In this edition click to go further to:
Treasurers report or Maunsell Team Part 3, a look at Harry Holcroft
1996 has been a decisive year for the Society. By the time you read this, 1638 will have been rewheeled and a start will have been made on the boiler work. We have now completed the dismantling phase of the project and are on the downhill run of reassembling the locomotive. It is very gratifying to be making such significant progress. 847 has yet again put in another good season of work on the railway (its fourth) and it is now understood that a budget will be made available by the Bluebell to allow a start to be made on the overhaul of 541 some time in 1997.
The biggest impact on the Society's affairs recently has been the receipt of a bequest of just over £50,000. The full amount has only recently been confirmed. The Society is so used to operating on a really tight income that it felt like being a lottery jackpot winner. To put the sum into perspective, we spent about the same on purchasing and restoring 847.
Obviously this has opened up new perspectives. The Directors met early in November to review our current position and to plan the way forward. As Directors we have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the Society and its assets both in the short term and in the long term. With this in mind, there are a number of ways in which the funds could be spent e.g. completion of 1638 or making a start on 830 or a mixture of the two. Other possible ways forward which were considered were keeping some of the money aside for work on 1618 or even paying for a locomotive to be overhauled elsewhere. Even without trying too hard, the options were many (and no doubt members can of others).
In my view, the Society's strength has been in focusing on one project at a time and getting it finished reasonably quickly. My time and that of the volunteers is very limited as is space at Sheffield Park so taking a second locomotive apart while the restoration of 1638 has yet to be completed is not really an option. It would appear that the best way forward following this significant influx of money is to use it to transform the rate of progress on 1638. Overnight we have the opportunity to have the coupling/connecting rod forgings machined (this will cost £20,000 to £25,000) and commission the construction of a tender tank (approximately £6,000).
Some of the bequest could also be used to resolve an issue that has been of concern to some of our members ever since the 1638 project was started. We have the locomotive on long term loan but we do not actually own it. Well, we now have sufficient funds to offer to actually buy it. In this way, I feel we have a one off opportunity of getting the 1638 project completed in a reasonable time scale. We can then pick up the option of providing the essential work force that is required to assist the workshop staff in getting our other locomotives restored quickly. 847 will be out of action by the end of 1997 for its ten year overhaul. If we want to see 541 and/or 847 turned round quickly, we have to be in a position to assist. We will be in a better position to do this by buying progress on 1638.
The other main option, which I acknowledge has had some popular support for some time, was the possibility of putting some or all of the bequest to the overhaul of 830. The idea of a different design of S15 certainly has its own appeal. However I have always made it clear that the restoration of 830 will be the most difficult project ever to have been considered by the Society. Its inner firebox is in very poor condition. As well as all of its motion being missing there is a lengthy list of other missing parts that were present on all the other ex-Barry locomotives we have restored e.g. cylinder covers, dome cover, springs, etc. Someone would have to prepare drawings, make patterns - even just to allow forgings to be made - and then there would be the cost and time of machining. At a very rough guess the whole project would easily be in excess of £150,000. So devoting all of the £50,000 bequest would barely make an impact and then would hold up all the other projects. just for argument's sake, even if we did have say £200,000 available tomorrow we would still lack the time to prepare drawings and supervise such a project - certainly in a conceivable time frame. That said a number of my fellow Directors are keen to pursue the restoration of 830 as a long term project. The Society has thrived on restoring ex-Barry locos and with energy, enthusiasm and some luck on the fund-raising side, they may well surprise us all, in due course!
Steam locomotive restoration has always had to rely on hope and a will to find a solution when the obstacles appear insurmountable; and the Society has achieved a lot, more than many others. The arrival of this bequest has meant we have all had to take stock of where we stand, what time and energy we have available to give to the Society's projects and what is achievable. As I mentioned in my introduction, the Directors have to consider what is in the best interests of the Society and for the reasons I have stated above the majority of us at our recent meeting decided that we should take the option of spending the money on restoring 1638 as quickly as possible and buy 830 to allow it to be taken on as a long term project. I hope you appreciate the reasons behind this and agree this has been the best decision.
Finally, December 1996 is the 60th anniversary of 847's entry into traffic. Because of Santa Specials, running a special train in December to celebrate this event is not possible. However a suitable date in March is being investigated subject to the availability of 847. Looking forward to seeing you at the Park - best wishes for the New Year.
As at 30th September the Society had raised £3,500 from its usual subscriptions/ donations and other activities. This is a little down on last year and it looks as if we will be lucky to make it £4000 by the year end, which is a bit disappointing. However as mentioned elsewhere the Society has currently received nearly £51,000 from a bequest - with the possibility of a little more to come. Proposals for how this is to be used are outlined in the Chairman's report. Over the same period nearly £2,300 had been spent, with most of it being on materials for the restoration of 1638. By the year end (1996) I expect we should have paid out about £2,800 as the Society's share of the cost of the new forgings for 1638, £1,600 for the new tubeplate, £700 for machining axleboxes and £440 for the new smokebox. No point in having money donated if you cannot spend it usefully.
As soon as one mentions that we have about £50,000 in the bank many people will quite understandably wonder at the need for further fund-raising. Quite so. We have only recently become aware of the full size of the bequest and the Directors have only just met to review how it should be spent. We need to get quotes for the various possible jobs that can be undertaken eg. getting the new forgings machined, having a tender tank, possible construction of an ashpan etc., and then set a list of priorities for the available funds. I am sure there are plenty of useful things it can be spent on - more news in the next edition! It certainly looks like we now have a real opportunity to get 1638 finished in a reasonable timescale and then crack on with other projects.
Joining Maunsell at the S.E.C.R. and staying with him to retirement was Harry Holcroft. He cuts an interesting figure amongst the team for he was an ideas man in 'What was by reputation a "play safe" design team. His enthusiasm for steam locomotives was evident throughout - he lived them. He was also well connected with engineers e.g. his family were friends of Armstrong, C.M.E. of the Great Western Railway.
He passed over public school "finishing" in order to take a premium apprenticeship at the Stafford Road G.WR. works in Wolverhampton (managed by his uncle E.E. Lucy). He was placed in the assembly shop, with the millwrights and in the drawing office to get an all round feel for railway life. Soon he was generating ideas - his first patent was at the age of 18 (a vacuum brake auto disabler for shunter/goods engines). Ideas such as this drew him to the attention of Churchward and, after his apprenticeship, he was transferred to Swindon.
His self confidence and belief in his ideas was impressive and he clearly gave off an enthusiasm, and impressed the very people he needed to impress as an aspiring technical assistant, Churchward, Gresley and Maunsell of course and more - a veritable who's who of steam designers. He was used as a first technical assistant in the drawing office where he hatched his first plan for a 3 cylinder valve gear. Although Churchward had no 3 cylinder designs planned he recognised the value of Holcroft's work.
Holcroft was used to "beautify" Churchward's somewhat functional looking engines. He was also involved in development work on "The Great Bear" Pacific which eventually led to a research trip to the USA. He was impressed there by the development of the Mogul 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, and on his return he conveyed his enthusiasm to Churchward.
He was also involved in building works, running shed alterations /expansion; obviously an ideas man for all occasions. When Churchward declared himself content with his range of engines, things went a little flat at Swindon and so Holcroft responded to an advertisement in "The Engineer" posted by the S.E.C.R. He was hired.
Holcroft
clearly enjoyed the freedom of Ashford which he did not have at Swindon.
He was to modernise Ashford works and set about developing the power
generating facilities. The coming war in 1914 put a block on these
developments and, although he signed up to enlist, he fell ill. He spent
part of the time while he was ill developing the 3 cylinder valve
operation idea. Maunsell was impressed with this but not, it would seem,
as much as Gresley who had read Holcroft's lectures on the subject.
Holcroft was invited to King's Cross and clearly enjoyed the experience but when Gresley tried to get him to move to the G.N.R. Holcroft didn't go behind Maunsell's back but invited Gresley to approach Maunsell himself. This was all part of Holcroft's hard work and fair play ethic which comes across strongly with a public school type of feel to it. He could have taken what was even then without the benefit of hindsight a dream move to work for Gresley but chose to do things "correctly".
Maunsell hit the roof with Gresley and the result was that Holcroft stayed at Ashford and, moreover, was given the go ahead to develop a 3 cylinder Mogul without any interference from Clayton, the Assistant Chief Mechanical Engineer, who was the restraining influence within the team. So the K1 and N1 were created.
It is Holcroft's relationship with Clayton which gives the best clues as to the way Maunsell's team worked especially after the Grouping. Clayton had a strong influence with Maunsell who valued him highly and Clayton (a Midland man) always stayed away from the controversial and untested, and warmed to people like Chief Draughtsman Jock Finlayson who was pushing for traditional Urie ways (which were reliable and proven). This was anathema to Holcroft who wanted to develop the locomotive and was always pushing his ideas with confidence as the way forward. Sometimes he got his way and sometimes he didn't which is probably about how things should be.
Holcroft was a locomotive man through and through but it wasn't the exclusive love of his life. He married and he was also extremely passionate about photography. This was probably enhanced by his next move. October 1923 saw him transferred to Waterloo with the Chief Mechanical Engineer and his staff, and he gained the title "Technical Advisor to the C.M.E.". This meant testing, evaluation and trials. He travelled extensively on the footplate and loved it. Most modern day enthusiasts would doubtless be jealous of this mans experience. He travelled on the footplate of every type of locomotive the Southern had and, very often, every one in the class on every bit of track.
By his own words, Holcroft was never happier than when on field trials in the company of engine men. He was responsible for things as diverse as locomotive numbering, the L1 rebuilds, 4 cylinder development (meeting Caprotti on more than one occasion to develop his theories), the use of 135 degrees 4 cylinder settings, naming of the N15X Class (L.B.S.C. Baltic tank rebuilds) and the rebuilding of E1Rs using N Class pony trucks as a trailing axle! The list actually goes on and on. Some ideas eventually saw the light of day like the W, N1 and U1 developments and others didn't e.g. a proposed 2-6-2 N Class adaptation and a double "Schools" drive adaptation to a Garret formation (!!!).
Holcroft
was happiest pushing back the frontiers and one wonders if he may have
prospered better with Gresley at the Great Northern Railway, after all
Bulleid did well there. But then, hindsight tends to be an exact science.
Holcroft had his say and Maunsell recognised his value and gave him his
chances e.g. the steam heat companies trial, which was probably Holcroft's
favourite task. This was a system to achieve full condensation of exhaust
steam so boiler filling was minimal and heat was retained. Holcroft was
able to contribute much to the system himself although he was supposed
only to be evaluating it (typical of the man). On this subject I commend "Southern
Experimental Steam" by Kevin Robertson. The photographs of N Class
A816 are particularly intriguing.
When Maunsell retired, Holcroft and Lynes stayed on as Bulleid's technical assistants (locomotives and carriages respectively), but all the others left including Pearson, Clayton and Finlayson. Holcroft got on well with Bulleid but most of his time was taken up with the Railway's response to the war effort. He retired from the Southern in 1946 and then, for the next ten years, he worked for the Institute of Civil Engineers on railway periodicals. Holcroft died in 1973 at the age of 85 having done as much as an one in the last generation of great steam innovators. Recognised by his contemporaries and valued by Maunsell, his boss of 25 years standing, he made a dynamic contribution to the C.M.E.'s team on the Southern.
1)Belated congratulations to Society Director Barry Smith who passed his Senior Fireman's Test on the Railway a few months ago.
2) Ray (left) our chairman, and Felix our oldest member share their
birthday trip up the line behind society locomotive 847, on their 65th and
90th birthdays respectively
