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Built by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds in 1898, [[Whyte notation | 0-6-0T]] works number 686 was the second of ten Hunslet ‘Chest’ class locomotives ordered by the Manchester Ship Canal Company (MSC). It was given the name “St John” after Port Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 31.</ref>
The locomotive had a number of special features to enable it to work heavy trains round the tight curves of the MSC’s extensive railway network. These included Cartazzi leading axle boxes (see below) and flangeless centre driving wheels. Leaf springs were fitted on the front two axles and coil springs on the rear axle. In a powerful loco with a short wheelbase, this resulted in a lively dancing ride which led to members of the class being referred to as a ‘Jazzer’.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 27.</ref>
During the First World War the MSC stopped using locomotive names and introduced numbers, 686 becoming No 14.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 29.</ref> One name plate was retained and fixed on the rear inside of the cab, where it can still be seen today.
Following their acquisition of [[2047 Warwickshire | MW 2047 Warwickshire]] in 1967, 686 was the second locomotive to be purchased by the [[Warwickshire Industrial Loco Preservation Group | Warwickshire Industrial Loco Preservation Group]], arriving on the Severn Valley Railway in July 1969.
<gallery>File:HE_686_at_Hampton_Loade_1972.jpg | 686 cosmetically modified for filming in 1972 (David Cooke)</gallery> Mileage recorded in SVR News was as follows:{| class="wikitable"! <b>Year</b> !! style="text-align:right;" | <b>Mileage</b> |-| 1971 || style="text-align:right;" | 289|-| 1972 || style="text-align:right;" | 195|-| <b>Total</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 484|} ===Second boiler ticket===A heavy overhaul was carried out between 1972 and 1981, during which several modifications were made to 686. These included fitting vacuum brakes to allow use on passenger trains, and the installation of an improved lubrication system and a new ventilator in the cab roof.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 40.</ref> After re-entering service in 1981, 686 resumed the role of occasional station pilot and works train locomotive. Visits were made to Tyseley in 1983 and 1986 and to the newly opened Crewe Heritage Centre in 1988, with 686 hauling passenger services on the demonstration lines at both locations. After nine years, the locomotive was finally withdrawn from service on Good Friday 1989 with leaking boiler tubes.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 41.</ref> Mileage recorded in SVR News was as follows:{| class="wikitable"! <b>Year</b> !! style="text-align:right;" | <b>Mileage</b> |-| 1981 || style="text-align:right;" | 10|-| 1982 || style="text-align:right;" | 80|-| 1983 || style="text-align:right;" | 205|-| 1984 || style="text-align:right;" | 130|-| 1985 || style="text-align:right;" | 36|-| 1986 || style="text-align:right;" | 50|-| 1987 || style="text-align:right;" | 62|-| 1988 || style="text-align:right;" | 96|-| 1989 || style="text-align:right;" | 0|-| <b>Total</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 669|-| <b>Cumulative</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 1,153|} ===Third boiler ticket===In June 1992, fellow Manchester Ship Canal locomotive Hudswell Clarke 680/1903 No 32 'Gothenburg' [[http://www.svrwiki.com/Steam_Locomotives_visiting_the_SVR_for_galas#1992 | visited the SVR]] for a ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ event. Following this successful visit, the WILPG agreed that 686 should be overhauled, converted and registered as ‘Thomas’ for use in future such events. The overhaul required further modifications including new tanks, steam heating, bunker rails to improve coal capacity and a new chimney and smokebox. Life as ‘Thomas’ began in March 1994 at Didcot Railway Centre, where the locomotive was specially registered to allow a movement over BR metals from the delivery point at the nearby power station.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Shaw (1998)]] p. 43.</ref> Visits to numerous other railways followed. 1998 marked the centenary of HE 686. The locomotive began the year still in use as a roving ‘Thomas’ and was photographed by David Cooke at the East Lancashire Railway in May of that year (see gallery). By October, 686 had been repainted in the more appropriate livery of Manchester Ship Canal No 14 and, as part of the celebrations, re-visited the East Lancashire Railway (see gallery) in the county where she first worked and the Middleton Railway in Leeds, the city where she was built.
<gallery>
File:HE_686_ ELR_as_Thomas.jpg | 686 appearing as 'Thomas' on the ELR, May 1998 (David Cooke)
File: HE_686_ELR_as_MSC_14.jpg | 686 as MSC No 14, Buckley Wells October 1998 (David Cooke)
</gallery>
Once again boiler issues brought a premature end to service for 686 at the end of 1999. The mileage recorded in SVR News was as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
! <b>Year</b> !! style="text-align:right;" | <b>Mileage</b>
|-
| 1994 || style="text-align:right;" | 656
|-
| 1995 || style="text-align:right;" | 1,219
|-
| 1996 || style="text-align:right;" | 821
|-
| 1997 || style="text-align:right;" | 1,424
|-
| 1998 || style="text-align:right;" | 1,692
|-
| 1999 || style="text-align:right;" | 1,085
|-
| <b>Total</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 6,897
|-
| <b>Cumulative</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 14,947
|}
===Fourth boiler ticket===
A quick overhaul was carried out allowing a return to steam by 2001. 686 resumed duties as ‘Thomas’ in 2002, again visiting many railways in the UK and also making overseas visits to Holland (Z.L.S.M.) and Germany (Krefeld) in 2005. After being withdrawn from service in September 2009, once again with boiler issues, 686 has been cosmetically restored in ICI red livery, and {{As of|2016|lc=y}} is on display in [[The Engine House | The Engine House]] while awaiting overhaul.
<gallery>
File:Hunslet.jpg | 686 having arrived at Holland for a 'Thomas' event in October 2002 - the first SVR locomotive to go abroad (David Cooke)
</gallery>
The mileage recorded in SVR News to 2004 was as follows (details for 2005-2009 were not published):{| class="wikitable"! <b>Year</b> !! style="text-align:right;" | <b>Mileage</b> |-| 2001 || style="text-align:right;" | 11|-| 2002 || style="text-align:right;" | 2,293|-| 2003 || style="text-align:right;" | 1,937|-| 2004 || style="text-align:right;" | 2,272|-| <b>Total to 2004</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 6,513|-| <b>Cumulative to 2004</b> || style="text-align:right;" | 14,563|} ==Cartazzi axleboxes==F. I. Cartazzi was a senior engineer of the Great Northern Railway. His modified axlebox design was intended for trailing carrying wheels on larger locomotives and was used extensively on LNER ‘Pacific’ steam locomotives.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartazzi_axle Wikipedia]</ref> On 686 his system is used on the leading axle. The top of the axlebox and underside of the axlebox lid have a series of inclined faces. On sharp curves the axlebox is forced sideways, bringing different faces into contact with the lid. On leaving the curve, the weight of the locomotive transmitted through the bearing spring and axlebox lid provides a self-centering force. The leading connecting rods on 686 include an additional horizontal pivot in front of the centre driving wheel to cater for the lateral movement of the front wheel, a feature not necessary on similar locomotives with normal axleboxes such as Jinty 47383. <gallery>File: 686_20160723.jpg | 686 coupling rods with horizontal pivot in leading rod (right)File: 47383_20160723.jpg | 47383 coupling rods for comparison</gallery>
==See also==
[[Steam Locomotives]]