What is the long term future for the unrestored Barry engine

4253 restoration has now started,
www.4253.co.uk
Is going to be based at the KESR

 

I am very proud to be a stakeholder of this engine..... unfortunately not been able to get to one of the work days yet but will be doing so very soon

 

are you at the EGM tonight?

 

Great news to see that another of these very impressive 2-8-0Ts is being restored! I was involved in the initial saving and restoration of 4277 and have shares in 4247 so this news of another GWR stalwart being worked on is very heartening indeed. Well done to the team involved!

 

afraid not

 

I was there at 4253's EGM! The fund raising to date has been better than I thought possible and, according to the dismantlers, many parts have removed with more ease than they had a right to expect given the number of years the loco has been out of service. One section of frame has already been needle-gunned and fresh paint applied!

 

i have heard the same too, that the parts have come apart with very little trouble and so far its a far better picture than anyone would have hoped for when you think that in a few years we will be running to Robertsbridge engines such as 4253 will be needed if current traffic trends continue , unfortunatly we are now getting to the point where our small locos are less able to keep up with demands and larger or more powerful engines is coming to the fore during this last week even on the victorian rake 32678 was at the limit of its allowed haulage weight when we could have done with adding another coach such was the demand , you could say that we are now victims of our own sucess

 

Slightly different note, railway magazine this month lists Stanier 8f 2-8-0 WD 357, TCDD number 45153, stored with several other locomotives, including BR 52 2-10-0 Kreigsloks and KPEV 2-8-0 are to be scrapped.

They can be seen on google maps in a line, south of Cankiri (type in Cankiri, Turkey and follow the line south).
I guess this is the donor engine for the patriot groups wheels, but wouldnt the tender be worth saving for one of the black 5's being restored, or maybe other spares for 48173 ?.

I guess once this is gone that's it for Turkish exports as the other 3 are officially preserved.

 

sad to have survived so long and then be destroyed. I guess the high orice for scrap has a bearing along with the state of the Turkish Economy

 

That is where the Turkish 8f guys are going to get the wheels and other spares. What spare parts there getting for them selves I know not. But some parts Will be saved.

 

The engine is doing great guns and the 10 year restoration plan is so far so good for target. It has been such a shame that I have not yet got my hands dirty with the restoration but will be doing so in the very near future as when work plans allow me to.

 

Which loco's this?

 

i assume he means 4253 i understand the tanks might even be coming off this week, i am going to becoming active with this loco also in the near future

one thing that has turned out to be very interesting is just how much other owners of GW locos have offered to the group in the way of spares that they have , i think ,but im not 100 per cent sure that almost the complete motion is availible i know that some of the gauges etc have been found,All of which saves a lot of money in the long term

one of the group has even uncovered the loco report card which is very interesting , it would seem that it had an overhaul less than 2 years before it was withdrawn including a boiler change ,so it could be very interesting when the boiler comes out to see what condition the firebox is in when you think it might not have done much work between overhaul and withdrawal

 

With reference to developments with 4253. There is a website with klatest progress and pics , please see : Rebuilding 4253.

There is also a 4253 string on this forum.. would be great if 4253 contrubutors can use it as much easier to follow the fortunes of this emerging engine

 

Regarding the future of unrestored Barry engines, there is an interesting article in one of the monthly heritage railway magazines this month about the possible bleak future that might be in store for some of them. However, locomotive groups such as the 4253 Group can show just what is possible and 44901 would now seem to have a far more secure future too.

I have been undertaking some research on the ex-Barry locomotives and some of the dates when these locomotives left the legendary scrapyard in South Wales still elude me. There is much information on the Internet but my reference books on the subject were all written when several locomotives still remained in the Yard. I would therefore be most grateful, for my own records, if any forum members could shed any light on when (Month and Year) the following 3 locomotives actually left the Barry Yard:

2873 (frames and wheels now at Buckfastleigh)
35011
3845 (supposedly the last to leave the yard but 5553 remained for a while longer before purchase for restoration)

Thanks in anticipation.

 

According to "The Barry Story" published in 2010:

2873 left in March 1988 for Birmingham Railway Museum (Tyesley?) and later went to the South Devon
35011 left in March 1989 and went to Brighton, then Binbrook and Sellinge, and may now be at Williton, WSR having provided parts to Braunton
3845 left in November 1989 and also went to Brighton and thence to Swindon & Cricklade and ended up at Toddington

I have found one or two minor errors in that book but hopefully the dates will be correct

 

Many thanks indeed for the swift reply, that'll do me! (I must get a copy of that 2010 Barry Story book!).

 

I believe 35011 left Williton about four years ago, and is to all intents and purposes at Sellindge. However, I think the restoration attempt may have stalled.

Despite the doom and gloom of the article regarding Bulleids, out of the 20 preserved Light Pacifics, only 34010 and 34073 are yet to steam in preservation (34051 being an exception as a museum exhibit), whilst the future is looking more promising for a few MNs. 35005 (overhaul), 35006, 35018, 35027 (overhaul) and 35028 (current) will fly the flag in due course, with the possibility that they might be joined by 35009 and 35022 in the more distant future.

 

34058 has also yet to steam. I think all its components are now at the Mid Hants.

According to the Icons of Steam website, which gives details of Jeremy Hosking's fleet, 35022 does indeed have a working future (See http://www.iconsofsteam.com/locomotives/ ) I don't know how 35009 is progressing at Bury, but I think the plan was for her to be restored in BR blue with an 8-wheel tender. Perhaps there will be some progress here when 45212 is completed. At one stage, there was talk of 35027 and 35009 being restored "in tandem". I'm not privy to the latest news from Bury, so that information may be obsolete.

The group owning 35025 are also committed to restoring her to main line condition (http://brocklebankline.co.uk/), The engine is at Sellinge, along with 35011. I would guess that 35010/11/25 will be the last three MNs to steam, I think they'll get there, but it could be a long wait.

 

MNs apart, I would have thought that eventually most of the unrestored ex-Barry engines will be restored, unless there is a good reason to use a particular engine for spares for a class mate, such as the 41XX boiler being used on the 66XX at Crewe, ultimately destined for the SVR, and the somewhat confusing creations going on at Didcot. ( no criticism implied). It is good to see new groups stepping foreward to take over projects from owners who for whatever reason now find they cannot undertake the task, ie the K & ESR group making excellent progress with 4253, and with a 66xx for later.
Sadly there are projects out there that are either not progressing, or only very slowly, and in time we may well find current owners throw in the towel and hand over to new people. Advancing age and lack of finance and helping hands, despite the best of intentions, are unavoidable.
Random examples might be the GW 38XX on the NYMR, and at least one loco, possibly two, on the Glos-Warks.

In some respects, and with NO criticism intended, I find it surprising that so many class 8 engines are being restored, mainly on the basis that they will be of limited use on Heritage lines cometh the day that mainline running comes to an end. There is a growing shortage of class 4 and 5 engines being overhauled, whether ex-Barry or simply " out of ticket" that our Heritage lines increasingly need back in traffic.

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