Front cover: 928 "Stowe' at Sheffield Park, May 1986

In this edition click to go further to:

Treasurers report or Maunsell Team Part 2, a look at Surrey Warner or Exmouth Junction allocation info

LIST OF DIRECTORS

Other Directors: George Binns, Felix Cope, David Jones, Adrian Pinkess, David Pinkess and Barry Smith.

Chairmans Report

As you will see from the engineering report, good progress is being made with 1638. A new drag box has been rivetted in, the buffer beam is back up, and various parts are being machined. One significant piece of news is that the Bluebell railway have agreed to make £5,000 available to the project and we will be using this and some of our own funds to purchase forgings for the coupling and connecting rods this year. I am pleased to say that we managed to have members working on site every Sunday throughout the winter although numbers do vary from week to week. So thank you to all those who have given their time so freely to the society

847 had a rest over the winter but should be back in traffic again soon, albeit possibly on a limited use basis as the tyres require attention. In 1995 our S15 clocked up the highest mileage for any Bluebell loco. Moving proof of the quality of the restoration and an enjoyable reward for all our work and financial contributions from the members.

Finally I must thank all members for their contributions to the cause over the last six months. I look forward to seeing people at the AGM. We usually have a few interesting developments to discuss, so do come along.

RAY BELLINGHAM

Editors comment

One of the items of Society business which was discussed at a recent meeting of the Directors, concerned the number of issues of the Newsletter which the Society should publish each year. It was unanimously agreed that a move from the current two issues a year to three would be beneficial as the membership would receive more up to date information on the current restoration project and other society matters. One of the disadvantages of the current arrangement will be overcome in that, at present, if an item misses one publication date it is another half year before it can appear in print.

It is planned to begin producing three issues a year from January 1997 with the January issue including a reminder for subscription renewals. The next issue in May/June will include the accounts and notice of the AGM. and the final issue in September/October will contain details Society videos and other sales items which will make suitable gifts at Christmas (and help to increase the Society's funds at the same time).

Each issue will of course, have the usual mix of restoration progress and historical articles. I would like to hear your views on the proposed change. In case you are wondering I am very much in favour of the change, and I'm willing to continue as Editor!!

Moving to the current issue, the story of the Maunsell team, which has received several favourable comments already, continues with the stories of Surrey Warner and Lionel Lynes, the Carriage and Wagon men. I hope you enjoy this series as it unfolds over the next few issues.

IAN HAWKINS

TREASURER'S REPORT

A set of accounts for 1995 should accompany this Newsletter. It was another good year for the Society, with income exceeding £5,000. I covered most of the transactions in the Winter 1995/96 report and feel it is unnecessary to go over old ground again here.

At the time of writing this report (late May), the Society had received over £2,500 in subscription renewals and donations, which has left the Society's accounts in a healthy position. Thank you to everyone for renewing so promptly.

In the last report I mentioned the possibility of the Bluebell Railway agreeing to a contribution towards the 1638 project from Bernard Wright's bequest. I am pleased to say that provision has been made for the Society to draw upon £5,000 of funds. Thanks to Paul Skinner's efforts in producing drawings of the coupling rods and connecting rods we hope to be in a position to order forgings soon. We have a quote from a year ago which was about £6,000 for all six. Other quotes are being sought with a view to taking up the best price. Once the chassis is rewheeled, no doubt there will be other calls on the Society's funds for platework/pipework etc. So any donations will be helpful and will be gratefully received.

STEVE PILCHER

Membership Matters

I am pleased to be able to report that membership renewal was most successful. Nearly all members renewed and we had a few join us. This leaves us with a fairly stable membership. Many members were able to make a donation too which, as reported elsewhere, has enabled us to move forward with the ordering of forgings etc. Many thanks to all. Finally, our newest member is 5 weeks old (this is being written in late May) and called Victoria (I did consider Brighton and even Ashford but my wife vetoed those ideas!).

PETER JESSOP

(For those who don't know, Peter, his wife Barbara and their daughter Victoria live literally on top of the tunnel at Sharpthorne and Saturday afternoon walks, it is rumoured, will include a visit to West Hoathly station site to watch the trains pass. An ideal upbringing no doubt! -Ed.)

1638 RESTORATION PROJECT

Plenty to report this time. During the worst of the Winter we were busy inside the workshop. It's amazing what you can achieve without going further than 10 yards from the coal fired heater they have in there. Not surprisingly, we tackled things which had been dismantled. The cab sides received much attention with fresh steel being grafted into areas that were rotten and new strengtheners being fabricated. Pieces were also prepared for the drag box so that it could be assembled later. Oddments such as cab door hinges and valence brackets were other Winter favourites which have benefited from attention.

This doesn't mean that 1638 itself was being neglected outside. One Sunday, Barry Smith and Peter Jessop used the magnetic drill to drill out the cut studs from the main steam ports in the saddle under the smokebox and I can tell you, it was COLD.

Ray Bellingham has been very busy too working his way through a seemingly endless list of jobs including lubrication pipes, measuring up for castings, preparation work on the drag box etc. Another indoor job which is progressing well is the machining of the new spring hangers, an urgent task of course if we are to rewheel soon. This skilled job is being undertaken by Fred Bailey.

The coming of the warmer weather has meant two things. Firstly, we can begin to assemble all the parts we have been preparing and secondly David Jones and others begin to reach for their paint brushes. Thus, in a sudden burst of activity, the rear drag box was assembled (involving much late night work from Ray) and painted, and the front area behind the buffer beam was prepared and painted, and the newly straightened front buffer beam was mounted in position. The straightening of the buffer beam was itself a major task.

The boiler too has received attention. Melvyn Fronsdorff (with help from others) has been busy on a particularly dirty job, removing all the boiler and flue tubes. Following removal of the last of the tubes, the boiler was swept out and two buckets of detritus removed. Who was volunteered for this enjoyable task? Other, shall we say, more rounded members of the volunteer work force who were there on the day, decided that it had to be the Treasurer, who is not only careful (tight?) with the Society's money but is also sufficiently slim to get through the tightest of spaces (the dome). There is no truth in the rumour that he had to be plied with food through the holes in the tubeplates to prevent his coming out before the job was done!!

Looking to the future, we are hopeful that the axle box white metalling can commence soon as this is essential before 1638 can be rewheeled. I know that this statement has appeared in more than one restoration report but the signs are promising. In the meantime, there is a diverse selection of jobs which will keep the volunteer work force busy for some time to come. If you can spare any time to help, just turn up and we'll make you feel at home.

As many of you will probably have guessed, the answer to the question posed in the last Newsletter concerning the extra piece of plating at the rear of 1638's frames is as follows. The "plating" was, in fact, wooden and was a mock up designed to see what would be required to turn a U Class into a River Class tank. Of course, 1638 was used only because the frames were available. It would be more appropriate to convert 1618 to a "River" and to give it the name originally intended of "River Hamble".

PETER JESSOP

THE MAUNSELL TEAM

PART 2

The Carriage and Wagon men

Clearly Maunsell, like any other Chief Mechanical Engineer, wanted a strong team. As "the boss", should anything go wrong, he would carry the can. For this reason, doubts about the River Class tank engines (forerunners to our very own U Class) following the 1927 Sevenoaks disaster must have been a very trying time. Delegation was an essential part of everyday management life but control had to be exercised and matters checked before being signed off with the Maunsell name. Maunsell did check and jealously guarded his own good reputation, which was well deserved and in marked contrast to his contemporary at the L.M.S., Henry Fowler, who was dependent on his (fortunately good) draughtsmen and those at the North British Locomotive Company.

When selecting a carriage and wagon man for the Southern at the grouping, there was only one realistic choice. This was Surrey Warner of the L.S.W.R. or, to be more accurate, Surrey Warner O.B.E. He was a well educated man of impeccable credentials with a proven track record and a very popular chap into the bargain. He was given the title Assistant Mechanical Engineer (carriages, wagons and road vehicles). When he retired in 1929, Lionel Lynes, 20 years his junior, took over. Lynes had worked for Maunsell at the S.E.C.R. and had been chief carriage and wagon draughtsman. When he stepped into Warner's shoes, he didn't gain his title. It wasn't that Lynes was not up to it, far from it, he was a very able man who had worked for Maunsell for many years. It was just that Warner had "presence", for want of a better word.

The bare facts are simple but impressive. Surrey Warner was born in 1861 and educated at Cranleigh public school (as per Schools Class No.936). He became a pupil to Dean at the Great Western in 1877 and progressed through various departments, gaining experience, until in 1901 he became Assistant Manager of Swindons C & W department. In 1905 he was able to succeed W.Painter at the L.S.W. works at Eastleigh as C & W superintendent. This was a position he held until grouping.

Among the successes that made his name was the development of the "Ironclad" L.S.W. coaches which were built well into Southern days and which, slightly adapted, were the standard Southern article that we know as "the Maunsell Coach". He also developed the L.S.W electric third rail stock, known as the "bull nose stock", which had a long and successful life. During the the First World War he designed and arranged construction of five ambulance trains and it was for this that he gained his OBE in 1920.

During his time on the Southern, he organised rolling stock work with bodies being made at Eastleigh and underframes at Lancing. It was an efficient operation with wagons largely in the care of Ashford works. Production was of gangwayed coaches, the Southern having inherited a huge amount of non-gangwayed stock from the pre-grouping companies.

As a person, Surrey Warner was a very popular, sporting type. In his earlier Great Western years, he was captain of both rugby and cricket teams which were successful under his guidance. He was an active organiser and leader and well liked for it. In later life, he took up bowls and golf; in fact he founded his own bowls club which even won the Hants Championship on two occasions. He was also President of the Hampshire and District League for bowls and founder, committee member and, in 1925, captain of the Stoneham Park Golf club. He was clearly a man of personality who had great influence on those around him.

Lionel Lynes held the Chief Draughtsmans position thereafter and, whilst this former Churchward apprentice was an influence on Southern carriage and wagon design, he was not initiator that Warner was. One can assume that this must have suited Bulleid from 1938 onwards as he was definitely the ideas man whose ideas competent draughtsmen were expected to turn into reality. The success of Bulleid rolling stock is well known. As Lynes joined the S.E.C.R. in 1914 (only one year after Maunsell) already at the rank of Chief Draughtsman, one wonders if he should not have achieved more or was it that he was so overshadowed by Surrey Warner? Bearing mind the era, it could be that as a regular apprenticed worker at origin, his background was no match for Warner's well to do, high profile personality. That's one thing that perhaps we'll never know. What we do know is that both served Maunsell admirably and did everything to add to the Maunsell reputation and that of the Southern Railway. Many illustrations of the work of both Warner and Lynes are shown in the book "Maunsell's SR Steam Carriage Stock" by David Gould published by Oakwood Press in 1990.

Next time... which member of the team, arguably, found more fame with V2s etc. on the L.N.E.R. than with the Southern to which he stayed loyal?

PETER JESSOP

Centre Page Picture

Obituary

It is with much regret that we have to announce the passing of Mary Bellingham, our Chairmans wife, on February 2nd 1996. Mary had been a pillar of support to Ray in his work with the locomotives and a stalwart backer of the Society. At Tenterden, when Ray first became involved with the work on 1618 Mary helped out behind the scenes and, with the move to the Bluebell, she took on the responsibility of running the Society's shop at Horsted Keynes as well as being Treasurer for the Society for many years. When Ray was offered full time employment in the Bluebell Railway workshops, Mary willingly accepted the move down to Sussex and took up employment in the Railway's catering department. Here she soon established a reputation as a friendly, reliable and responsible member of staff and eventually completed almost fifteen years service. Working for so long in the "front line" with the general public can be very demanding on one's tolerance but Mary coped with all this and will always be remembered for her warmth and sincerity. The funeral was held at Worth Crematorium and was well attended by the family's many friends on the Railway and within the Society.

STEVE PILCHER

We must also mention the passing away of one of our life members, Mr John Woods, of Beckenham who had been a keen supporter of the Society and a regular attender of the AGM. As with many of our members, he had consistently supported our appeals over many years. Without support of this kind, the Society would never have managed to restore three locos. He has kindly left a final donation to the Society in his will together with a nameplate from No. 795 "Sir Dinadan"

Matters Arising

Since the article in Newsletter No.31 about the N Class swan song in the West Country, further information has been received concerning locomotives at Exmouth Junction shed in late 1964. The list as noted, is by no means exhaustive, and includes types other than those designed by Mr. Maunsell.

Publicity

David Jones has been out and about giving talks on behalf of the Society. In February, he spoke to the Sussex Area Group of the Kent and East Sussex Railway in Westham Village Hall. His talk "From Scrap to Steam" was very well received by the 50 people present. In March he was out again, this time at the British Legion, Bexhill. This time the talk was about the Bluebell but there was a significant Maunsell bias!!

AGM

The Society's 1996 AGM. will be held on Sunday the 11th of August in the classroom in the top car park at Sheffield Park Station. We plan to make a start at 10 a.m. As ever, there will be an up to date report on the current restoration project and the opportunity to discuss future projects and activities. All members are therefore encouraged to come along and participate.

Bluebell Railway Swapmeet

Once again Felix Cope is overseeing the organisation of yet another stand at the Bluebell Railway's Swapmeet in July. This always raises a useful sum for the Society. Please contact Felix if you have any items of model railway equipment or any other forms of railwayana that you wish to donate in order to raise funds. The contact address is "Feldor", Grassy Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent.

Collecting Stamps to sell for the Society

In the last magazine we mentioned that the Society had received, from an anonymous donor, five full sacks of stamps which were being sold on at that time. This raised £25 for the Society's funds. Although it does take a large number of stamps to yield this sort of sum, it is still money for nothing and represents an opportunity for fund-raising which should not be ignored. Donations of stamps can be left with the Sunday working parties on 1638 or, if no one is around, may we suggest that the stamps be left alongside the Society's green container in plastic bags for later collection? Talking of the container, Ray Bellingham had noticed that the support at the rear was giving way such that the container was settling unevenly. A couple of the volunteers recently spent a happy part of the afternoon digging underneath to underpin the container and keep it on a level footing.

Letters

The photograph on the rear cover of Newsletter No.32 provoked some comment from the volunteers at the Park when it was first seen. Mr Manton of Knockholt has written on the same subject.

Dear Mr Hawkins,

With reference to the photograph on the rear cover of the Winter 1995/96 issue, it is interesting to note that the only piece of modern equipment fitted to no. 777 "Sir Lamiel", in order to meet the rigorous standards of main line running, appears to be duff. A speedometer reading 10 m.p.h., achieved with an empty boiler and no fire would lead me to question the accuracy of said instrument. This caused me to wonder how, in those glorious days before inaccurate modern speedometers became compulsory, the driver was able to measure the locomotive's speed in order to comply with a speed restriction. Perhaps those of you with experience in these matters might care to explain.

A Preservation railway

A short time ago, Felix Cope showed Steve Pilcher a charming poem (written by one of our members) which he had received. I hope the author will not mind that it's being reproduced here but it is rather cheerful and does demonstrate that steam enthusiasts also have some hidden literary talents as well!

When you board that first train of the day;

have you thought of all those preparing your way?

The hard-working staff there to serve and give pleasure;

Do their best to ensure that you all have "good measure".

They are volunteer staff giving time and devotion

Placing their skills at work to re-live this steam motion.

To provide you the joy of that great age of steam;

Yours, a thing of the past now, no longer a dream.

Just experience the thrill as you board that steam train

And for those who remember - it's yours once again!

That grand smell of steam, with machines of great power

Are just there to enthral - make the most of each hour!

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