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Bagnall fireless locomotives (preserved)
Encyclopedia
Six Bagnall fireless locomotives have been preserved in Great Britain
. This is a surprisingly large number since W. G. Bagnall of Stafford
, England
, built only 14 fireless locomotive
s in total.
Brief histories of the preserved locomotives are given in this article and they are listed by works number. All are standard gauge
0-4-0
s except where otherwise stated.
This unusual gauge 2-4-0
, named "Unique", is the first fireless locomotive built by Bagnall. It was ordered by Edward Lloyd Ltd in February 1923 and delivered to their paper mills at Sittingbourne
, Kent
in February 1924.
It is now preserved on the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
which is part of the former Lloyd's system
.
ordered in December 1928 by the Distillers Company and delivered to their Salt End Works, Kingston upon Hull
, in May 1929. After working at Procter & Gamble
, soap manufacturers, at West Thurrock
, Essex
, it moved in late 1979 to the North Norfolk Railway
, where it went on static display at Sheringham railway station (North Norfolk Railway)
for a number of years before moving (circa 2004) to a private site at Holt Farm, Broughton Astley
, Leicestershire
. In September 2008, it moved four miles to Blaby
, Leicestershire, where it is plinthed in a field alongside the Leicester-Birmingham railway line
and is being used to publicise a campaign to re-open Blaby railway station
.
Ordered in May 1932 by Huntley & Palmers
, biscuit manufacturers, of Reading, Berkshire
. It was delivered later in 1932 and named "Huntley & Palmers No.1". A second locomotive "Huntley & Palmers No.2" (works no. 2474) was ordered and delivered in the same year.
The factory's railway system closed in 1969 and No.2 was scrapped in March 1970. No.1 was sold in May 1970 to the Great Western Society and moved to Didcot Railway Centre
. It was later sold to a private owner and moved to the West Somerset Railway
.
In 2003, Jane Griffiths
(who was Member of Parliament
for Reading East
at the time) discovered the locomotive and mounted a campaign to return it to Reading. The locomotive was re-located to the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
where it remained until 12 March 2009, when it was moved to a site in Kent
. It was then sold (through a dealer) to a new owner in East Bierley, near Bradford
, West Yorkshire
.
in 1948. It was overhauled by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
in the late 1950s.
It is now preserved at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum
.
, Lancashire
and numbered 5. This locomotive is notable in being designed for the unusually high reservoir pressure of 300 psi
(21 bar
).
It was sold in November 1970 to Lakeside Railway Estates Co. Ltd. and put in their museum in the former British Railways motive power depot at Carnforth
. It was later moved to Shropshire
. A full restoration was commenced in 2006–7 and completed in January 2011.
, Devon
.
It is now in the care of the Cornish Steam Locomotive Preservation Society
and stored at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. This is a surprisingly large number since W. G. Bagnall of Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, built only 14 fireless locomotive
Fireless locomotive
A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive designed for use under conditions restricted by either the presence of flammable material or the need for cleanliness...
s in total.
Brief histories of the preserved locomotives are given in this article and they are listed by works number. All are standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
s except where otherwise stated.
2216
2-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels....
, named "Unique", is the first fireless locomotive built by Bagnall. It was ordered by Edward Lloyd Ltd in February 1923 and delivered to their paper mills at Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in February 1924.
It is now preserved on the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale. The line was formerly owned by Bowater, the paper making firm, and was used to carry raw materials and finished products between Ridham Dock and the company's...
which is part of the former Lloyd's system
Bowaters Paper Railway
The Bowaters Paper Railway was a gauge narrow gauge industrial railway. It had the distinction of being the last steam-operated industrial narrow gauge railway in Britain when it closed in 1969.-History:...
.
2370
Number 2370 is a 0-6-00-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
ordered in December 1928 by the Distillers Company and delivered to their Salt End Works, Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, in May 1929. After working at Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, soap manufacturers, at West Thurrock
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, it moved in late 1979 to the North Norfolk Railway
North Norfolk Railway
The North Norfolk Railway – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the coastal town of Sheringham and Holt, It cuts through the countryside to the east of Weybourne with views of its windmill and passes through the well preserved country...
, where it went on static display at Sheringham railway station (North Norfolk Railway)
Sheringham railway station (North Norfolk Railway)
Sheringham is the name of a preserved railway station in Sheringham, Norfolk. It was once part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network. Since its closure as part of the Beeching Axe, it has served as the eastern terminus of the North Norfolk Railway...
for a number of years before moving (circa 2004) to a private site at Holt Farm, Broughton Astley
Broughton Astley
Broughton Astley is a large village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated in the south west of Leicestershire, about east of Hinckley and about from the centre of Leicester.- History :...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
. In September 2008, it moved four miles to Blaby
Blaby
Blaby is a village in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. It has population of around 6,240 , and its proximity to the city causes it to form part of the Leicester Urban Area....
, Leicestershire, where it is plinthed in a field alongside the Leicester-Birmingham railway line
Birmingham to Peterborough Line
The Birmingham to Peterborough Line is a cross-country railway line in the United Kingdom, linking Birmingham to Peterborough, via Nuneaton and Leicester....
and is being used to publicise a campaign to re-open Blaby railway station
Blaby railway station
Blaby railway station was a railway station on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line that served Blaby in Leicestershire, England.The station was opened in 1864 by the South Leicestershire Railway, which was taken over by the London and North Western Railway in 1867. British Railways closed the...
.
2473
Huntley & Palmers
Huntley & Palmers was a British firm of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. The company created one of the world's first global brands and ran what was once the world’s largest biscuit factory. Over the years, the company was also known as J...
, biscuit manufacturers, of Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. It was delivered later in 1932 and named "Huntley & Palmers No.1". A second locomotive "Huntley & Palmers No.2" (works no. 2474) was ordered and delivered in the same year.
The factory's railway system closed in 1969 and No.2 was scrapped in March 1970. No.1 was sold in May 1970 to the Great Western Society and moved to Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
. It was later sold to a private owner and moved to the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
.
In 2003, Jane Griffiths
Jane Griffiths (politician)
Jane Patricia Griffiths is a British linguist and politician. She held positions as a Labour councillor on Reading Borough Council, and as Labour Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency...
(who was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Reading East
Reading East
Reading East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like all such constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
at the time) discovered the locomotive and mounted a campaign to return it to Reading. The locomotive was re-located to the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
The Cholsey and Wallingford Railway is a long standard gauge heritage railway in the English county of Oxfordshire. It operates along most of the length of the former Wallingford branch of the Great Western Railway , from Cholsey station, north of Reading on the Great Western Main Line, to a...
where it remained until 12 March 2009, when it was moved to a site in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It was then sold (through a dealer) to a new owner in East Bierley, near Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
.
2898
Ordered in January 1947 by Paton & Baldwins, wool spinners, and delivered to their new factory in DarlingtonDarlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
in 1948. It was overhauled by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd was a locomotive builder with works in North East England.-History:The company was formed in September 1937 when Robert Stephenson and Company, which was based in Darlington took over the locomotive building department of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, based in...
in the late 1950s.
It is now preserved at Darlington Railway Centre and Museum
Darlington Railway Centre and Museum
Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, also known as Head of Steam, is located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway which was the world's first steam powered passenger railway. Run by Darlington Borough Council the museum is located in the northern suburbs of Darlington in the...
.
3019
This is a 0-6-0 ordered in September 1949 by Shell Refining and Marketing Co. Ltd. It was delivered in May 1952 to Trimpell Ltd. (a subsidiary company) of HeyshamHeysham
Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and numbered 5. This locomotive is notable in being designed for the unusually high reservoir pressure of 300 psi
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
(21 bar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
).
It was sold in November 1970 to Lakeside Railway Estates Co. Ltd. and put in their museum in the former British Railways motive power depot at Carnforth
Carnforth
- References :...
. It was later moved to Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. A full restoration was commenced in 2006–7 and completed in January 2011.
3121
This is the last fireless locomotive built by Bagnall. It was ordered in December 1955 by English Clays Lovering Pochin Co. Ltd. and delivered in May 1957 to their Marsh Mills Drying Works, PlymptonPlympton
Plympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton St Mary or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
It is now in the care of the Cornish Steam Locomotive Preservation Society
and stored at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway
Bodmin and Wenford Railway
The Bodmin & Wenford Railway is a heritage railway, based at Bodmin in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has an interchange with the national rail network at Bodmin Parkway railway station, the southern terminus of the line.-History:...
.
Sources
- Baker, A. and Civil, A. Fireless Locomotives, Oakwood Press, 1976, ISBN 0-85361-193-9