GWR 2857 Heavy Goods Loco

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GWRGreat Western Railway 2857 Heavy Goods Loco
2857 20110923.jpg
2857 approaching Highley
Built By GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon Works
Configuration 2-8-0
Power class GWRGreat Western Railway: E, BRBritish Rail or British Railways: 8FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic.
Axle load class GWRGreat Western Railway: Blue
Status In store
Loco Number 2857
History
Built 1918
Designed By George Jackson ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922
Type GWRGreat Western Railway 2800
1974 Purchased by 2857 Society
1979 First steamed in preservation
1985 Entered regular service on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1994 Withdrawn for overhaul
2011 Re-entered service
2023 Withdrawn for overhaul
Technical
Length 63ft 2¼"
Weight 75t 10cwt
Tractive effort 35,380 lb
Pressure 225 lb/sq in

Steam Locomotives

2857 is a GWRGreat Western Railway ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922 2800 Class locomotive, designed for heavy freight work. The 2800 class were the first 2-8-0 locomotives to be built in Great Britain, with 84 constructed between 1903 and 1919. A further 83, incorporating minor modifications by ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922's successor CB CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941, were built between 1938 and 1942 as the 2884 class. The appearance in 1954 of the British Railways' BRBritish Rail or British Railways standard class 9FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. 2-10-0 displaced the 2800s from their main role of mineral haulage, although they remained in use until the end of steam on the Western region in 1965.[1]

The GWR Power and Weight Classification were class E and axle load Blue respectively. It is fitted with the GWRGreat Western Railway 'Std. 1' boiler, which was also fitted to the 2900, 4000, 4900, 6800 and 6959 classes. During World War II some classes of locomotives were permitted to haul loads heavier than those specified in the working books for their power classification, distinguished by the white letter "X" painted above the cabside number plate.[2] Post-war the class was rated 8FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. by BRBritish Rail or British Railways.

2857 in service

2857 was built in 1918 at the GWRGreat Western Railway’s Swindon Works at a cost including tender of £5,948, and delivered new to Salisbury GWRGreat Western Railway depot in May of that year.[3] During a working life of 45 years it was based in many depots around the GWRGreat Western Railway (and later British Railways Western Region), including a brief spell at nearby Stourbridge shed in the early 1950s. The locomotive was withdrawn from Neath depot in April 1963 having recorded a total of 1,276,713 miles in service[4].

2857 in preservation

2857 was purchased from Woodham Bros scrapyard on 20 May 1974 by The 2857 Society for a cost of £5,250 plus £525 VAT; fund raising for the purchase was helped by a raffle organised by the SVRA Kidderminster branch which raised £1,950 nett.[5] The locomotive was moved by rail from BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. to the Severn Valley Railway in convoy with GWR Mogul 7325, arriving on 13 August 1975[6][7] (The 2857 Society website states 20 August).[4] They were respectively the 69th and 70th locomotives to leave BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation.[8].

Restoration and first steaming

Restoration began at Bewdley in January 1976 and was carried out in the open air. A major setback was the discovery of a cracked cylinder casting. Although attempts at welding this failed, the locomotive was first steamed in preservation on 9 September 1979, minus cladding. A replacement cylinder block was acquired, having been found during the demolition of the Briton Ferry Steelworks in South Wales. The locomotive was steamed intermittently through 1980 but without entering regularly in service. Mileage recorded during the period was as follows:

Year Mileage
1979 20
1980 195
Total 215

Continued restoration and first full boiler ticket

At the end of 1980 the SVRSevern Valley Railway announced that preserved boilers on the railway needed to be brought up to 1980s BRBritish Rail or British Railways standards. The owning group therefore resumed the restoration, with the boiler being overhauled by the SVRSevern Valley Railway as a contract job and the opportunity being taken to fit the replacement cylinder block among many other tasks. In spring 1984 a raffle organised by the SVRA Wolverhampton Branch was held to raise funds to help complete the restoration.[9]

2857 was steamed again on 18 August 1985 and after a week of running in was able to make its only appearance on the main line, hauling a demonstration freight train as part of the GW 150 celebrations of that year (as a heavy freight locomotive, 2857 was not considered suitable for main line passenger rail tours).

Mainline Goods Train

For the GW 150 celebrations of 1985, 2857 was chosen to haul a demonstration freight train to Newport as part of a Railfreight spectacular event. 2857 left the SVRSevern Valley Railway in the late hours of 9 September 1985 with its goods train traveling via Worcester Foregate Street to Hereford where it stabled overnight before travelling to Newport at dawn on 10 September 1985. 2857 was placed on display in Newport station with 7029 Clun Castle with a selection of BRBritish Rail or British Railways's modern freight wagons, 7029 later took a private Pullman train to Gloucester and back while 2857 was watered in Newport station before proceeding to Alexandra Docks yard to collect its goods train of vintage wagons alongside 6 modern fitted BRBritish Rail or British Railways wagons which were positioned behind 2857 and the original GWRGreat Western Railway brakevan was positioned at the back of the train. 2857 ran through Newport station alongside a modern BRBritish Rail or British Railways freight train hauled by a class 56.

Eventually in the early evening the engine set off on its journey back to Kidderminster via Gloucester. Alongside watering 2857 dropped off its 6 fitted BRBritish Rail or British Railways wagons at Severn Tunnel Jcn yard and placed the GWRGreat Western Railway brakevan behind 2857 with a BRBritish Rail or British Railways brakevan taking its place at the rear. With the sun now setting 2857 engine left Severn Tunnel Jcn yard heading towards Gloucester travelling via Caldicot, Chepstow and Lydney eventually arriving at Gloucester in darkness where a waterstop was planned before returning to Kidderminster via Cheltenham Spa and Worcester Shrub Hill. This event to many people was the highlight of the GW 150 celebrations.

Date Tour name Route Notes Web SVRSevern Valley Railway News
10 Sep 1985 GW 150 Freight Demo Kidderminster-Hereford-Newport + return 25 SVRSevern Valley Railway wagons also used 78-17
For further information on sources and references, see The Severn Valley Railway on the main line

2857 worked for the next 10 years until withdrawn for overhaul in December 1994, 1992 being spent on loan to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.[10] Mileage recorded during the period was as follows:

Year Mileage
1985 449
1986 2,563
1987 2,913
1988 5,892
1989 5,519
1990 4,788
1991 4,683
1992 3,428
1993 5,308
1994 5,648
Total 41,191
Cumulative 41,406

Overhaul and second boiler ticket

After expiry of the boiler ticket in February 1995, the owning group began a heavy general overhaul.[10] Filming took place in October 2000 for an episode of the 2001 TV series “ Off the Rails” featuring Vince Henderson. The overhaul of 2857 was one of the items featured, although the commentary referred to the locomotive as a pannier tank!

2857 re-entered service after overhaul in July 2011, although initially the return to service was anything but trouble free. In December of that year water was discovered in both pistons, resulting in a period out of service for repairs. By April 2012 the decision had been taken to take 2857 out of service for a second time, this time for a boiler lift to cure some leaking stays. A third period out of service was needed in August 2012 following a major valve failure. Finally in December 2012 a crack was found in one of the main steam pipes between the regulator and the superheater header. Sourcing a replacement steam pipe was not easy, but 2857 finally resumed service in early March 2013.[10]

With these troubles resolved, 2857 became a reliable performer, recording the highest annual mileage of any steam locomotive on the SVRSevern Valley Railway in each of the years 2013 to 2015. However it became apparent in 2016 that as the locomotive approached its 100th anniversary, significant work would soon be required including relining the cylinders, replacing valves and pistons and attending to a bent piston rod. The locomotive was therefore withdrawn for an intermediate overhaul in September 2017, with a complete boiler re-tube being carried out at the same time.[11] The locomotive returned to service on 16 May 2018,[12] 100 years to the month since first entering service.

On 18 September 2018 the locomotive passed 100,000 miles in preservation, carrying both a headboard "Still gong strong, 100,000 miles" and a "100" headcode.[13] The 100 headcode remained in use during the Autumn Steam Gala which began on 24 September.[14] It reappeared on 11 November for the centenary of Remembrance Day.

During Autumn 2021 it underwent a Valve and Piston exam.[15] The boiler certificate was extended six months from July 2022 and the final day in traffic was on 2 January 2023.[16] Mileage recorded during this boiler ticket was as follows:

Year Mileage
2011-12 7,951
2013 10,624
2014 10,477
2015 10,828
2016 8,216
2017 5,278
2018 8,209
2019 8,605
2020 2,235
2021 4,054
2022 4,294
2023 146
Total 80,917
Cumulative 122,323

After 2857 reached the end of its 10 year boiler ticket, it was moved into storage to await its turn in the overhaul queue. It subsequently appeared as a static exhibit in the bay platform at Kidderminster during the 2023 Step Back to the 1940s event and the 2024 Autumn Steam Gala.

The Society plan to take 2857 through a further 10 yearly overhaul and return it to steam, hopefully in time for Great Western 200 in 2035. In 2022 the Society and Railway agreed to carry out a full condition report on the locomotive to determine the work load and cost involved, with decisions to be taken after that was completed.[17] In September 2024 volunteers prepared removal of the boiler tubes to allow an internal inspection of the boiler.[18]

2857 is paired with GWRGreat Western Railway 3500 gallon tender no 2355. In August 2024 The Erlestoke Manor Fund and the 2857 Society announced an agreement under which GWR 7802 Bradley Manor will re-enter service paired with the tender from 2857 for a period of 12-15 months while the EMF completes the building of a new 3500 Gallon tender for 7802[19].

See also

References

  1. 2800 Class on BR Database
  2. SVR Wiki GWR Power and Weight Classification
  3. 2857 on BR Database
  4. 4.0 4.1 'History of 2857', 2857 Society website
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 33,34
  6. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 37 p.2. and p.14.
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Ninth Edition
  8. The BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. Story, Beckett & Hardingham (2010)
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 71, 74
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 'Preservation era', 2857 Society website
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 201
  12. SVR Social Media
  13. SVR social media
  14. SVRLive
  15. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 216, p. 17
  16. The 2857 Society on Facebook, 23 June and 19 August 2022
  17. The 2857 Society on Facebook 30 October 2021 and 19 August 2022
  18. Branch Lines October 2024
  19. Joint Press Release issued by the EMF and the 2857 Society on 27 August 2024

Links