Category:Wickham Trolley

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The SVRSevern Valley Railway has five Wickham Trolleys in various states of repair. Originally built by D. Wickham & Co Ltd of Ware in Hertfordshire, these trolleys were used in service as railway engineering personnel carriers, transporting PWPermanent Way working parties and materials to sites along the line.

General information

The trolleys were designated 2w-2 PMR under the Whyte notation, denoting that they were 4-wheeled, petrol-engined, mechanically driven and reversible. They were lightweight, cheap to operate and very flexible, so they were popular with operators of railways of all kinds. The SVRSevern Valley Railway includes one Pre-War example; post-War more than 600 were built for BRBritish Rail or British Railways before the Wickham factory closed in 1991.

The Wickham trolleys feature an unusual stepless variable speed and reversible transmission.
Power is transmitted via a steel flywheel attached to the engine to a wheel with a friction lining on its surface which is able to slide along a splined shaft set at 90° to the crankshaft. Sliding the driven wheel towards the outer edge of the flywheel increases the gearing. Sliding it across to the opposite side of the flywheel reverses the drive.

Although the trolleys could travel in reverse when required, they were mainly used in the 'forward' direction, being manually lifted off the track and turned by hand when required. Some later type 27s were fitted with a built in turntable while others were provided with a simple portable turntable which could be carried on the trolley.[1]

SVRSevern Valley Railway Wickham Trolleys

A number of different Wickham Trolleys have been at the SVRSevern Valley Railway in preservation, although the precise details are a little unclear. The following references to Wickham Trolleys have been noted:

Number(s) Works no Type Engine as built Arrived Still present? Links Status / Notes
748 1580/1934 Type 17 JAP 1100 Not recorded Yes Operational
PWM 3189 5019/1949 Type 17A JAP 1323 Ex Northampton 28 Nov 1968 Yes Unpowered trailer
DB965054 7577/1957 Type 17A JAP 1323 Twin sv Not recorded but post-1998? Yes Unpowered trailer
TP49P (PT1P) 7690/1957 Type 17A JAP 1323 Twin 4sv Ex Northampton 28 Nov 1968 Yes Awaiting restoration
9021 8085/1958 Type 27 Mk III Ford 10hp Ex Longtown (Army) 1977 Yes Operational
B198W (P2P) ?/1949 Not recorded 2 cylinder[2] Ex Northampton 28 Nov 1968 No RCTS Photo
Not recorded ?/? Not recorded 2 cylinder[2] Ex Northampton 28 Nov 1968 No Cannibalised for spares[2]
PWM2827 (B190W) 5005/1949 Type 27A Ford 10hp Industrial Ex Worcester 3 Apr 1971 No
PWM3774 (B13W) 6653/1953 Type 27A Mk III Ford 10hp Ex Worcester 3 Apr 1971 TBC Listed as unpowered trailer in 2006. Whereabouts now unknown.
PWM2830 (B193M) 5008/1949 Type 27A Ford 10hp Industrial Ex Bilston 10 July 1971 No Now at Royal Deeside Railway.[3]
9032 8200/1958 Type 27 Mk III Ford 10hp Ex Longtown (Army) 1977 No Flickr photo Still present in 1998.

The picture of Bridgnorth Yard including TP49P shown below is dated at 17 September 1968 (Picture by Ben Brooksbank via Wikimedia Commons). SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Books date the arrival of the first trollies including TP49P to 28 November 1968. It is unclear which of these dates is incorrect.

Threads discussing the identity and fate three Type 27A trolleys can be found here and here.

In the original numbers above, a PWM number referred to Permanent Way Machinery while a B prefix was used by the GWRGreat Western Railway to denote a Gang Trolley. DB indicated DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. BRBritish Rail or British Railways-era built plant. Type and original Engine are from Gunner and Kennard (2004) except where noted.

Gallery

See also

List of other rolling stock on the SVR

References

  1. Gunner and Kennard (2004) p.4.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Sixth Edition
  3. Ontrack Plant

Links

Pages in category ‘Wickham Trolley’

The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total.