What Steam Engines Are In Alresford Headshunt

What Steam Engines Are In Alresford & Ropley Headshunts
On the mid hants railway how many steam engines are stored in alresford and ropley headshunt and what are they

if anybody can help or knows anything post relative and up to date info on here

many thanks

Young Railway Man

 

Sure know how to pick a 'hot potato' there:tape:

John

 

Why is it a hot potato? It is no big secret which engines are in service, and the rest are not....you can find a list on the website. Without giving precise details about where everything is, 31874, 31625, 34016, Sir FP, 80150, 73096, Douglas, 41312, are all stored in various places, that change quite often.

 

And 499, 506 828, some parts in Ropley yard and parts in the line up just outside I think. No steam in Alresford headshunt last time I looked, which was just after the spring gala. The Peak is still there though. I suppose the "hot potato" refers to the JB owned locos? Or maybe just that the line up outisde Ropley looks a bit bedraggled? leaving any stock out in the open is a necessary evil for most Heritage railways. As ever a question of time, money, manpower and space for sheds all being at a premium. I'm glad that Can Pac is nice and dry at Eastleigh, and hear great things about Cheltenham too.

 

You didnt look very hard then did you 80150 and Freddy Pile are down there, along with the Peak, and until about two weeks ago, the Class 27, which has now moved to Ropley.

 

Well I haven't seen 80150 or 34058 in my 4 visits this year (3 back to back days and a 4th last Sunday) so I guess they probably are down there but again couldn't see them. Speaking of Ropley headshunt what is the tender right at the end. Its a Maunsell one slightly rusty but is it 31625's or 31874's.

 

I believe that the tender in question was part built at Swindon in the 1990`s destined for 31625.

However due to various reasons 31625 was outshopped with the tender borrowed from 31806 and ran with this one until withdrawn from service.

31806 regained its original tender eventually(after the Ropley fire damage and subsequent repair) and thus the part complete tender for 31625 has sat in limbo at the end of Ropley headshunt for near on 10 years or possibly more.

 

It arrived with a twin bogie LSWR/SR water cart type tender, but was found to be so severely corroded that only the bogies and underframe were salvagable.

Work started on repairing and replacing crossmembers on the underframe and a new tender tank was made by Plenty`s of Newbury i believe.

A change of plan occurred however, when Eastleigh works closed and a test bed for Hampshire/Berkshire Unit DEMU engines was aquired.

This was built on the tender frames of a twin bogie water cart tender which was in excellent condition and after the removal of the test bed superstructure the manufactured tender tank was fitted to these frames about 2 years ago, work on completion is ongoing.

The part rebuilt tender frame crossmembers from the original scheme are somewhere at Ropley.

The bogies will proved spares for the tenders of 30499 an 30506 as required i would imagine.

 

I knew the 27 had moved recently, I have a picture of Freddy Pile in the headshunt somewhere from last year, forgot he was still there. Didn't see 80150 though!

 

Somewhere there should be a tender for Douglas.

 

Alton Headshunt! lol With the tender body for 34007s new one, and some of the older freight set wagons, yet to go through Medstead yard! lol

 

Just to clarify things a bit. I referred to the tenders as water cart tenders which i believe was the nickname given to the type of Drummond tenders fitted behind T9`s. I should have referred them just as being double bogie tenders, of Urie or Maunsell origin. Sorry if any confusion was caused.

For a full history of the two Urie S15 tenders click Urie Locomotive Society for 499
or Urie Locomotive Society for 506.

 

This thread needs to be merged in to the MHR restoration thread. But any way here is a photo of 34007 tender which continues to get a mention on this forum from time to time.