LMS Jinty 47383

LMS Jinty 47383
47383 at Highley (2013)
Built By	Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows
Configuration	0-6-0T
BR rating	3F
Status	Out of service
Loco Number	47383
Other Numbers	16466, 7383
History
Built	1926
Designed By	Henry Fowler
Type	Fowler 3F 'Jinty'
1968	Arrived on SVR
1973	First steamed
2002	Last steamed
Technical
Length	31ft 4¾"
Weight	49t 10cwt
Tractive effort	20,835 lb
Pressure	160 lb/sq in
Steam Locomotives

47383 is an LMS Fowler Class 3F 0-6-0T, commonly referred to as a 'Jinty'. These locomotives were primarily intended for shunting duties but also saw use on suburban passenger trains and transfer goods services. Henry Fowler's design was a development of the Midland Railway 2441 Class originally introduced in 1899 by Samuel Waite Johnson.

422 Fowler Jinties were built between 1924 and 1931 at the LMS's ex-L&YR Horwich Works and at various external contractors including the Vulcan Foundry. At the outbreak of the Second World War the type was initially selected as the standard shunting locomotive for the War Department, although the more modern Hunslet "Austerity" 0-6-0ST was subsequently chosen in preference. The last Jinties were withdrawn from BR service in 1967. Nine members of the class have been preserved together with a spare set of frames and a boiler.

Contents

47383 in service

47383 was built for the LMS by the Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire as Works No 3954 of 1926, and entered service in October of that year as LMS Number 16466. Its first allocation was to the Devons Road depot in Bow, East London, where this class of locomotive was used for suburban passenger services from Broad Street as well as shunting duties.

In March 1928 16466 moved to the north-west, serving at Liverpool Edge Hill until January 1931, Mold Junction near Chester until May 1932, and then to Chester where the locomotive was frequently used as the station pilot over the next 30 years.

16466 was renumbered 7383 by the LMS in July 1935 as part of a company-wide re-numbering begun in 1932. Following nationalisation, it was renumbered 47383 by BR, who rated the class 3F.

Latterly the locomotive was transferred to Carlisle Canal depot in November 1962. When that depot closed in June 1963 it was transferred to Burnley (Rose Grove), with a final move to Manchester (Newton Heath) in January 1966. While at Newton Heath the locomotive worked a rail tour special on behalf of the Manchester Rail Travel Society, before being withdrawn from service and condemned in December of that year.

A shortage of suitable locomotives at the NCB sidings at Williamthorpe Colliery in Chesterfield led to a temporary reprieve, with 47383 being reinstated and allocated to BR's Westhouses depot in February 1967. It initially acted as spare engine to four other Jinties, but after one failed, 47383 was used from July 1967. It was eventually retired in September 1967, two weeks before the end of steam at Williamthorpe, requiring new boiler tubes and a boiler hydraulic test.

47383 in preservation

Arrival

In mid-1966 three Manchester-based enthusiasts, Peter Blunn, Frank Cronin and Bernard Crick, set out to acquire a Midland Railway 2441 Class 'Jinty' of 1899 vintage. However the last examples had been withdrawn from service and sold for scrap before they could raise the purchase price. The three formed the Manchester Rail Travel Society (MRTS) and set out to acquire a more modern Fowler Jinty of 1924 design instead.

An agreement to acquire 47383 was reached in November 1966. To raise funds, the MRTS promoted a number of 'end of steam' rail tours, and also co-promoted four rail tours in conjunction with the emergent Severn Valley Railway Society. Two of the joint rail tours in 1968 were partly hauled by LMS Stanier 8F 48773, then still a BR-owned locomotive. One tour also featured future SVR 'Black Five' 45110. Mainly as a result of this relationship, the SVR would become the locomotive's new home in preservation.

After 47383's second withdrawal at Westhouses in September 1967 it was stored in the shed there, where the assistant foreman Fred Lather ensured it was kept in good order. The condition of the boiler meant it could not be moved to the SVR in steam, while a move by rail 'cold' was ruled out due to cost and the tendency of Jinties to run hot when dragged long distances in that manner. A road move was therefore necessary, although a survey by transport firm Cauldles found there was no suitable loading place at Westhouses. After lengthy negotiations with all parties concerned, Frank Cronin arrived at a solution although a further period of delay followed while the necessary and complicated insurance cover was arranged. 47383 was eventually dragged by a BR diesel shunter from Westhouses to the nearby NCB Blackwell A Winning Colliery on 2 May 1968 and collected from there by Caudles. It was delivered to Bridgnorth the following day, becoming the 5th locomotive to join the SVR still some two years before the SVR's official opening.

First boiler ticket

Restoration began shortly after arrival. The tanks were lifted off on 24 January 1970 using the 6-ton steam crane, and the locomotive was moved into the former goods shed on 13 February. By autumn of that year the tubes had been removed from the boiler and replacement was under way. A hydraulic test was successfully carried out in spring 1972. The tanks were repaired, cab, boiler fittings motion re-assembled, and the locomotive left the goods shed in May 1973. The locomotive was first steamed on 4 September 1973, following which it entered passenger service in BR livery on 28 October 1973 making two return trips to Hampton Loade.

Initially 47383 saw regular use on Bridgnorth to Hampton Lode 'shuttles', lighter mid-week passenger services and 'schools trains'. At the end of 1975 it was withdrawn for wheel reprofiling and remedial work on the axleboxes, crossheads and side rod bushes, re-entering service in March 1977.

The locomotive continued in service until failing with leaking tubes in summer 1979. Although only six years into its 'ticket', the smokebox and front ring also required replacement so a full 'out of frames' boiler overhaul was undertaken.

Second boiler ticket

47383 was steamed again in late 1982, although the first move under power did not go as expected – forward gear was selected but the locomotive promptly set off in reverse! Once this minor issue was addressed, the locomotive resumed duties. In 1986 it spent 8 days filming scenes for The Singing Detective. By that time it was in need of remedial mechanical work, which began in spring 1977. An extensive but quick overhaul was planned, however as SVR News subsequently noted "A cursory glance at the more basic components revealed a shocking state of affairs; the steam chest was found to contain a loose lump of brass, the origin of which no-one has yet fathomed. One piston was cracked almost all the way across and, incredibly, one set of wheels was actually larger than the other two!".

The repairs took the whole of 1977; the locomotive re-entered traffic in 1988 after which it spent periods on hire to the Swanage Railway in winter 1988 and again in summer 1989, and to the North Norfolk Railway in summer 1991. Service continued until the boiler's 'end of ticket' in winter 1991.

Third boiler ticket

A quick turnaround overhaul, which included fitting newly fabricated tanks, saw 47383 steamed again in July 1992 and back in service in time for that year's Autumn Steam Gala. An unbroken 10-year stint followed, with further periods on hire to other railways including North Norfolk (1993), Swanage (1996), Churnet Valley (1996 and 1997), Chinnor and Princes Risborough (1997), Gloucestershire Warwickshire (1998) and North Norfolk (1999).

In 2000 47383 was painted in 'Sodor blue' to deputise as 'Thomas' while an overhaul was carried out on 686 The Lady Armaghdale. A magnetic number No 1 was fixed to the cabside which could be removed to avoid breaching copyright regulations when steamed for non-'Thomas' events. In 2001 it was away all summer at various other railways in a 'Thomas' capacity before returning to BR black in early 2002. During the 2002 'Somerset & Dorset-themed Spring Steam Gala, 47383 adopted the guise of classmate 47557 (based at 71G Radstock). Its ticket expired at the start of July 2002.

A total mileage of 42,665 was recorded over the three boiler tickets as follows:

Year	Mileage
1973	20
1974	635
1975	2,160
1976	0
1977	3,440
1978	2,230
1979	1,265
1982	30
1983	1,648
1984	215
1985	236
1986	879
1987	0
1988	1,345
1989	2,307
1990	1,222
1991	2,703
1992	331
1993	2,017
1994	566
1995	2,794
1996	2,431
1997	1,230
1998	2,207
1999	2,360
2000	2,736
2001	2,465
2002	3,193
Total	42,665

After withdrawal, 47383 was stored at Bridgnorth awaiting another overhaul. In early 2007 it underwent cosmetic restoration in anticipation of the opening of The Engine House; in the event the 2007 Floods delayed the opening until 2008. 47383 was the first locomotive to enter the Engine House, having been shunted in on the evening of Friday 14 March 2008. The other exhibits joined it on Sunday 16 March.

In Spring 2009 the SVRA held the second of two raffles in aid of 47383's firebox repairs, raising £9,623 nett. The first raffle some five years earlier had raised £8,562 nett. The locomotive was one of those which in 2011 had copper sheets stolen, the cost of which was met in full bythe SVR's insurers.

47383 remains on display in The Engine House awaiting overhaul. It is still owned by the Manchester Rail Travel Society.

See also

• Steam Locomotives
• SVR-based locomotives visiting other events
• Locomotives running under different identities

Links

LMS Fowler Class 3F on Wikipedia