|
20 July 2007
20 Years Pain and 20 Years Pleasure
18/19 August will be a special weekend for members of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust. It was 20 years ago this August that Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway 7F 2-8-0 No 88 first moved under her own steam in preservation, after being rescued from the scrapyard. This was the culmination of almost a further 20 years of effort by the Trust. 88 will be running passenger trains on the West Somerset Railway that weekend, with a special commemorative headboard, and it is planned that another S&D stalwart, 4F 0-6-0 No 44422, will be running on the WSR at the same time. There will also be an exhibition about 88 and her restoration at the headquarters of the Trust at Washford station on the WSR.  53808 at Woodham's Yard, Barry  53808 in the air at Washford during the early 1980s The story Two members of the Trust, now Custodial Trustees, look back at the heady events of August 1987 which have led to the anniversary. Jonathan Edwards, then SDRT Bulletin Editor, remembers arriving at Washford on the evening of Friday 14th August, amazed to find he was the sole occupant of the Camping Coach. All was explained on Saturday morning. 53808 was due for her official boiler test the following Tuesday and the restoration gang had decided to light her up to make sure no unforeseen problems would arise on the big day. Jonathan arrived at Minehead to find 53808 gently simmering outside the former goods shed, attended by WSR employees Dave Williams and Dave "Taffy" Kane, who had a major hand in restoring the loco, and the Trust's Nigel Smart and Cliff Loeber. All four had worked the previous day and had been up all night; at three minutes past midnight, Nigel had the honour of lighting the carefully-prepared fire and through the night steam pressure was cautiously and gradually raised. At five past nine, Nigel unwound the tender brake handle, Taffy gave the all clear from the fireman's side, Dave gave a toot on the whistle, opened the double-handed regulator slightly, and '88' slowly crept forward about a hundred yards, moving under her own steam for the first time since withdrawal by British Railways in March 1964. The brakes were applied, the loco stopped, Dave wound the reverser and set back to the starting point. Mike Beale, then SDRT Chairman, recalls standing on Minehead platform in the evening of Tuesday 18th August with Trust Secretary Mike Palmer and BBC Radio Bristol presenter Roger Bennett, both sadly no longer with us. The official boiler test had successfully taken place during the day and 53808 was being prepared to venture out after the arrival of the last service train. Roger interviewed the two Mikes and then joined driver Dave Williams, fireman Paul Conibeare - now WSR General Manager - and WSR Chief Mechanical Engineer Malcolm Kershaw on the footplate. As the setting sun glinted on the side of the still un-numbered loco, Dave eased her along the yard with Malcolm standing on the running plate checking that the lubricators were working. After taking water at the end of the platform, 53808 set off for a "gentle puff along the coast to Blue Anchor and back", as Roger described it when his recordings were broadcast in "Morning West" the following day. On Wednesday evening, 53808 worked a two-coach special to Bishops Lydeard and back for clearance testing and on 26th August headed an evening "Sunset Special" from Minehead to Blue Anchor and return. Jonathan and Mike were among many Trust members and S&D enthusiasts in West Somerset on 29th August for the Trust's special train commemorating the return to steam. Following the completion of full lining out and numbering, 53808 worked the 5.10pm Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service train, coming romping up Washford bank with her four coaches, and the Washford lads joined the train. Photographers were everywhere en route - on overbridges, on adjacent country lanes and in the fields. Huge crowds waited at Bishops Lydeard and, after various shunting movements to add the dining cars, the "Pines Express" set off for Minehead about 7pm. On the footplate again were Dave Williams, Paul Conibeare, Malcolm Kershaw and Taffy Kane. A rather cloudy day had turned into a glorious sunny evening and a photographic stop was made as the sun set at Blue Anchor. All eyes were on 53808 during the stopover at Minehead, a veritable firework display of flashing camera bulbs greeting her as she emerged from behind the coaches while running round. The crowds gradually dispersed on arrival back at Lydeard and 53808 set of with four coaches ECS to Minehead. Just a handful of lads "rode the cushions" back to Washford. Alighting at Washford just after midnight, they watched the tail lamp disappear down the bank and around the bend and returned the "Pines Express" headboard to the Museum. The appearance of the first large locomotive on the line represented a major step forward for the WSR, and, as word spread on the grape vine, a considerable number of enthusiasts descended on the line. The following month, 53808 was the star of Gala Week, before another major event commemorating the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Somerset & Dorset Railway in 1862. On Saturday 12th September the loco spent the day on site at Washford along with over 20 former S&D staff. The following day saw WSR stations renamed after S&D locations and 53808 working the "Pines Express" departing from Bournemouth West (or Minehead) at 9.45am. Mike Arlett and a BBC TV crew were filming for the third programme in the "Evercreech Junction" series and with Donald Beale, Peter Smith and the TV crew on the footplate Dave and Paul must have been glad of a larger engine. Everything stopped on site at Washford each time 53808 passed through and the culmination of the weekend came when eleven coaches were needed on the 4.15pm Minehead to Bishops Lydeard to accommodate the 600+ travelers returning to Bishops Lydeard. Lifting this heavy train up Washford and Crowcombe banks required all the experience of former S&D driver Rodney Scovell and fireman Ron Liddiard.  Rodney Scovell on the footplate of 53808 in 1994 After working for nine years, 53808 was withdrawn for major overhaul before returning to steam again in 2006 as no. 88 in S&D blue livery. So she is now once again making light of the steep banks and heavy loads of the WSR.
|
