STEAM LOCOMOTIVES
First uploaded 17 June 06
Two new entries 18 Aug 07
Entry removed 28 Jan 07
Two entries removed 21 April 08
One entry added 21 April 08
Steam
locomotives at Blaenavon
The railway is home to three ex-GWR locomotives saved from
the famous Barry scrapyard, one which served on the
GWR, as well as a number of ex-industrial locomotives. None are currently in service, and all should
be viewed as relatively long-term restoration projects. Four of the six GWR locomotives are positioned
to the north of our Top Shed and therefore are easy to view from the car park.
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GWR 42xx class, No.4253 Locomotive Details:- Builder: Great Western
Railway, Swindon. Built: October 1917, works
no.2643. Withdrawn: April 1963. Wheel Arrangement: 2-8-0T Driving Wheel Diameter: 4’
7½” Boiler Pressure: 200 psi. Tractive Effort: 33,170 lbs. The 42xx tanks were
introduced in 1910 especially for the South Wales mineral traffic and they had
long and successful careers right up to the time when diesels took over this work . Their design was based on the larger 28xx
2-8-0s. In all, 195 locos were built
between 1910 and l 930, while an additional 10 were
turned out in l 940 as replacements for those which had been converted to
2-8-2Ts during the depression of the mid-1930s. 4253 spent all of its working life
allocated to one shed , namely Newport (Pill). From
here it would have worked the short haul heavy coal trains from the pits in
the Eastern and Western Valleys to the docks and the steelworks. lt would also have worked the
local mixed freight duties. Thus 4523
would have been a frequent visitor to the line from Pontypool
through Abersychan to Blaenavon and the collieries
there. These tank’s duties were
gradually taken over by diesels and so in 1963 loco 4253 made its last
journey as a British Railways engine from Newport to Barry. . The loco is one of five privately owned GWR
locos which arrived in 1994 and awaits restoration. |
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GWR 56xx class, No.5668 Locomotive details:- Built: June 1926. Withdrawn: September l964. Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-2T Driving Wheel Diameter: 4'
7 1/2'' Boiler Pressure: 200psi. Tractive Effort: 23,800 lbs. Many of the Welsh railways
absorbed by the GWR in 1923 depended on tank engines, particularly of the
0-6-2T wheel arrangement, to cope with their coal and passenger traffic. Therefore C. B. Collett,
Chief Mechanical Engineer at the grouping, to the best of these designs and
modified then to Swindon standards, the first of
these engines entering service in December 1924. Eventually totalling
200 locomotives, the class soon because popular because of their power,
acceleration and speed capabilities on both passenger and freight work. Following its construction 5668 was first
allocated to the Cathays shed in Cardiff where it
worked the local passenger and freight services. After just over 20 years
there it moved up to the Rhondda valley working services frond there until
1961. It then made its final move to the shed at Barry where it stayed until
withdrawn. Following withdrawal it made the short journey to Barry docks
where it languished for over 20 years before being removed to Blaenavon. This loco and the other GWR locos at
Blaenavon are owned by a company member.
This privately owned loco has seen a start made on restoration, and
has been professionally asbestos stripped in
readiness for a boiler lift. |
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GWR 57xx class, No.9629 Locomotive details:- Built: 1945. Preserved: 1981. Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0PT Driving Wheel Diameter: 4'
7 1/2'' Boiler Pressure: 200psi. Tractive Effort: 22,515 lbs Pannier
Tank No.9629 is being restored to operate on the railway. The locomotive is
owned by the Pontypool & Blaenavon Locomotive Group, which is actively
raising money to restore the locomotive. The Group is raising funds by
selling £60 shares in the locomotive which can either be purchased outright
or paid for in monthly instalments. After
rescue from Barry the loco spent many years outside the Holiday Inn latterly
the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff, before being donated by Marriott Hotels to the
railway. Although it looked complete only a cosmetic restoration was carried
out by Steamtown, Carnforth
before it was placed outside the hotel. In fact it didn't even have a boiler
and most of the other parts such as brake gear and coupling rods were
incorrect. The
Group has spent the last few years tracking down some of the missing parts
and has managed to obtain the following already:
Many
other parts have been reserved and are being purchased as funds allow. Now that many of the chassis components
have now been secured, major restoration commenced in autumn 2001, the time
taken to complete the locomotive will largely depend how quickly funds can be
raised. So why not become a shareholder in a little
bit of Great Western history and help 9629 return to steam in the South
Wales. We are also interested in
obtaining any photographs of 9629 in service, if you have any information or
photographs please contact either of the persons below: If
you are interested in becoming a shareholder in 9629 then please contact:
Martin Herbert, 1 Fosterville Crescent, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 5HG, |
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Barclay 0-4-0ST ‘Harry’ Locomotive details:- Built: 1924, works
no.1823 Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-0ST Driving Wheel
Diameter: 3ft 2ins Boiler Pressure: 160psi
nominal, 120psi actual Tractive Effort: 10,300 lbs Weight: 22 tons 5 cwt This
little engine started work I 1924 with the Colzium
Quarry Co. Ltd. In 1929 it was sold
to Yorkshire Tar Distillers of Kilnhurst works,
Rotherham, moving to Yorkshire Tar Distillers in Cleckheaton
in the 1960s After
its spell at Cleckheaton, the locomotive returned
to the Rotherham works. It was moved
in 1972 to Embsay, and then in 1975 it moved to Crossley's Scrap Merchants, adjacent to Shipley Railway
station who reinstated the locomotive to working
order. Indeed the name Crossley’s appeared painted on the cab sides until the
loco was re-painted recently. In 1984
it moved to the Peak Railway Society, Buxton, and in December 1989 it moved
to the Middleton Railway, Leeds.
Finally, in 1992 it arrived here at Blaenavon Looking
rather splendid in blue, and nicely lined, there are major problems with the
boiler, and we have been told that ’Tom Parry’ (see below) is to be the donor
of a new boiler. Almost certainly too
small for regular passenger trains, perhaps a future in light shunting and
short demonstration freights awaits her. |
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Barclay 0-4-0ST ‘Tom Parry’ Locomotive details:- Built 1935, works no.2015: Preserved: 1970 Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-0ST Driving Wheel Diameter: 3ft 2ins Boiler Pressure: 160psi nominal, 120psi actual Tractive Effort: 10,300 lbs Weight: 22 tons 5 cwt ‘Tom
Parry’ is an all-but identical stablemate of
‘Harry’ (above), and first worked for the Allied Portland Cement
Manufacturers at Dunstable, Bedfordshire.
The loco was put into storage in 1967, and was next recorded at the
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road
Station in late 1970. It finally
arrived at Blaenavon on 3 June 1997. The
loco, whose chassis, saddle tanks (far left) and boiler (right) have been
parted, is seen in the accompanying illustration. It is planned that the boiler is fitted to
‘Harry’ in due course. What will then
become of ‘Tom Parry’ is not clear. The
illustration also shows the palletised remains of the buildings from the up
platform of Pontypool (Crane Street) station. These will be re-assembled
again, when the railway reaches further down the valley, possibly at Varteg. |
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NCB Austerity class 0-6-0ST No.8 Locomotive details- Builder: R. Stephenson
& Hawthorn Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne. Built: 1944, works no.7139 Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0ST Wheel diameter: 4’ 3” Boiler Pressure: 170psi. Weight
: 48 tons 5 cwt. During the last war the
Ministry of Supply ordered a considerable number of 0-6-0 tank locos for
military use. They were based on a
loco designed by the Hunslet Company. Because of the conditions at that time they
became known as ‘Austerity’ engines.
This design continued to be manufactured almost to the end of steam
locomotive construction. A number were purchased by the LNER and then passed
on to British Railways who classified them as J94 locos No.8 was built for the War
Department and worked as their No. 75189 on the Longmoor
Military Railway. In 1951 it was renumbered to 152 and it acquired the name ‘Rennes'. Before
being sold as surplus to requirements to the Hunslet
Engine Company in 1961 it spent some time at the Marchwood
Depot, near Southampton. It was then
sold on to the National Coal Board who used it on their lines in the Mountain
Ash area of the Cynon Valley. Steam workings
continued there until 1980, following which No.8 as it was then known, was
retired. It was stored there for a time before being moved to Blaenavon. Since then, it has been reduced,
to a kit of parts, whilst slow progress has been made on restoring the
locomotive to full working order. |
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Barclay Works 0-6-0ST No. 2074 ‘Llantarnam Abbey’ Locomotive details- Builder: Andrew Barclay & Son, Kilmarnock. Built: 1939, works no.2074 Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0ST Wheel diameter: 3ft 4 ins Boiler Pressure: n/k Weight : n/k Cylinders: 2 outside, 22 inch stroke, 14 inch diameter This is another loco in
kit form, but surrounded by a committed four-man workforce, stands the best
chance of being completed in the foreseeable future, despite major problems
with the boiler. The view on the left
shows the tank, boiler and wheels on the day that they arrived – Monday 6
August 2007 – from the Swansea Vale Railway.
The second consignment, the frames and cab, arrived a few days later
on Thursday 15 August, and is shown below, on the day of its arrival, with its
crew (also newly arrived from Swansea) displaying themselves! The cab and running plate are completely
new. Llantarnam Abbey was an NCB loco and spent its most recent years working at Mountain Ash colliery – a stablemate of Austerity No.8, above |
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Smith & Rodley self-propelled steam crane, works no. 5640 Locomotive details:
Essentially unknown Because this little old fellow is self-propelled, it qualifies as a steam locomotive, though little is known about it. It is believed to have been built in 1905, a spent all its life in a foundry in Swansea. It normally sports a jib and vertical boiler. The jib and rope is stored safely on site, as well as the shafts, bevels and pinions which permit it to drive itself. It is normally fitted with a vertical boiler, and no less than three are expected to arrive soon. Once Llantarnam Abbey is complete restoration will start of this vehicle, which may yet return to steam. In the mean time it is planned to use one of the vertical boiler to provide ‘steam heating’ to the Top Shed |
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Avonside 0-6-0ST ‘Pontyberem’ Locomotive details- Builder: Avonside Engine Co., Bristol. Built: 1900, works no.1421 Preserved 1970 Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0ST Wheel diameter: Boiler Pressure: Weight : This loco was built by the Avonside
Engine Company in 1900 for work on the Burry Porth
and Gwendraeth Valley Railway. She was rescued from the BPGV in 1970, and
has spent many years at the Great Western Society in Didcot. Privately owned, and sporting the number 2,
she also appears to carry the number No.11 painted on her saddle tank Arrived Furnace Sidings 12 March 2008. |
