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139 – 137 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits and Pieces

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Please Note: the Museum will not be open on Sunday 2nd April 2023

139 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News Autumn 1991 – Part 2

How it was, how it is and the 1st Burntwood Scouts

 Initially we started the track attack around Jan/Feb 1990, but an accumulation of other, more pressing jobs needed our attention.  As a result, it was decided to leave the planned track extension until a later date, which was more or less twelve months later.

How it was.

After laying 50 odd concrete sleepers between two of us, just Pete and I, we came to the conclusion that the rails were out of true, that is, they were not in uniform lengths.

We concluded that it would take more than two of us to correct this problem so we decided to leave it until later in the year, and, as stated earlier, other jobs required more urgent attention.

Meanwhile, it had been decided that the various departments of our railway required better leadership, and as a result, Les Emery became our Permanent Way foreman.

Firstly, I suppose he felt like any other p-way ganger would, that trundling down 1,000 or so yards of track to nowhere specific causes enthusiasm to wane a little.  Secondly, he seems the kind of bloke who has the uncanny knack of proving the need for his actions, and if a job should crop up, would rather do it first than answer for it later.  Now the p-way gang get even the most tedious jobs done, whether it is weedkilling, tightening fishplate bolts, or even cutting back the grass banks or trees.  Using a shovel and sweat (unless some kind soul out there has got an old JCB to lend us?) quite a lot has already been achieved.How it is.

Things are coming on nicely thank you.  Since starting the ‘track attack’ in February, Les came up with a brilliant idea for moving 60 foot lengths of rail with only about three blokes, by the use of three small rollers onto which the rail can be jacked and then pushed along.

Our gallant leader believes that we could be at the bottom of the causeway bank by the end of October, others reckon spring 1993, and that id laying the track, ballasting and having it passed by the Railway Inspectorate.

Ur long term ambition is to relay the track as far as Anglesey Wharf, which is close to the bad canal bridge in Wharf Lane.  Mind you, that’s a long way off yet, but the way things are going, could be in the next ten years or so.

Our main concern will shortly be the causeway bank which has got to be braced and backfilled as the water has eroded the banks on either side.  The ‘spiky bridge’ also needs repair; I wonder if it will still be called the ‘spiky bridge’ once it is repaired?  We are fortunate to have no underbridges on this railway, just the two overbridges.

It is hoped to use the existing platform built years ago by the Manpower Services Scheme on the other side of the causeway.  This would be the end of our extended run until further rail and sleepers could be obtained.

Our track attacks take place once a month, with minor maintenance jobs done in between.  With our line getting ever longer, weedkilling by watering can is tending to become an all day job.  A big tank with a spray pipe at one end could be a solution to the problem.After the toe rags smashed the Willow Vale bridge handrails off completely, Dave, Keith and Paul fabricated new handrails using old bullhead rail so that should, I pray, be that job done.

I should mention the great help we had from the Burntwood Scouts during the May track attack – it was much appreciated – cheers.

Arthur Edwards

The 1st Burntwood Scouts and the May Track Bash

1st Burntwood scouts were one of the largest scout groups in the Lichfield District.  They had just under 200 members ranging from 7 year old Beavers through to 20 year old young men and women in the Venture section.

Whilst many of the activities have changed over the years, to meet the challenges of today’s society, one activity which is still central to scouting is that of helping others.  This can take many forms, but one in particular is that of becoming involved in the local environment.

When Dave Whittle mentioned that the Chasewater Light Railway hold regular sessions to clear and extend the running line, the Jupiter Troop of scouts thought that this would not only be a worthwhile environmental project to become involved in, but might also be good fun.

As it turned out the boys who came along all thoroughly enjoyed themselves, put a bit of work in as well, and went home both tired and wanting to return.  Now that we have made the contact, we will be bringing parties of scouts along to help out in any way that we can.

1st Burntwood Scouts.The scouts pose with the CLR track gang in front of the works train at the end of the May ‘track bash’.

137 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1991 – Part 5

More Sid Browne Memories – Pete Aldridge

Flat Tyres

Whilst industriously playing cards one morning in the1960s at Bescot, Sid was summoned to the foreman’s office.

‘Sid’ said the foreman, ‘There’s a special test train waiting at Wolverhampton.  They haven’t got a guard, so I’m sending you along.’Gateway to the high level railway station

This building is described thus on a blue plaque erected by the Wolverhampton Civic Society:
“The Queen’s Building. Gateway to the High Level Railway station. Erected 1849. Edward Banks, Architect.”
It is located a short walk away from the mainline station. The bus station is located beside it.   © Copyright Ruth Sharville and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Sure enough a taxi arrived and took Sid to Wolverhampton High Level.  The special train consisted of four brand new electric locomotives, two at each end of a test coach.  It all looked very impressive.  Alas, no-one had a key to open the doors on the coach, so Sid, a petite sixteen and a half stone, had to force his way in through the corridor connection.  The key was hanging up in a corner of the coach.

Eventually everyone got on board.  The driver of the electric loco was told ‘You’ve got a clear path through to Stafford.  Go as fast as you can from here and don’t stop no matter what we do with the brakes until we get to Stafford.

‘Hello!’ thought Sid ‘This should be fun.’

The train started off and rapidly picked up speed.  ‘Just a minute! called one of the inspectors, ‘The handbrake’s still on the coach!’

‘So take it off then’ chimed another inspector.

‘Could be tricky,’ said Sid ‘It’s external; there’s no way of getting at it from in here.’

The inspector applied the vacuum brake, but to no avail, the driver was carrying out hid instructions to the letter.

What a sight it must have been, four gleaming electric locos, pantographs sparking and flashing, with the tyres of the test vehicle flashing and sparking as well.  As it turned out, the driver did not get the clear run he had been promised, and the train stopped near Penkridge.  The inspectors hurriedly released the handbrake and climbed back onto the train.  The signals changed and the driver set off once more.

‘THUMP THUMP THUMP’ went the coach wheels, which had huge flats on their tyres.  The train accelerated up to Ninety miles an hour.  ‘THUBITY THUBITY THUBITY’ the coach shook and vibrated.   Things fell of shelves and out of cupboards.  This was unbearable.

At long last the train arrived at Stafford.  ‘Everything OK?’ asked the driver as he climbed down from his electric.  The test crew, plus Sid, were ashen faced and feeling far from well.

‘No, not really,’ replied the inspector, and was promptly sick!The first ‘Peak’ Diesel leaving Stafford on an Up express View NW, towards Crewe etc. on the WCML. By 1960 many WCML expresses had been handed over to Diesel haulage: here No. D1 ‘Scafell Pike’, the first BR/Sulzer ‘Peak’ 2,300hp Type 4 1-Co-Co-1 (later Class 44 No. 44.001), pulls the 08.30 Carlisle – Euston out of Stafford station.  © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

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136 and 138 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits and Pieces

Posted on March 9, 2023 by | Leave a comment

138 – ChasewaterRailwayMuseum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News Autumn 1991 – Part 1

Editorial – Nigel Canning

This summer has seen a number of achievements on our railway.  The station and its facilities have been improved, the track is gradually being extended towards the causeway and the existing running line maintained to the best of our ability.  One big problem, however, still hangs over the line – the proposed motorway.  The latest news is that it will be a toll road, and for various reasons may not now be completed until 1997.  If we had a tiny percentage of the money already spent just planning and re-planning the motorway we could probably complete our railway and finance it for the next fifty years!

Locomotive News

No.4 Asbestos – Work on this loco has continued with the fitting of twenty four boiler tubes to replace those leaking when the loco was taken out of service.  The steam manifold in the cab has now been re-machined and a new main shut off valve fitted.  It is now likely that the hydraulic test will be carried out in the next couple of months.

No.5 Sentinel – This loco has worked all the passenger trains so far this year without major incident.  The recent closure of Lea Hall Colliery brought about a brief change of fuel on the railway, and 9632 seemed to be much happier running on the replacement Littleton coal, however with the arrival of our two new mineral wagons and their unexpected contents the loco is again running on Lea Hall coal.                          One consequence of a Sentinel powered railway is that the water column has fallen into disuse and has not even been filled this year as the loco will run all day on its 500 gallon thankful with perhaps a little topping up from the hosepipe.

No.2 Lion – Four new mud doors have been made and fitted to the firebox, but the loco still awaits a set of washout plugs before it can be hydraulically tested.  Already two sets have been specially made and found to be wrong to the dimensions specified.  A third set is now being made!

S100 – Work is still progressing on the building of a machine to re-grind the hornguides of this loco.

DL7 – Upon attempting to start the engine after its having stood out of use for a few weeks yet another valve jammed, bending its pushrod.  This time the damage appears more serious, requiring the removal of one of the cylinder heads to allow a repair to be effected.  As a consequence the loco has been out of service throughout the summer.

Fowler – This loco has remained in regular use for shunting and for works train duties without problem, although it seems to have developed a loud hiss from the exhaust outlet, the reason for which has yet to be established.

Smith Rodley Crane – The crane has remained out of use lately although some work has been carried out in preparation for the fitting of safety guards over the exposed gearing in the cab.

Permanent Way News

As usual a lot of hard work has been put in on track maintenance and relaying.  Work on the extension has been restricted to the monthly ‘track bashes’, but even so we are now getting very close to the houses at Norton.  The May ‘track bash’ was boosted by help from the 1st Burntwood Scouts, although since then the holiday season has reduced numbers quite dramatically (to four on the August ‘bash’.Flier included with the magazine!

On other weekends effort has been concentrated on the existing running line.  Various sections have been re-packed and aligned, as a result of which the ride is much smoother than it has been.

The whole of the running line as far as Willow Vale has been weed killed by hand using watering cans, a mammoth task by any standards, and now looks very tidy indeed.  In July a large area of weeds was dug out from the end of the line by a party of pupils from Brownhills Comprehensive School, making a great improvement.  Even the bridge handrails have been renewed, this time using toe-rag proof bullhead rail and point rodding.

The concrete platform for Willow Vale was scheduled to arrive in July, but due to the SVR’s crane driver being ill, has been delayed for a while.  Hopefully we can still get it delivered to Chasewater before the start of the dark evenings.

Carriage & Wagon News

It looks as if work will shortly begin on building a small carriage shed to allow restoration of wooden stack to continue in bad weather.  It is intended that this ’temporary building’ will be erected against the buffer stops on No.1 road using steelwork and sheeting which has been in storage in the loco shed yard since last year.  Work will commence with the painting of the metalwork and clearing of the proposed site.

Midland four-wheel Passenger Brake – A number of wooden panels have been removed for repair and to give access to the framework beneath.  Because of this, the vehicle has remained partially sheeted over.

Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln six-wheel coach – This vehicle has also received attention to its wooden panelling.

Great Eastern six-wheel Passenger Brake – This is yet another vehicle which has had body panels repaired, and this time painted in blue temporarily in order to keep out the weather.

Maryport & Carlisle six-wheel coach – This vehicle has been completely sheeted over and no further restoration has been carried out.

Wickham 2-Car DMU E56171 & E50416 – These two vehicles are still separated as the trailer is still; running as part of the passenger train.  With the new station buffet now open for business, and the Derby centre car soon to take over on the passenger train, they will shortly be re-united so that their restoration to a working DMU can begin.

Gloucester Trailer E56301 – This vehicle has remained in service on the passenger train without problem, although the bodywork is now somewhat tatty to say the least.

Derby Centre car W59444 – This vehicle has not yet entered service but will do so shortly as soon as the Guard/Driver buzzer system has been modified.  Up until now a separate wiring harness has been added to each coach for this purpose, but to simplify things, a special jumper cable has now been made so that coaches can connect via their own cabling, and to the loco via the new jumper lead.   Once the Wickham is taken out of service, a new bar will be needed, possibly the ‘Derby Bar’.

Wagons – Details of the two new steel-bodied mineral wagons are given in a later post.  The two GWR brake vans have remained in use as mess and tool vans on the works train.  No work has been carried out on any other vehicle.

General News From The Line

Bric-a-Brac Stall – This now well established feature of Brownhills West Station continues to make a large contribution to the upkeep of our railway, typically £50 or £60 over a Bank Holiday weekend.  Many thanks to Jan Forrest for the donation of books for the stall.

Station Buffet – The new station buffet is now open for business and requires only minor work such as the fitting of steel roller shutters over the windows to complete the structure.  Named the ’Shunters’ Cabin’, this establishment is also making money and is a fantastic improvement over the previous arrangement.  Mains water and electricity, and a staff toilet, are among the facilities not previously available in the old Wickham buffet.

Portaloos – The ‘Ladies’ and ‘Gents’ have also opened for business.  This feature of the station will no doubt be appreciated by the public, and stands as a tribute to Walsall Council’s total disinterest in facilities at Chasewater.  The building has been painted in maroon and cream with strategically positioned flower beds to hide the wheels.

136 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces From Chasewater News April 1991 – Part 4 More Sid Browne Memories – Pete Aldridge

136 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits and Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1991 – Part 4

More Sid Browne Memories – Pete Aldridge

One Upmanship

During the 1960s many long cherished traditions on the railways were swept away.  The scrapping of steam and the closure of many branch lines are well known, but in fact almost every aspect of railway life was changed.  For many decades the railwaymen had worked to their own hierarchy, whereby the most senior guards got the best pay, and generally easier jobs.  Then the tide of change began to sweep in.

As a goods senior guard at Bescot, Sid was among the more senior of the staff and had become used to the ‘plum jobs’.  One of these was the Bescot to Sheffield goods train as this involved maximum pay for minimum effort.  One morning, however, a new policy was introduced.

The foreman introduced a slightly scruffy looking young man to Sid.

‘This is Norman’ he said, ‘He’ll be taking over some of the Sheffields, so can you show him the road and make sure he’s OK?’

Sid was far from pleased.  The youth was a new recruit and had what we would call today an attitude problem.  Sid was determined to show him just who was the boss.  Once all their duties were done, Sid and Norman climbed into the brake van.  The driver of the Sheffield bound train also knew what was at stake, and intended that this new youth should be put in his place.

To Norman’s surprise, Sid lay stretched out on the bench in the brake van and apparently dozed off.  Norman did not know that in this position Sid had a good view of the train through the ducket in the side of the van.  Through half closed eyes Sid watched the loco until its cylinder drain cocks opened prior to the train moving off.  Sid yawned and appeared to wake up.  ‘It’s about time we were off’ he said nonchalantly.  ‘How do you know?’ began the youth, but before any explanation was given the van jolted forwards.  They were off.  ‘It’s a sort of sixth sense you get’ said Sid mysteriously.  Sid pretended to doze off once more while all the time looking carefully through the ducket.

After a few minutes Sid stirred again.  ‘I reckon the peg’ll be against us at Brownhills’ he said.

‘Why do you say that?’ said Norman.

‘Just a feeling’ explained Sid, not, of course, admitting that he could see the approaching signals.  Sure enough, the train slowed and Sid laconically pulled the hand brake on.

At every junction, station or landmark along the way Sid would mystify his unwanted pupil, pretending to be asleep until his mysterious sixth sense popped up/

‘Smell that?’ said Sid ‘That’s the hops at Marston’s Brewery.  It’s a totally different smell to the hops at Bass brewery.  If you’re going to work this line at night you’ll have to tell the difference or you’ll not know what part of Burton you’re in.’

Young Norman’s self-confidence was beginning to crack.  Did you really have to be a beer expert to become a railway guard?

Just outside Sheffield Sid drove his point home.

‘Ah!’ he said ‘Roast mutton’.  Poor Norman was mystified.

‘What day is it?’ asked Sid.

‘Err… Thursday’ replied Norman.

‘Then we must be at Millhouse, you see the Victoria pub serves roast mutton on Mondays and Thursdays.  The pub’s right next to the railway, so you can’t miss the smell.   The trouble is, the Railway Hotel at Heeley also serves mutton, but on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, so you need to remember what day of the week it is and who serves what on what day of the week, otherwise if it is foggy, you might not know where you are.  Is that all quite clear?’

Norman just did not know what to think.  Not only did you need to be psychic and a beer expert, you had to be familiar with all the pub menus on either side of the railway and a walking almanac.

Needles to say, Norman soon left the railway and the ‘Sheffields’ remained in the hands of the senior men a while longer.

(Actually, those railwaymen who knew Sid would probably say that he DID know the pub menus on the line from Bescot to Sheffield!)

 Experience at Chasewater proves the answer to this question to be a resounding ‘YES!’

Please note: While these stories are as they were told to Sid’s grandson, and have not been knowingly embellished, the author cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracy!  If they are not true, they ought to be!

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134 and 135 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits and Pieces

Posted on February 10, 2023 by | Leave a comment

134 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1991 Part 2

The “Derby Works” Centre Car

After several months of anticipation, former BR Class 116 DMU centre car No.59444 finally made it to Chasewater on 22nd January 1991.  This coach, purchased by Mr. Les Emery, started its journey on the previous Sunday when it was shunted from the BR maintenance depot to the Birmingham Railway Museum.  On Monday 21st it was loaded on to the low-loader and set out for Brownhills West.  Unfortunately, a mix up with the police escort for this abnormal load led to it being left overnight at the transport café known as the ‘Greasy Spoon’, just off the M6 at Gailey.

The following morning, however, the journey continued and by 11.30 the huge lorry was in position for unloading.  All that we had to do was to propel the flat wagon up to the unloading ramp, couple up, and pull the coach down the ramp.

At this point, the lorry with Mr. Newbold’s new saddle tank arrived causing a few minute’s delay as the tank had to be unloaded onto the flat wagon we were about to use.

After about twenty minutes, the flat wagon, complete with its £6,000 worth of saddle tank was cautiously propelled up to the coach.  Remembering the entertaining few hours we had recently spent unloading the two recently acquired brake vans, all those present were rather anxious, as I am sure readers will understand.  We need not have worried, as the coach came down the ramp and onto our tracks without any problem.  By the time we has shunted the coach into ‘Elseley’s Siding’ and coupled it to a brake van, the haulage company were already off down to London to take a coach from Stuart’s Lane to the steam railway at Swanage.

Once safely coupled to the brake van, (remember that there are no handbrakes on a 116 centre car), we indulged in a brief trip down the line to Willow Vale and took the opportunity to take a few photographs.  With a 20 ton ‘Toad’ one end and the Fowler diesel on the other, the latest CLR acquisition was certainly a heart warming sight.

It is anticipated that this coach, which requires almost no interior work, will enter service early this year, but will be repainted in a suitable colour scheme in the summer.  The coach will carry theCLR number 104, and its old BR number of 59444 to keep the gricing fraternity happy.

Although many steam railways have whole rakes of coaches delivered at a time, we can feel suitably pleased with our coach, the first of its type in preservation.  Many thanks and congratulations are due to its proud owner, Mr. Emery.

135 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces From Chasewater News – April 1991 Part 3 A new Tank for Lion – Ian Newbold

135 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News -April 1991 Part 3

A New Tank for Lion – Ian Newbold

When I bought this loco, I was aware that its saddle tank had seen better days, but I was naively optimistic despite over a decade of playing with other people’s locos. I should have known better! As the loco’s rebuild progressed, in the normal far from smooth manner, I started to investigate the tank more closely. Now some of the older hands at Chasewater were probably having a quiet snigger at this stage, and after a few days of shovelling debris out of the tank and hitting it with a hammer I realised I had quite a problem. This problem is known by a number of names, in Italian it is Fiat, in Japanese it is Datsun, in plain English – rust, and it has an iceberg-like quality – you only initially see the tip of the problem. At this point, I went away and started asking for advice. In reality, patching the tank was unlikely to solve the problem for more than a very short while, also, how do you weld to a lace petticoat-like structure? I think it would be a case of ‘chasing the dragon’. Anyway, I tried to keep all the options open in my mind, including a lorry-load of glass fibre and car body filler. If Flying Scotsman’s second tender could have six tons of concrete in the bottom to stop it leaking, I’m sure I could find a solution to Lion’s tank. Enquiries gave a guide commercial price of around £3,500 to £4,500 for a replacement saddle tank which to be honest was a little outside my price bracket, and as I didn’t want to upset the bank manager, it was find a cheaper option time. A feasibility study into the loading effects of side tanks proved that they were a contender which, while still pricey, were a fair bit cheaper than a saddle. Rubberised and other coatings for the inside of the original tank also came in for investigation. Whilst all this was going on, a chance question from an acquaintance at work started the ball rolling in a different direction. For the benefit of those who are unaware, I have the dubious fortune of working in the newspaper industry – not one of the world’s most stable jobs these days, and noted for its internal politics. Anyway, I was asked how the loco was coming on and I remarked ‘Fairly well except for the tank’. Later the same week a ‘piece’ appeared in the Birmingham Post about a chap who wanted a new saddle tank for his loco. The next day a gentleman named Peter Johnston, Director of the Coventry fabricating and plant installing firm of A.G.Brierly Ltd. contacted me at work, and after a phone chat he asked me if I could send a sketch with dimensions, and if he could handle the size he would do his best to help, provided I could wait until his workload was slack. That sketch was in the post to him later the same day. In the intervening time, I attempted to prise a copy of the loco’s drawings out of the NRM at York, however it seems that if you have a hairbrained scheme such as trying to re-create a mainline loco you can have the drawings, but to repair an existing industrial you have got no chance. Personally I think someone has got their priorities a bit wrong, why bother to keep these drawings if they cannot be used for what they were intended? Why not just have a nice bonfire? Anyway, about eighteen months later, last November, I received a phone call from Peter Johnston asking if the tank was ready to be taken away. It was, and about a week and a half later it was in Coventry. It was a few weeks later that my work roster allowed me to go and have a look at how things were progressing. What I saw came as a surprise, for I had been expecting the rotten section of the old tank to be renewed. What I was witnessing was the creation of a brand new faithful copy of the original made without drawings using modern construction techniques. A.G.Brierly Ltd. even went to the trouble of fitting false rivets to keep the appearance the same. My own feelings at the time were difficult to sum up simply, but elated gives a fair impression of them. Peter Johnston, it transpired, had been a coppersmith at Swindon Works and was undertaking this as a one-off project. Basically it was his donation to railway preservation. Also, having talked to him and to those associated with him, he is a very genuine person, a true gentleman. The new tank made its appearance at Chasewater the same day that the new coach arrived. I had attempted to ensure it arrived the day after, but a foul up over police escorts meant the coach arrived a day late – the best laid plans of mice and men and all that…. Needless to say that it proved to be a fairly exciting sort of day! As a public thank you, I managed to get the ‘Birmingham Post’ to do a follow-up ‘piece’ with a photograph of the new tank being fitted. I will admit to being a little apprehensive as the tank was lowered into position, as the fit between the front of the cab and a lip around the smokebox is rather snug. I needn’t have worried, to quote a friend of mine who watched the proceedings ‘it fitted like a glove’, an example of true craftsmanship. The gift of this new tank has helped ensure a reasonable future for ‘Lion’ as a working loco and I personally will always be indebted to Peter Johnston. I would also like to say thank you to all those at Chasewater who helped – especially Peter Aldridge for painting the inside of the tank – I believe his appearance afterwards was a sight to behold.

The Chasewater News magazine cover on No. 133 shows Lion with the new tank.

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133 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces From Chasewater News April 1991

Posted on January 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

133 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1991

Editorial – Nigel Canning

This looks like being the year that the Railway Inspector finally pays us another visit, as he has written saying he will inspect our railway ‘in the summer’.  If what he sees meets with his approval we may have a longer length of line to run on, if it does not we might not have a line at all.  It is now up to all of us to do our best to ensure that he sees an improvement in the existing railway, and that the extension to Willow Vale and beyond meets his requirements.

Later this year ‘Lion’ should enter service, and hopefully after that, ‘Asbestos’, which means that by Gricers Day we could have three engines in steam together for the first time in nine years, and even the new platform fro them to run trains into.  Let us just hope the Railway Inspector is impressed during his visit!

Locomotive News

No.4 Asbestos – Work on this loco has continued through the winter months and in March it passed its visual/ultrasonic boiler inspection.  Examination, however, has revealed that part of the firebox crown is nearing its limit on plate thickness and it is only a matter of time before serious repairs will be necessary.  The boiler will now be prepared for its hydraulic test.

No.5 Sentinel – This loco also passed its boiler examination in March and again looks like being the only serviceable steam loco for at least the first half of the season.  Repair work over the winter has included re-machining of the steam brake valve, fitting of a new cast fire grate and work on the paintwork in preparation for the ‘gasworks red’ livery to be applied as soon as weather permits.

No.2 Lion – A brand new saddle tank was delivered to Chasewater and temporarily fitted to the loco in January to check its dimensions; it was virtually perfect!  Other work has included the installation of sliding cab shutters and the boiler has been washed out.  The boiler now awaits the fitting of new washout plugs before the hydraulic test can be carried out.

S100 – Work has continued on this loco with the redesign of the hornguide grinding machine.  Another of the four main leaf springs has been stripped, cleaned and re-assembled.

DL7 – This loco was taken out of service for a couple of weeks recently while the injectors were removed, overhauled and refitted.

Fowler – This loco has remained in service without problem over the winter hauling works trains to the extension pastWillow Vale.

Smith Rodley Crane – This vehicle has seen only minimal use lately although work has continued on its repair and restoration.

Permanent Way News

The majority of work carried out by this department recently has been concentrated on the extension of track pastWillowVale.  Whilst the number of volunteers has fallen slightly, those brave enough to carryon through the worst of the winter have at least had a comfortable works train.  The favourite formation for this appears for some reason to be: the Fowler diesel, the DMU centre car and the two GWR brake vans with, of course, the stove kept well stoked.

The concrete platform for Willow Vale Halt has yet to be collected from theSevernvalley Railway as it is planned to carry out this job when the evenings become lighter allowing longer hours to be worked if necessary.

One extra job urgently requiring attention is the repair of the bridge handrails, which having recently been repaired and increased in height, have now been totally destroyed by the local toe rags.

Carriage & Wagon News

Midland four-wheel passenger brake – This vehicle has remained sheeted over during the winter, but work will continue as soon as the weather improves.

Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln six-wheel coach – Some progress has been made on this vehicle, but again the damp weather has limited the type of work that can be carried out.

Great Eastern six-wheel passenger brake – All of the doors have been removed from this vehicle for repair ‘off-site’, and the bodywork has been prepared and painted in yellow primer.

Wickham 2 car DMU E56171 & E50416 – The trailer car of this set has remained coupled to theGloucesterover the winter, and work has been carried out on refurbishment of the bar.                                                                                               A start has bee made on repairing, rubbing down and priming the bodywork of the power car ready for a repaint.  Work has also been carried out inside, removing seats and tables to make room for re-decoration.                                                                  Since the last issue of Chasewater News a preservation group dedicated to restoring the Wickham as a working DMU has been formed.  This organisation is currently drawing up its proposed constitution which is expected to be similar to that of the Hudswell Group in that the DMU will remain at Chasewater.

Gloucestertrailer E56301 – Little work has been carried out on this vehicle over the winter and there are rumours that another society may be interested in purchasing it for preservation elsewhere.  In the meantime it will be used on trains at Chasewater coupled to either the Wickham trailer or the new centre car.

Derby centre car W59444 – This coach arrived at Chasewater in January, having travelled from Tyseley diesel depot by low loader.  Before it enters passenger service, it is planned to fit a bar as a replacement for the one in the Wickham trailer.  Livery will probably remain BR blue and grey for the time being, although early BR carmine and cream has been rumoured as the intended replacement.  One problem has become apparent in that being a centre car, it has no handbrake so it has to be marshalled between another braked vehicle and the loco or the buffer stops.

General News From The Line

It now seems that the large portacabin which had been intended for use as a station buffet will not now be coming to Chasewater.  In view of this, work has started on renovating and converting the two smaller units which arrived in December to form a smaller buffet and separate kitchen.  As this work is likely to take quite a while, catering on a limited scale will take place on the train and possibly in the Wickham power car once more.                                                                                                                                           The portaloo is now in its final position next to the south end of the platform where it will be much appreciated by the loco dept.  Work on its refurbishment is progressing well and a race is now on to see whether the buffet or portaloo opens for business first.

Human Resources

An interesting meeting of working members was held in March to discuss ideas to improve work output on the railway by providing more organisation and planning so that priorities can be agreed in advance and last minute panics avoided.                 To achieve this, four departmental ‘foremen’, listed below, were appointed, whose job it is to liaise with each other to agree priorities and to suggest suitable jobs for anyone arriving at the railway and wishing to help out.

Permanent Way         Les Emery

Carriage & Wagon     Dave Whittle

Loco Dept                  Tony Sale

Station & Site             Steve Organ

If you don’t already have a project of your own and wish to help out, please contact any of the above people, or ask at the booking office where to find them.

 All photos – Nigel Canning

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131 Chasewater Railway Museum Bits and Pieces – From Chasewater News January 1991 Out and About – Peter Aldridge and 132 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces From Chasewater News January 1991 Pssst – Wanna buy a steam loco? – Ian Newbold

Posted on January 17, 2023 by | Leave a comment

131 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News January 1991

Out and About – Peter Aldridge

Regular members and visitors to our railway will probably remember a red Reliant Robin three wheeler belonging to Pete Aldridge.  When not working at Chasewater, Pete visits many of the other preservation centres throughout the country.  These trips, irreverently known as ‘Flying Pig Tours’ often involve travelling four or five hundred miles in a day, but it is always worth the long drive, and many features of Chasewater have been inspired after visits to other lines.  The reaction of the other societies is often amusing.

After arriving very early at the Yorkshire Dales Railway one morning, the members of one ‘Fling Pig Tour’ were told to ‘Sod off back to Chasewater and work on your own line!’

The West Somerset Railway was rather more appreciative.  The station staff at Bishops Lydeard had managed to padlock themselves out of the signal box.  Fortunately, theCLR members produced a large hacksaw and soon chopped the offending item off.  This earned theCLR members a free drink at the bar, not to mention some very strange looks from the operating staff who thought that the box was being burgled!

The Isle of Wight Society at Havenstreet are obviously an enlightened society.  When they found that we were from Chasewater they pulled two ‘Terriers’ and the ‘02’ from the engine shed and asked ‘How’s Asbestos?’  Few other societies have even heard of Chasewater, let alone any of our engines!

‘Terriers’ were also in evidence at the Kent & East Sussex Railway at Tenterden.  The K &ESRis a wonderful railway, but it illustrates one of the pitfalls of preservation.  Much of the light railway atmosphere of the Colonel Stephens Line has sadly gone.  In fact, Chasewater looks far more like the K &ESRthan the K &ESR– if you see what I mean!

132 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces From Chasewater News January 1991 Pssst – Wanna buy a steam loco? – Ian Newbold

Posted onSeptember 6, 2011| Leave a comment|Edit

132 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News January 1991

Pssst – Wanna buy a steam loco? – Ian Newbold

There I was sitting in the Holloway pub, Birmingham, enjoying a Thursday evening drink with a group of fellow gricers, better known as ’You lot Tours’ (where are you lot off to next?), when a wall known Chasewater member turned around and asked me if I wanted to buy a loco.  I will admit to being somewhat surprised, not that surprised that I was put off my beer mind you; it’s just that it’s not something that had ever crossed my mind, its being the sort of thing that someone else does.

Anyway, after a few weeks thinking about it and actually seeing the loco, which turned out to be ‘Lion’, I had a problem.  If I decided against it, I would probably regret it later on in life, and if I decided to buy it, I (and/or my bank manager) would also probably end up regretting it but for different reasons.  In this sort of heads you win, tails I lose situation, my parents were against me wasting my money on such a project but on the other hand, my girlfriend (now my wife) didn’t scream when I tentatively raised the subject, in fact she seemed quite relieved, having been wondering why I had been so pensive over the previous weeks.

So the decision was made, and after parting with my hard scrimped savings I became the owner of one slightly derelict Peckett.  My parents, still thinking I was mad, probably are not that far off the mark.

Writing about a loco which has had so many owners during its spell in preservation is something of a minefield, probably most other people know more about ‘Lion’ than I do, so I beg their indulgence for any ‘goof-ups’ which follow.

‘Lion’ was built by Peckett & Sons of Bristolas works number 1351 of Class E, completed  on 8th August, 1914.  It is an 0-4-0 saddle tank with 15 inch diameter by 21 inch stroke cylinders working at 160 lbs./sq. inch (originally 180 lbs./sq. inch as built) generating 16,810 lbs. tractive effort or 448 hp at 10 mph (as built with the higher boiler pressure).

‘Lion’ was supplied new to the Royal Arsenal Railway, Woolwich,London, where according to the very scant records now in existence at theArmyTransportMuseum,Beverly, the name ‘Lion’ originated.  From a very poor reproduction of a photograph taken at Woolwich it can be seen that it was here that the unusual shaped rear cab window originated.  The loco also carried a bell (steam operated?) and a water tank gauge on its left-hand side, just forward of the spectacle plate.

At this point I would like to digress slightly to talk about the railway systems of Woolwich.  In 1824 a primitive narrow gauge tramway system using horse or human propulsion was started, the various departments operating their own traffic.  It seems that the standard gauge first put in an appearance in 1870, initially as mixed gauge track.  A standard gauge connection from near Plumstead through a hole in the arsenal’s defensive wall was installed in 1876, initially worked by the SER.  The first standard gauge loco appeared in 1890 and from then until 1918 the standard gauge system of the RAR expanded to over 120 miles of track.  The early system of each department maintaining its own stock and organising its own traffic movements left something to be desired, and it fell to the Royal Engineers, initially responsible for track maintenance, to maintain and operate the system.  After the 10th Railway Company RE returned to Woolwich in 1885, it was arranged that the RAT should be used as a transport training centre, a function it fulfilled until the Woolwich instructional (later Longmoor Military) Railway took over these duties.  The RAR came under civilian control in 1921.

A passenger service was operated on the standard gauge during the First World War and diesel traction started to appear in 1939.  The standard gauge railway extended outside the arsenal perimeter with a connection to the Royal Dockyard, which was used as a WD store, and extensive sidings on the Plumstead and Erith Marshes.  The traffic required the use of gun ‘sleighs’ of up to 170 tons, and up until 1946 two barges called ’GOG’ and ‘MAGOG’, which were fitted with railway tracks, were used to carry guns between Woolwich and Shoeburyness gun ranges.

The narrow gauge had mostly gone after a 1923 decision to limit its use solely to feeding certain magazines.  The last narrow gauge loco to be delivered was an articulated Hunslet diesel built in 1954.  The last narrow gauge loco left in 1959, and by late 1960 the narrow gauge had been abandoned, although the last of the stock was not disposed of until 1971.  The standard gauge line to the Royal Dockyard closed in 1949 and the last standard gauge diesel left in 1967.  Nothing now remains of the Royal Arsenal Railway, much of the area now being factory or housing estates.

‘Lion’ was sold from Woolwich in 1950, from which it may be deduced that it was probably rendered surplus by the closure of the link to the Royal Dockyard.  G>E>Simms (Machinery)Ltd. then sold the 36 year-old loco to the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company where it became their No.2.

The Wallsend Slipway Co. was formed in 1871 with works  situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, and was served by a branch from theNERa quarter mile east of Point pleasant Station.  The firm later became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swan Hunter Group.  In 1959 the loco was converted to burn light fuel oil, and in 1964/5 it was given a major overhaul after which it saw comparatively little use.  Railway traffic ceased at Wallsend in 1972 after which the loco came to Chasewater.


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130 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces Alfred Paget nearly got to Bescot – August 1990 – (Or the Not-so-Flying Scotsman) – P. Aldridge

Posted on December 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

130 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

Alfred Paget nearly got to Bescot – August 1990

(Or the Not-so-Flying Scotsman) – P. Aldridge

BR’s ‘Bescot Open Day’ took place on Sunday, 6th May.  BR had requested that they borrow our venerable Neilson ‘Alfred Paget’ for the event.  We replied ‘yes’ but only if they cosmetically restored the engine, insured it and provided the transport.

Photo: P.Aldridge

Ian Edwards then spent many hours repainting the loco and even applied ‘No.11’ to the tank sides and buffer beams, so that the old engine looked very fine.  Arrangements were made to move the loco on Good Friday – but were then cancelled (pity no-one thought to tell me!) and re-scheduled for 3rd May.  Various Society members told the BR representative that a lifting frame would be needed and that trying to lift the loco with slings under the frames would not be permitted for fear of damaging our loco.

‘Don’t worry’ they said ‘we are professionals.’

The day arrived, and the said ‘professionals’ brought a low loader and a crane, but no lifting frame! Predictably they were unable to lift the loco, and, after six hours of struggling, gave up!

Thanks are due to Ian Edwards for restoring the loco, even though it did not get to Bescot.  Thanks are also due to Messrs. Emery, Newbold and Organ, plus a hologram of myself (I wasn’t there as I was off work sick) for organising the shunting and supervising the ‘lift’ – or lack of it!

Photo: P.Aldridge

Further thanks are also due to BR who provided the low loader and the crane.  Perhaps next time the ‘professionals’ will listen to us ‘AMATEURS’ who do, after all , have some idea what we are talking about!

Despite this disappointment it wasn’t a total waste of time, for even though our Neilson did not get to the Open Day, our sales stand did, and Mr. Bull added £200 to our coffers in a very successful day’s sales.

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126 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pie

Posted on June 18, 2022 by | Leave a comment

126 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News August 1990

Editorial

This year has seen a continued increase in volunteers and therefore in the amount of work carried out on the railway.  For the first time in a long while a number of major jobs have been carried out simultaneously, such as trackwork, carriage and wagon repairs and loco maintenance, even when trains are running.

A lot still remains to be done, and with a visit from the Railway Inspectorate now promised within the next couple of months, it is even more important that this level of activity continues.

Following the Railway Inspector’s visit we should know exactly what work is required to extend the line, or indeed to continue running the existing section, and will be able to plan accordingly.  After all, it would still be nice to run trains into a platform at Willow vale Halt later this year.  (Nigel Canning – Editor))

Locomotive News

No.4 Asbestos – Having been at a virtual standstill for a number of months, work has now re-commenced in earnest on the firebox repairs and preparation for the major boiler examination of this loco.  A number of new tubes are to be purchased and will be fitted to replace those leaking when the loco was taken out of service.  Hopefully the loco will re-enter service before No.5’s boiler certificate expires in October.Sentinel pausing at Willow Vale – Nigel Canning

No.5 Sentinel – This loco has so far handled all of this year’s trains.  Recently adjustments have been made to the camshaft driven valve gear with, eventually, improved running as a result.  Various minor steam leaks still remain to be attended to.

No.2 Lion – The new boiler tubes for this loco have now been fitted and work is progressing towards its first hydraulic examination.

S100 – Work is still progressing with the machining of the hornguides of this loco.

No.11 Alfred Paget – This loco received a very nice paint job and superficial restoration for the Bescot Open Day and has been placed on display at Brownhills West station.

No.7 – Ruston – This loco is still in good running order.

No.9 Fowler – Investigation into the starting problems of this loco which had been thought to be due to a damaged starter ring, revealed that in fact a multi-plate clutch built into the starter motor had become fouled with oil and was slipping under load.  This clutch was cleaned and re-tensioned giving perfect first time starting on this loco.

Carriage & Wagon News

Work has recently started on two of our historic coaches, the Midland four-wheel passenger brake, and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway six-wheeler.  Both have been in need of extensive renovation for some time, but now look set to receive it.

The Gloucester and Wickham trailer cars are still running coupled together to form the passenger train whilst the Wickham power car remains in use as the station buffet.

Permanent Way News

Brownhills West Loop – Nigel Canning

The new points at Brownhills West are now virtually complete along with their associated trap point set and lever frame.  This means that we now have a complete run round loop for the first time in our railway’s history.

Weedkilling of the running line took place, rather belatedly, during May.  Bad weather and financial restrictions having prevented this vital job being done earlier in the year.  In addition, a number of worn sleepers have been renewed, and on particularly bad joint repaired.  It is intended to grease the remaining fish plates on the line and re-pack any dipped joints in the next month or so.

The dramatic increase in members in recent months means that work continues even on event days when trains are running.  In the near future the large steel gate at the shed yard entrance is to be moved down to the level crossing to complete the pair of gates there.  A replacement for the shed yard has recently been donated in the form of a pair of wooden gates which when in position, will give slightly wider access for the large vehicles such as the coal merchant’s lorry.

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125 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

Posted on June 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

125 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1990

Midland Railway – Brownhills Branch – B. Bull

Copy of what may have been a locally commercially available postcard depicting a MR Johnson design 3F 0-6-0 of the type introduced in 1885 and rebuilt by Fowler from 1916 with Belpaire boiler.

Looking back through various back numbers of ‘Mercian’, ‘Chasewater News’ and ‘Railway Focus’ it becomes apparent that little has been published to inform members of the history of this branch, part of which trackbed provides us with the base for our own Chasewater Light Railway operations.  An even more glaring omission is that we have not made available for publication the few interesting photographs in the museum collection.

 On July 1st, 1879 the Midland Railway had opened a line from Castle Bromwich to Walsall with intermediate stations at Penns, Sutton Coldfield, Sutton Park, Streetly and Aldridge.  Whilst this line was being constructed, a branch from Aldridge to Walsall Wood was authorised on July 13th, 1876, with further extension to the western shores of Norton Pool being authorised on August 6th, 1880 to give an end-on connection with the Cannock Chase & Wolverhampton Railway, just south of the causeway.

The contractors for this 3¾ mile branch were H.Lovatt & Co.Ltd.  I am unable, however, to discover any details of the contractor’s locomotives which would undoubtedly been used on this project.

On April 1st, 1882 the branch opened as far as Brownhills West for goods only, with the connection to the CC & WR being opened on November 1st, 1882.

Just north of the A5 road there was a short lived spur to the Coppice Colliery, Wilkin, owned by J.Owen Ltd.  (Later the Coppice Colliery Company.  This spur closed when the colliery was shut in 1894.

Passenger services commenced to the newly opened stations at Walsall Wood and Brownhills Midland on July 1st, 1884, but colliery traffic continued to be the mainstay of the branch.

Brownhills Midland was over half a mile out of town just north of the A452 Chester Road, whereas the LNWR station on the South Staffs Walsall line was handily situated at the end of High Street so it was no surprise when the LMS withdrew the passenger service on March 31st, 1930, Brownhills Midland being demolished soon afterwards.One amazing survivor is a wooden ‘finger’ which used to point the way to the platforms.  This piece owes its continued existence to the gentleman who fortuitously purchased from the site a pile of wood to build himself a garden shed, the finger surviving long enough to find its way by means of a donation to the RPS collection.  However, I digress slightly, goods traffic continued on the branch until the closure of former Cannock Chase Colliery pits by the National Coal Board in the late 1950s, the line being lifted between Aldridge and Brownhills West in 1960, with the CC & WR remnants left around the northern shores, mainly going by 1963.  Last day of passenger services at Brownhills Midland.  A Johnson 3F, No.3277, with two coaches of compartment stock including a clerestory probably dating from the period 1897 to 1916.  The porter seems to be holding up a closure notice or something similar perhaps.

What was left owed its continued existence to the NCB Area Workshops which was then just rail connected to the former LNWR Norton Branch via a circuitous route through the closed Conduit Colliery yard reached by a spur just south of the causeway.  A small amount of the original Midland Railway metals had been left as a headshunt, this being part of the former exchange sidings with the CC & WR and it was some nine years after the Railway Preservation Society came to Chasewater before British Railways ‘rediscovered’ the sidings left for NCB use in 1960 when the rest of the branch had been lifted.  By then of course the Society had extended their track into the park so the still BR owned piece fell in the middle of the Chasewater Light Railway.  How this problem was surmounted will be the subject of a future article, as it is a story in itself.Standard MR platform lamps on hexagonal posts are in evidence, but the sawn paled fence seen in the postcard view has been replaced with the sawn diagonal variety by the time these photos were taken.

The photographs

These form part of the Museum’s collection of local photographs, some of which will be made available to the Editor to feature in future issues of Chasewater News.  With 1990 being some 60 years since Brownhills Midland closed its doors to passengers, it is especially pleasing to be able to provide photos of the last day of services, March 31st, 1930.

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124 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces from April 1990

Posted on June 3, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Museum will be open on Sunday, 5th June. 11.00am – Entry from the rear of the heritage centre

124 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1990

 A telephoto view of a Sentinel hauled train passing the shed yard – Dave France

Editorial

This winter’s mild weather seems to have promoted a lot of activity at Brownhills West station, and with much of the work being carried out by new members.  In addition to the trackwork mentioned in ‘PW News’, a hell of a lot of effort has been put in n the platform and buildings to the extent that this very public face of our activities is on the verge of looking even better than it did in 1982 before the old platform was demolished.  Work already carried out includes re-levelling of the Booking Office and fitting of an extended canopy, installing an old GPO phone box on the platform, laying a concrete path to the buffet coach and laying of grassed areas at the back of the platform.  If only we could keep this level of progress up for the rest of the season!

Locomotive News

No.4 Asbestos – This loco has now had all fittings removed and the tank lifted in readiness for its six-yearly boiler examination.  A professional boilersmith has been contracted to carry out repairs around the foundation ring where the rivets have become wasted with consequent leakage past the inner wrapper.  Work is also progressing on other minor repairs and adjustments and it is hoped that the loco will be back in service before Transport Scene.

No.5 Sentinel – This loco is still in working order, although drained down, having worked the Christmas and New Year trains.  The recently re-routed ejector exhaust has proved to be a lot quieter, allowing the driver and fireman to chat politely across the cab when running.  Only a few minor adjustments and a crank case oil change remain to be carried out before next season’s running.

No.2 Lion – Progress is still being made re-tubing the boiler and mounting of cab fittings.

S100 – Both crossheads have been separated from their piston rods, another job involving a great deal of heat and force.  Preparations are also underway for the machining of the hornguides using a patent homemade machine which grinds as it sweeps as it cleans!

No.7 Ruston – This loco is still in good running order.

Fowler – This loco performs well once running, but due to a number of teeth missing from the starter ring is tricky to start when cold.  The only recent minor failure was that of one of the vee belts which drives the air compressor.  Looking on the positive side, the dynamo control box has now been rebuilt allowing the batteries to charge correctly.

Other locos – No work has been carried out on any other loco.

Carriage & Wagon News

A number of minor but important jobs have been carried out to the interior of the Gloucester and Wickham trailers which still remain coupled together.  Hopefully the bodywork will be tidied up and repainted as soon as weather permits.

No other C & W work has been carried out.

Permanent Way News

Pete,Arthur & Steve ballast new track at Willow Vale – Dave France.

Quite a lot of progress is being made in this area despite the pitiful number of people involved.  At last a start has been made on completing the run-round loop at Brownhills West by installing the missing turnout from the end of the platform across to the buffers on No.2 road.  This work will be completed mostly using parts already on site, although a few additional timbers will probably have to be bought.  In order to ease the construction of the new loop at Norton, a complete turnout has been purchased from the Baddesley Colliery Railway, currently being demolished.  In addition to this, a large number of fishplate bolts have also been acquired involving four or five members making repeated trips to the site to unbolt them from the sidings there.

Work has continued to progress on the extension of track through the site of the new Willow Vale Halt towards the causeway.  This is now likely to be curtailed slightly during work on Brownhills West loop and on the Willow Vale platform.

Operating

Sentinel 59632 eases stock out of (21G) Hednesford Road shed yard. – Dave France

Luckily this winter the weather has again been very mild and so there was no problem with water supplies for the locos, or in attracting passengers.  The running of Christmas and New Year trains went smoothly and was financially successful.

Father Christmas was in attendance on 17th December and distributed presents to the children from his grotto in the ‘blue van’.  On 31st December the mince pie specials did good business attracting plenty of people to ride on the railway.

On 28th January there was an extra steaming when the ARPS visited us following their meeting in Birmingham.  In addition to this there was a car rally in the park so again we had a very profitable day.

The 1990 season proper looks set to start on Easter Sunday, which being a little later this year, will give us valuable extra time to carry out maintenance and repairs.

Any member wishing to volunteer to work on the train or on the station should obtain a roster form from the Booking Office.

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122/123 Chasewater Railway Bits and Pieces, Toad.

Posted on May 20, 2022 by | Leave a comment

122 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News December 1989 – 3

A Tale of Toad – Part 1 – I.Newbold

Following the arrival of this Fowler 0-4-0 Diesel-Hydraulic locomotive, two problem areas were identified.  The first was the reason for its withdrawal from commercial use; the coolant pump had expired and circulated most of the cooling water straight out onto the track.  Also the starting batteries (all four of them) had decayed during the loco’s period of inactivity.

Having removed the water pump and taken it to work, it was duly dismantled, in my own time of course, and it was only then that its reason for failing became apparent.  The sump had obviously been apart before, probably for the same reason, but unfortunately it had been put back together wrongly.  The rotating carbon seal had had its fixed running face installed back to front, and the seal which had been fitted had the wrong diameter lip for the water pump’s shaft. This meant that water could get past the seal into the bearing housing.  Now this might not have been so serious as this sort of seal usually tends to allow a very small amount of fluid past as a lubricant for the rubber faces, and the bearing housing has a drain hole in its face to allow this to escape.  Unfortunately the bearing housing had been put on upside down so the drain hole was at the top so the bearings had been immersed in water and had also expired.

Fortunately at this time a rep for the carbon-faced seal suppliers paid us a visit at work and was hi-jacked for a while.  He supplied a data sheet giving seal/shaft dimension correlations.  Armed with this information the seal face was fitted correctly, a collar turned down to fit on the shaft for the seal lip to sit against, and some new bearings found.  The water pump was then re-fitted three times before the gasket face with the cylinder block could be persuaded to seal.  Two of these occasions were in the rain and, although there is a fair amount of room under the hood, you invariably end up with water running down your neck on various occasions.  By this point I had become convinced of the advantage of air-cooled engines!

The loco then served a useful spell of duty requiring only a split air-hose to be removed.

As the months passed, the batteries became more of a problem and a blowing noise started to be heard from under the hood.  Investigation revealed the cause to be a blow from No.1 or No.2 cylinder.  This engine, in common with many automotive diesel (or more correctly oil) engines has a single piece six-cylinder block with a pair of three cylinder heads fitted.  As the blow was from the cylinder to the outside rather than into the oil or water systems, the loco could still be used with care if required.  A new set of four six-volt batteries were fitted, courtesy of the kind auspices of the loco’s major owners, Andy Cavelot.

Now the fun really started, as any of you have ever messed around with older cars, through interest or necessity, will know that getting hold of the technical manuals is a major part of the battle.  The information that came with the loco appears to have made a successful escape bid (if anyone out there knows where it is please could we have it back, even now) and Halford’s didn’t seem to stock a Haynes manual for a Fowler 0-4-0diesel hydraulic loco, so we had a problem.  The engine fitted to ‘Toad’ is a Leyland 900 series vertical lorry engine, so I started by ringing the Leyland dealer who contract services our works vans.  He revealed tat the head gasket sets could still be obtained, at a price, but he did not have a manual on these engines, in fact only one of their staff could ever remember seeing one.  He did, however, suggest that I try ringing Leyland or B.R.E.L. at Derby.  Thinking logically for a change, I decided to start with Leyland.

123 – Chasewater Railway Museum Bits & Pieces

From Chasewater News April 1990

A Tale of Toad – I.Newbold – Part 2

I rang directory enquiries and asked for Leyland/Daf; phone number actually in Leyland, Lancs.  No such luck, their computerised system could not find it.  Oh well, try a different tack.  I rang BREL at Derby and after about four phone calls managed to speak to someone who knew the Leyland 900 engine.  Unfortunately, after speaking to him, I was probably more depressed than before.  BR had employed the horizontal version on some of their stock and they had not exactly been the most spectacular success story ever.  Initially the engines had employed a wet linered cylinder block, there had been a change in piston design, followed by a change in crankshaft design, followed by a change to dry linered cylinder block.  The last modification was to cure an inherent problem of blowing head gaskets, not totally successful either, he added.  The outcome was that he could not be sure which variant we had, even from the engine number, his only suggestion was to go away and measure the cylinder head stud diameters, find out if washers were incorporated under the head nuts, etc. etc.  As a final comment, after giving various gasket fitting tips, he said that in BR use a good engine of this type would run for about a year between blowing gaskets.  Our ‘Toad’, it appears, had done so every couple of years, Leyland must have been taking lessons from Crossley.

Parallel to this, I decided to try to find Leyland again, but how?  Ring up the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust thinks I, well they only deal with cars but their non-computerised system had a record of Leyland’s phone number.  Computers 0, Card Index 1

So, feeling a little perkier I rang Leyland – Daf as it is now, and after a few tries I got through to their technical publications department.

“Have you still got any data on the 900 series?” asks I, “Good grief” say they.  After a five minute rummage, I was asked to ring back in a couple of days.  A couple of days later I rang back:  Bad news and good news, they had disposed of all their old manuals, but most had gone to the British Commercial Vehicle Museum.  However, they could not guarantee their having passed a 900 series engine manual on as it really was an Albion engine, built in Scotland.  I could try the Albion owners club.  This I did, but they didn’t seem to want to answer the phone.

The other parallel course was still grinding onward and after a measuring session of head stud diameters, etc. I rang BREL back: the chap I wanted was on holiday.  Ho Hum.

I decided to ask the loco’s previous owners if they knew anything about it.  Now I don’t know if you have ever tried to find the phone number of a military establishment, but it’s not quite as straight forward as it could be.  Deciding not to bother with Directory Enquiries, I rang the War Office, sorry, Ministry of Defence, in London and eventually got the requisite number.  I rang Radway Green, only to be told that I had just missed the Head of Transport, he had just gone home.  I rang back the next day – he was not in.  The third day I rang I was given a vital piece of information, they were shut down for holiday, could I ring back next week?  OK folks, don’t invade us or declare war – we’re on holiday!

Next week I rang back and spoke to the head of the transport department, they certainly remembered ‘Toad’, but did not repair it themselves, some chaps used to come from ‘somewhere near Derby’ to repair it.  I was passed on to the fitter, who was uncertain about whether it was wet or dry linered, and did not know the head torques.

Not long afterwards I traced the British Commercial Vehicle Museum phone number, BT’s computer had this one in memory – shock, horror, anyway I gave them a ring.

“The chap you want is out, can you ring back tomorrow?”  This sounded familiar, so I rang back the next day and found the relevant person and gave him the by now very well rehearsed patter.  He sounded quite hopeful and asked me to ring back in a few days.  This I duly did and was rewarded with the information we required.  Just for the record, if anyone else wants to fit a Leyland 900 head gasket, the torques are:  200lb/ft on the ⅝” UNF studs, and 100lb/ft on the ½” UNF studs.  Eureka!  They could even sell us a copy of the engine manual.  It is at this point that someone comes up and says ‘I could have told you that’ – if they do I’ll scream!

Now all we’ve got to do is buy a head gasket and fit it….

Then there is the dynamo control box to set up……

Then the exhauster to fit…….

Then the……..

Update 2011 – ‘Toad’ is now owned by R. Fredwoods (not sure about the spelling!) and is awaiting a new engine…..

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