16 minute read
Railway – Part 1
GWR 2800 Class 2-8-0 No 2807 & the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Part 1
At the start of the 20th Century, George Jackson Churchill was appointed as Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Western Railway. He quickly realised that there was an immediate need for a heavy freight engine and, equally important, there was the need to standardise on the range of locomotives to minimise cost. One of the first of these “new” standard designs was the 2800 Class of 2-8-0 tender engines and between 1903 and 1938 a total of 84 of these locomotives left Swindon Works, numbered 2800-2883. Later, under Collett, this Class was extended with the addition of 2884-2899 and 3800-3886. The first batch of 28XX were subsequently fitted with new boilers and superheaters.
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These engines were notable for being the first 2-8-0s in the country and, so successful were they that, in the first 50 years of their lives, apart from minor modifications, the only major change was the fitting of superheaters. Throughout the working life so good were they that they became known as the best heavy freight engines in the country – quite remarkable when it is considered that they were built to a new design and not a variation on a well tried and trusted design. Indeed, in J H Russell’s book A Pictorial record of Great Western Engines, the author relates the story of a trip in February 1906, where although the load for the Class was 60 wagons, a test train from Severn Tunnel Junction with No 2806 with 54 wagons and a dynamometer car behind the engine; at Stoke Gifford the load was increased to 65 wagons and at Swindon, it was increased again to 100 wagons, which she trundles quite happily all the way to Southall. So, according to the author was born the ability of the “twenty-eighters” to cope with 100 loaded wagons; he went on to relate that during his time on the Great Western, a train left Banbury at 8.10am every weekday with coal for Southall and loaded to the limit of 10.
28XX class 2-8-0 No 97 (2800) as-built, painted black, with low-pitch boiler (RCTS) 28XX Class 2-8-0 No 2819, Superheate and with short cone boiler (RCTS)
28XX Class 2-2-0 No 2811 with long cone boiler (RCTS)
The first member of the Class, No 97, later 2800, left the works in June 1903 in black livery lined out in red and with a small diameter chimney. The cladding of the barrel was in five sections, but the later ones were made with four, A further difference was the pitch of the boiler was only 7ft 5½in whereas the subsequent ones were pitched at 8ft 2in. Looking at the Churchward locomotives, they were as follows:
Engine No Swindon Lot Date Works Nos Nos Built
2800 (97) 1901 139 1903 2801-2810 2096-2105 153 1905 2811-2820 2115-2124 155 1905 2821-2830 2158-2167 160 1907 2831-2835 2390-2394 181 1911 2836-2845 2436-2445* 186 1912 2846-2855 2486-2495* 190 1912-13 2856-2883 2762-2789* 210 1918-19 *Numbers not originally carried on locos.
Nos 2801-2820 came out in 1905 and were fitted with 4,000-gallon tenders, almost identical externally with the more usual 3,500-gallon type. As time went on, Nos 97 and 2801-2820 were fitted with a larger pattern chimney. The next most notable changes came after 1934, when the early engines were retrofitted with outside steam pipes and curved dropends and top feed. In 1930-31, Automatic Train Control was fitted to the whole class.
28XX Class 2-8-0 No 2807
According to the RCTS publication, The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part Nine Standard Two-Cylinder Classes, No 2807 as built in October 1905 was fitted with a Type 2 halfconed boiler but this was changed to a Type D4 in August 1915. She was fitted with a 14/84 Superheater in March 1911 and Outside Steam Pipes in November 1936 before eventually being withdrawn in March 1963. According to the Service Record, held by the Trust, she passed half a million miles in 1927 and one million miles by the time of nationalisation in 1948. When withdrawn, she had reached 1,472,687 miles. According to the latest records in preservation she passed 1.5 million on Boxing Day 2016.
Allocations while in Service
No 2807 was allocated to Bristol in 1921. By 1948, she had moved to Hereford (HFD). In 1952, she was at 85A (Worcester), 1955 still at 85A but in 1959, she was now at 86A (Ebbw Junction) and in 1963, she was withdrawn in March from her final shed 86E (Ebbw Junction). (Note the shed codes changed on several occasions between 1948 and 1963. These details for 2807 are taken from Jim Grindlay’s book, published by Modelmaster Publications – British Railways Steam Locomotive Allocations 1948-1969, Part One, Western Region 1-9799 and Great Western Railway Allocations for 1921 by Ian Harrison, published by Wild Swan Publications. - Ed
Following early shed allocations to Westbourne Park and Old Oak Common in the Paddington area, in 1911, No 2807 embarked upon eight years of coal traffic in South Wales, operating first from Aberdare and later Pontypool Road. The First World War saw No 2807 performing on the famous “Jellicoe Specials”, hauling Welsh steam coal destined for the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow. GWR 2800 class engines worked the South Wales to Lancashire section of this round the clock service.
No 2807 on shed at Severn Tunnel Junction 18th August 1963 (P Sankey Collection)
No 2807 in Woodham Brothers Yard (Top) 29th October 1979 and (Bottom) 11th May 1980 (Paul Sankey Collection)
No 2807 in Preservation
No 2807 was rescued by Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd from Woodham Brothers in 1981 and was taken to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for restoration. It is the oldest survivor of its class in preservation – six have been bought for restoration – 2807, 2818 (on static display at the Museum of the Great Western Railway and owned by the Museum), 2857 (Owned by The 2857 Society and on the Severn Valley Railway (Boiler certificate expires 2021), 2859 (privately owned and under restoration), 2873 (owned by and resident on the South Devon Railway (dismantled) and 2874 on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (Owned by The 2874 Trust and under preparation for restoration)
In 1981, No 2807 was moved to Toddington railway station on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway to become the first steam locomotive on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. It was restored to steam in 2010.
28XX Class 2-8-0 No 2807 and the GWR
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway does not own any locomotives. No 2807, for example is owned by Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSP) who bought it from Woodham Brothers in June 1981. It was then moved to the GWR at Toddington and over the next 30 years was ful-
Lifting the boiler at Riley’s
ly restored, steaming for the first time in 2010. In 2011, No 2807 paid visits to the West Somerset Railway, the Great Central Railway and to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.
During 2014 and 2016, No 2807 featured in several Gala events at the North York Moors Railway. During 2016, while at the North York Moors Railway, she suffered a boiler tube failure which resulted in the tube being plugged at both ends to temporarily seal the failure and allowed the locomotive to operate.
Although a new tube was subsequently fitted, there are fears that the failure could be a sign that the other boiler tubes could also fail in the shortterm. As the engine was already seven years into its 10-year ticket it was known that if there were any further problems, a decision on whether to withdraw the locomotive for a full heavy general overhaul would be required. Plans were developed to mitigate the risk. 2807 was taken out of service in January 2017 but returned to traffic the following year. The boiler certificate expired in November 2019, but its life was extended for a short period. Its last day in service was the 1st of January 2020. When taken out of service the locomotive had travelled over 42,000 miles since it was returned to steam in 2010.
Since being withdrawn on Wednesday 1st of January 2020, the CSPL has been busy removing components from 2807. By the end of January 2020, the cab, smokebox and boiler had been stripped of all components, along with cylinder cladding. This allowed the team to needle-gun and paint the boiler in February in preparation for the boiler to be lifted and transported to Riley and Son E Ltd, who are overhauling the boiler. The ashpan was cut up inside the firebox. With the boiler ready for lifting, attention was turned to disassembly of the motion, with the con rods removed first. The boiler was transported to Riley & Son (E) Ltd at Heywood for overhaul in mid-2020 following the letting of a contract for the work.
Work started at Heywood in late June 2020. Although removing the boiler was achieved ahead of schedule, the current lockdown has put further work on hold for the time being. Despite this, the company can still proceed with organising contractors to carry out work needed, such as reprofiling the four coupled wheelsets.The work required on the boiler includes:
The front boiler barrel section and smokebox tubeplate need replacing The backhead from below the fire hold door down to the foundation ring needs replacing. The foundation ring needs repairs Sections of the smokebox and smokebox door plate need replacing A new set of boiler tubes Other smaller items to complete the above
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The line on which this Heritage Railway now operates was built by the Great Western Railway in 1903-1906 – coincidentally the time that the 2800 Class was being built in Swindon. The Great Western had proved very successful in running “horizontal” lines, i.e., London to Bristol, London to South Wales, but had basically neglected many of the so-called “vertical” or connecting routes. One of these was a line from the West Midlands to the South West, which would compete with the line built by the Midland Railway.
On 1st August 1899, the GWSR obtained an Authorising Act for a high-speed line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham. This line was to have
Ex-Great Western Railway 4-6-0 4073 Castle class No 5073 ‘Blenheim’ passes Stratford Racecourse on 19th June 1959 with a Class D ‘Marazion to Oxley Sidings’ partially fitted freight. A 1949-built locomotive, no 7903 Foremarke Hall, on the platform of the new Broadway Station March 2018. (Jack Boskett) (Stratford-upon-Avon Herald)
a maximum gradient of 1 in 108 and the tightest radius of curve was to be half a mile. Included in the Act were powers to double the Stratford Railway between Stratford and Bearley and to create a new curve there to connect with the North Warwickshire Line. The line opened in 1906 and the first through trains between Wolverhampton and the West Country started in 1910. Two years later a station was opened to serve the racecourse at Cheltenham. From 1906 until 18 June 1951, the station was called Stratford on Avon but, on the 18th of June 1951, the name was officially changed to Stratford-upon-Avon.
According to P W B Semmens in his book “The Heyday of GWR Train Services”. Newton Abbot: David & Charles Publishers plc, 1990, in 1922 there were five through southbound trains a day, with a fifth between Birmingham and Swansea. They all called at Stratford for two to five minutes on their way to the stop at... Cheltenham at the south end of the Great Western’s 1906 line... By 1939 the number of Birmingham-Bristol trains on ordinary weekdays had fallen to four, and one to Swansea... However, as with other West of England services, there had been an explosion of Saturdays-only trains, in this case amounting to another six southbound ones. In 1934, a service of streamlined diesel railcars began operating over the route from Birmingham to Cardiff. Three twin-engined cars equipped with buffets provided a fast business service.
The route via Stratford continued to be heavily used for long-distance passenger services, but the drive for rationalisation eventually resulted in diversion of through Birmingham to Bristol trains to the Ashchurch (former Midland Railway) route. Local passenger services ended in 1960 and from 10th September 1962 “The Cornishman” and the South Wales diesel multiple unit trains were diverted via Ashchurch, but summer-only trains continued to use the Honeybourne route on Friday nights and Saturdays until 1966. The line was heavily used for freight – in the summer particularly for locally grown fruit and vegetables – the freight trains traveling up the line were carrying coal and those travelling south had iron ore from the Northamptonshire iron fields. The Cheltenham line closed completely on 25th August 1976, following the derailment of a Toton (Nottinghamshire) to Severn Tunnel Junction coal train at Winchcombe. The following morning the wagons, which had been carrying coal were empty, but the locals were found to be well-stocked with it! What a coincidence!
The End of an Era or a New Beginning?
From 1976 to 1964, local people and railway enthusiasts worked hard to save the line, despite the lifting of the track and demolition of many buildings in 1979. Despite these setbacks, the group of 50 or 60 volunteers were successful in 1981 of raising £70,000 to purchase 15 miles of trackbed and the remaining associated buildings – basically at Toddington, where the goods shed, signal box, platform and canopy were still standing. Their original ambition was to go from Cheltenham to Stratford (30 miles) but, in the event, they settled on Stratford to Cheltenham Race Course, about 16 miles. They were then successful in obtaining a Light Railway Order which enabled them to rebuild the line between Broadway and Cheltenham. Tracklaying with bull head rail and wooden sleepers in traditional 60ft lengths began in 1982 and an initial train service over 700 yards of track was run just three years later, steam-hauled by Cadbury No 1.
Between 1984 and the present-day volunteers have steadily restored the line, building stations and signal boxes, replacing lost signals and other infrastructure. Winchcombe station was opened in 1987 with the building being brought stone by stone from Monmouth Troy station in Monmouthshire. It now has a very modern waiting room on the other platform built in stone. Behind
Hayles Abbey Halt rebuilt by 14 Pway volunteers over 40 Monday’s and 2300 wheel barrow loads of rubble , bricks , mortar and chippings in one year ! (Malcolm Ranieri)
the building is a row of Scotch pines. These were planted as a guide to help people find the railway as it was not in a town. Despite one or two major landslips, the track was gradually extended to 12 miles and includes three main stations and one halt. Between 2016 and 2020, the line was extended to Broadway, giving passengers from the Cheltenham area to enjoy a trip through the Cotswolds. Hayles Abbey Halt has also been rebuilt. Gotherington is now a private house and the GWSR has built a new platform on the other side of the track.
At Winchcombe are the Carriage & Wagon works with a staff with a full range of skills – woodworking, metalworking upholstery, electrical etc. Very often the carriages arrived in a poor state but were fully restored into a top rate standard. The coaches are also fitted out with disabled access. There are three full rakes of 6, 7 and 8 coaches, two in chocolate and cream and one in crimson.
Unlike other Preserved railways, the GWSR does not own any locomotives, all trains being run with visiting engines. There are in principle six at the moment. The first to arrive was 2807, which was restored at Toddington over 29 years by about 15 men. The there is a 2-8-0 tank No 4270 which arrived in 1975 which used to work in South Wales and is owned by Pete Waterman. Her rebuild was completed in May 2014. Then there is the flagship loco, No 7903 Foremark Hall, built in 1948. Next is No 7820 Dinmore Manor which used to work mainly on the Cambrian from Shrewsbury to North Wales, which is a frequent visitor to the South Devon Railway in her black BR livery. The largest loco is the Merchant Navy Class 35006 Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. which took 31 years to restore.
The two interesting structures on the line are Greet Tunnel, which is 693 yards long and Stanway Viaduct with its 15 arches.
So well has the railway grown and developed that, in 2018, the railway had been transformed into a Public Limited Company which had a turnover in excess of £2 million per year, attracting over 140,000 visitors a year.
How has all this been made possible. Today, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire railway employs seven staff – a mix of full and part-time – and has the incredible support of around 1,000 volunteers. From the fragile beginnings of a Light Railway Order and just 700 yards of track, the railway today is overseen by the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. The railway is responsible for 46 bridges, one viaduct, two tunnels and an aqueduct/footbridge, all of which are over 115 years old. Every bridge is inspected visually every year by the railway’s own staff and once every six years by specialist consultants.
Looking Forward.
The GWSR was the first Heritage Railway to announce a return to regular working in 2021, following the Corona virus lockdown. Train services started on Tuesday 13th April and, in charge of the first train was GWR Tank engine No 4270
During its 40th year the railway is planning a major exhibition and award ceremony for the first volunteers who are still with the railway. A display will show the railway’s astonishing progress from a 15-mile strip of derelict land with no track and very few buildings remaining, following 1976 closure of the line and its subsequent demolition by British Railways. The GWSR was formed in 1981 and the following year moved to the abandoned Toddington station yard, bought the land, and started the long, meticulous process of rebuilding the railway.
What has been achieved, an outstandingly attractive steam railway between Broadway and Cheltenham, is a testament to the thousands of volunteers who over the years, have played a part in its development.
