The
Dockyard Railway, Chatham
Steam Locomotives
0-4-0 ST, built in 1941 by
Robert Stevenson & Hawthorn Ltd, Works No. RSH7042
Supplied new to Chatham Dockyard and has spent all its working life at Chatham, as Yard No.6, later No. 361 AJAX.
0-4-0 ST, built in 1912 by R&W Hawthorn Leslie & Co Ltd, Works No.2918.
Supplied new to Blyth Harbour Commission, it was known as Blyth Docks No.2. It carried its number on its saddle-tank along with the docks title 'B.H.C. No.2.'
In 1971 it was sold to the Yorkshire Dales Railway at Embsay for restoration. While it was at Embsay, it was named 'Pony'. At the moment there is no information about the loco whilst it was at Embsay, or if it moved elsewhere until it was sold to the dockyard in 1998, where it was named 'Achilles'.
'Achilles' is now out of service and will be stripped down for its 10-year overhaul.
0-4-0 Tractor Tramway locomotive, built in 1895 by Aveling & Porter at Rochester, Works No.3567.
'Sydenham' has 4 FT driving wheels and is fitted with a Fowler-type cylinder block.
The locomotive was ordered by Beadle Brothers (later Cory & Sons) of Erith, Kent, for whom the locomotive worked for all of its commercial life (alongside 'Sir Vincent', another Aveling & Porter tramway locomotive) until 1954.
In the 1930s the locomotive was rebuilt by Aveling & Porter and returned again to their Rochester Works in the 1940s to be fitted with a new firebox and tubeplate. 'Sydenham' only worked for a short time on return from Aveling's works as in 1952 a diesel locomotive was sent to work at Erith and 'Sydenham' became the spare engine.
'Sydenham' was purchased in the 1960s by Enfield Veteran Club who rallied the locomotive for a short time until it was presented to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre in 1969.
In September 1997 'Sydenham' moved back to Kent for restoration by the North Kent Industrial Locomotive Society at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
'Sydenham' is the second-oldest of only five standard-gauge Aveling & Porter tramway locomotives to survive in preservation, and the only example fitted with a Fowler-type compound cylinder block.
0-4-0 ST, built in 1904 by Andrew Barclay, Works No.945.
Built in 1904 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, by Andrew Barclay at their Caledonia works, 945 is a typical contractor's / small shunting loco of 0-4-0 wheel arrangement with 12" diameter cylinder - the water being held in a saddletank. Delivered new to S.J Claye Ltd of Long Eaton in Derbyshire to work their coal and fireclay mines, she became 'No.1' in their loco fleet.
It is interesting to think that Bagnall of Stafford were much nearer to Long Eaton than Barclay - perhaps Barclay's reputation for building tough, rugged, locos won the order - or perhaps Bagnall had a full order book and Barclay could deliver quicker. Andrew Barclay were one of Britian's biggest and best known industrial loco builders who carried on building steam locos well into the 1950s. Many Barclay locos have been preserved - in Britain and across the world.
945 worked at Long Eaton until 1930 when she went to Charles Roberts for an overhaul. From there she was sold to Yates, Duxbury & Sons paper mill at Heap Bridge in Heywood, Lancs. There she remained until October 1974 and was the last-working of three small saddletank locos, and the last working non-Coal Board steam loco in the north west of England.
By the 1960s she was in very bad mechanical condition. The line into the paper mill was steeply graded and featured tight curves and she was worn out but continued on in service. The other two locos, 'Annie' and 'May', both built by Peckett of Bristol, were condemned by that time, although not scrapped. As it happened all three locos were preserved. 945 never carried any name during its working life.
945 was sold and moved a few miles up the road to the Bury Transport Museum, along with the Peckett 'Annie', however the true condition of the Peckett saw it sold for scrap and the name 'Annie' was transferred to the Barclay. The Peckett was however not scrapped and still lives on, also carrying the name 'Annie'.
'Annie' changed hands again in 1984 and moved south to the newly opened Lavender Line at Isfield in East Sussex where she was overhauled, with some boiler work being undertaken, and entered service carrying a mid-blue livery lined in red, to try to look a bit like a Thomas engine. She passed into the ownership of the Lavender Line Preservation Society and was stripped down for another overhaul. This overhaul did not take place as the Lavender Line did not have the money or resources, and she was sold to her current owner in 1998 who restarted the overhaul.
This overhaul was very thorough and involved a lot of replacement parts being made, and existing parts being rebuilt. Work undertaken includes: provision of a new main steam pipe; straightening and re-machining the left-hand piston rod; white-metalling the axle boxes; two new cab sides; extensive welding to the saddle tank; twenty-four new boiler stays and a complete retube. Most of this work was undertaken single-handedly or with just a little help. The rush was on to get the loco finished in time for its 100th birthday, and this was achieved with the boiler passing its test in June 2004. A party to celebrate was held in November 2004 attended by the mayor of Uckfield.
'Annie', along with steam crane 'Horace', was moved to Chatham Historic Dockyard in March 2005. Annie is right at home on the dockyard railway system as shunting wagons around an industrial system is the type of work she was built to do. The Dockyard also had some Barclay saddletank locos similar to her working on the dockyard system, one of which was called 'Empire' and was built in 1903. 'Annie' may one day be repainted and renamed to become 'Empire'.
|
Steam Locomotives |
||
| Wagon Restoration | Standard Gauge History | Narrow Gauge History |