Swanage Railway News Gallery - Page 411000th BR Standard steam locomotive to be built at SwanageNews Release dated 25th April 1999 - all photographs are copyright Andrew P.M.Wright.Swanage Railway volunteers who have built their railway from nothingare giving a home to determined enthusiasts wanting to build fromscratch a massive 137 ton express 'pacific' steam locomotive BR wasto have built had it not been for the 1950s Modernisation Plan. A GROUP of ambitious and determined railway enthusiasts behind a remarkableand historic £500,000 eight year project to build the 1,000th BR Standarddesign steam locomotive from scratch are close to completing theirmove of equipment and parts to the Swanage Railway.  The Standard Steam Locomotive Company Ltd has been given a home inthe relaid Purbeck Line's impressive Herston engineering works, aformer cosmetics factory, in a move the company volunteers hope willenable their ambitious and historic project to advance in leaps andbounds. Over 200 parts have been collected/manufactured and all thesewill be on site by May 15. "Finding a home in the Swanage Railway's magnificent engineering worksis giving our project a flying start because it means we can startbuilding 'Hengist'," said Standard Steam Locomotive Company Ltd chairmanPaul Burns, a Bristol based English Welsh and Scottish freight traindriver.  Formed in 1996, the Standard Steam Locomotive Company Ltd (incorporatingthe Hengist 72010 Locomotive Group) has 57 members determined to builda class of steam locomotive, none of which managed to survive thescrapping orgy of the 1960s. Their first aim is to build BR Standard Class 6 4-6-2 Lightweightexpress pacific BR No. 72010 named 'Hengist'. BR started work on whatbecame known as Lot 242 at Crewe in 1956 but never completed it becauseof the decision to change over to diesel traction. It was due to beallocated to the Southern Region. The company is about to start a push to raise £10,000 to build thelocomotive's mighty frames thanks to the Swanage Railway's hospitality- starting off with the front bogie/bogie-side frame plates, and bufferbeam and side steps. "It's apt that the Swanage Railway, which started from nothing, shouldgive a home to Hengist's builders who are themselves starting withnothing," said Swanage Railway chairman Bill Trite. "It's an impressive and historically important project and we're delightedto help," added Mr Trite who helped save Southern Locomotives Ltd'sfirst two steam locomotives from the Barry scrapyard in the early1980s.  The class was designed by the Railway Executive's design committeeheaded by former LMS Vice President Robert A. Riddles, the first 10'Clan' class steam locomotives were built at Crewe between December,1951, and April, 1952. BR required a powerful but lighter mixed trafficlocomotive to work routes banned to the heavier class 7 locomotives. The second batch, of which 'Hengist' would have been the first, actuallyhad their frames constructed but along with plans for a large numberof other BR Standards were scrapped because of dieselisation. Recordsshow that by 1956 45 Clans should have been roaming the network.The 999th Standard design steam locomotive to be built by BR was 9Fclass 'Evening Star' at Swindon in 1960. When complete, 'Hengist'will be the 1,000th Standard locomotive built. "The BR Standards were the culmination of a hundred years of designingsteam locomotives in the UK. As it was known that they would be thefinal steam types built, a lot of thought went into their design andconstruction. Of the 12 classes built only 8 survived into preservation.The company's eventual aim is to see that by rebuilding the 'lost'classes at least one member of each class is represented in the preservationworld. With the future aims of the Swanage Railway including a reconnectionto main line we could not have found a better home," said StandardSteam Locomotive Company Ltd secretary Russell Newland. The first five of the second batch of the locomotives were to be namedafter southern personalities, the next ten were to bear the name ofScottish clans as per the original batch. The full list of the Southernbatch (BR Nos 72010-4) would have been Hengist, Horsa, Canute, Widfire,and Firebrand. It is appropriate that Hengist will be constructedon Southern metals, the same region where it should have been runningin the 1950s. For information and membership about the Standard Steam LocomotiveCompany Ltd, contact Paul Burns, 45 Linden Drive, Bradley Stoke, BristolBS35 8DT or Russell Newland, 84 Billet Road, Roselane Gate, ChadwellHeath, Essex, RM6 5PP: 0181 598 9468 (home) or 0171 438 2806 (work)   |
