Looking for Lew?

Oh dear... I can see it now and army of Lyds in every theme park, roundabout and preserved railway all over the world...

as in a famous Michael Caine film

"Their Lyd's sir.... thousands of em"

 

The likelyhood is Lew was scrapped somewhere along the line with similar poor record keeping to that of scrappies in the 60's leading to the Strategic reserve myth.

Is it possible Lew exists in an unregonisable form ?, i've seen enough phots of cannabilised and modified loco's in South America to consider such a scenario possible.

 

If a a NB atlantic tender can suddenly be found on a railway network as intensively scrutinised as our own, surely there is hope that Lew might turn up in a backwater of South America?

 

There's always hope we may be suprised one day, just that chance fades with each passing year, time won't be kind to what is probably a rusting hulk if still in existance.

 

But surely the possibility of finding the remains, no matter how rusted or abused would be a good thing, a perfect item for the lynton people to display, the only surviving original locomotive.

 

But the money spent looking for it could be spent on having a replica built for themselves.

 

A Happy New Year to one & all!

On the basis that this topic has been quiet for over twelve months, I was wondering if there has been any news regarding the purported hunt in Argentina for our almost mythical loco.
I did enquire about other Manning Wardle locos in that part of the world some time ago but regrettably none of the information that I gleaned at that time resulted in any progress. So far no one seems to know if this thread has any substance but if the Brazilian researches led to the idea that ‘Lew’ was sold to Argentina, it seems odd that there does not seem to have been any further search, either paper or physical! It was alleged to have been shipped to a timber company, which would lead one to assume that it would be northern rather than any other general region of Argentina. Assuming that the sum of the knowledge available regarding the former Collection X is correct, any idea of it residing in Wales or Surrey is frankly perverse and always was.

The other two Manning Wardle locos were 2-8-2s originally destined to join their predecessor in Paraguay but were diverted to N. Argentina to work in the Chaco, presumably hauling quebracho logs as in Paraguay, but the company involved (British) was responsible for totally desecrating the area in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight that region. Whether those locos or their remains still exist is also unknown so, if ‘Lew’ did reach anywhere in that pretty remote part of the world, it is quite feasible that a rusting pile of steel could still turn out to be what we have been seeking for 60+ years ….. or not!

Any further info on “the search” would be most welcome.

Ian

 

I would be interesting it it turned up still in service on the Ferrovial del Islas Malvinas wouldn't it ?

 

Might be very interesting trying to verify it without making a very loud and messy bang!! A bit like trying to look at the big Pecketts in Angola.

Ian

 

Good luck hiding anything on the Falklands, they only ever had the one railway and both its engines are almost accounted for

 

Almost?

 

11ACamber railway

 

It will obviously always be a myth, unless it turns up. The question has there been any further investigation for its wherabouts?. Only those who are self propelled to want to try. Question "If they found it" would anyone want to spend time and effort repatriating it. It is fair to assume its either been abused, in use totally clapped out and bent , or its a rusty hulk. In such a state its a liability not an asset to an operation that has very limited resources.


If you want one of these 2-6-2's its a service unit , that has to meet operational use and lots of regulations, build a new
one. There might well be people out there who get all excited about finding LEW, but you need to , have more than enthusiasm or excitment to do anything about it.

My view , "Oh you found it" great leave it where it is.It would be like AXE, all that might be of use, the driving wheels less axles, the cylnders maybe , Rest of it scrap.

Be more use saving some of the kit that is known about from Sandstone, they had some fairly complete examples of suitable engines, in need of saving and restoration.

 

What I don't understand is where the myth it still survives and the following behind it comes from..

How come know one cares about the mythical ROD 2-8-0 in north Africa, or dean goods in China, or even the well known 8f in Iraq ?, there could even be a WD 2-8-0 in the US in some army reserve... Any other rumours of whatever being wherever out there.

 

Maybe "Barry" , or Dia Woodham provides the major part of the answer.

50 years ago Britian was training young engineers like there was no tomorrow. It stopped............................END of

Barry yard has provided ( Good or bad) depends how you look at it, more than enough fruit to play with for the limited number of people still remaining who can and want to play with it, practical engineers. Most want to sit in a warm place and drink beer or tea, and sit at their key boards and post on forums like this one. Also the supply of engines, rebuilt and ready for use is now reaching saturation for the demand required at preserved railways. There is no commercial work for these engines daily on BR apart, from heritage trains.

Those who have enough experience at playing with dirty rusty bits of heavy!!! and it is heavy "metal", and the machinery that goes with it, and have been paid for it during their life can see the best way forward, "I will complete my project and that will be the last" Hey mate I know it sounds good but I should build a new one" .

They tend to see the value in projects like 82045 as an example of forward thinking.

Don't get a Barry wreck, build a new one. WHY ? well for those of us who can do it its cheaper and easier to build a new one and it has a life ahead of it then.

This is not a criticism of those who have brought Barry back to life, hey there are some fine examples, built for a much lower sum of money than a new one, but they were nearly new when scrapped in many cases.

Some of us are not sentimental about old bits of bent twisted and worn out locomotive whatever type it was, wherever it is in the world of old things our "Fathers of engineering built), 50 or more years ago.

Getting them home is difficult expensive and when they get here they are clapped!!, they are just such a mess.

Reality is build a new one, and not in China!!, build it here in the UK. That is commercial sense.

Regards TE

 

http://lynton-rail.co.uk/files/pdfs...ages_97-101_LEW_Moves_to_Brazil_Dave_Took.pdf

http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=77433

this is a really good read

Who is this Patrick Lloyd that i keep reading about?

 

Andy (TE), I’m afraid I am going to partially disagree with you.

IMHO if and when LEW were ever found, whilst I agree completely with your practical and financial arguments against restoring the engine back into use, nonetheless I must suggest that it should be returned to the UK. If LEW were to be displayed (preferably under cover) in its 'as found' returned condition, it would instantly become the main exhibit symbolising the original pre-1935 Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. I’m sure there would be no problems whatsoever in raising the required few thousand pounds to transport LEW back home.

Chris

 

So you've heard the one about my mate who met a bloke, who knew a bloke who's uncle Brother swore on his mothers life that he drove a fully running locomotive called Lew in very faded Southern green livery up a 1 in 3 incline at a gas works in Brazil in whilst on holiday in 2011… well I have a story that is a little like that.

It was back in 1996-7 when I just moved to the US, I was working with a chap I got on well with and whose grandfather was British; some time later I was invited to go to a new year’s party where I met the old bloke. I started chatting to him and he was very happy to speak to someone from the old country and went on about his time in the Empire and traveling around the world with engineering firm from Manchester (or Leeds or somewhere up north). Now I had just moved and I really didn’t understand why you wanted to endlessly discuss the UK (as all expats ultimately do in some form or another) in anycase after a while I mentioned my interest in railways; he rattled on about the coal trains waking him during the night up as a kid in the war and how he started train spotting at various locations in Yorkshire etc.

Then he told me about various railways he did work with or saw etc and ultimately a British narrow gauge locomotive he came across when working in Guyana at British owed tin mine, this was in the late 1960’s and around the time of independence. The locomotive was stored in a Nissan hut affair along with a number of other redundant items. The mine had taken over an area formally used for some sort of agricultural plantation and the former farm building area was being abandoned as the mine expanded.

I thought no more of it until the following Thanksgiving when I was again invited to their home and he dug out literally hundreds of photos of everything and anything – now I am sorry to say that even though I am very interested in history I really was bored stiff as I wanted to chat up a delightful young lady that I had a lustful eye on – anyway he showed me all sorts of stuff including railway locomotives in Australia (or NZ) and South American locations. Some were recognizable British and some (most not).

Upon his death in 2000ish I went to his funeral as a I had stated to date the young lady in question and a was offered his photo’s (non family pictures) which at the time I reluctantly took to be polite, I went though some a few years later and I certainly found several that stated on the back “Tin mining Guyana 196x” which at least one or two had a locomotive that to my eye looked like the L&B machine.

Several children and house moves later I have no idea where they are now, but this tread has given me the desire to empty those 20 odd boxes still in my garage and find them. I’ll post them (the railway ones) here if I find anything or interest.

 

If we follow The Engineer's argument, why bother restoring the original L & B coaches - it would lmost certainly be cheaper o build all new. The answer, of course, is that all new vehicles would not have any connection with the original L & B. It's the same with Lew. If it could be found it would represent a link between the old and the new. That's the reason why most of us are involved in railway preservation.