Click here to go to: Financial report or
Fundraising Appeal for 1638 rods
or King Arthur info or Minutes
of the '93 AGM
| Chairman and Chief Mechanical Engineer |
Ray Bellingham |
| Treasurer | Steve Pilcher |
| Directors | Rodney Packham, Mike Frackiewicz, George Binns, Felix Cope, David Jones, Adrian Pinkess, David Pinkess, Barry Smith |
Just a brief note from me this time to say that there is a lot of interest in this News Sheet. What is missing however is a lengthy article from David Jones on the 'King Arthur' Project. This has been held over until the next issue because of pressure of space, but to keep the subject aired, I have included a thought provoking letter from Mr. Arthur Lambert. Do any other members have views on the 'King Arthur' Project or, for that matter, any other subject of Maunsell interest? If so, please write to me at the address below:
Ian Hawkins, 18 Hazlemere Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 4AN.
My thanks to all the contributors and to Jon Elphick for the printing. The next magazine is due out at the end of January when subscription forms for 1994 will be included.
I am pleased to report that both 1618 and 847 are running well, and that excellent progress is being made on 1638. By the time you read this, 1638 should be completely dismantled. You, the members, have been very generous in your financial support over the years, and I hope that you can continue to assist the Society in its restoration of a second U class for the railway. Please read the fundraising article in this News Sheet and help if you can. Members are always welcome at Sheffield Park to view progress.
Ray Bellingham
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I am pleased to report that funds are in reasonable shape, in that we have repaid all loans for the cylinder liner appeal for 847 and we are now in credit. A collecting box alongside 1638 has been successful in raising £450 since April, which is very good progress. The chassis is currently just in front of the workshop entrance door where the public pause and see the locos under repair in the workshop. When the chassis has on occasions been moved back a few feet, the takings drop dramatically.
The funds we have to hand will be used to pay for work to the chassis. Looking to the future we have decided to launch a fundraising appeal for forgings for the coupling and connecting rods (please see below).
Steve Pilcher
I am pleased to say that we have had a few new recruits, mostly from the loco department at Sheffield Park and there has been quite a good turn out for work on 1638. May I remind anyone who has yet to renew their subscriptions that we need all the support we can muster for the restoration of 1638.
Rodney Packham
There was a good turn out of in excess of 30 people at the AGM on 4 July. Minutes of the AGM are enclosed giving details of the subjects discussed.
U CLASS 1638
Since the last report, good progress has been made on stripping down the loco.
i) The boiler was lifted in May.
ii) Slide bars dismantled, crossheads and other residual pieces of motion taken down, valves and pistons removed. Slide bars sent away for machining.
iii) Brake rigging dismantled, sand boxes put into store.
There is not a lot more that can be dismantled at present. We are waiting for another "move" to take place in the yard, in October/November which will allow the frames to be lifted off the wheel sets.
On the positive side, there has been a concerted effort to needle gun the fire box to remove rust scale and determine the extent of wastage. Most of the firebox and boiler has now had a protective coat of paint. Two large areas between the loco's frames have been needle gunned clean and prepared for various coats of primer, undercoat and topcoat. The cleaning work between the frames has been constrained by the dismantling work. It's not much fun for a gang to be working on dismantling if someone is rattling away with a needle gun!
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1638 - THE NEXT STEPS
The main aim this year is to get the frames and wheel sets apart and the wheels sent away for attention to the journals. Next year we would want to get it all re-assembled. Some of the springs have been overhauled. The others may require attention. Before the wheels can be sent away, three spokes need attention by a welder as someone attacked them at Barry with a cutting torch. Likewise one of the crank pins needs similar repairs.
While the wheels are away the axle boxes will be attended to, frames cleaned and painted and a new dragbox fabricated. The front buffer beam will be straightened out.
The motion has been dismantled and the cylinder and valve bores found to be in excellent condition. Whilst the engine was at Barry, copious quantities of oil were tipped into the cylinders and as a result there is minimal rust damage. There is therefore going to be no need for new liners as per 847.
THE PMV
In July a small gang of workers led by David Jones stripped the felt roof off the van and replaced it with a top quality mineral felt cover which should provide good weatherproof protection for many years. David has rubbed down the paintwork and repainted it in Maunsell dark green and has done an impressive job of the signwriting for the lettering and numbering. David also noticed that the van lacked the destination chalk boards that were a feature of the PMV'S. He has gone to the trouble of making some new replicas which should be fitted soon. This will restore the van to its authentic appearance.
We are indebted to Keith Sturt for arranging the movement of the van into the running shed so that the roof repair could take place and thanks are due to Peter Hazelden, Paul Skinner and Steve Pilcher who helped with the job and David Pinkess who purchased the roofing felt (at a good discount!) and arranged transport to the Park.
One final observation is that Bernard Wright and Fred Card had been responsible for the previous repaint. Not long before Bernard died he had been concerned by the condition of the roof and had been assured that we would tackle it in the Summer when the weather was suitable for the work. It's pleasing that we have been able to keep our word.
847 has had a good first season and has already clocked up over 6,000 miles, which is high by Bluebell Railway standards, and is the highest mileage loco so far this year. There have been a few teething problems, which is to be expected from any loco that has not been in service for 28 years. It is a popular loco with the crews and the workshop staff.
1618 is now in its 7th year of traffic since its last overhaul. It has had a few niggling problems which have been resolved pretty quickly and which have not kept it out of traffic long. These include replacement of a couple of small tubes and leaking stays.
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Adrian Pinkess
Can we once again ask you for your support with the Society and its projects? We are keen to try and restore. 1638 as rapidly as possible. It is a useful, economical and attractive loco. The main areas for which we will require funds are:
i) New coupling and connecting rods.
ii) New tender tank.
iii) Boiler work - new tubes etc. and other work that will be identified once a thorough survey is carried out.
This year's objective is to raise funds for the rods. Ray Bellingham hopes to be able to produce some drawings for the rods soon and then we can obtain prices for the forging work. It is some time since the Society purchased forgings, but at a rough guess they should cost in the region of between £2,000 and £4,000. Ideally we would like to have enough money to send them away for machining as well.
Can we therefore ask all members to consider if they could donate £20 - this could raise £6,000. Obviously we realise times are difficult for a lot of people and any donation no matter how large or small would be much appreciated.
All cheques should be made payable to:
"Maunsell Locomotive Society Ltd" and sent to the Treasurer,
Steve Pilcher, 312 Riverside Mansions, Garnet Street, London El 9SZ. An
s.a.e. for a receipt would be much appreciated.
Felix Cope had an excellent couple of days at the Bluebell Railway Swapmeet in July and as a result raised an exceedingly useful £500 for the Society. Many thanks to Felix and to all those who donated items for sale.
from Mr. Arthur LI. Lambert of Maentwrog, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Dear Mr. Hawkins,
I note the item in the latest newsletter about the 'King Arthur' project.. Presumably such a locomotive would be given the number E807, being that intended for the authorised 15th member of the 'Brighton Arthur' series, which was never built. Instead, the authorisation was used to produce the prototype of the Maunsell express passenger design, which emerged as No. E850 'Lord Nelson'. Incidentally, unlike all other Maunsell designs, that one never had any official identifying class letter (e.g. Q, U, V etc.), so, during his regime, because the prototype was the 124th locomotive to be laid down at Eastleigh, the whole class was known as 'E124'. This identification was abandoned during the Bulleid regime when the more obvious designation 'LN' was used.
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The fourth batch of 15 'King Arthurs' proper, Nos. E808-822, was to have had 4000 gallon tenders, and to have been used on the Kent Coast expresses when the bridges east of Faversham had been strengthened (not completed until 1929), but construction was never authorised, although ten of the tenders were built, finishing up behind S15s Nos. 833-837 and 'Schools' Nos.E905-909. How John Elliot would have managed to find names for another 16 of the 'King Arthur' class defies imagination. Certainly, two of the Urie N15s represented the same person, and I have heard tell the same applies to two of the knight's names!
That brings me to a name for 'No.E807'. I suggest that, as the projected locomotive will not be a pure Maunsell product, and in view of the fact that a society of well wishers will have brought it into being, the name should be a follow-on from Urie Nos. 754/5, and that it should be called 'The White Knight', even though that has no -relationship to the Arthurian legend.
Whilst I applaud the rehabilitation of No. 1638, what a pity it is that this Society cannot have one U and one N, so few of which escaped the torch. It is an even greater pity in my view that No.31813 wasn't rescued for the National Collection, for it was the first 'modern' locomotive of the type which came to be constructed over the remaining third of a century or so of steam rule, as it combined long travel valves with relatively high superheat for the first time. This fact never seems to have been given the importance Maunsell deserved.
We have a full set of Railway Magazines from 1961 to 1975 and some old Model Railway Constructors for sale to raise funds for the Society. All reasonable offers will be considered. Please write to the Treasurer (address above).
It has recently come to our attention that 25 January 1994 will be the 25th anniversary of 1618 leaving Barry scrapyard. It was only the second engine to leave the yard and was a very important milestone in the history of the society. It is very early days and we have not yet had a chance to discuss the matter with the Bluebell Railway but we would like to see 1618 in traffic on the preceding Sunday, 23rd January, possibly with a special headboard. If you are interested in this as an event, please send an s.a.e. to the Treasurer (address above) so we can keep you informed. Alternatively you are welcome to ring Steve Pilcher on 071-481-3390 in the preceding Week and he will leave a message on his answerphone if he is not in.
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Click here for the minutes of the AGM mentioned in the text
