‘Scene’ at the Great Western Society (GWS) facility at Didcot Part 2

A day out to Oxford mainly to see the buses (see elsewhere on my blog) also afforded me the time to catch the train from Oxford to Didcot where the ‘GWS’ are based. 

 

Although it was not a running day, there was plenty to interest me and from the assorted wagons on display, I have been able to make up a typical ‘Great Western Railway’ (GWR) pick up goods train.

 

Where vehicles have been restored, the standard is excellent and work is ongoing to restore many others.

 

Every train starts with a loco. In this case a ‘GWR’ 0-6-0T Pannier tank No. 3650. A member of the 5700 class of loco’s. They were built in their hundreds and 16 survive in preservation.

 

This particular loco was built at Swindon in 1939. Withdrawn in September 1963, it was sold on for further service to a colliery in South Wales where it was painted blue. It was purchased by the a ‘GWS’ member in 1969.

 

It was stored at Hereford before coming to Didcot and after 20 years of restoration re-entered service in 2008.

 

 

92943

A 12 ton wagon for use in the ‘China clay’ traffic. A clue to that is given by its home base Fowey (pronounced Foy) in Cornwall around which the trade was centred being painted on the side.

 

It was built in 1913 to diagram 0.13.

 

A feature of this type of wagon are the end doors which permitted the load to be discharged by tipping it straight into a waiting ship.

 

117993

A general use 5 plank wagon built at Swindon in 1931 to diagram 0.29. It was saved for preservation in 1969.

 

101720

A ‘Mink A’ built in 1924 at Swindon to diagram V.14

 

The GWR used code names such as ‘Mink A’ for its vehicles over the telephone. The telephone in earlier years was not as clear as it is today so the use of code names was used in a similar manner as the phonetic alphabet is used today.

 

The branding ‘Flour Traffic Only’ was presumably to ensure that the van stayed clean inside.

 

47886

A 6 Ton ‘Fruit Van’ built at Swindon to diagram Y.2 in 1892. It was restored to this livery in 2010 having previously been painted in passenger brown.

 

SR 4409

A 6 wheel Milk Tank built by the Southern Railway at Lancing in 1931 to diagram 3152. It was originally built with 4 wheels but was lengthened at Ashford in 1937.

 

112843

A ‘Mink G’ Van built at Swindon in 1931 to diagram V.22. 

 

70335

A ‘Macaw B’ built at Swindon in 1939 to diagram J.28. What would be known elsewhere as a ‘Bogie Bolster’ wagon.

 

This image illustrates a design feature of this type of wagon in that the deck of the wagon is curved with the the lower part being at the ends and the highest point in the middle. The load would apply compression which would straighten the deck out.

 

745

An Oil Tank Wagon built in 1912 by Hurst Nelson & Co. at Motherwell. 

 

Although marked as ‘Royal Daylight’ the small lettering to the left gives the owners as the ‘Anglo American Oil Company’.

 

The small star shaped plate on the right hand side shows the wagon as being registered with the ‘Southern Railway’ in 1930.

 

68684

A 20 Ton Brake Van to bring up the rear of our train. Known under the ‘GWR’s code system as a ‘Toad’.

 

Built in 1924 at Swindon to diagram AA.15.

 

The reference to Hayle RU indicates that it was allocated to Hayle in Cornwall and the RU indicates that it only had Restricted Use.

 

Hayle had a steeply graded line down to the harbour and it could be that the van was used as additional braking capacity.

‘Scene’ at the Great Western Society (GWS) facility at Didcot Part 1

A day out to Oxford mainly to see the buses (see elsewhere on my blog) also afforded me the time to catch the train from Oxford to Didcot where the ‘GWS’ are based. 

 

Although it was not a running day, there was plenty to interest me and from the assorted wagons on display, I have been able to make up a couple of typically ‘Great Western Railway’ (GWR) trains that will appear in later ‘blogs’.

 

Where vehicles have been restored, the standard is excellent and work is ongoing to restore many others.

 

The GWS site stands at the side of Didcot railway station and the sound of trains passing by on the main lines is a constant accompaniment.

 

Access is via an underpass from the mainline railway station and the site itself is spacious and well set out.

 

 The coaling stage with the water tank on top dominates the 1930‘s built loco sheds seen to the right.

Loco No. 5227 

A Great Western Railway (GWR) 2-8-0T of the 5203 class built at Swindon in 1924.

They were built for hauling coal trains from the South Wales coalfield over relatively short distances.

The loco was has been used to supply parts for the building of a class 47XX No 4709 freight loco at Didcot.

What is left is displayed to represent  loco’s that were in Woodhams scrapyard at Barry.

 

Loco No. 6697

An 0-6 2T loco of the ‘GWR’ 56XX class built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co. at Newcastle in 1928.

 

This class of 200 loco’s were urgently needed to replace worn out machines taken over from the absorbed railways of South Wales. This led to the use of outside contractors, an unusual move for the ‘GWR’.

 

Sold into preservation in 1966 from Wrexham depot the loco came to Didcot in 1970, was restored cosmetically and is now on static display.

 

Loco No. 18000

A gas turbine- electric loco (gte) was ordered by the ‘GWR’ in 1946 and delivered to 

‘British Railways’ in 1949. It was built by Brown Boveri and SLM in Switzerland.

 

The ‘GWR’ chose the ‘gte’ because at that time there was no single unit diesel electric that could haul what the ‘GWR’ King class loco could.

 

In service it proved troublesome and expensive to operate so was withdrawn in 1960. Returned to Switzerland, it was used in wheel to rail experiments. In 1975 it was displayed in Vienna. It was returned to the UK in the early 1990’s and was stored at Crewe. It spent some time on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway as a static exhibit before coming to Didcot in 2011.

 

Loco DL 26 named ‘The Rat’.

Built in 1957 by the Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds. A lightwieght loco it is used for moving stock over the carriage shed traverser (see later).

 

British Railways (BR) class 05 was a very close relative and although this loco carries a  ‘BR’ totem it is in fact a loco produced for an industrial customer.

 

Loco 08604 named ‘Phantom’.

Although it carries ‘GWR’ style number and nameplates it is a standard ‘BR’ 08 class shunter.

 

Built originally as D3771 at Derby, one of a class of 996. Shedded for many years at Tyseley, Birmingham it has been at Didcot since 1984.

Diesel Railcar No.22

Built by the ‘GWR’ at Swindon in 1940/41to diagram A1. Powered by 2 AEC 105 HP engines this and its classmates were the forerunners of the mass introduction of Diesel Multiple Units that were to be produced in the early 1960’s at about the time that No. 22 was withdrawn. 

 

No.190 Autcoach

Belonging to an earlier generation of passenger transport is this ‘GWR’ coach built at Swindon in 1933 to diagram A.30. Being non powered, they always worked with a loco in push-pull mode, the loco normally being a tank. 

 

A driving cab was fitted at the one end whilst the loco end is without windows.

 

No. 190 has been in preservation since 1970. The interior has been refurbished but the unit only operates on high days and holidays.

 

The sheds that hold the coaching stock at Didcot are accessed by a traverser. The little red/cream ‘cabin’ is effectively a loco that pushes or pulls the bridging deck to line up with the vehicle required which is then extracted and placed elsewhere.

 

A clever device that saves a lot of points and trackwork in a limited space.

 

There are a couple of direct links to Isambard Kingdom Brunel (IKB) at Didcot. The first of which is this remnant of pipework from ‘IKB’s unsuccesful ‘Atmospheric Railway’ (AR) in South Devon.

 

The story of the ’AR’ is far to lengthy and complex to be covered in detail here however it is a fascinating story and is well worth further investigation should you be so minded.

 

This piece of original pipework is seen set between a section of broad gauge track. 

 

After the failure of the ‘AR’ the hardware was disposed of. The section seen below was recovered from a site at Goodrington Sands near Paignton. It had been used for land drainage. The smaller sections that make up this pipe were discovered in 1993 by the South West Group of the ‘GWS’.

 

The other link to ‘IKB’ is to the ‘Broad Gauge’ (BG) itself. ‘IKB’ was of the opinion that a track gauge of seven feet would produce a more stable and a higher speed line. Indeed many hundreds of miles on the ‘GWR’ were so built before it was decreed that Stephenson’s gauge of four feet eight and a half inches became the Standard Gauge (SG).

 

Didcot has a short stretch of ‘BG’ Track and here we see it interlaced with ‘SG’ track to produce a dual gauge point.

 

‘BG’ and ‘SG’ track side by side.

A replica of a ‘GWR’ ‘BG’ loco named ‘Firefly’ stands in an adjacent shed when it is not in operation. Its construction took over 20 years entering service at Didcot in 2005.

 

The original loco of was designed by Daniel Gooch in 1840 as a 2-2-2 and it ran in service until 1870.

 

 I think that Brunel’s original conception of the Broad Gauge was probably right in that it would have produced a more comfortable ride than the Standard Gauge.

 

The whole railway would have been bigger and more spacious. Just how much that would add to the cost of today’s HS2 ? I dread to think.

 

'Scene' around Torbay

A few days in the Torbay area produced a crop of transport images.

 

PSV 592

A Neoplan Euroliner operated by KV & GL Slack of Matlock in Derbyshire. This is a cherished registration that has been used before. In the past it has appeared on a Van Hool Alize bodied DAF and also a Iveco Beulas EuroRider 35.

 

A20 EFA

Another Neoplan, this time a Starliner in the service of Applegates Coaches of Gloucestershire.

 

No. 4588

Great Western Railway 2-6-2T seen at the Paignton terminus of the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway.

 

Torbay is very much ‘Stagecoach’ territory and as elsewhere in the country they have introduced the upmarket ‘Stagecoach Gold’ brand to the area.

 

Externally distinguished by the gold and dark blue colour scheme. The interior has matching dark blue leather seats of a standard that is better than those normally fitted in their double deckers.

 

There are currently two routes in operation both commencing in Torquay. Then running via Paignton to Totnes where they divide with one then serving Dartmouth and the other going on to Plymouth.

 

The last time I was in the area 2 years ago, ‘First’ ran the Plymouth service as the X81 but with the introduction of the competing ‘Stagecoach’ service simply gave up.

 

YN63 BWZ is seen in Paignton bus station.

A Scania 230UD with Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) bodywork.

 

 

 

The rest of the operation is in the hands of ‘Stagecoach’ standard types

 

WA61 KLX

Being another Scania 230UD with 'ADL' Enviro 400 bodywork. This bus is branded for the Newton Abbot to Brixham service.

 

50 years ago, much of this route was operated by Devon General’s open top MCW bodied Leyland Atlanteans which carried the names of famous English ‘Sea Dogs’

 

S467 BWC

Now approaching the veteran stage is this Dennis Dart SLF with ‘ADL’s ALX 300 bodywork.

In the background is the clock tower roundabout adjacent to Torquay’s harbour.

 

The clock tower is an historic feature dating back to 1902 and was erected as a memorial to the life and work of Richard Mallock. He lived at nearby Cockington Court in the village of Cockington.

 

I was a bit surprised that in a land where the Enviro 400 is plentiful that all the departures on the sometimes severe X46 to Exeter that I saw. Were operated by older Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents. 

 

MX05 WHZ  

 KN04 XJG

As in most towns and cities these days, the Optare Solo can be found in some numbers. Paignton bus station was no exception.

 

WA04 TYB

 

L15 PPN

At one time with ‘Lippen Coaches’ in Southwest Scotland. It now operates for ‘Local link’ in Torbay

WK06 HZZ

Again with ‘Local link’