Swedish 2-6-4T 1928.

Does anybody know the current whereabouts of SJ S1 class 2-6-4T 1928? An Internet search suggested that it now lives on the spa Valley Railway at Tunbridge Wells, but I could not find any mention of it on their website.

 

I'm sure someone asked about this before? It was also reported to be at Sellinge in Kent too

 

One report was that the owner wanted it restored to running order for the KESR. A bit big for that particular railway one would have thought. A pity it left the NVR but one must respect the wishes of the late Alan Gladden's parents.

 

http://www.uklocos.com/liveloco-results.asp?action=display&id=2991

gives a last seen date at Spa valley for July last year

 

it defo isnt at selinge our finish locos are 5'3 gauge a tk 2-8-0 and a 0-6-0T we do have a spare boiler though but i must find out what its off

 

it has moved to a private site and been re assembled as a complete loco the last bits left the SVR recently.

 

Thanks for the info. Is it planned to run it anywhere do you know?

 

not that i am aware of are there any plans to steam it in the near future. it is probably quite limited where it can operate as it exceeds most loading gauges

 

NVR is one place but whether a return there is possible I've no idea.

 

Surely you mean 5' gauge?

 

I understand that the plans for the Aln Valley Railway include getting it as close as possible to the Berne loading gauge. Also, am I right in thinking that any line which can accommodate a Polish Tkh is capable of handling all but the largest of European locos, or are Tkhs comparatively small?

 

A TKh isn't that big but it think it's width over the cylinders has caused a few problems. One visited the NNR, one - the same one? - works at the Avon Valley and another on the Spa Valley so people from either of these lines should be able to advise on any problems the TKh posed.

 

The Tkh Karel which is at the Avon Valley visited the NVR last year. I believe they are 0-6-0 and smaller than the TKp which NVR resident 5485 is and its also larger being an 0-8-0.

 

Is the boiler minus a smokebox door and chimney? If so it is from a TKh. It was purchased as a spare for one of the Spa Valley's TKh engines and stored at Sellinge pending commencement of works by Steve Casey. These are now on hold as it would seem the TKh will not be used on the Eridge section of the Spa Valley.

The TKh's are wide and is outside British loading gauge. However with a little bit of careful track slewing, they can be accomodated. The biggest problem with their width is over the cylinders or the piston valves to be more precise. At this point is also platform height which means striking can be a problem. Similar to some GWR engines. The rest is superstructure and can be adapted to fit better to the gauge. Unfotunately though there is nothing you can do with the cylinders.

The class do suffer from poor boilers having been built for poor steel. 'Spartan' has received extensive firebox works in the last few years. Despite this, they provide a smooth ride, are very powerful, can haul a suitable length of train over a good length of line and are very efficient in terms of coal and water consumption. 'Spartan' was also very free steaming during its years in service. They are very suitable for any line where gauge is not too much of an issue.

1928 departed the Spa Valley in November 2007 for a private site in Kent. The new owner is a collector of all things industrial and so has reassembled it with no intention of returning the engine to action any time soon. The loco is now based on private land and is not available for viewing.

It's previous owner had brought it to Kent for storage at Sellinge where it was to be restored to operation. It then moved to Tunbridge Wells to make use of the facilities the Spa Valley had on offer. There was never any intention to run it at the railway. During its time at the railway it proved to be quite unsuitable for our operation. It was a fairly rigid 2-6-4 with little movement in the bogie truck which made shunting it very problematic. It derailed a number of times and would not negotiate some of our tighter curves. Also due to its large width it could not pass some of our over briges and due to its height it was thought it would not pass under the road bridge at Groombridge. It was a lot bigger than the TKh locomotive we had in operation at the time.

I do believe an original intention was to take it to the KESR once restored.

Our operation has now moved away from the foreign engines towards smaller mainline locomotives which the Jinty and Pannier fit the bill. These will be supplemented by a TKh shortly and an RSH industrial, plus the Terrier and J94 in the longer term.

Hope this answers some of the questions.

Matt

 

Many thanks for a very informative post.

 

It's interesting to hear that the TKH won't be used on the Eridge extension - won't that limit its usefulness?

 

We have known it might not be possible to run the TKh on the Eridge section for sometime now and we have lined up plenty of work for it. Initially due to the nature of the planned operation, top and tail services to Eridge will not always be available midweek due to the amount of volunteers required so there are those public services. There are some special event weekends where Eridge won't be in use and so 'Spartan' will be able to be used on all these days. We also run a number of out of timetable specials that run to Groombridge only. Obviously the TKh can be used for that too. Finally our soon to be announced driver experience courses will see 'Spartan' used quite a lot due to its spacious cab and the limit of operation being Groombridge only. So hopefully she shouldn't sit still too much.

Matt

 

Thanks for that post Matt. That clears up a lot of things. I had heard rumours of 1928 moving to the KESR, but all the talk had gone silent of late. I am glad that she has at least found a new owner to care for her, and won't quietly rust away.

 

Here is 1928 in better days on the NVR in 1979
http://pics-by-john.photoblog.org.uk/p58164795.html

 

ideal engine for the NVR; not sure about anywhere esle. Would be good to see her back in steam there.