SR 34027 Taw Valley
SRSouthern Railway 34027 Taw Valley | |
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34027 Taw Valley at Hay Bridge in 2015 | |
Built By | SRSouthern Railway Brighton Works |
Configuration | 4-6-2 |
BRBritish Rail or British Railways rating | 7P6F |
Status | In Service |
Loco Number | 34027 |
Other Numbers | SRSouthern Railway 21C127 |
History | |
Built | 1946 |
Designed By | Oliver BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 |
Type | SRSouthern Railway West Country Class |
1964 | Withdrawn by BRBritish Rail or British Railways |
1985 | Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway |
1998 | Entered service on SVRSevern Valley Railway |
Technical | |
Length | 67ft 4¾" |
Weight | 86t |
Tractive effort | 27,720 lb |
Pressure | 250 lb/sq in |
34027 Taw Valley is a SRSouthern Railway West Country Class 4-6-2 'PacificLocomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel configuration' designed by Oliver BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948, CMEChief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway (SRSouthern Railway). Lighter in weight than their sister locomotives, the Merchant Navy class, they could be used on a wide variety of routes including in the south-west of England and the Kent coast. They were a mixed-traffic design, being used for both passenger and freight trains, and were rated 7P6F by British Railways. Originally built with innovative features including air-smoothed casings and chainAs a unit of measurement, 22 yards or 1/80th of a mile-driven valve gear, many of the locomotives including 34027 were rebuilt by British Railways in the late 1950s.
34027 Taw Valley in service
Taw Valley was built in 1946 at the SRSouthern Railway’s Brighton Works and named after a river in Devon. It was originally allocated to Ramsgate where it entered service as SRSouthern Railway number 21C127. The locomotive was re-numbered 34027 by BRBritish Rail or British Railways following nationalisation.
In 1947 Taw Valley moved to Exmouth Junction, working mainly in Devon and Cornwall. Here the locomotive would have hauled named trains such as the ‘AtlanticLocomotive with a 4-4-0 wheel configuration Coast Express’ and ‘Devon Belle’. In 1957, after being rebuilt, Taw Valley moved to the Southeast and worked commuter services from Brighton. Following transfer to Salisbury in 1963, Taw Valley was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in August 1964 and towed to Barry Scrapyard.
34027 Taw Valley in preservation
After being saved from BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation., Taw Valley’s restoration began elsewhere. The locomotive was moved to the SVRSevern Valley Railway in August 1985 by her then owners, Bert Hitchen and Brian Cooke.
First boiler ticket
Restoration was completed in October 1987 when trial running began. The locomotive entered service in June 1988, with a formal re-naming ceremony taking place on 4 June.
Following a loaded test run from Derby to Sheffield and back in May 1989, Taw Valley spent a good deal of time on the main line as well as on the SVRSevern Valley Railway. This included regular excursions on the North Wales Coast Express in 1989 and 1990, and the Welsh Marches Express in 1991. In summer 1991, SVRSevern Valley Railway News announced that Taw Valley was unlikely to return to the SVRSevern Valley Railway after its current commitments[1]. A brief return to the SVRSevern Valley Railway took place between July and early September 1992[2], following which the locomotive again left the Railway.
Mileage as reported in SVRSevern Valley Railway News was as follows:
Year | Mileage |
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1987 | 574 |
1988 | 2,416 |
1989 | 4,425 |
1990 | 11,525 |
1991 | 660 |
1992 | 1,070 |
Note: The 1991 and 1992 mileage figures appear not to include main line working. Mileage post-1992 was not published in SVRSevern Valley Railway News.
Second boiler ticket
By 2000, Taw Valley was again working on the main line, notably appearing around the country that year in maroon livery as ‘Hogwarts Express’ to publicise the Harry Potter books which were then being published.
The locomotive arrived back on the SVRSevern Valley Railway on 11 April 2001, having been put up for sale by Bert Hitchen and acquired by long-standing SVRSevern Valley Railway member Phil Swallow. The boiler was re-stayed within this ticket during the summer of 1982[3].
Main line running continued until May 2005. This included a number of rail tours in which the locomotive ran as sister locomotive 34045 Ottery St Mary. The locomotive also appeared in the Autumn Steam Gala of 2005 as 34036 Westward Ho, the last gala appearance before going out of ticket.[4].
Mileage as reported in SVRSevern Valley Railway News was as follows:
Year | Mileage |
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2001 | 6,210 |
2002 | 1,357 |
2003 | 4,302 |
2004 | 7,532 |
2005 | TBA |
Mileage pre-2001 and post 2004 was not published in SVRSevern Valley Railway News.
Main line appearances
As noted above, Taw Valley spend considerable periods of time on the main line during both her first and second boiler tickets. The table below has been compiled from various sources including Six Bells Junction, UK Steam and SVRSevern Valley Railway News. However it may not be complete.
Date | Tour name | Route | Notes | Web | SVRSevern Valley Railway News |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 May 1989 | Derby - Sheffield + return | Loaded test run | 93-19 | ||
02 Jul 1989 | Crewe - Llandudno - Holyhead + return | First run | 93-19 | ||
04 Jul 1989 | North Wales Coast Express | Crewe - Llandudno - Holyhead + return | Various North Wales Coast Expresses around this time | SBJ | |
16 Aug 1989 | North Wales Coast Express | Crewe - Llandudno - Holyhead + return | Returned to SVRSevern Valley Railway for ASG 23 September | 94-41 | |
13 Aug 1989 | North Wales Coast Express | Crewe - Llandudno - Holyhead + return | Returned to SVRSevern Valley Railway for ASG 23 September | SBJ | |
11 Nov 1989 | Robin Hood | Derby - London Marylebone | Low water at Banbury, fire dropped, later relit and continued. | SBJ | 94-13 |
02 Dec 1989 | William Shakespeare | Marylebone - Stratford + return | SBJ | 95-36 | |
30 Dec 1989 | Marylebone - Stratford + return | SBJ | 95-37 | ||
20 Jan 1990 | Robin Hood | Marylebone - Nottingham + return | Due to return from Marylebone 31 March (95-8) | SBJ | |
31 Mar 1990 | ?-Kings Sutton-Hatton-Nottingham-Lenton Jn-? | Included on PSOV DVD 'Taw Valley 1990-1994' | |||
16 Jul 1990 | North Wales Coast Expres | Crewe - Holyhead - Crewe | "Successful season.." 97-23, winter at Holyhead 98-15 | SBJ | |
01 Aug 1990 | North Wales Coast Expres | 98-9 | |||
08 Aug 1990 | North Wales Coast Express | Locoperf | |||
26 Aug 1990 | North Wales Coast Express | 97-52 | |||
09 Feb 1991 | Welsh Marches Express | Crewe - Hereford | SBJ | ||
16 Feb 1991 | Welsh Marches Express? | ?-Abergele-Llandulas-Llandudno Jn-? | PSOV DVD | ||
23 Feb 1991 | Welsh Marches Express | Crewe - Shrewsbury - Hereford | SBJ | ||
6 Sep 1991 | ?-Hasland-Pear Tree-Small Heath | PSOV DVD | |||
12 Sep 1991 | Shepway Festival | Folkestone Harbour - Folkestone Train Roads (multiple) | SBJ | ||
13 Sep 1991 | Shepway Festival | Folkestone Harbour - Folkestone Train Roads (multiple) | SBJ | ||
19 Oct 1991 | Fen Line Steam Weekend | Kings Lynn - Ely - Cambridge + return | SBJ | ||
30 Nov 1991 | Welsh Marches Express | Hereford - Shrewsbury - Chester - Crewe | SBJ | ||
14 Dec 1991 | Cumbrian Mountain Express | Lostock Hall Jn - S&C - Carlisle | SBJ | ||
28 Dec 1991 | ?-Horton-Selside-Ais Gill-? | PSOV DVD | |||
08 Feb 1992 | Cumbrian Mountain Express | Carlisle - S&C - Farington Jn | SBJ | ||
25 Apr 1992 | ?-Condover-Marshbrook-Onibury-? | PSOV DVD | |||
06 Jun 1992 | Ashford 150 Festival Specials | Ashford - Appledore - Rye - Hastings + return (multiple) | SBJ | ||
10 Jun 1992 | ?-Romney-Salisbury-? | PSOV DVD. D/H with 75069 | |||
18 Oct 1992 | South Western Limited | ?-Crewkerne Bank-? | PSOV DVD | SBJ | |
10 Apr 1993 | Salisbury-Yeovil-Salisbury | PSOV DVD | |||
29 Aug 1993 | Didcot-Bristol | PSOV DVD | [http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/90s/930829fs.htm SBJ) | ||
5 Sep 1993 | Rougemont Limited | Exeter-Waterloo | PSOV DVD | SBJ | |
12 Sep 1993 | Salisbury-Waterloo | SBJ | |||
9 Sep 1993 | Exeter?-Waterloo | PSOV DVD | |||
26 Sep 1993 | Eastleigh-Yeovil-Waterloo | PSOV DVD. D/H with S15 828 | SBJ | ||
19 Feb 1994 | South Western Swansong | London Waterloo - Yeovil Junction + return | SBJ | ||
23 Feb 1994 | Yorkshireman | Banbury-Sheffield | Locoperf | ||
26 Feb 1994 | Cumbrian Mountain Limited | Bradford-Carlisle | PSOV DVD | SBJ | |
5 Mar 1994 | Carlisle-Bradford | PSOV DVD. Last run before overhaul. | |||
04 Mar 2000 | Shap Attack | Crewe - Shap - Carlisle | SBJ | ||
08 Apr 2000 | Cumbrian Mountain Express | Carlisle - Shap - Crewe | UKS | ||
08 Jul 2000 | Hogwarts Express Promotion Train | Kings Cross-Didcot-Kidderminster-Crewe | UKS | ||
09 Jul 2000 | Hogwarts Express Promotion Train | Crewe-Manchester-Bradford-York | UKS | ||
10 Jul 2000 | Hogwarts Express Promotion Train | York-Newcastle-Edinburgh | UKS | ||
11 Jul 2000 | Hogwarts Express Promotion Train | Edinburgh-Calisle-Preston | UKS | ||
07 Oct 2000 | Southern Scot | Crewe - Glasgow Central | SBJ | ||
14 Oct 2000 | Cumbrian Taw-Tourer | Workington - Barrow - Crewe | As "Hogwarts Express" | SBJ | |
22 Dec 2001 | Christmas Chester Chuffer | Birmingham Int'l - Crewe - Chester - Shrewsbury - Bham Int'l | SBJ | 139-13 | |
29 Dec 2001 | Cannon of Kent | Finsbury Park - Orpington. Cannon St. - Margate - Finsbury Park | Stalled leaving London | SBJ | 139-13 |
12 Oct 2002 | Parisian Steam Express | Victoria - Dover | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | UKS | |
13 Oct 2002 | Parisian Steam Express | Dover - Victoria | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | UKS | |
26 Jul 2003 | Victoria-Oxford-Worcester-Oxford-Victoria | UKS | |||
27 Jul 2003 | V.S.O.E. Bournemouth Belle | London Victoria - Salisbury. Bournemouth - Southampton | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". Stalled leaving London | SBJ | |
22 Aug 2003 | Surrey Hills Luncheon | Victoria-Guildford-Victoria | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | UKS | |
06 Dec 2003 | Lincolnshire Poacher | Preston-Doncaster, Doncaster-Manchester Vic | UKS | ||
01 Sep 2004 | Sunny South Special | Kensington Olympia - Weymouth - Clapham Junction | SBJ | ||
05 Sep 2004 | Cathedrals Express | Waterloo-Salisbury-Exeter and Yevil Jc-Waterloo | UKS | ||
06 Nov 2004 | Victoria - Salisbury + return(?) | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | SBJ | ||
19 Nov 2004 | Victoria - Woking - Guildford - Victoria | SBJ | |||
06 Dec 2004 | Surrey Hills Xmas Luncheon | Victoria - Woking - Guildford - Victoria | SBJ | ||
10 Dec 2004 | Victoria - Woking - Guildford - Victoria | SBJ | |||
02 Mar 2005 | Victoria - Bath Spa + return | SBJ | |||
11 Mar 2005 | Victoria - Woking - Guildford - Victoria | SBJ | |||
27 Mar 2005 | Cathedrals Express | Victoria - Canterbury + return | SBJ | ||
02 Apr 2005 | Victoria - Oxford + return | SBJ | |||
14 Apr 2005 | Downsman | Victoria - Woking - Guildford - Victoria | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | SBJ | |
20 Apr 2005 | Cathedrals Express | Victoria - Bristol + return | As 34045 "Ottery St. Mary". | SBJ | |
11 May 2005 | Cathedrals Express | Waterloo - Littlehampton, Portsmouth Harbour - Waterloo | SBJ | ||
For further information on sources and references, see The Severn Valley Railway on the main line |
Present boiler ticket
Taw Valley’s heavy overhaul had begun by the spring of 2006[5]. This overhaul was completed in time for Taw Valley to re-enter service on 16 May 2015, hauling an incoming "British Pullman" rail tour consisting of 12 coaches and a Class 67 diesel from Bewdley to Bridgnorth,[6] and an SVRSevern Valley Railway service from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster. Taw Valley is the only SVRSevern Valley Railway steam locomotive, apart from 600 Gordon, equipped to work with air braked rolling stock.
Taw Valley is currently in BRBritish Rail or British Railways Green livery featuring the ‘Late Crest’. The coat of arms on her name plate were not carried in service.
See also
Steam Locomotives
The Severn Valley Railway on the main line
SVR-based locomotives visiting other events
References
Service history from fleetsteam.co.uk
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 99
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 103
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 141
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 152
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 153
- ↑ I. Walker, "Steam Locomotive Notes", SVRSevern Valley Railway News 190 (2015) p. 28
Links
SR West Country and Battle of Britain class locomotives on Wikipedia
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