The 4150 Fund and Foley Park sidings: Difference between pages

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[[File:4150 fund.jpg|thumb|300px|right| Fund members at work at Bewdley]]
[[File: Foley_Park_OS.jpg |thumb|300px|right| Extract from 1951 OS Map showing the Foley Park area]]
The 4150 Fund was launched in March 1973 to purchase GWR 2‑6‑2T No [[GWR Large Prairie 4150 | 4150]] from Barry Scrapyard, for the price of £2,750.
'''Foley Park sidings''', located 1 mile 179 yards from [[Kidderminster Junction signal box|Kidderminster Junction]], were built in 1925 to serve the British Sugar Corporation factory at [[Foley Park]]. The sidings also provided a rail connection for the private sidings of [[Thomas Vale & Sons]] and [[Smethwick Drop Forgings Ltd. Siding|Smethwick Drop Forgings]]. They were located near [[Foley Park Halt]], which was moved from the south side of the line to the north side when the sidings opened. The sidings remained in use after the closure of the [[Kidderminster]]-[[Bewdley]] line on 6 January 1970, finally closing on 25 October 1982.


4150 left Barry in 1974 and in company with 7812 Erlestoke Manor was towed by Class 25 diesel to the Dean Forest Railway at Parkend. However site difficulties meant no work took place, and led to the Fund deciding to move the locomotive to the SVR. The move to [[Bewdley]] took place in January 1978, again by rail.
==Operations and shunting locomotives==
 
[[File:S0839_AB2248_1967_David_Cooke.jpg|thumb|300ps|right|B.S.C. No.3 at Foley Park circa 1967 (David Cooke)]]
Restoration began after a period in storage, but by the mid-80s fund raising and restoration progress had slowed. In 2007 a new committee was formed to restart and complete the restoration.  Since then, progress has continued steadily on the ‘bottom end’, including the fabrication of new bunker and tanks. {{As of|2016|08}}, the bunker and tanks are nearing the stage where they can be lifted on to the frames, with the boiler now the major remaining task before 4150 can return to steam.
Access to the sidings from Kidderminster was by means of a ground frame. See [[Ground Frames at Foley Park]].


== See Also ==
During the sugar beet season, which normally ran from mid-September to mid-January, up to four trains per day would arrive at Kidderminster.  Shunting from Kidderminster to the Foley Park factory required a shunting engine from [[Kidderminster Shed]] to be available 24 hours per day.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Turley (2005)]] p. 72-77.</ref>


:[[List of preservation groups]]
The BSC factory employed three Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST shunting locomotives<ref name=miac>[http://www.miac.org.uk/sugar.html Railways in Worcestershire]</ref>:
:[[Peep Behind the Scenes]], an annual fundraising event organised by the 4150 Fund
*B.S.C. No.1, works no 1843/1925
*B.S.C. No.2, works no 1931/1927
*B.S.C. No.3, works no 2248/1948


== Links ==
All three were at Foley Park from new, with No. 3 arriving as part of a goods train on 1 May 1948.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Turley (2005)]] p. 76.</ref>. No. 2 was later transferred to the Wissington sugar factory at Kings Lynn, Norfolk in 1962. Steam working ended in January 1969, with No. 1 being sold for scrap in June 1969 and No 3 also being transferred to Wissington at the same time. No 2. is now preserved at "Rocks By Rail" and  No 3. is now preserved at the Plym Valley Railway.<ref group="note">Several websites including the Plym Valley and "[https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/andrew-barclay-works-no-2248-albert-0-4-0st-2/ Preserved British Locomotives]" refer to 2248 as being based at BSC's "''Worcester & Somerset plants''". Worcester presumably refers to Worcestershire, ie Foley Park; the reason for the reference to Somerset is unclear.</ref>


[http://www.4150.org.uk/ The 4150 Fund website]
The factory later employed two diesel shunters<ref name=miac/>:
*0-4-0DE R&H works no. 408866/1959 (arrived 1961, scrapped October 1983)
*[[Ruston and Hornsby 165hp Diesel Shunter D2960|0-4-0DM R&H 281269/1950]] (arrived January 1969, preserved on the SVR September 1983)
 
==Preservation==
In January 2016 the area was cleared of undergrowth to allow surveying on behalf of the [[Wagon Review Group]] for a potential new wagon storage facility to provide covered accommodation for the [[Goods Wagons|SVR's fleet of wagons]] along with a PW storage area and access for locomotives arriving by road.
 
==Historic maps of Foley Park sidings==
*GWR plan of the northern part of Foley park sidings including Foley park Halt
*GWR plan of the southern part of Foley park sidings including the sand sidings on the opposite side.
*1927 map showing the sidings and beet sugar factory
*1938 map showing the sidings and the expansion of the beet sugar factory. The private sidings for Thomas Vale & Sons extends towards the bottom of the map
 
<gallery>
File:GWRplanFoleyPark.jpg | Northern part of GWR plan
File:GWRplanFoleyPark2.jpg | Southern part of GWR plan
File:FoleyPark1927map.jpg | 1927
File:FoleyPark1938map.jpg | 1938
</gallery>
 
== Photographs ==
 
* [http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/mysteryphotos/show.htm?page=1&serial=20&img=Y-72-19 A DMU at Foley Park Halt.] Comments on the link point out that the lack of traffic is likely due to sugar beet being a seasonal crop.
 
==See also==
*[[Private sidings connected to the Severn Valley Railway]]
*[[Maps#Schematic maps of the pre-closure SVR | Pre-1963 map]]
*[[List of signal boxes#List of historical Signal Boxes and Ground Frames | List of historical Signal Boxes and Ground Frames]]
 
==Notes==
<references group="note"/>
 
== References ==
<references/>
* "Severn Valley Railway". Railways in Worcestershire article. [http://www.miac.org.uk/severnvalleyline.html Link]. Accessed 09/01/2015.
 
==Links==
*[https://www.rocks-by-rail.org/exhibit/ab-1931/ Rocks by Rail: AB 1931 page]
*[https://www.plymrail.co.uk/locomotives Plym Valley Railway: Locomotives page including AB 2238 "Albert"]
 
 
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Revision as of 00:21, 9 July 2021

Extract from 1951 OS Map showing the Foley Park area

Foley Park sidings, located 1 mile 179 yards from Kidderminster Junction, were built in 1925 to serve the British Sugar Corporation factory at Foley Park. The sidings also provided a rail connection for the private sidings of Thomas Vale & Sons and Smethwick Drop Forgings. They were located near Foley Park Halt, which was moved from the south side of the line to the north side when the sidings opened. The sidings remained in use after the closure of the Kidderminster-Bewdley line on 6 January 1970, finally closing on 25 October 1982.

Operations and shunting locomotives[edit | edit source]

B.S.C. No.3 at Foley Park circa 1967 (David Cooke)

Access to the sidings from Kidderminster was by means of a ground frame. See Ground Frames at Foley Park.

During the sugar beet season, which normally ran from mid-September to mid-January, up to four trains per day would arrive at Kidderminster. Shunting from Kidderminster to the Foley Park factory required a shunting engine from Kidderminster Shed to be available 24 hours per day.[1]

The BSC factory employed three Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST shunting locomotives[2]:

  • B.S.C. No.1, works no 1843/1925
  • B.S.C. No.2, works no 1931/1927
  • B.S.C. No.3, works no 2248/1948

All three were at Foley Park from new, with No. 3 arriving as part of a goods train on 1 May 1948.[3]. No. 2 was later transferred to the Wissington sugar factory at Kings Lynn, Norfolk in 1962. Steam working ended in January 1969, with No. 1 being sold for scrap in June 1969 and No 3 also being transferred to Wissington at the same time. No 2. is now preserved at "Rocks By Rail" and No 3. is now preserved at the Plym Valley Railway.[note 1]

The factory later employed two diesel shunters[2]:

  • 0-4-0DE R&H works no. 408866/1959 (arrived 1961, scrapped October 1983)
  • 0-4-0DM R&H 281269/1950 (arrived January 1969, preserved on the SVR September 1983)

Preservation[edit | edit source]

In January 2016 the area was cleared of undergrowth to allow surveying on behalf of the Wagon Review Group for a potential new wagon storage facility to provide covered accommodation for the SVR's fleet of wagons along with a PW storage area and access for locomotives arriving by road.

Historic maps of Foley Park sidings[edit | edit source]

  • GWR plan of the northern part of Foley park sidings including Foley park Halt
  • GWR plan of the southern part of Foley park sidings including the sand sidings on the opposite side.
  • 1927 map showing the sidings and beet sugar factory
  • 1938 map showing the sidings and the expansion of the beet sugar factory. The private sidings for Thomas Vale & Sons extends towards the bottom of the map
  • Northern part of GWR plan

    Northern part of GWR plan

  • Southern part of GWR plan

    Southern part of GWR plan

  • 1927

    1927

  • 1938

    1938

Photographs[edit | edit source]

  • A DMU at Foley Park Halt. Comments on the link point out that the lack of traffic is likely due to sugar beet being a seasonal crop.

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Several websites including the Plym Valley and "Preserved British Locomotives" refer to 2248 as being based at BSC's "Worcester & Somerset plants". Worcester presumably refers to Worcestershire, ie Foley Park; the reason for the reference to Somerset is unclear.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Turley (2005) p. 72-77.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Railways in Worcestershire
  3. ↑ Turley (2005) p. 76.
  • "Severn Valley Railway". Railways in Worcestershire article. Link. Accessed 09/01/2015.

Links[edit | edit source]

Ordnance Survey

British Steel Corporation, or British Sugar Corporation

Ruston and Hornsby Ltd. of Lincoln, engineer and locomotive manufacturer acquired by English Electric in 1966. Also, Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd established in 1930 and jointly owned by Ruston and Hornsby and Bucyrus-Erie (US)

Severn Valley Railway

Permanent Way

Great Western Railway

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