North British Locomotive Preservation Group

NORTH BRITISH LOCOMOTIVE PRESERVATION GROUP

Hon. President Sir Hugh Reid

APRIL 2007 NEWSLETTER

ON THE MOVE DUBS A Class 4-8-2T Works No. 3819 / 1900

After several false starts, our Dubs ‘A’ Class 4-8-2 Tank Loco No. 196 was

successfully loaded at Grootvlei Power Station on Saturday 14 th April 2007 and was delivered to her new home at Masons Mill Loco Shed, Pietermaritzburg some 3 days later.

The movement was carried out on our behalf by the South African National Railway and Steam Museum (SANRASM).

Grateful thanks are due to Lawrence Posniak of SANRASM for organising this and thanks also to the Umgeni Steam Railway for allowing us to store the loco on their premises. Another key person in the move was Oscar Sabatini of Steamnet 2000 who sponsored much of the cost in exchange for our Group transferring sole ownership of Swiss-built 19A Class 4-8-2 No. 684. Oscar has now become an honorary member of NBLPG and intends to restore the 19A at Beaconsfield Loco Shed in due course.

Once the dust settles, we plan to carry out some preliminary restoration work on No. 196 and start raising funds for her journey back to the UK. The full cost of the move was just over £3,500 which has now been covered but around £1,000 is still needed to pay for replacement worksplates and cabside numberplates and to cover storage charges on site. All contributions to this will be very gratefully received and acknowledged.

I am delighted to say that Mike Smith, one of our members from Woking has agreed to carry out a costing exercise to try to obtain the best possible rates for shipping and haulage.

In the meantime, if anyone is paying a visit to Masons Mill, please send us your photos……

GLASGOW MUSEUM PROJECT NBL 15F Class 4-8-2 Works No. 25546 / 1944

The Glasgow 15F Project has now been given excellent coverage in Heritage Railway Magazine but if we can add a little, here are a couple of Nick Newport’s photos of No. 3007. The first one shows her on the scrap line at Bloemfontein when Nick first identified her as our target loco for preservation and the second one as she is today. Good work Nick !! The shipping date was originally set for 24 th April but this has now slipped till mid May due to documentation issues. However, we can all take great pleasure that a North British 15F will be back in the UK again soon.

What a difference a year makes – 3007 at Bloemfontein in March 2006 and March 2007 !

BID FOR NORTH BRITISH 19D

Transnet have decided to split their Scrap Tender for steam locos at Queenstown and Voorbaai and to issue a new ‘Preservation Friendly’ Tender to groups interested in saving some of the surplus locos. The current situation is as follows : -

Queenstown - Sold for Scrap: 19D 2648 / 92, 2704, 3339 / 40, Cl. 24 3601 / 31 / 90 / 95.

 

Voorbaai: - Sold for Scrap : GMAM 4072 (frame only), 15CA 2054, 24's 3606 / 60 / 83.

Locomotives being Transferred to Preservation Tender : –

Queenstown : 19D’s 2666, 3325, 3330, 3337, 3348, 3361, 3364, 2714 and 24 3667.

Voorbaai : Class 24's 3632, 3635, 3693, Garratt’s NRZ 14A 508 and NRZ 16A 605.

It can be seen that no less than six North British 19D’s and four NBL Class 24’s will be included in the new sale. However, only three of the 19D’s, nos. 3348, 3361 and 3364 retain their original Vanderbilt tenders. Please keep some spare cash in your pockets as we will definitely be bidding for one of the three remaining 19D V/B locos when the time comes.

OTHER NEWS

Work on sourcing spares for our Class 24 No. 3647 continues but the loco will remain stored at Germiston Shed until we know the success of the 19D bid. At that point we will need to vote to decide which loco is to take first priority for repatriation. We are also putting together a Service History for No. 3647 and any photos or observations of the loco would be greatly appreciated. Funds are still urgently needed to buy replacement parts etc for No. 3647 and all contributions are welcome if you wish to contribute.

Due to the large volume of correspondence and admin this month, progress on the Register of Surviving North British Locomotives has been a bit slow. Many thanks however to Mike Hudson and Adrian Jarvis for their valuable contributions. Is there a keen ‘volunteer’ in our ranks who would be prepared to scroll through the remaining countries please ??

We have been joined this month by two key Glasgow enthusiasts, Willie Dewar who was a senior draughtsman at NBL and helped to set up Springburn Museum and Professor Dugald Cameron OBE who is a noted railway artist and has written a number of books on the subject – most recently ‘Central to Glasgow’ about Glasgow Central station. A warm welcome is extended to Willie and Dugald and all others joining this month.

COMMENTS & INFORMATION

If you would like to comment on our preservation activities or would like further information on any of our projects, please contact me by letter, phone or e:mail.

Thanks for your support and interest : Best Regards, Ken

Please Address Correspondence to : Ken Livermore, Hon. Secretary, NBL Preservation Group, 112, Haddon Drive, Woodley, Reading, Berks, RG5 4LL.

Web Site : www.nbloco.net

Telephone : 01189 691 147 e:mail : ken_livermore@agilent.com