Newsletter No.2
September 1978
Front cover photograph: 1618 about to leave Sheffield Park on a Summer Sunday in July.
In this edition click to go further to:
Financial Matters or The Maunsell S15 30847
When the last newsletter was issued we were very involved in getting 1618 back together after the hydraulic test. It is pleasing to report that our locomotive entered traffic during May and has been in regular use ever since, in fact it would be fair to say that 1618 has been a mainstay this summer.
While our engine has been running so well and the working gang have been resting on their laurels our thoughts have been turning towards trying to rescue another locomotive. Because the costs involved today are sky high it would not be practicable to try and purchase another locomotive on our own and this is why intensive talks have been held with the 847 group who have already raised a fair amount of cash towards the purchase of Maunsell S15 30847 from the scrapyard at Barry. With your continued support our scheme will be successful.
1618 entered traffic in May and this was after she had successfully passed her hydraulic test and also had a new ashpan fitted to replace the original that had badly wasted. The cost of the ashpan has had to be borne by the society and this was just over £80.00. Thanks are due to our own members and to the Bluebell locomotive staff for getting 1618 back together in time for the 'Bluebell on Parade' day on Sunday 14th May. By mid June 1618 was still in regular action and was being used in place of Blackmore Vale. Our first filming job brought us in a little income, 1618 being used for two days in a film on the life of General Eisenhower.
By the end of August 1618 was still in regular use on the Bluebell Railway and had been used fairly extensively as minor troubles and routine maintenance had required some of the other locomotives to be out of use for longer than planned. Average mileage is 60 per day and just under a ton of coal per day is being burnt, all in all very economical for the size of loco.
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During the summer while 1618 has been in action we have been considering the possible rescue of another Maunsell locomotive. Because costs have changed considerably since we purchased 1618 for £2000 in 1969, we could hardly consider raising the capital for another locomotive on our own. This is why extensive talks have been held with the 847 locomotive preservation fund management committee to discuss the viability of the project. The general opinion is that if 847 is to be rescued and restored to working order our two groups should merge and it is hoped to complete the merger at our A.G.M. on Sunday the 29th October 1978 at the Crown public house, Horsted Keynes, Sussex. The starting time is 12 noon.
847 was built at Eastleigh works in December 1936 and was the last 4-6-0 to be built by the Southern Railway. The Maunsell Sl5s were designed for working express freight trains but were often pressed into service on passenger work during busy periods. 30847 was withdrawn from British Railways in 1964, she is at present in the scrap yard at Barry, South Wales. The purchase price has already been agreed and this is £9,000 + vat. After the end of September the purchase price is likely to increase as scrap prices generally go up so the two groups have been pushing ahead with plans to purchase her by the end of September. The cost of transporting 847 to Sheffield Park will also be considerable and we estimate that this will be as much as £3000. It is hoped to move 847 in conjunction with the move of two other locomotives which are also being moved to Bluebell from Barry during October, a 9F 2-10-0 and a class 4 2-6-4 tank. By moving 847 in conjunction with the other two locomotive moves we should save several hundred pounds in transport costs.
We expect the restoration of 847 to be a far bigger job than that of our mogul, for a start 1618 was the second engine to leave Barry and little in the way of spares had been taken off her for other engines. Since we purchase 1618, over 90 other locomotives have left Barry for various preservation centres and are gradually being restored to working order. Among those that have been rescued are 30841 (Maunsell S15) and now known as Greene King and is currently working on the Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough, and 30506 (Urie S15), now undergoing major restoration on the Mid Hants Railway at Ropley. There are now more stringent regulations on the restoration of preserved locomotives and more are coming into being, we expect to strip 847 completely and one of the first jobs will be to lift the boiler out of the frames. Possibly the boiler will need retubing although the superheater elements are known to be in good condition.
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S15 847 with a down local passenger train near Templecombe, 1947. (Photograph, Locomotive and General Photographs, courtesy David and Charles Ltd.)
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The situation is changing from week to week but currently the situation is that we have made our funds available to enable 847 to be purchased during September. However it must be pointed out that 847 has only been saved with the aid of a large loan which must be repaid., we need cash to repay what has been borrowed and also to give a small amount of capital to undertake basic restoration of 847. Further details of the exact financial position will be sent out with the next newsletter but it looks as though we will have to repay the loan with the aid of a covenant scheme and further details will be sent out as soon as possible. The first year of the loan is interest free and the remaining years are at Bank Rate, it is therefore vital that as much cash as possible is repaid within the first 12 months. Two of your committee members have already made several hundred pounds of their own money into the fund but your support is also needed.
30777 Sir Lamiel has now left the Ashford steam centre and after a short spell at Chart Leacon was towed to Hull for restoration by a preservation group. A photograph of 30777 at Bromley South is in the Railway Magazine for September. A full page photograph of our own 1618 in action on the Bluebell appeared in the Railway Magazine for June.
Earlier in the year our Chairman, Ray Bellingham, contacted Dr. Coiley, curator of the National Railway Museum at York, to express our concern that all three Maunsell express passenger locomotives in the National collection are being kept in the north of England, far away from Southern enthusiasts. A reply was received stating that at some time in the future one of the engines concerned might come South again. (Possibly Schools 4-4-0 Cheltenham).
All correspondence for the Maunsell Locomotive Society should be sent to:
Mr. R. Packham, 132 Church Road, Swanscombe, Kent, DA 10 OHP.
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The purchase of 847 was completed on the 12th September, when a cheque for £9,720 was presented to Mr. D.L.V. Woodham by Martin Allen of the 847 Group. This figure includes V.A.T. As already mentioned earlier the purchase of 847 has only been completed with the aid of several loans which have to be repaid. Your support now is most vital.
Plans are now at an advanced stage for moving 847 from Barry during October but a problem has been encountered in that 847 is in the main yard at Barry and has to be shunted into a position where she can be loaded for movement to Sheffield Park. There seems to be a problem in obtaining a diesel locomotive to shunt 847 and tender out of the scrap sidings for loading and movement by road to Sheffield Park but efforts to resolve this are being made.
Working members of the Maunsell Locomotive Society, the 847 Group and the Bluebell Railway have been at Barry between the 17th and 24th September preparing 847 and the two other locomotives for the movement from Barry. A great deal of work has been carried out and luckily the weather was very good (unusual for Barry). Further visits will be made during the next few weeks and more volunteers for the manual work are needed.
Do not forget this years Annual General Meeting is being held on Sunday 29th October at the Crown Public House, Horsted Keynes, Sussex.
The main topic of the meeting is the proposed merger between ourselves and the 847 Group. The merger is recommended by the management committees of both Groups and an Emergency General Meeting of the 847 Group will be held in conjunction with our meeting. If the merger does take place a possible name for the new Society will be the Maunsell Locomotive Group.
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Chairman: Ray Bellingham
Honorary General Secretary: Rodney Packham
Honorary Treasurer: Dave Stubbs
General Committee Member: Norman James
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