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Comment by Dick Bodily on December 5, 2023 at 19:40

Two additions recently 94xx tank as seen in breakdown picture, also a pir of Class 27 diesels as per Barry Taylor  (Dick B)

Comment by Simon Stevens on March 6, 2022 at 11:04

DMU pedantry follows!

The railtour DMU (3 car set with Derby style ends, destination blinds in the cab roof and low density layout) can only be a Derby class 108 or Gloucester class 119. I think it's a Gloucester unit. The main clue is the way the cab front lining drops below the windows and passes above the headcode panel. The 108 has fewer windows between the passenger doors too but I can't find a clear enough picture to count them.

Here's a 119:

On a 108, the side windows are lower down so the upper lining rises to go over the cab windows:

Comment by Dick Bodily on February 24, 2022 at 19:26

Updated 24th Feb 2022

Comment by Colin Franklin on June 8, 2018 at 16:49

I have just come into possession of a black and white photograph of "Rothervale No 0". This was originally the first new locomotive that was purchased by the East & West Junction Railway in 1879. The photograph shows the loco in its withdrawn condition minus its front buffers and drawbar hook. When it was withdrawn at Treeton was it stored there until it was sent for scrap?

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 19, 2016 at 10:17

Nigel has passed on this extra information concerning Le Chemin de Fer de Rhone et Loire engines, cheers Nigel.

At 19:11 on December 18, 2016, NIGEL said…

Further history on 0-6-0 La Savoie. In 1841 Joseph Locke, engineer of the Paris & Rouen Railway, asked Brassey & Mackenzie contractors, in conjunction with William Allcard, contractor for the Permanent Way on the Grand Junction Railway and William Buddicom, engineer, to jointly supply the plant at the Chartreux Works. Hence the company of Allcard & Buddicom was formed specifically to supply locomotives, carriages & wagons to the Compagnie de Chemins de Fer de Rouen. This contract was for 40 locos, 120 2nd class carriages & 200 wagons. The first locos were built in October 1842, to an "Allen Crewe" design manufactured under license. In 1845 the company moved to better premises in Sotteville near Rouen. The 2 French tender engines 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 were purchased from Le Chemin de Fer de Rhone et Loire in 1858 by Thomas Brassey for a contract in Savoy, namely the Mont Ceris Tunnel Railway, which opened in October 1871. Savoy is part of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region following its annexation to France in June 1860. The test train took a party of 54 including Buddicom, Crampton & Brassey as Director. Both French engines were probably hired to the E & WJR in 1874 from Thomas Brassey.

Thomas Crampton, an English engineer, was the contractor who built the line for the E & WJR and was later a director of that company.

William Buddicom, an English engineer, who built some of the first locomotives in France.

Thomas Brassey, an English civil engineering contractor, had by 1870 built 75% of French Railways, 33% of British Railways, and 1 in 20 miles of railways in the world.

Two questions come to mind. When was La Savoie actually named and where was she built? We know La Savioe was built in one of two places, but was she named in honour of Savoy being annexed to France?

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 13, 2016 at 11:25

Colin,

According to Jenkins' Northampton & Banbury Railway' the Thomas Brassey engines likely originated from Le Chemin de Fer de Rhone et Loire and were acquired by Brasseys while doing a contract in Savoy.

Dick

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 13, 2016 at 10:32

John, etc.

I've found this SMJ Castles discussion from some time ago on the Wandering 1500 page!  So I've moved it to where it should have been.

Dick

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 13, 2016 at 10:30

John,

I agree with you that Castles were banned on the SMJ apart from the triangle but believe that one did reach Woodford on at least one occasion, probably more often. I only have anecdotal evidence in this belief, but from reliable sources. I spoke with Rex Partridge who as you know befriended and interviewed many ex Woodford footplatemen including Ray Norrish who was involved in one of the instances. Ray took over a Castle at Honeybourne working a mineral train containing anthracite or a similar coal product. This train which sometimes ran in the afternoon during the final months of the SMJ from South Wales to the Leicester area unusually carried a long distance freight headcode.  It was diagrammed for WR Double Chimney 9f haulage but other engines were sometimes substituted.  Rex believes that Ray, who was a good friend and a fellow enthusiast as well as a driver, told him the truth about what happened. Ray was a determined confident Cockney character who enjoyed a challenge when driving. Ray came to a halt on the incline leading up to Byfield Ironstone siding and struggled so much to reach Byfield that a member of the station staff was sent on foot to see where he had got to. On arriving back at Woodford  he was summoned by a senior railwayman to receive a right ear bashing. Ray who had an answer for everything waited patiently for the telling off to stop, then casually replied ' A Castle you say? I thought it was a Hall!' This story was verified independently by two other drivers to Rex, Arthur Eyles and George Cave. Rex was also told that Castles reached Woodford on this train on other occasions and that a few wagons would be detached before tackling the SMJ. The story ties in with David Blagrove's account of seeing a Castle on the SMJ with mineral wagons.  It seems likely that the Castle that Ray drove originated from Gloucester which had a couple of Castles still active at the time but in deplorable external condition minus number and name plates and only identifiable by faint chalked on numbers.

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 13, 2016 at 10:29

Comment by John Jennings on March 13, 2016 at 15:43Delete Comment

 GWR Castle class locos were prohibited from the ex SMJ route. Is there any substantive evidence for this "sighting"? No records exist of such a working at the Stratford end of the line. Special permission was given in 1961 for Castle class locos to traverse the triangle of lines at Stratford Old Town as far as clearance of points A on the ground frame in order to turn.

John

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 10, 2016 at 19:45

Don't know Colin, I'll see what I can find out.

Dick

Comment by Colin Franklin on December 10, 2016 at 14:05

Did the E&WJR' s "Buddicom" 0-6-0 La Savoie start out life working on the Nord Railway before transfer to England?

Comment by Dick Bodily on August 10, 2015 at 12:39

Updated 10/8/2015 

 Dick

Comment by Dick Bodily on January 27, 2014 at 15:20

Now 123 separate types/classes listed including recent diesels on MoD trains!  Confirmation required for additional 3. I never thought when I started this list it would end up so extensive!

 

 

 

Comment by Dick Bodily on January 27, 2014 at 15:15

Updated with inclusion of 81xx tank seen by Rex Partridge at Byfield on Woodford bound freight. Believed to have been commandered at Honeybourne, its normal role being as a banker on the Honeybourne to Chipping Campden section of the Worcester main line. - 27th January 2014 

Comment by Dick Bodily on March 12, 2012 at 14:35

Confirmation Required

LNER V2 2-6-2 (believed to be have seen at Blisworth)

Prototype HST Power Cars (stored at Kineton, believed to have arrived by rail)

LMS 12000 series Diesel Shunter ( pretty sure I saw one on a pick up freight early 60s)

Comment by Dick Bodily on March 7, 2012 at 19:50

If you haven't had a look at this page recently do so as some very interesting classes have been just been added to the list by myself but mainly by Barry Taylor's researches. The most unusual ones are a GCR steam railcar used briefly between Byfield and Woodford and Hinton as it was in 1909 and a very unusual LMS diesel - electric ( rather than mechanical) shunter but there are also LSWR and GER types too.  Dick Bodily

Comment by Dick Bodily on November 27, 2011 at 16:55

The latest diesel class to work the regular Didcot - Kineton via the SMJ remnant was a Class 60! This happened this October, I would have liked to have seen that!

Also recently added to the list was Class 458 Juniper EMU - they were stored at Kineton for a time.

Comment by Dick Bodily on September 4, 2011 at 16:45

Locos which have recently been added to the list include:-

 

LMS Jinty - overlooked by me but noted elsewhere long ago on this website. It was seen shunting dedundant coaching stock at Towcester, witnessed by Bob Hodson.

Class 25 at Blisworth SMJ witnessed by Peter Fleming

Class 33 on diesel railtour visited Kineton MOD - early '90s

Class 58 on Kineton working

Stanier Mogul at Towcester seen by the late Lewis Hawtin

Last three items came via Rex Partridge

Comment by Dick Bodily on February 20, 2011 at 19:27

More additions

Rex has recently refound some misssing notes concerning interviews he made with ex railmen many years ago. From these he has told me about two new classes. An old railwayworker who began in 1920s recalled seeing a Johnson 4-2-2 Spinner with an inspection saloon at Byfield during early LMS days. Another man told how he saw an N15 'King Arthur' (which might just possibly have been an S15) near Byfield ironstone sidings heading west light engine during WW2. He believed it to be in connection with a troop working. Evidentally N15s often worked through Banbury from the SR as far as Woodford during that war. Rex is going to check through these 'lost' notes carefully as he thinks there is some mention of a Stanier Mogul on the SMJ in them. Of further SMJ interest Rex tells me that someone who used to work at Byfield Ironstone told him that in addition to the ironstone trains out via the SMJ at Blisworth and to the 'Round the World' pick up that there was also another ironstone working from Byfield West towards Stratford or Broom. Also he tells me that wagons picked up from the SMJ by the 'Round the World' were dealt with at Woodford Down Old Yard.

Comment by Colin Franklin on January 26, 2011 at 17:07

Further to my posting of the 8th December 2010 the dimensions of this Double "Fairlie" are given in the book "A History of the Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction Railway" by R.C. Riley and Bill Simpson on page 133. They are: Coupled Wheels 3ft 6in; wheelbase of each bogie 8ft; outside cylinders 16in x 20in. Weight in working order 57 tons; water capacity 2,100 gallons, coal 30 cwt. The loco had two drivers and two firemen. The sister engine, a single "Fairlie" had one driver and one fireman. Incidentally, the single "Fairlie" carried the name "Robert Fairlie". They are attributed to be the first locomotives to work in Britain with Walschaerts valve gear.

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