War Department 2-8-0 locomotive No. 90733
Now back in traffic following an extensive overhaul
Built in January 1945 by The Vulcan Foundry Ltd Newton-le-Willows, works number 5200. The Locomotive was shipped to the continent and sold to the Netherlands State Railways where it became their 4300 class number 4464.
In 1953 it was sold to the Swedish State Railways (Statens Jarnvagar) along with 4383 – WD 78529 a North British Locomotive Co No. 25428 of October 1944.
It was given the classification G11 and re-numbered 1931 and 4383 became 1930.
After undergoing trials at Halmstad in Southern Sweden it was given a heavy overhaul and conversion to Swedish form, at Orebro and then entered service in February 1954. It remained in service in the Halmstad, Landeryd, Nassjo, and Falkoping areas until October 1956 when it was withdrawn.
Between November 1958 and February 1959 some minor restoration work took place at Boras prior to being taken to an isolated forest clearing at Mallansjo where it was stored undercover with 1930 until the end of 1972.
Both engines were examined by a small group of KWVR members in September 1972 and 1931 being the slightly better of the two engines was purchased and repatriated. It arrived back in UK at Hull on the 12th January 1973 and offloaded at Ingrow the following day. 1930 was eventually cut up.
Only a minimal amount of work was necessary to put the locomotive back into service, and with this completed 1931 entered Worth Valley service on a works train on Sunday November 4th 1973. At the end of 1976 it was withdrawn due to boiler stay problems and its general run down mechanical condition.
The second heavy repair started in 1993. The idea from the outset was to put the only WD 2-8-0 left in the world back to its as built form and re-number the engine by continuing the series of numbers for repatriated engines on British Railways.
The significance of this from the outside was readily apparent. There was only a 6 wheel tender, and the original cab was long gone. Internally the condition of the locomotive was mixed. The parts that were worn were VERY worn. The vast majority of the running gear required attention. New tyres were also required throughout. In the boiler the crown stays were scrap, as were several hundred steel side stays and of course tubes and flues and the smoke box. However, the good parts were not too bad. In particular the plate work in the boiler, including the copper firebox were found to fundamentally sound. The work done by the Swedes when mothballing the engine had done a great deal to preserve the key parts.
Less obvious was the fact that the Swedish work in 1953 had removed almost all of the UK fittings and pipe work. There were also a wide variety of additions, which had to be removed, which of course creates a great deal of work that is now completely invisible. Taking the non-ferrous equipment as an example, a complete set of replacement parts has been sourced or made, from injectors to brake valves, from manifolds to top feeds. Also a complete brand new set of pipe work has been made for the entire locomotive, including all fittings and unions.
A significant piece of luck was when information was received detailing the whereabouts of an 8 wheel WD tender frame set that was surplus to requirements. Negotiations were swift and the vehicle, which had been used as an internal transport bogie in a boiler works in Sweden, was soon in Haworth yard. With a new tender tank that was made by British Steel at Scunthorpe in a very generous gesture, a major obstacle had been overcome.
Work on the locomotive frames has been very thorough. Some of the better Swedish features have been kept, such as the equalised suspension and the fully compensated brake system. A brand new cab, complete with all its internal fittings has been made at Haworth, including items such as reversing handles and whistle pulls, emphasising the point that much of the project has meant making from new.
The boiler work was one item that was outside of the Worth Valley teams scope. The progress and achievement made it clear that the project would be completed and this helped to secure a very significant donation from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We also had a significant grant from PRISM, all of which has gone into the boiler work. The financial support allowed a commercial contract to be let for the complete repair of the boiler. This was with LNWR Heritage at Crewe.
Restoration complete, the locomotive finally returned to Haworth on Monday 16th April 2007 and following a period of testing and running-in, it officially re-entered traffic on Monday 23rd July 2007 |
