Taff Vale Railway O1 class
{{Short description|British 0-6-2T steam tank locomotive}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{more footnotes|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox locomotive
| name = Taff Vale Railway O1 class
| powertype = Steam
| image = Taff Vale Railway locomotive no 28 at Caerphilly 1983.jpg
| alt =
| caption = No 28 when first restored to working order in 1983 by the Caerphilly Railway Society
| designer = Tom Hurry Riches
| builder = Kitson & Co. (8),
TVR Cardiff West (6)
| ordernumber =
| serialnumber = Kitson 3572–3579
| buildmodel =
| builddate = 1894 (8), 1897 (6)
| totalproduction = 14
| rebuilder =
| rebuilddate =
| numberrebuilt =
| whytetype = 0-6-2T
| uicclass = C1 n2t
| gauge = {{track gauge|uksg|allk=on}}
| driverdiameter = {{convert|4|ft|6+1/2|in|m|3|abbr=on}}
| trailingdiameter =
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| locoweight = {{long ton|56|8}}
({{convert|56|LT|8|Lcwt|ST|1|abbr=on|disp=output only}})
| fueltype = Coal
| fuelcap =
| watercap =
| sandcap =
| boiler =
| boilerpressure = {{convert|150|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on}}
| feedwaterheater =
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| cylindercount = Two
| cylindersize = {{convert|17.5|x|26|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| valvegear = Stephenson
| valvetype =
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| valvelap =
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| tractiveeffort = {{convert|18620|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on}}
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| withdrawndate = 1925–1931
| preservedunits = No. 28
| restoredate =
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| currentowner =
| disposition = One preserved, remainder scrapped
| notes =
}}
The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) O1 class is a class consisting of fourteen 0-6-2T steam tank locomotives, designed by Tom Hurry Riches, which were introduced to the TVR during the period 1894-1897.
Numbering
class=wikitable style=text-align:center
! Year !! Quantity !! Builder !! Serial Numbers !! TVR Numbers !! GWR numbers !! Notes | ||||||
1894 | 8 | Kitson & Co. | 3572–3579 | 27, 29, 37, 41, 65, 70, 73, 78 | 449, 451, 454, 455, 476, 477, 479, 480 | |
1897 | 6 | TVR Cardiff West Works | — | 28, 60–64 | 450, 471–475 | No. 28 preserved |
Withdrawal and disposal
All were withdrawn from traffic between 1925 and 1931.{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/taffvale.htm|title = Absorbed locomotives of the Railways Act 1921 into the Great Western Railway}}
Locomotive 28
Locomotive No. 28 is the last surviving Welsh-built standard gauge locomotive. It began its TVR career working the mineral and coal trains from collieries to port. By 1922 when the Great Western Railway had taken control, it had run 483,189 miles, and by 1923 was given a major overhaul, receiving a new boiler from the West Yard Works.{{Cite web|url=https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/450-tv28-tvr-class-01-0-6-2t-taff-vale-railway/|title = 450 (TV28) TVR Class 01 0-6-2T Taff Vale Railway|date = 12 June 2017}}
Absorbed into the GWR fleet, No. 28 was renumbered No. 450, and given a GWR-style cover over its safety valve, its external design was unchanged. It was withdrawn from service on 30 October 1926, but was found to be in good mechanical condition and sold to the Government in 1927, for use on the Woolmer Military Instructional Railway, later called the Longmoor Military Railway. The engine was named "Gordon", after the General of Khartoum, and was kept in immaculate condition in Hampshire, performing relatively light duties compared to its TVR working days.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2mQfnwEACAAJ |title = The Last Survivor: Locomotive No. 28 of the Taff Vale Railway and the West Yard Works, Cardiff|isbn = 9780720003413|last1 = Owen-Jones|first1 = Stuart|year = 1990| publisher=National Museum Wales }}
The Second World War broke out and No. 28 was renumbered W.D. 205, then W.D. 70205, before becoming surplus again and put into storage. It was then sold in 1947 to the National Coal Board and used at their Hetton colliery railway. It was renumbered No. 67, though still retaining the "Gordon" nameplates as it engaged in heavy work on the coalfields again. It received a major overhaul in 1955, with minor alterations to its external design, but by 1959 it needed boiler repairs and was withdrawn from service in 1960.{{Cite web|url=https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/Miscellaneous/Industrial-railways-North/i-kP2h8sq|title = Industrial railways (North) - MikeMorant}}
Preservation
Following requests to NCB that it should be saved, locomotive 28 was successfully presented to British Railways for preservation in 1962. It is now part of the National Collection. It was originally intended that the last Welsh-built standard gauge locomotive be restored to original TVR condition at the Caerphilly Locomotive Works, however the site was given notice of closure and No. 28 was the last to leave for storage in Swindon and London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p218810771/h9E6639FD#h9e6639fd|title=Taff Vale | TVR 28 1964-09-27 Swindon}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/taffytank/8405527021|title = The lost engine : TVR 28 at Caerphilly works in 1962 by John Wiltshire It still exists|date = 3 March 1962}}
In 1966, it was returned to Caerphilly as the National Museum of Wales had been given custodianship of the locomotive. In the 1983 the engine was restored to working order by the Caerphilly Railway Society and ran for about 7 years, until taken out of service to await routine boiler examination. Caerphilly Railway Society subsequently closed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/taffytank/8675150449|title = The lost locomotive : Taff Vale Railway No.28 at Caerphilly May 1983|date = 29 May 1983}} The locomotive then spent over a decade on loan to the Dean Forest Railway who dismantled it for a more thorough restoration, but this was unsuccessful due to the discovery of cracked springs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.neam.co.uk/railways/caerphilly.html|title = Caerphilly Railway Society (Located on the Gwili Railway)}}
The NRM later in 2013 moved the locomotive to the Llangollen Railway where it was to be reassembled.{{Cite web|url=http://www.llangollen-railway.org.uk/slocotaffvale28.html|title=Taff Vale No 28}} In 2013 the cosmetic restoration of No. 28 was set to go ahead thanks to a three-way partnership between the National Railway Museum, the Llangollen Railway, and the Gwili Railway, with the aim of returning the locomotive to original condition.{{Cite web|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/historic-steam-locomotive-conveyed-quarter-6953848|title=Historic steam locomotive that conveyed a quarter of Wales' coal output returns home|date=12 April 2014}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/gallery/last-surviving-welsh-built-steam-6951844|title=Last surviving Welsh built steam locomotive going on display in Wales|date=11 April 2014}} In 2014 it moved to the Gwili Railway on static loan under the care of the Gwili Vintage Carriages Group, with the current agreement due to expire in February 2020.{{cn|date=October 2019}}
On 1 October 2019 the National Railway Museum and Welsh Railways Trust (Formerly Gwili Vintage Carriages Group) announced a three-year overhaul agreement to return it to steam in a £160,000 project, part-funded by a £18,000 grant from the Association for Industrial Archaeology. This grant will be used to restore the rolling chassis of the locomotive, which includes original Taff Vale Railway components. The overhaul will be carried out at the Gwili Railway, where it will then work.{{cn|date=October 2019}}
Gallery
File:Caerphilly Railway 1 (2197934190).jpg
File:Caerphilly Railway 2 (2197144089).jpg
File:Caerphilly Railway 3 (2197143065).jpg
File:Caerphilly Railway 4 (2197931202).jpg
File:Caerphilly Railway 5 (2197141525).jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{Casserley-LocoGrouping4|page=79}}
- {{cite book| title=The Last Survivor, Locomotive No. 28 of the Taff Vale Railway| first=Dr Stuart Owen| last=Jones| publisher=National Museum of Wales| location=Cardiff| year=1990| isbn=0-7200-0341-5}}
- {{cite book| title=The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part Ten, Absorbed Engines 1922-1947| publisher=Railway Correspondence and Travel Society| year=1966}}
{{Commons category|Taff Vale Railway O1 class}}
{{GWR Locomotives}}
{{GWR absorbed locos 1922 on}}