1638 is our completed engine and only engine in traffic at
present 1638 was the 114th engine to leave Barry, arriving at the Bluebell
Railway on the 30th of July 1980. She was bought by Bluebell member George
Nickson, and generously donated to the Bluebell following the great success of
sister engine 1618. From
1980 until 1993 1638 was kept in Turners sidings at Sheffield Park.
When the Maunsell Society completed 847, the
options were to restore 830 or take advantage of an offer from the Bluebell
Railway. This offer was to take 1638 on a free 50 lease, on the proviso that
she was restored for future use on the Bluebell. This was accepted and she was
completed and entered into revnue earning service at the Bluebell railway in
February 2006. Check out
this
page to see the launch. She now looks like this, quite a change from the
scrapyard wreck seen above I think you will agree!
1638 got around a bit during her SR/BR
career. She cost £4815 to build and was outshopped from Ashford on the
9th May 1931. She was initially allocated to Redhill but following the
electrification of the Brighton line in 1933, she was reallocated to Guildford.
Yes, like so many of the Bluebell engine, she is yet another Guildford
locomotive. She was one of 20 U class engines based here (there only ever were
50!) and like many of the others she worked the North Downs line as well as
workings to Eastleigh. She undertook local passenger duties as well as the
occasional goods turn and also some semi-fasts to Waterloo.
1943 found 1638 based at Exmouth Junction, but in 1946 she was
surplus to requirements and stored in a siding at Eastleigh, and conversion to
oil firing. This never happened and in 1947 she was resteamed and sent back to
Exmouth Junction. At this time she had a tender swap, losing her 4000 gallon
tender in favour of a 3500 gallon type.
Salisbury (via Southampton) services. At Fratton she worked on the Portsmouth
docks line, previously restricted to the Stroudley E1's. At this time she had
her second tender change. She stayed here until November 1959 when Fratton shed
was closed and she went to her final shed, after an absence of 22 years, namely
Guildford. She worked here up until the end in January 1964, having been sold
to Woodhams scrapyard in south Wales, along with the other 3 preserved U class
engines. When withdrawn, 1638 had had 10 general overhauls and had covered
about 915,000 miles in her 33 years (the confirmed figure to March 1962 being
868,853)