A Night Owl Emerges from the Dark – Part 3 Paul Perton, Marketer, Writer, Photographer
It would be easy to imagine that re-creating a century-old steam locomotive would be pretty straightforward, given the technology available today. It surprises many people that it’s not. Railway preservation is beset with problems that can be mountain-like, impeding progress. It goes without saying that the finance to re-build, recreate, maintain and run steam locomotives is hard won. Money has to be spent wisely, carefully and for the maximum benefit of the project. Yet, despite that, the plans often turn out to be in conflict with personal ideas, loves and agendas. Clearing the money hurdle is just to be confronted with even more problems that have to be negotiated, before that first release of steam into the cylinders can be anticipated. A good idea ought to morph into design and action, but all too often, an argument develops on day one; which loco? What will it do - preservation services, or main line? Where will it be designed, built, stored and run. What era of its history will it represent? What colour should it be? Lined or not? Is that even possible, given the resources available? The work of the steering committee designated to start the decision making can last many months. If all goes well, a strategic plan will eventually emerge. The searching for information, drawings, photographs and available components then gets underway, alongside an initial round of prequalification discussions with potential engineers, builders and other interested parties. 114
GREAT WESTERN STAR MAGAZINE
Spring 2021
In the case of 4709, the Barry Ten assisted with some critically important components, most needing renovation themselves. Drawings were sourced, with a huge effort from the Great Western Society’s archive at Didcot. That left us about a third of the way into the project to re-create a giant G.W.R. 2-80. What next? Swindon’s drawing office was renowned for its prodigious output, much of which has been lost over the years, or found its way into landfill sites. Some drawings hide determinedly on shelves and private collections, though. New CAD technology has enabled us to recreate many designs, especially for 4709’s huge cylinders. Currently underway, the casting of these multi-tonne monsters as driven by a CAD design, modified to allow for the changed loading gauge, is now necessary to run 4709 on the main line. Being computer-based meant those drawings could be used to drive the profiling machine used to cut the necessary casting patterns from massive, solid blocks of polystyrene. In a bygone age, this would have required hand making wooden patterns, adding many months and considerable cost to the project. Today’s technology definitely has a place. But not everywhere. Donor parts arrive in many different stages of wear, tear and corrosion. Headed for re-engineering, the level of detail and often non-availability of original drawings for these components, quickly necessitates a trip back to the drawing board. There, we often learn that the
