GWR Pannier 1501

GWRGreat Western Railway Pannier 1501
1501 approaching Highley in 2012
Built By	BRBritish Rail or British Railways Swindon Works
Configuration	0-6-0PT
Power class	GWRGreat Western Railway: C, BRBritish Rail or British Railways: 4FThe 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: Red
Status	Stored
Loco Number	BRBritish Rail or British Railways 1501
History
Built	1949
Type	GWRGreat Western Railway 1500
1961	Withdrawn by BRBritish Rail or British Railways
1970	Acquired by SVRSevern Valley Railway
1997	First entered service
2012	Re-entered service
Technical
Weight	58t 4cwt
Tractive effort	22,515 lb
Pressure	200 lb/sq in
Steam Locomotives

GWRGreat Western Railway Pannier 1501 is the only surviving example of a GWRGreat Western Railway 1500 class 0-6-0PT shunting engine. Designed by GWRGreat Western Railway CMEChief Mechanical Engineer Frederick HawksworthFrederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1941-1948, 1501 was ordered under GWRGreat Western Railway Lot 373 but completed by the Western Region of British Railways at Swindon in 1949, two years after nationalisation. The class, of which only 10 were built, used the 'Standard 10' GWRGreat Western Railway boiler. Unlike the SVRSevern Valley Railway's other panniers, 1501 has outside cylinders.

The cabside of WR steam locomotives bore a letter on a coloured disc: the letter showed the power classification and the coloured disc showed the weight restriction. The 1500 Class was Red (up to 20 tons axle load) and power classification C. The class was rated as a 4FThe 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 British Railways.

The class are mostly associated with London’s Old Oak Common, where duties included hauling long rakes of empty coaching stock in and out of Paddington Station. Some saw service in South Wales, Southall and Didcot.

1501 in service

British Railways

1501 entered service on 31 July 1949 at Old Oak Common. On 30 November 1950 the locomotive was reallocated to Southall for local shunting duties.

During its short working life with BRBritish Rail or British Railways, 1501 visited Wolverhampton's Stafford Road Works for an overhaul, after which it sported "a shiny black smokebox plus bright red buffer beam". After completing a freight trip to Oxley Sidings, Tyseley fireman L.C. Jacks and his driver were asked to work 1501 from Oxley MPDMotive Power Depot back to Banbury as part of its return move to London. Their 57 mile journey via Wolverhampton, Snow Hill and Leamington used just half a tank of water, with 1501 "riding just like a coach".

The BRBritish Rail or British Railways modernisation programme led to a swift replacement of the 1500 class by 350hp diesel shunters, and 1501 was withdrawn from service at Southall by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in January 1961 after a working life of just 11 years 5 months. Following withdrawal, 1501 was moved to Swindon. Two other class members, 1502 and 1509, were also moved to Swindon after withdrawal from Didcot and Newport respectively, and in February 1961 all three were sold to the National Coal Board.

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  Classmate 1502 at Didcot in 1957

National Coal Board

In June 1961 all three locomotives were towed by rail via Bagnalls at Stafford to the Andrew Barclay works at Kilmarnock for repairs and a repaint into unlined maroon livery. Later in the year they returned by road to the colliery at Keresley, Coventry where, still carrying their BRBritish Rail or British Railways numbers, they worked in the NCBNational Coal Board sidings and on the two mile branch line to the Coventry to Nuneaton line at Three Spires Junction. 1969 saw the locomotives once again replaced by diesel shunters, with 1501 the last of the three in use until September of that year.

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  1501 at Coventry in 1969 (David Cooke)

1501 in preservation

All three locomotives were inspected during 1969 and reserved by members of the Warwickshire Railway Society and SVRSevern Valley Railway. After this inspection and consultation with NCBNational Coal Board staff, 1501 was selected for preservation on the SVRSevern Valley Railway and an appeal for funds appeared in the Autumn 1969 edition of SVRSevern Valley Railway News. The other two were used as a source of parts for restoring 1501 and other ex-GWRGreat Western Railway locomotives lacking fittings at BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. following vandalism, after which the remains were sold for scrap and cut up at Cashmores, Great Bridge in October 1970.

1501 was initially towed by a Brush type 4 diesel from Coventry to Tyseley in July 1970 for wheel turning. While there, it was noted as "a very sad and forlorn picture" by L.C. Jacks (who had previously fired it from Oxley to Banbury). During a further move to Bewdley on 17 October 1970 behind Class 25 D7630, excessive speed caused damage to one of 1501's axle boxes.

A lengthy restoration was undertaken, largely through the endeavours of the 15xx Pannier Tank Fund with financial assistance from the Warwickshire Railway Society. Restoration began at Bridgnorth but initially progress was slow as the locomotive had only a small support group to provide funds and labour. By summer 1977, following several years of inactivity, disposal of the locomotive was under consideration, but a small team at Bewdley swayed the decision and the engine was moved there, where restoration restarted. The proceeds of an SVRA raffle in 1980 were also used to help fund the restoration.

Work on the locomotive initially concentrated in two areas, the bunker and the axleboxes with their associated suspension. The boiler was lifted by a road crane on 30 April 1982. Another road crane was hired on 9 September 1983 to re-wheel the locomotive and lift the rebuilt bunker and cab roof back into place. A further SVRA raffle was organised in 1987 to help the restoration, following which progress continued slowly as funds and labour permitted.

On 5 April 1996 the locomotive was towed to Bridgnorth for completion of the boiler work, including fitting the new smokebox door and performing a boiler hydraulic test and steam test. By that time the locomotive had been fitted with all of its motion and valve gear, although it was the first time that it had moved more than a few feet in that condition. Following the boiler steam test on 25 July, the locomotive returned to Bewdley on Sunday 4 August. The boiler lagging was refitted, and arrangements then made to move the locomotive to Kidderminster Carriage Works over the Christmas holidays, where Mike Hill and Brian Hill worked around 10 hours a day for 12 of the 13 days in near-freezing temperatures to complete the painting. The locomotive was returned to Bewdley on 3 January where the water tanks were refitted on 25 January. 1501 was first steamed on 29 May 1997, making a return trip from Bewdley to Kidderminster. After completing running trials it was finish painted in BRBritish Rail or British Railways unlined black.

In its first two years of service, the locomotive made guest appearances at two other railways, Bodmin and Wenford in 1998 and an Allied Steel & Wire open day in Cardiff in 1999. In summer 2000 the boiler required re-staying earlier that anticipated, a symptom of the boiler crisis which came to a head that year. In winter 2001-02 it was retubed and also underwent "a particularly heavy piston repair". It was re-tyred in early 2004, going on to complete a full 'ticket' (although with no further visits to other railways) before being taken out of service at the end of 2006. After a touch-up paint job, 1501 then became one of the first group of locomotives to be displayed in the Engine House from opening in March 2008.

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  1501 in the Engine House, August 2009

During 2009, plans for an overhaul of 75069 were delayed after a review of the boiler revealed that significant work would be required. 1501 was seen as a potential quick turnaround, and the locomotive left the Engine House in October 2009 to begin an overhaul. 1501 was steamed again on 15 August 2012, re-entering service in BRBritish Rail or British Railways lined black livery which, although not normally appropriate for shunting engines, was carried by 1503 and 1505 while at Old Oak Common.

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  1501 at Bewdley, July 2019

Between 2013 and 2019, 1501 made 18 visits away from the SVRSevern Valley Railway. These included the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in autumn 2014, where the locomotive broke a spring in transit and was restricted to demonstration working at Grosmont, and an appearance at the "Old Oak Common 111: Legends of the Great Western" event in September 2017.

A Valve and Piston overhaul in 2020 was completed in August 2020, only for a severe crack to be discovered in the right hand return crank. Fortunately, a replacement return crank was in store from its long scrapped sister 1509 at Coventry Colliery. The locomotive's last day in traffic before the expiry of its boiler certificate was 2 January 2023. The owning group's website shows volunteers conserving the locomotive from the summer of 2023 onwards by cleaning and painting parts both in situ and removed, at Bridgnorth and Bewdley. As of July 2024 it was in store in Bridgnorth Loco Works.

In service on the SVRSevern Valley Railway, 1501 has proved a powerful locomotive for its size, acquiring the nickname "the raging bull". At the end of 2019, 1501 had recorded a total of 98,933 miles in preservation on the SVRSevern Valley Railway. The reported total may include mileage on hire to other railways. The locomotive is owned by the 1501 Pannier Tank Association.

Model

In 2024 Rapido trains produced an OO gauge model of 1501 in lined black early BRBritish Rail or British Railways crest livery (as preserved).

Trivia

As noted above, 1501 is a member of the GWRGreat Western Railway 1500 class, also referred to as the 15xx Class. 108 0-6-0ST tank engines of the 645 Class were built at the GWRGreat Western Railway’s Wolverhampton works between 1872 and 1881. The last 72 of these featured a revised design; the first of which was numbered 1501. This modified sub-class is therefore sometimes referred to as the “1501 Class”.

See also

• Steam Locomotives
• List of preservation groups
• SVR-based locomotives visiting other events
• Models of the Severn Valley Railway

References

Links

• GWR 1500 Class on Wikipedia
• 1501 on BRDatabase.Info
• 1501 Pannier Tank Association website