Austerity 2-8-0 query

Very interesting have you the numbers of these loco's. Only loco's fitted with the Hudd AWS system were allowed on the London and Tilbury .14A Cricklewood had several Ivat class 4 2-6-0s fitted with it for working St Pancras to Tilbury boat trains.

 

Wern't they 2-10-0 S. A bit later than 1949. On trial to see if 9Fs would be suitable for the Southern.

 

Not saying they weren’t but I’m surprised to hear that. The 2-10-0’s were all Scottish based due to their steel fireboxes and Scottish water generally being better for them. I’ve not heard of any being loaned elsewhere previously.

 

Peter Groom wrote an article about wartime 8Fs for the 8F Society's magazine and spread into WD 2-8-0s and 2-10-0s. Apparently, these last went originally to the LNER. He captions one photo:

WD 2-10-0 90755 at Grangemouth, its home shed, on 3 April 1961. It was a NBL engine dating from June 1945 and went to March when new. It received this number at some time in 1948. All 25 of these engines finished up in Scotland.​

 

It was probably the same as my Father s ,a driver at Kettering when he was given a WD 2-8-0 to work a Storefield to West Hartlepool fully fitted Iron Ore train .These started 1n 1962 , the load was 27 x26ton tipplers,just short of a 1000 tons with a brake van When they started orders were given that they must be worked by a 9F.It was a 18BWesthouses loco working ,they received several WD 2-8-0S from the Western region in 1962 ,it was part of a big swop round of loco;s ,it was no surprise one turned up. I worked at Storefield and joined him on the footplate for 10mins or so .He was just showing his fireman how to set up the lubricater that was on the right hand side. They had WD 2-8-0S and 2-10 0s during the war at Kettering and Welingboro' ,The tender water gauge was a pipe system where two pipes, the outer one had holes drilled in it ,and when lined up the level of the water should show .Unfortunately the holes were completely fured up. This was a lodging job so I didn't see him for a few days ,his only remark was he couldn't see how the railway company could expect men to work on such loco's.

 

The source i have is the noted photographer R.C.Riley, quoted in Klaus Marx’ book on the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway:

Regular journeys did not commence until 1949, when he noted Bricklayers Arms 2-6-0s (Duty 540) on the 3.28pm up from Haywards Heath. These came down on the 12.8pm freight from Norwood Junction and in that summer were also employing ‘Austerity’ 2-8-0s which were not always filtered out by the Three Bridges foreman and continued south, to return on the 3.28pm. Those used at the time when the class was being renumbered included Nos. 77205/26/31/56 and 90552/3/8.​

Tom

 

It would have been no big deal to send a loco from Scotland to the S R for tests .Steel fire boxes were replaced by copper in very earley BR days on 2-10-0s.

 

According to BRDatabase: 90106 90196 90244 90256 90093 90653 90514 90298 90042 90023 90522 90501

 

90763 was allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor which happened to be in England - but I get your point.

 

Not quite correct, on a technicality.90763 was allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor. It certainly worked the Long Meg to Widnes anhydrite train on one occasion, as it was photographed on 27E Walton-on-the Hill shed during its layover. 90763 was loaned to 6F Bidston during 1959. What for I do not know. Bidston already had three 9Fs to work the Shotton iron ore trains. It worked in the area as it was photographed on 9F Heaton Mersey shed.

 

Thanks for that,I wonder where they worked to.

 

I'm intrigued by this. Was the Southern anticipating a surge in traffic at Wenfordbridge?

 

The last BR shed to withdraw WD 2-8-0S was. 55E NormantonI paid a visit there in October 1967 ,it closed a few weeks later. I got permission to go round and a fireman came with me .He informed me that 90632 and 90351 were the last two to come on shed, about the same time, on the last day of September, and taken out of service .He had transferred from Farnley Jnc when it closed a couple of years before ,No 351 was one of their engines then. The WD 2-8-0 were remarkable value to B R ,535 locos at £2.929 each A number of these had been in store and never used. including 90351.The LNER paid £4.500 each for 200 just after the war. An example, the 1939 order to NB /BP/Vulcan for Stanier 8F s was.£ 10.000.,about the same as a Crewe price. The NB etc loco's were slightly different in as the frames were made of thicker but milder steel ,con rods 5 ins shorter ,and different types of lubrication. Please see photo of 90351 at 55E Normanton ,October 1967.

 

No ,Fawley oil Refinery .Large expansion planned for the early 1950s

 

Kingmoor was originally a Scottish region shed (68A), as was Carlisle Canal (68E), originally belonging to the Scottish divisions of the LMS & LNER. Transferred to the London Midland in the boundary changes in (I think) 1958. That explains why 90763 ended up on the London Midland. I often wondered why this lone loco wasn’t moved to one of the Scottish sheds that had them.

 

Didn't New England also have a large allocation of these?

 

I never saw one on a train, only at Tilbury when I bunked the shed a couple of times. I assume they worked the bulk oil and cement trains, and mixed goods from Ripple Lane yard, but no idea where to.

Edit. I forgot the obvious traffic to and from Dagenham for Ford!

 

I think they had a few 2-10-0 during the war .But plenty of 2-8-0 s during BR days ,I recon about 50 .Just down the road at March a further 40- 50 ish were allocated. I think Wakefield had the largest ,about 80,a close runner up was 38A Colwick /Nottingham.60 or so.

 

March certainly had a lot from what I can remember. It seemed to keep its engines looking reasonably smart but as with other sheds not the WDs. Did any of them ever see a cleaner’s tag from one overhaul to the next?

 

Shorted of staff was the main problem Not many 15/16 year olds wanted a dirty job ,money not that good until they got a few firing turns in , terrible shift patterns.It of course varied area to area,where unemployment was bad vacancys were taken up . Express passenger depots say Camden .Kings Cross had gangs of cleaners,not in the promotion line,a regular day shift full money on starting .BR would only fund them at the top passenger sheds