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WELCOME
TO THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE TERRIER TRUST |
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First
published in issue 25 of The Tenterden Terrier Summer
1981 For readers of The Tenterden Terrier 1980 was a sad year. In 01 January the familiar melodious beat of No.10 (ex-LB&SCR A1X Class No.50 Whitechapel) was heard for the last time and for the first year since the early 1960s there was no Terrier in steam on the line. The knowledge that this situation would continue for some years added to the worries of those responsible in the locomotive department and on the board. The editor of the journal and a number of correspondents were moved to pontificate on our apparent failure to care for our most historic locomotives, perhaps due to insufficient explanation of the technical and financial difficulties ahead. Until the owners had been fully consulted it would have been discourteous to go to press with our plans for reviving their engines but now that this has been done and restoration and fundraising are in hand, a detailed appraisal seems appropriate. As No.10 is being tackled first, this article will concentrate on the plans for her with some notes on the situation relating to No.3 at the end. Under current insurance requirements all locomotive boilers have to be removed for a full hydraulic examination every ten years. During 1979 our boiler inspector warned us that we should prepare for the possibility of replacing the inner firebox. One glance at the undulations of the firebox crown showed why he was so concerned. Fireboxes can be patched up or new pieces may be welded in (as in the case of the P class) but there comes a point when repair is not only imprudent but also uneconomic. The last boiler report also drew attention to serious wasting around the dome, the lower front tubeplate and other parts of the boiler barrel where visible. Such defects can be built up with weld but the possibility of complete boiler replacement had to be considered. We had reached the point which will eventually face all locomotive owners and operators and the scale of money required made every previous locomotive project we had undertaken pale into insignificance. There could be no question of ducking the issue since the existence of the railway would clearly be meaningless without Terriers but we had to prepare ourselves for the project before contemplating a physical start. Clearly with the possible expenditure of tens of thousands of pounds at stake, formal agreement with the London Borough of Sutton who own the engine was a first priority. Fortunately we have always enjoyed excellent relations with the Borough and, at a fairly early stage in negotiations, the idea of a thirty year lease (considered the economic life expectancy of a boiler before a major rebuild) was accepted by both sides. First contact on the subject was at Rolvenden in early 1980 where No.10 stood gleaming, apparently ready for immediate service. Later meetings were held at the splendid Civic Offices in Sutton, a pipe dream in 1963 when the Borough of Sutton & Cheam purchased No. 32650 to be the centrepiece of the proposed Civic Centre. Throughout the difficulties of the sixties and the successes of the seventies the Borough stood by us and in the more enlightened climate of the eighties neither Councillors nor Officers could contemplate removing their property and ‘stuffing’ it. They generously decided they would rather give us the chance to carry out the major repairs and have even written plans for an annual ‘Sutton Day’ into the lease. Most of the terms were agreed by the summer of 1980 and after a few legal hiccoughs (after all it is not everyday that a Local Authority drafts a lease for a steam engine), the Mayor signed the lease on 02 March 1981. Meanwhile five firms contacted were interested in quoting for the repairs up to a complete replacement. A trip to one of these gave the opportunity to see a new boiler in construction – one of two built by Israel Newton of Bradford for the Isle of Man Railway. Apart from the unusual keyhole firebox (to fit between narrow gauge frames), Isle of Man boilers are within a few inches of a Terrier’s in most dimensions. Ultimately the contract will of course go the lowest bidder in whom we have confidence (one supplier is even in Holland) but was encouraging to see what can be done. The price was less heartening! The next task was to put the project into the context of other locomotive department projects. Modern, more powerful engines are essential to run most services and with austerity No.24 due for withdrawal in Easter 1981 and only No.23 in service it was vital to get USA No.22 and the third austerity No.25 running early in 1981. Furthermore the company’s 1980 budgets were fully committed. Proposals were put to the Board to start work in 1981 and budget for an initial payment to a contractor at the end of that year with the expectation that greater expenditure would have to be made in 1982. The Steam & Country Fair Committee made the suggestion that their 1981 profits be devoted to the restoration on No.10 and with nearly £8000 to their credit in 1980 despite indifferent weather, this idea was readily adopted. Other means of fund raising are still being developed including a group within the London Borough of Sutton. Whilst government cut-backs rule out any direct support from the Borough, some officers plan to give up their spare time to help organise the group which includes model engineers and other enthusiasts. Needless to say the Company would welcome both ideas and donations, which can be sent to Tenterden Town Station. At the time of writing (March) a start on stripping Sutton down is imminent. First all fittings will be removed and stored and vulnerable openings (e.g. the steam chest) sealed off. Side tanks will be removed and it is anticipated that some fairly major repairs will be needed to counteract corrosion. Spirax-Sarco Limited, the steam specialists of Cheltenham, have kindly agreed to overhaul the Westinghouse air pump at their Apprentice Training School. The pump may well date back before 1880 and the battered state of its brass fittings certainly suggests this. We are very grateful to Spirax-Sarco for undertaking the project for the cost of parts and materials only. |
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The boiler will then be lifted out and the cladding and lagging stripped off. The tubes will be carefully removed for possible re-use either in No.10 or cut down and stored for smaller boilers. (Yes – there are smaller ones, although No.12 Marcia was retubed last year.) The whole boiler will be descaled ready for a thorough examination by the insurance company’s inspector. Only then will we know whether the existing boiler can be repaired or whether a new one will be needed. However it is unlikely to be scrapped. There have already been suggestions that the copper inner firebox could be melted down and cast into some sort of souvenir to raise funds for Terrier restoration (anyone who is interested should contact the editor) and some components might be reusable in No.3.
Contractors will be invited to tender during July with a view to placing an order soon after the Steam & Country Fair when the financial situation is better known. I would welcome suggestions as to any additional firms who may be able to undertake boiler work of this nature.
Whilst the boiler is away, we will take the opportunity to undertake a variety of mechanical repairs and repair any corrosion that may have become evident. We anticipate that the boiler will take about a year to repair or replace so re-assembly could start at the end of 1982 if all goes well. This should permit a return to service at the end of 1983 – perhaps at the Fair. Under all the circumstances the expression ‘if all goes well’ is of course critical and the above dates should be seen as estimates rather than firm forecasts.
No.3 Bodiam was also in regular service until she was withdrawn to have the smokebox repaired in 1977. In the event the lower two-thirds were completely replaced but during reassembly a serious defect in the boiler barrel was discovered. The front tubeplate flange, smokebox and barrel are riveted together in a sandwich and the barrel was found to be very badly wasted in this area. No doubt this corrosion had built up for several decades and even with the most thorough inspection it might have gone unnoticed had the smokebox repair not revealed it.
The boiler report shows that No.3 like No.10 has a fairly tired boiler although in most respects it is in slightly better condition. However at this stage it is not easy to know how best to effect a repair within the sandwich. Clearly the boiler will have to be removed, stripped and inspected in the same way as No.10. It may be possible to build up the wastage by welding or to cut it away and weld a new section in although this sounds unlikely. One extreme possibility is to replace the entire front ring of the barrel, perhaps using that from No.10 if it is in good condition and precisely the same size. There is no doubt that experience on No.10 will help in deciding the best course of action on No.3 with a view to keeping costs to a minimum.
Both Terriers have been in our care for eighteen years now (compared with about sixteen with British Railways) and of course No.3 Bodiam spent most of her working life on the line. Without Terriers running something seems to be lacking which our modern engines cannot provide, however capably they may handle the heavier trains. Undoubtedly expenditure on these two locomotives will divert funds from other projects but few could argue that we have any alternative but to make whatever sacrifices are called for to ensure that one day they can be seen and heard at work hauling our more historic carriages from Tenterden to Northiam and ultimately Bodiam itself.
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Footnotes:-
This
article was sub-headed – Simon Green, Director for locomotive planning
and contracts, explains the problems facing our venerable pair and plans
to return them to passenger service
Brackets are reproduced as in the original article
This is an amazing article and re-reading within the context of another 25 years of Terrier history one could almost say it was written with the benefit of hindsight!
The time
estimate for returning Sutton to service was not that wide of the mark,
being achieved in the late spring of 1984 with Bodiam following for an
all-too-brief 17-month period the following August. It pre-empts the eventual
construction of two boilers by Israel Newton over 15 years later, hints
at the large sums involved even for small engines as in the case of Martello
benefiting from the HLF, gives an indication of the need for Trusts/separate
funding to ease monies for pressures elsewhere and spells out in plain
language the need for Terrier operation on the K&ESR even though individually
outclassed for many of the types of working necessitated by today’s
market. The latter situation is perhaps illustrated even more starkly
on Bluebell, who have both the oldest Terrier and not only the most famous
but also the first to be preserved for working rather than stuffing
HN-09/01/2006