Great Western Steam Revival preview

Introduction

Great Western Steam Revival B

runswick green locomotives, with polished brass and copper, hauling chocolate and cream coaches on holiday expresses including the ‘Cornish Riviera Express’; Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads, Swindon works, Box tunnel, the Devon banks, pannier tanks, auto trains, slip coach hes, the Severn Tunnel; this is what we associate with perhap ps the most distinctive of Brritain’s ‘Big Four’ railway companies in the 1923-48 period.

Uniquely among the ‘Bigg Four’, the Great Western reta ained its name after the 1923 Grou uping, and little changed except that the company grew rather bigger with wii the inclusion of many in ndependent lines, mostly in the So outh Wales valleys. The company certainly had a unique historry; Brunel’s billiard table route, the atm mospheric railway, broad gau uge, Gooch singles; Dean Goods, Britain’s first 100mph steam locom motive…

After 1923,, it sim mplly gott bettter; GWR locomotive design was an evolutiona aryy proccess throughout. Churchward was ah head of his time an nd his dessigns stood the test of time, influencin ng the engineerss who follow wed him; many of his steam designs lasting until the end d of steam, byy which time Collett had refined them somewhat.

Thee GW WR acquireed a ferv rvent v following among steam enthusiasts, whicch conttinues alm most unabated to this day, nearly 70 years after thee company ceased d to exist. This would explain why so many GWR steam engiines have returned to steam in the preserv rvation v era and work on a substantial number of heritage lines, far outweighing th he numbeers represen ntingg th he oth her ‘B Bigg Four’ com mpanies. On th he main line, GWR stea am engines not only continue to hold their ow wn againsst the opp position on home ground but have spread their wings i to an n unprecedented extent, often far away from traditional Swindon wii teerritory ry. y An And n theere is morre to come: inevitably, some well-know wn GWR cllasses did d not surv rvive v the end of steam in the mid-1960s but new ex xamples are being built. A Saint, a Grange and a Countyy w wiill one day rub sh houlders with K Kiings and Castles once more.

The GW WR was jusst so different to the other three comp panies that when the railways were nationalised in 1948 and it becam me the

Western Region of British Railways, it went its own way regardless and it was said that BR consisted of five regions plus the Great Western! The GWR’s Brunswick green paint scheme was adopted for all of BR’s express locomotives and from 1957, chocolate and cream coa azches even ma ade a wellcom me reappearance on the WR’s top expresses. Steam gave way to diesel inevitably but the WR opted for hydraulic transmisssion while the others preferred diesel-electrics.

But the WR was aheead of the other regions with wii its diesellisation programme in the 1960 0s and to all intents and purposes steeam ended at the end of 196 65, although a few former GWR engin nes soldiered on for a while, working from sheds now under LMR R control in the West Mid dlands and North Wales. Already All steam m preserv rvation v was well established though and a handful of preserv rved v GWR engines saw action on main lines in the 1960s. In 1969, the Dart Valley Railway became the second standard gauge heritage line to establish regular timetabled serv rvices; v the first of many GWR branch lines to be reopened.

BR banned the use of privately own wned n steam engines on its main lines in 1967, but it was the GWR’s flagship, 4-6-0 No. 6000 King George V which led the ‘Return to Steam’ in October 1971, the success of which resulted in the lifting of the ban the followi wing i year.

One hundred and six ixty-one GWR steam engines surv rvive v in preservation, th he num mber sw welled d dram matically by many rescued from Barry ryy scrapyard, although many of these remain unrestored, and many probably never will wii be. The total number of engines surv rviving v is a movable feast as new engines are being built, but sometimes at the expense of others which are being dismantled for spares, and to all inten nts and purposes must now be consideered as scrapped. However, some ‘scrapped’ engines have seen remarkable revivals, starting w wiith the broad gauge North Star in 1925. The story ry of the Great Westtern steam revival is a fascinating saga a; this is the story ry of those 161 engines, and of the people who resto ored, maintain and op perate them.

Great Western Steam Revival

3

Contents P6

CHAPTER ONE:

GWR heritage liness

P20

CHAPTER TWO:

The National Colle ection

P22

CHAPTER THREE:

Preserved GWR loccomotives

P26

CHAPTER FOUR:

GWR steam on the e main line

P28

CHAPTER FIVE:

The Great Western n Railway Sir Daniiell Gooch h William Dean

P32

CHAPTER SIX:

George Jackson Ch hurchward

P53

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Independent Welsh h railways Taff Vale Railway Cambrian Railwayys

P58

CHAPTER EIGHT:

Charless Benjamin Collett

P118

CHAPTER NINE:

Frederiick William Hawksworth

4

Great Western Steam Revival

TOP: GWR 4-6-0ss Nos 7822 Foxcote Manor, 4953 Pitchford Halll, 4965 Rood Ashton Hall and 4936 Kinlet Hall line up outside Barrow Hill Roundhouse in October 2006. FRED KERR PREVIOUS PAGE 3: GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6412 runs alongside the River Dart at Caddaford near Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway in February 2016.

BELOW: A line-up of GWR motive power at Didcot in April 2016. NICK GILLIAM

AUTHOR: AUT UTHOR HOR: HOR R: Br B Brian ia Sh ian S Sharpe a e arp PRODUCTION EDITOR: Pauline Hawkins DESIGN: Sean Phillips, atg-media.com COVER DESIGN: Libby Fincham ADVERTISING MANAGER: Susan Keily SALES EXECUTIVE: Craig Amess REPROGRAPHICS: Jonathan Schofield and Paul Fincham PUBLISHER: Steve O’Hara PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Dan Savage COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Nigel Hole MARKETING MANAGER: Charlotte Park cpark@mortons.co.uk DISTRIBUTION: tradesales@mortons.co.uk classicmagazines.co.uk/tradesales PRINTED BY: William Gibbons And Sons, Wolverhampton ISBN: 978-1-911276-33-3 PUBLISHED BY: Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529529 COPYRIGHT Mortons Media Group Ltd, 2017 All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Chapter 1

GWR heritage lines Great Western steam locom motive preserv rvation did not go weell until after Nationalisation, and all th hat had been saved for posterity by 194 48 was a broad gauge shunter at Newt wton Abbot, a replica of the broad gauge North Star hidden away in Swi windon works, which had only

been built becau use the GWR had scrapped the original, and d the legendary ry City of Truro, exiled in York museum.

British Railwayss, for all its faults, set aside four more engines for preserv rvation; restored them to o their former glory ry and, in 1962, opened d a museum dedicated to

the GW WR in a former church in Faringdon n Road, Swi windon. At least there would be som mething meaningful by which to remem mber the GWR. The followi wing year, though h, saw the beginnings of rather moree active private preserv rvation of one-time GWR routes.

BELOW: Outside-framed GWR 4-4-0s doubleheaded with GWR stock: Dukedog No. 9017 and No. 3440 City of Trurro approach Foley Park tunnel on the Severn Vaalley Railway on September 20, 2008. JON BOWERRS

Dart Valley Railway The Bluebell Railway had opened in 1960, but the next standard gau uge preserv rved railway to open with wii regullar timetabled serv rvices was the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in West Yorkshiree in June 1968.

By then, with so many favourite GWR branches having been closed in quick succession, preservation schemes for such lines were already starting to blossom.

One line though seemed to be ahead of the others, and this was not voluntary preservation in the accepted sense; the

plan was that a steam-worked scenic GWR branch line in th he West Country ry could be run as a profitab ble business.

The line chossen was the branch from Totnes to Ashbu urton in Devon, built by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway and first opened on May 1, 1872, worked by the larger South Devon Railway until this amalgamated into the GWR in 1876. The GWR acquired the branch in 1897. It had been built to Brunel’s broad gauge, and initially only ran to

ABOVE: GWR 0-6-0PT No. 1638 and 0-4-2T No. 1420 prepare for the day’s services on the Dart Valley Railway at Ashburton on August 17, 1971, before the line was severed beyond Buckfastleigh. SW LINES 6

Great Western Steam Revival

Buckffastleigh, later being extended to Ashbu urton and converted to standard gauge in May 1892.

Thee passenger serv rvices on the branch were withdrawn wn by BR as early as November 3, 1958 and it was closed completely on September 1962, when the Dart Valley Light Railway Ltd was born.

On October 2, 1965, the first rolling stock arrived; the company’s GWR 2-6-2T No. 4555 and privately owned GWR 0-6-0 No. 3205 with four BR(W) autotrailers.

The DVR was reopened as the Dart Valley Railway on April 5, 1969, the opening train being hauled by GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6412. The official opening, undertaken by no less than Dr Beeching, followed on May 21 that year. Sadly, the last two miles of the line to Ashburton were never operated and in 1971, a year short of the line’s centenary, the line was severed to make way for the widening of the A38 and Ashburton lost its trains.

The Dart Valley Railway Company was given an unrepeatable opportunity to obtain another scenic GWR branch line with apparently far better commercial prospects when BR closed the coastal branch from Paignton to Kingswear.

The DVR purchased it and continued to operate both lines until deciding in 1989 that the Totnes branch was uneconomic and decided to find another operator or close it; the latter surely an unthinkable prospect.

Welshpool & Llanfair Railway In 1960, the Bluebell Railway had opened for business in a small way in Sussex, the first standard gauge preserved steam railway in Britain to operate regular timetabled services, and joining the little Southern tank engines was a GWR Dukedog 4-4-0 No. 3217, the first operational privately preserved standard gauge GWR steam engine, but a long way from home territory.

Before the Bluebell though, there were the preserved Welsh narrow gauge railways, starting with the Talyllyn and Ffestiniog. The GWR, through its acquisition of the Cambrian Railways in 1922, had found itself with a couple of narrow gauge lines in Wales, and one of these, the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway, closed in 1956 and naturally there were thoughts of its preservation.

Construction of this line had started in 1901 from Welshpool to Llanfair Caereinion, to the unusual gauge of 2ft 6in. The Cambrian Railways worked the line and the first passenger train ran on April 4, 1903.

In 1922 the Cambrian Railways were merged into the GWR, and the WLLR became part of the GWR, but the passenger service was discontinued in 1931. After a bit of a revival in goods traffic during the war, BR inherited the line but the last train ran on November 3, 1956.

Inspired by the success of the first preserved Welsh narrow gauge railways, the Talyllyn and Ffestiniog, by 1959 negotiations by would-be Welshpool & Llanfair preservationists with BR were at a stage where volunteers were able to begin clearing the line, and they formed the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Preservation Company Limited in 1960,

ABOVE: No. 1 The Earl approaches Brook Street in Welshpool with a W&LLRS members’ special on October 6, 1962.

NGRS COLLECTION

which leased the line from BR at the end of 1962.

The line’s two locomotives, Beyer Peacock 0-6-0Ts The Earl and Countess had been stored in Oswestry works but No. 1 The Earl returned to the line on July 18, 1961. Having found a couple of suitable coaches, the first passenger services operated on April 6, 1963 between Llanfair Caereinion and Castle Caereinion.

Sadly, Welshpool Borough Council wanted to use the town section of the line for a car park and a bypass so the railway has been unable to use possibly the most interesting part of the line,

although the effect this would now be having on traffic is probably unimaginable.

However the railway made steady progress, No. 2 Countess soon returned from Oswestry; further engines and stock were obtained, mostly from the Continent, and in 1972 the line was reopened as far as Sylfaen, five miles from Llanfair Caereinion. The society even purchased the line from BR in March 1974 – for £8000. On July 18, 1981 the first service trains ran to Welshpool, to a new terminus at Raven Square. The railway can now even operate a genuine GWR train with one of the 0-6-0Ts hauling replicas of the line’s three original coaches.

ABOVE: The two original Welshpool & Llanfair Railway locomotives: The Earl and Countess doublehead a train out of Welshpool in September 2004.

Great Western Steam Revival 7

Tyseley The DVR was inextricably linked with the Tyseley steam centre in Birmingham as well-known businessman, enthusiast and broadcaster Pat Whitehouse and builder Pat Garland were involved in both. Pat Whitehouse was known for his popular TV series Railway Roundabout, and while involved in assembling a stock of locomotives for the DVR, could not resist purchasing the last operational Castle 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle when it was withdrawn in December 1965.

Three DVR locomotives, Nos. 4555, 6435 and 1420, had been restored to GWR livery and briefly hauled main line railtours in the Midlands before finding their way to Buckfastleigh and No. 7029 was destined to follow the same path, but based temporarily at BR’s Tyseley shed, the prospects for continued operation of this and a couple of LMS 4-6-0s suggested that a permanent steam centre could be established at the shed around these first engines.

Patrick Whitehouse negotiated a lease bid with plans to adapt the site for steam locomotives and Birmingham City Council placed a preservation order on the turntable, although unfortunately BR demolished the GWR roundhouse. In October 1968, supporters of 7029 Clun Castle Ltd established the Standard Gauge Steam Trust as an educational charity to preserve and demonstrate steam locomotives.

Four engines were obtained on loan from the National Collection and further engines of GWR origin obtained from Barry scrapyard, some with a view to transfer to the DVR following restoration. The collection was housed in the converted and extended water tower and coaling stage buildings alongside BR’s new diesel depot.

In 1967 though, BR had introduced its ban on the operation of privately preserved steam engines. It was however able to operate its big engines, and other big visitors, on a short length of BR track alongside its shed and the occasional Tyseley open days were the only place in Britain where enthusiasts could experience big main line steam haulage for a three- or four-year period.

The lifting of the steam ban in 1972 saw Tyseley and its locomotives incorporated into BR’s ‘approved’ list for main line operation and on June 11, 1972, No. 7029 Clun Castle had the honour of heading the first main line steam railtour of the ARPS Return to Steam programme, from Tyseley to Didcot.

The site became known as the Birmingham Railway Museum, which was open on a regular basis for many years but has been rebranded as Tyseley Locomotive Works, which has gone back to staging a couple of public open days per year. The railtour operating arm is Vintage Trains.

The centre has seen its ups and downs since but its restoration and engineering facilities are now second-to-none, and under the leadership of renowned steam engineer Bob Meanley, many well-known main line performers have emerged from the locomotive works. In 1999, Vintage Trains achieved its long-held ambition of operating a regular main line steam service, the summer Sundays ‘Shakespeare Express’ from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon.

ABOVE: GWR 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle at Tyseley on August 29, 1968. COLOUR-RAIL.COM / K FAIREY

Severn Valley Railway While new preservation schemes blossomed in the 1960s in GWR territory and elsewhere, most set their sights on short branch lines, but one scheme envisaged a lengthy stretch of GWR secondary main line; the 16 miles from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. The 40mile Severn Valley line built in 1858-62 linked Hartlebury with Shrewsbury and

became part of the GWR. A link between the intermediate stop of Bewdley and Kidderminster was built in 1878 but the SVR line was a pre-Beeching closure by BR; passenger services ceasing in 1963.

On July 6, 1965, a group of enthusiasts had met in the Coopers Arms pub in Kidderminster and decided to set up the Severn Valley Railway Society with the

intention of purchasing the Bridgnorth to Alveley colliery section of the SVR line from BR. Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade duly reopened on May 23, 1970, the second stretch of the GWR to be reopened as a heritage line, with GWR Collett 0-6-0 No. 3205 hauling the historic first train out of Bridgnorth. The balance of the £25,000 purchase price was paid shortly afterwards.

The first chairman of the SVR company was the flamboyant Sir Gerald Nabarro MP and a share issue was launched to try and raise £110,000. The company was now more ambitious and asked BR to quote for the nine miles from Alveley colliery sidings, through Highley, Arley and Bewdley as far as Foley Park, near Kidderminster, following the closure of Alveley Colliery in 1969, and the ending of LEFT: GWR 0-6-0 No. 3205 departs from Bridgnorth with the Severn Valley Railway’s reopening train on May 23, 1967. ROBIN JONES

8

Great Western Steam Revival

Caerphilly In 1901, the Rhymney Railway built a locomotive and carriage works at Caerphilly, which were subsequently expanded by the GWR. In 1963, the works were closed by BR and the site was sold to the local council for use as an industrial estate.

The main erecting shop was bought by South Wales Switchgear Ltd and railway enthusiast employees of the firm formed a society and had the good fortune that National Collection Taff Vale Railway 0-6-2T No. 28 was placed on loan for restoration in July 1967.

The second locomotive to be rescued from Barry scrapyard, GWR 2-6-0 No. 5322, purchased by the GWS (South Wales Group), was moved to Caerphilly in 1969.

By 1971, the locomotive was back in working order and a number of steam days were held.

In 1973, No. 5322 was moved to Didcot to join the main GWS collection and the South Wales Group formed itself into the Caerphilly Railway Society.

Permission was granted by the National Museum of Wales for the TVR tank to be restored to working order, and further locomotives arrived.

May 1983 saw No. 28 returned to steam and this engine joined industrial tanks during open days at the centre for a few years.

After steady progress, repeated attacks of vandalism forced the society to abandon the site in 1996 and its stock was moved to the Gwili Railway.

Bewdley passenger services in 1970. BR’s price was £74,000.

Although Sir Gerald did have a way of getting things done, he was far from universally popular with the volunteers, and he distanced himself from the railway shortly before his sudden death in 1973.

The share issue was so successful that, with additional financial help from local engineering company Rubery Owen Group, the line to Foley Park was purchased and progressively opened to Highley in April 1974 and to Bewdley the following month.

The SVR owned the track to Foley Park, half way from Bewdley to Kidderminster, and after the British Sugar Corporation closed its Foley Park factory in 1981, the SVR was able to raise more than £370,000 by a share issue, £80,000 of which was used to purchase the last bit of track, maintaining its connection with the main line, and to start work on extending services to Kidderminster.

After many years of operating trains from Bewdley to Foley Park only on

Torbay Steam Railway

ABOVE: GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 climbs away from Goodrington on the Torbay Steam Railway on September 7, 1985.

The first section of the SDR’s Torquay branch was opened in 1848, as far as Torre. It was 11 years before it was extended from there to Paignton and a further five years before it was completed to Kingswear, opening to traffic on August 16, 1864. In 1876 the SDR was absorbed into the GWR. The Dart Valley Railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh was reopened in 1969, but within a few years, the Paignton to Kingswear line was threatened with closure by BR. The DVR acquired this section of line as well on closure and started train services in 1973, the third standard gauge preserved GWR railway.

The line is a main line and able to carry the largest and heaviest locomotives in Britain. It still carried substantial traffic in summer and had more commercial potential than the Dart Valley branch, just a few miles away.

The larger locomotives were moved from the DVR to the TSR in late 1972

special occasions, regular services into Kidderminster commenced on July 30, 1984, with an impressive new station, financed by the balance of the share issue and based on a turn-of-the-century GWR design for Ross-on-Wye, being built alongside the BR one.

At that time, overall, the SVR’s marketing slogan ‘Simply the best in railway preservation’ was no idle boast; it was a fact. The railway has gone from strength to strength, with even the largest Pacifics able to haul lengthy trains over the 16-mile route. For many years, the SVR had a significant involvement in main line operations, not only with its engines but even a full train of its GWR coaches.

Other railways have since emulated the SVR’s success and it has not all been plain sailing; its general manager Michael Draper, credited with much of the line’s early success, was forced to resign and on June 19, 2007, a storm hit the area and washed substantial lengths of track away.

Coincidentally, exactly a month later on July 19, heavy rain fell again on already

and initially the company attempted to maintain BR’s service immediately after closure, using steam traction, but this was clearly not economic in winter, and was quickly abandoned. The original fleet was supplemented by purchases from Barry, and the pannier and prairie tanks have now been displaced by Manor 4-6-0s and 2-8-0Ts. Although initially marketed as the Torbay Steam Railway, to avoid confusion with the DVR, this changed to the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway and is now officially the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company, after in 1999 the company had the opportunity to acquire ‘The Red Cruisers’ as well as Dart Pleasure Craft.

It is a busy and profitable railway, still run as a commercial undertaking as opposed to a volunteer-operated heritage line. It sticks to its GWR roots though, and frequently sees 10-coach steam-hauled railtours arriving from the main line.

saturated ground, causing more major damage to the line in no fewer than 45 separate locations, leaving the line out of action north of Bewdley. A flood damage disaster appeal was launched which raised more than £500,000 which, together with further help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund, provided most of the finance for what turned out to be a £3.5 million repair bill. The repairs took nine months to complete and the line did not reopen until March 21, 2008.

In 2000, the largest heritage line carriage shed was constructed on the Kidderminster Town site. The railway today carries up to 250,000 passengers a year, the second highest of any UK heritage line, and in 2009 another major attraction was opened on the line in the form of the Engine House museum and visitor centre at Highley station. Then in 2016, the railway launched a share issue solely to raise funds for its £5 million redevelopment of Bridgnorth station.

Great Western Steam Revival 9

Didcot Railway Centre The GWR was unique among the ‘Big Four’ railway companies, and with such a following among enthusiasts that a preservation society was formed with the intention of simply preserving as much of the GWR as possible, naturally starting with locomotives. The other three of the ‘Big Four’ companies do not have a comparable organisation.

Four schoolboy trainspotters on a footbridge at Southall after school one day – Graham Perry, Jon Barlow, Mike Peart and Angus Davis – shared their regret that GWR steam would soon disappear and felt that a GWR autotrain ought to be preserved. Their subsequent bid to preserve such a train not only bore fruit, but led to the formation of the Great Western Society.

Whether by accident or design, the Great Western Society did not set its sights on preserving and operating a stretch of railway, and possibly by concentrating on acquiring locomotives and other items for its collection, has enjoyed unparalleled success.

The society raised funds to purchase locomotives and stock, but private individuals were also buying GWR engines and were happy to come under the overall umbrella of the GWS. There was initially no central base and sidings were rented in various parts of the former GWR system from BR by local area groups or at other fledgling preservation centres.

Even before the Dart Valley Railway started to assemble its stock at Buckfastleiggh, GWS stock including d att 0-6-0ST No. 1363 was being stabled the branch’s main line ju unction at Totnes and the GWS could havee become more involved with wii the DVR. Steam open days were held at Totnes and later arrivals were 4-6-0 No. 6998 Burton Agnes Hall and 0-4-2T No. 1466.

A site was later estab blished at Bodmin where No. 1363 was bassed from 1967, and where it occasionally op perated.

The Dowty Steam Centre at an engineering works at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire was the home of LMS Princess Royal Pacific No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth, and this was joined by two GWS engines purchased from BR in early 1966; 4-6-0 No. 7808 Cookham Manor and 0-6-2T No. 6697, which were steamed at open days.

The goods shed at Taplow in Buckinghamshire was rented as a home for 2-6-2T No. 6106 which arrived on March 23, 1966, for restoration. An open day on September 17, 1966 with the 2-6-2T giving short train rides was also attended by preserved No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, then based at Southall, and by 0-6-0 No. 3205. To cap it all though a railtour organised by the society arrived from Birmingham Snow Hill, headed by GWS engine No. 7808 Cookham Manor.

The GWS was offered the use of the former Didcot locomotive depot, taking it over in 1967. The standard allocation of locomotives at 81E had remained fairly static for many years until its closure in June 1965, with Halls, Dukedogs and pannier tanks making up the bulk of the depot’s fleet. It has been developed into a comprehensive railway museum and engineering site, now known as the Didcot Railway Centre.

Engines were moved to Didcot, starting with No. 6106 on November 4, 1967.

No. 6998 and No. 1466 ran under their own steam from Totnes on December 2 that year, despite BR’s steam ban, and Nos. 7808 and 6697 arrived from Ash hch hurrch on August 16, 1970. By then the GWS S was starting to expand its collection w wiith locomotive purchases from Barry ry sccrapyard, the first to arrive at Didcot being 4-6-0 No. 5051 Earl Bathurst in February ry 1970, bought by a society member, alth hough by then, 2-6-0 No. 5322 had become the first GWS engine to be rescued from m Barry ry and initially based at Caerphillyy.

A base was also established at Taunton, but only for the restoration of No. 5572 and 0-6-0ST No. 2 Pontyberem, which moved to Didcot in 1977.

With experience of main line running in the 1960s, Didcot and some of its engines was on BR’s ‘approved’ list in 1972 and first to venture out was No. 6998 in October 1972 with a railtour from Didcot to Tyseley. The GWS did not just acquire, restore and operate steam engines; coaches were not neglected and in October 1974, a whole train of GWR coaches was operated on the main line.

Among many engines acquired from Barry was No. 4942 Maindy Hall and the society formulated ambitious plans to convert this to a long-scrapped Saint class 4-6-0, filling a big gap in GWR locomotive development. While this is now substantially complete, the GWS completed a broad gauge 2-2-2, Fire Fly in 2005 and Railmotor No. 93 in 2011.

It is now building No. 1014 County of Glamorgan and 2-8-0 No. 4709.

It has also repatriated No. 4079 Pendennis Castle from Australia, which is still under restoration, and acquired No. 6023 King Edward II, which is expected to return to the main line in 2017.

Didcot is a huge site, in a triangle of lines, but inaccessible by road. In the 1970s, the society negotiated a long-term lease with BR which was to expire in 2019. In an attempt to secure a longterm future for the society, on October 6, 2011Richard Croucher, chairman of the GWS, siggned a new 50-yyear lease with rving v th he site Network Rail, therefore preserv fo or at least another 50 years.

Today the GWS has developed the site, which still retains many of the origin nal GWR buildings and features, as a working stteam locomotive and railway museu um, and engineering maintenance centree, with wii broad and standard gauge railway lines offering short rides to visitors.

BELOW: Didcot shed on August 30, 1970 with No. 7808 Cookham Manor, 0-4-2T No. 1466, 2-6-2T No. 6106 andd 0-66-22T No. 6697. PETER CHATMAN

10

Great Western Steam Revival

Hereford The Bulmers cider factory sidings at Hereford were not part of the GWR but played such an important role in the history of steam preservation, not just in terms of the GWR but nationally, that it deserves a mention.

It served as a base for the main line operation of GWR 4-6-0 No. 6000 King George V from 1971, and became home to other preserved main line locomotives.

There were occasional open days with short steam rides.

Circumstances changed in that the National Railway Museum decided not to overhaul No. 6000 again; rail traffic to the cider factory ceased and with the expansion of main line steam routes across the country, Hereford became inconvenient as a base, with other centres assuming much greater importance. The centre closed in 1990.

Dean Forest Railway The Dean Forest Railway Society was formed in 1970 to become the volunteer support organisation for the Dean Forest Railway, whose objective was to preserve

ABOVE: Marking the 31st anniversary of the reinstatement of passenger services on the Dean Forest Railway, GWR 4-6-0 No. 7802 Bradley Manor approaches Parkend with a Royal Train conveying HRH The Princess Royal on May 19, 2006. JOHN STRETTON

the last remaining section of the Severn & Wye Railway, which ran from Lydney to Cinderford, part of a complex of lines in the Forest of Dean. The DFR started limited steam operations at Norchard in 1971, and the first of many GWR locomotives to arrive was 2-6-2T No. 5541 from Barry on November 11, 1972.

The railway bought the trackbed from BR in 1986. It extended south to Lydney Junction and the main line in 1995, and north to Parkend in 2006, giving a run of 4¼-miles through the Forest.

The new Lydney Town station was opened on April 22, 2001.

It is a typical short GWR branch line, in the unique setting of the Forest of Dean. It has seen a variety of visiting locomotives to supplement its own GWR fleet, and even visiting main line steam railtours at its Lydney Junction station.

Telford Steam Railway Horsehay and Dawley station lost its passenger services on July 23, 1962 and freight services two years later. The line dated back to 1859 and the opening of the first section of the Severn Junction Railway, serving the Coalbrookdale area, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution.

In 1861 the Severn Junction Railway was leased for operation by the GWR and within six years had extended from Wellington to Craven Arms.

The Telford Horsehay Steam Trust was formed in 1976, using as its base the 1860 goods transshipment shed and has gradually extended its operations.

It had its origins in plans by the Telford Development Corporation to purchase and restore a steam locomotive for display in the former Horsehay locoshed.

A GWR locomotive arrived in the shape of 0-6-2T No. 5619 in May 1973, and in 1981 it returned to steam and worked at several open days at Horsehay.

The steam railway was opened to the public in 1984 and the trust changed its name to the Telford Steam Railway.

No. 5619 is too large for what is still a fairly limited operation and it has been hired out for use on other lines, remaining remarkably active and well travelled over the past 35 years.

On April 4, 2015, a 500-yard extension was opened to Lawley Village, giving the line a Y-shaped round trip of 3½ miles from Horsehay and Dawley. The ultimate goal remains Ironbridge power station, which closed during 2016.

LEFT: Visiting GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6430 running as No. 6400 hauls 1907-built autotrailer No. 38 during the Telford Steam Railway’s 21st anniversary celebrations on May 21, 2005. SIMON HOPKINS

East Somerset Railway The East Somerset Railway was inaugurated in 1855 and opened as a broad-gauge line from Witham to Shepton Mallet in 1858, extending to Wells in 1862.

It was sold to the GWR in 1874, but was closed to passenger services in 1963.

In 1967, the artist David Shepherd bought two steam engines, BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92203 and 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75029, and was looking for somewhere to base them. After the collapse of the preservation scheme at Longmoor in Hampshire, he discovered Cranmore in 1971. He and some friends purchased the site, and the Cranmore Railway Company was born.

A new engine shed and sidings were built and at the end of 1973 the East Somerset Railway was opened. The line was extended westwards towards Shepton Mallet and a new station built at Mendip Vale.

The first GWR engine to arrive on the line was 0-6-2T No. 6634 in June 1981 but this was never restored to service. David Shepherd pulled out of the railway; his engines both being far too large for a line barely two miles long. While it struggled for motive power at times, the Swindon & Cricklade’s 0-6-2T No. 5637 happened to be available at the right time and has been the mainstay of services for many years.

ABOVE: GWR 0-6-2T No. 5637 on the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore on February 11, 2012. DON BISHOP Great Western Steam Revival 11

West Somerset Railway

ABOVE: GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6412 and 2-6-2T No. 5572 doublehead away from Williton past Castle Hill on the West Somerset Railway on November 1, 1987.

By 1975, there was one complete preserved GWR branch line in operation, two lengthy stretches of GWR secondary or main line, and three very short sections of GWR branches, but this was about to change dramatically.

The West Somerset Railway originally opened in 1862 between Taunton on the Bristol & Exeter main line, and Watchet. In 1874 it was extended to Minehead by the Minehead Railway. On January 1, 1876, the B&ER was amalgamated into the GWR. The WSR was converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in 1882.

The line was recommended for closure

by Beeching and goods traffic was withdrawn in 1964. After much opposition to closure, the last passenger train left Minehead on January 2, 1971 and from the following Monday an enhanced bus service came into operation.

On February 5, 1971, the newly formed Minehead Railway Preservation Society organised a meeting in Taunton to propose

the reopening of the Minehead branch as a privately owned railway. In May, a new West Somerset Railway Company was formed to acquire the line and operate a year-round commuter service from Minehead to Taunton alongside which a limited summer steam service could also run. A deal was agreed with BR to purchase the line with the support of Somerset County Council; however, the council was wary of the lucrative Minehead station site falling into private hands should the railway fail. Instead, it purchased the line itself in 1973 and leased back the operational land to the West Somerset Railway Company plc.

The first GWR locomotives to arrive were three 2-6-2Ts from Barry scrapyard, Nos. 4561, 5521 and 5542 in September 1975. The scheme was a late starter in preservation terms: there was not a plentiful supply of workable main line engines and by 1975, engines were taking a very long time to restore from

scrapyard condition so it could be some time before GWR engines would be seen working the line.

The short section from Minehead to Blue Anchor was the first section to reopen, on March 28, 1976 and services were extended to Williton on August 28 the same year. Fortunately, the railway had been able to acquire 0-6-0PT No. 6412 in working order and this hauled the reopening train. Trains returned to Stogumber on May 7, 1978 and reached Bishops Lydeard on June 9, 1979.

It is the longest standard gauge heritage railway in the UK. Services normally operate over the 20.5 miles between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard, but during special events some trains continue a further two miles to Norton Fitzwarren where a connection to Network Rail allows occasional through trains to operate on to the national network. The supply of GWR locomotives has steadily increased and gala weekends especially see a real feast of GWR power, often with visitors from elsewhere.

In 2004, work started on constructing a new triangle at Norton Fitzwarren which included a part of the old Devon and Somerset line, and a ballast reclamation depot opened there in 2006.

In 2008, a new turntable was brought into use at Minehead.

While the freehold of the line continues to be owned by Somerset County Council, during 2013 it was announced that both the WSRA and the WSR plc had approached the county council about the possibility of purchasing the freehold.

The council made the decision in late May 2014 not to sell the freehold after all. This led to a major row, which proved difficult to resolve; GWR steam preservation certainly has not all been sweetness and light.

Llangollen Railway The WSR was a relatively late starter as a heritage railway but there were two more major sections of preserved GWR routes still to come. The Llangollen Railway was started in 1975 by a group of enthusiasts who saw the potential for a scenic heritage line through the Dee Valley.

The line had closed to passenger traffic in 1965 and to goods in 1968. The track, signalling and much of the infrastructure was removed or demolished quickly after this, although Llangollen, Berwyn and Carrog station buildings survived.

An open day was held in 1975 at Llangollen station where 60ft of track had been relaid. The Foxcote Manor Society was successful in purchasing GWR 4-6-0 No. 7822 from Barry scrapyard and in January 1975 it arrived at Oswestry where the Cambrian Railways revival project was 12

Great Western Steam Revival

actually more advanced than Llangollen.

The engine was moved to Llangollen in 1985 and in September 1987, the Manor returned to service, by which time a few miles of track had been relaid. Ten miles of track have now been relaid westwards from Llangollen along the trackbed of the old Ruabon to Barmouth main line, through to Corwen. Berwyn was reached in 1985, Deeside Halt in 1990, Glyndyfrdwy in 1993 and Carrog in 1996.

Demolished infrastructure, such as the signalboxes at Llangollen Goods Junction, Deeside Halt, Glyndyfrdwy and Carrog were rebuilt from the ground up and the railway can be exceptionally busy at gala weekends.

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014, the first passenger train pulled into Corwen East along the extended 2½ miles of line from Carrog.

The engineering facilities at Llangollen are among the best in Britain and are a focus of new-build projects, one of which, No. 6880 Betton Grange, is well on the way to completion.

ABOVE: Nos. 7828 Odney Manor and 7822 Foxcote Manor in Llangollen station on June 18, 1989.