Can anyone identify this 0-4-0ST

Back in 1968 my friend and I visited Stratford Works with a group. Outside was this sad looking 0-4-0 saddletank. There were no makers plates on it although somebody had chalked Mallard on the side.
Does anyone know what this engine was and if it ever made it into preservation.
Thanks in advance.

 

It is either a Hawthorn Leslie or a RSH - same design just depends if it was built before or after the amalgamation. I suspect it's an RSH from the size of the worksplate. Possibly an ex CEGB loco (they had a lot of them) which has run hot en-route? Ray.

 

with the plates missing I'd say it's a dead duck...(gets coat)

 

It's definitely RSH looking at the style of the sandboxes. The rods are on the side of the loco so I would agree it's possibly run hot whilst being moved. Hazarding a guess it might be a Kent Electric Company locomotive by the looks of the position and style for the two plates on the cab side. the top round one has a similar size to it to one on Bagnall 2842 at Foxfield which was a Kent Electric Power Company locomotive.

 

Nigel and Ray,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my query. I knew it would be a long shot identifying the loco, (Reading General), but was hoping someone out there may have been either working or visiting Stratford Works in the late 60s and may have seen it. Must pay a visit to the Foxfield Railway this year. Colin.

 

sigh...dead duck...mallard.... gets hat too

 

I think there's a possibility this could be Hawthorn Leslie 3653, built 1927. It worked at Bow Power Station (just down the road from Stratford Works), and was numbered 5. It may have been a former Kent Power Company loco, but I cannot find any information on this one way or the other. I certainly agree that the loco in the picture looks as though it carried a Kent Power Company plate.

I think it's unlikely that the loco was in transit anywhere. Transfers of industrial locos were invariably done by road - and this was 1968, when BR was in a desperate hurry to get every steam engine off its rails. More likely that it had been sent down the road from Bow to Stratford Works, either for contract wheel-turning or for scrap. It was officially the standby loco at Bow in 1968 (to a diesel) but disappeared perhaps as early as 1969 (my records are vague) so either is possible.

When in 1968 was the picture taken?

 

I don't know about "invariably"...I recall old Railway Magazine reports of "X" loco working from A to B under it's own power or in a goods train working. I can't recall an instance of someone reporting "an 0-6-0st on a lorry on the M1" type of report.

 

Thanks for all the replies. It is amazing what information is out there and from such an obsure photo with very little information to go on. I appreciate your contributions.
Skiphunter.

 

When in 1968 was the picture taken?[/quote]

Hi and thanks for such conscise information. I have spoken to my brother in law who took the photo but he is unable to remember when it was taken. We believe it was between spring and autumn.

 

Oh well, it was worth a shot anyway.

For a definitive answer on the identity of the loco, you could contact the Industrial Railway Society and mention the suggestions already made. Their records are unbelievably detailed, and I am sure they could quickly tell you whether my suggestion of HL 3653 is correct, or provide a better answer. In researching their details (I was a member many years ago) I discovered they have an email discussion group which is open to non-members: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/ then follow the link to the discussion group on the left hand side.

If you get a definitive answer, please let us know here!

 

Certainly saw NCB locos being transported by road around the West Riding in the mid 1960s and even saw a Ruston and Hornsby Class 07 diesel being delivered to Southampton Docks/Eastleigh on the back of a lorry on the A1.