because the Railway couldn't restore them.

 

Yes, that could be very true, and given the problems the line had when tracking down the owners of 34105 records of who owned what were not kept either , as much as i would love it, though i cant see JB gifting any loco to the MHR now, but then, stranger things have happened? how much paper would be needed to gift wrap a standard 5 i wonder?

 

I visited Portland last year, & can confirm that the S160 chassis was then under cover in one of the buildings. The Contractor working on the loco told me that he was & had been regularly working on the chassis & running gear.

 

Yes 34016 and 76017 were intiatially at Quanton Rd, as was 6024, i can remember seing these engines not long before the MHR opened, indeed i can remember chatting to Richard Heather who was working on 76017 i think, and asking, if as a magazine had said that it was Mid hants bound, he of course denied it, but only a few months later guess what turned up at Alresford? what is strange is that 31874 went straight to the Mid Hants , as this engine must have been purchased before the line was saved

 

The S160 is being worked on, its not just rusting away.