The Quest for the Next Ten Years Commences

Well that was a fun 10 years, but in order to put in any more time in steam, 3850 needs to have a major overhaul.  This will necessitate removing the boiler from the frames and refurbishing it to a standard that will allow it to obtain a further 10 year ticket.  Needless to say there will be plenty of other jobs that will need to be attended to at the same time.

This post will cover the significant progress made in dismantling 3850 at Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway since she came out of traffic at the end of September.

After a scrub up with a pressure washer, the first job was to remove the injectors, which were sent away for refurbishment.

Kenneth grappling with the driver's side injector

The pressure washer had cleaned the other side ok, but not this side

Nigel removed the fireman's side injector

After that it was a case of cleaning everything up for dispatch to be refurbished

The next target was to prepare the boiler for lifting, in broad brushstrokes, that included removing the backhead fittings, clack valves and feed pipes, the boiler cladding, lifting the cab roof, disconnecting the steam pipes, and removing the boiler mounting bolts at the smoke box end and the expansion plates at the firebox end.

Some cladding removed

Eleanor, removing the water gauge

Liam, working on removing the backhead cladding

Bottom half of the backhead cleared

Liam having just removed the sight feed lubricator

Meanwhile, Tom (l) and Ash got on with disconnecting the brake linkages

Simply removing bits is only half the battle, getting them cleaned, labelled, inspected and refurbished ready for refitting is vitally important.

Fireman's side on the left, driver's side on the right

Mike (l) and David, engrossed in cleaning and labelling part of the brake rigging

Not strictly speaking a requirement for lifting the boiler, the superheater elements and header have been removed.  The tubes will also be removed before the boiler lift.

Paul, loosening a superheater element.

The whistles needed removing before the cab roof could be lifted

Ian applies a little heat to encourage an injector feed pipe to separate from a clack valve

Mark (l) and Mike remove a cab window

Steve takes the window to be cleaned & labelled

Ten years out in the seaside air has taken its toll, and a few fixings needed some gentle encouragement to undo:

Mike gets persuasive with an angle grinder...

... and Rob needed to do the same too.

Extracting the superheater elements required some superhuman manpower, a rope and something akin to a tug of war ensued.

DMLL tug of war team in action

Jonathan (l) and Cliff at work on the smokebox saddle mounting bolts

It wasn't all hard work, Phil spotted a souvenir that he thought would look good on his living room wall.  Never fear, he didn't get far with it.

It wouldn't quite fit in his pocket

The First Boiler Ticket

3850 returned to steam at Tyseley in November 2005. Originally it was in non-standard GWR green with a copper capped chimney and was later returned to the correct black BR livery and re-united with it`s original chimney. 

13/12/04, on the West Somerset Railway.

Mike drums up support for 3850 in the shed at Minehead, 18/03/06

During its period in preservation she has covered 82,000 miles – 79,000 on the West Somerset Railway, with short visits to the Great Central and Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railways making up the rest. 

Departing Bishops Lydeard, 15/08/08

Ascending Washford Bank, 28/12/08, NB, incorrect copper capped chimney

 She steamed for 1202 days in revenue earning service. During the period, the loco has proved a reliable and robust performer – she was seen at the head of some heavy incoming charters in her last weeks at the West Somerset. Part way through service we had to undertake a fairly major repair when a number of frame extension bolts were found to be loose (and while we were doing this we took the opportunity to change the livery to black) – apart from this work only routine maintenance has been required. 

 A first visit to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWSR) was during May/June 2014 for the "Back to Black" gala (for which three of the four DMLL locos were together for the first time since Barry and the first time that DMLL had had two locos in steam at the same time & place.

Back to Black gala 27/5/14, to the right of the post, 7820, Dinmore Manor, 3850 & 2874, all DMLL locos

 A 30742 photo charter event took place on the GWSR on the evening of 18/5/14

Bursting out of Greet tunnel

Silhouetted at Gotherington

The West Somerset Railway very kindly agreed to release 3850 two weeks before the expiry of her boiler ticket to participate in a few events on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway at the end of September 2015.

During the DMLL Shareholders day 25/9/15

Crossing 2807 at Winchcombe.

 There was another 30742 Charters event with 3850 on 28/09/15:

On Chicken Curve

Pan shot at Didbrook

Observed by horses on Stanway Viaduct

Approaching Greet tunnel

 Her final day in traffic, 30/09/15 was notable in that DMLL's vice chairman, Mike Solloway was passed out as a fireman on her at the GWSR.

Mike and 3850

However, now the time has come for the heavy overhaul – this is being undertaken at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway at Toddington and already the pile of parts removed is extensive and one or two of the components have already been renovated and are in store ready to go back.

3850's History

At the commencement of the 20th Century, the Great Western Railway was in need of motive power capable of dispersing trainloads of coal from the South Wales collieries, the existing 0-6-0 and 2-6-0 designs of the day proving inadequate.  By 1903, Churchward had built a prototype 2-8-0 design, number 97 (to be renumbered as 2800 in 1906), the first locomotive in the UK to utilise this wheel arrangement.   Production of the 2800 class of locomotives commenced in 1905 and detail modifications took place during the build, totalling 84 locomotives.  Twenty years after the last of the Churchward designed 2800 locomotives had been built, Collett, Churchward's successor as Chief Mechanical Engineer at the GWR, when he recognised the need for more heavy freight locos, created the 2884 class. This was effectively a 2800 with minor modifications.  Visually, the most obvious change was the use of external steam pipes (which were retro-fitted to many of the 2800 class locos), a tool tunnel on the fireman's side running plate and the addition of cabside windows.

The specification for the 2884 locos was as follows:

Driving wheel diameter        4' 7.5"
Cylinders                              18.5" x 30"
Axle load                              17 tons
Total locomotive weight        76 tons

Water capacity                      3500 gallons
Coal capacity                        6 tons
Firegrate area                       27 sq ft
Tractive effort (85%)             35,380 lb


3850 was amongst the last to be built, entering traffic in June 1942 and surviving in servce until practically the very end of steam on the Western Region of British Railways in August 1965. 

3850 at just one year old, 2/5/43 on a goods train from South Wales at Hatton Junction. Copyright Kidderminster Railway Museum

3850 went new to Bristol St Phillips Marsh shed, but when British Railways came into being in 1948, it was based at Westbury. Allocations (from 1948) - Westbury, Severn Tunnel Junction, Aberdare, Banbury, Oswestry, Croes Newydd.

3850 at Aberdare shed in 1962, photographer unknown

5/4/52 at Ashley Hill near Bristol on an unfitted express freight.  At this time she was allocated to 82B, St Philip's Marsh, Copyright Kidderminster Railway Museum

Climbing Wellington Bank, with a down goods, Copyright Kidderminster Railway Museum

Passing through Gloucester Central Station, January 1964, Copyright Tony Bowles

Summer 1961 at Trowbridge, photographer unknown

Approaching Stoke Gifford 27/1/58. Copyright Kidderminster Railway Museum

As a freight engine 3850 led a rather unglamorous life as it plugged away, day in and day out, on heavy freight workings. However, in December 1952, the 2-8-0 must have surprised many when it steamed into Paddington Station with a parcels train. She managed to top this, when in August 1957 it was “copped” at Exeter with the down Devonian! 

Express Passenger at Newton Abbot (heading south), photographer unknown

The three digit reporting code in the above photo was replaced by a four digit one in 1960.  As the train is heading south, the 7 indicates that it started in Swansea or West Wales, prior to the change in 1958/59 when the leading numeral indicated the destination.

Once again caught on a passenger turn 6/6/57 near Newbury, photo copyright R.M.Casserley

Interestingly, the headlamp code for the above photo would appear to indicate that it is running as a partly fitted freight, which doesn't tie in with the stock behind it.
  
The occasional foray from freight working aside, 3850 managed to keep out of the limelight until September 1965, when it was seen at Brymbo steelworks with an iron ore train, despite it having been withdrawn a month earlier! By the end of 1965 the loco was in Barry scrapyard and there she stayed until March 1984, when she became the 151st loco to leave. 
 

At Barry, 1973, photographer unknown

Arriving at the West Somerset Railway, 1984, photographer unknown