Roger Stephen took this picture of ‘LYN’ as she

steams into Woody Bay station on the Lynton &

Barnstaple Railway in North Devon on Sunday 13th May 2018. The original locomo-tive was scrapped in 1935.

(more on pages 8 & 9)

GAZETTE 534 June

The world’s newest steam locomotive

2

St Albans & District Model Engineering Society

Editor’s Letter - Tony Mason

How splendid to be able produce a Gazette packed with details of ac-tivities at our Chipperfield track and the Lake at Verulamium Park. The hard work put in by many of members has produced a delightful venue for steaming our locomotives and the Lake is suddenly much fuller and cleaner than it has been for a long time.

General Data Protection (GDPR)

SADMES holds names, addresses and contact details plus subscrip-tions for paid up members in a register. We use this data to keep a record of our membership and the collection of subscriptions. If any member wishes to be removed from the register please contact Baz Butcher - membership@stalbansmes.com

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Chairman’s Letter - Clive Reynolds

Hello. It has been two months since my last letter. I dropped last month’s letter in favour of the Chairman’s Report. I propose that in the future the Chairman’s Report, which I have always had published in the Gazette, is not presented formally at the AGM, but is published in the May gazette. Mem-bers can then raise matters at the May club night once they have had time to consider more fully the content. This report took up a fifth of the Gazette but is a necessary inclusion to ensure those who cannot make the AGM are aware of our activities over the previous year. I trust you see this change as a practical approach to the presentation of the Chairman’s annual report.

Thanks to Peter Haycock for being our auctioneer at the April meeting; Peter entertains us while getting a great result.

Over the past two months more improvements have been completed at the Puffing Park. Trees on and adjacent to the tunnel have been removed by a steeplejack and a second container has arrived and is in use. Track ap-proaching the tunnel was damaged, but has now been repaired. Members, having funded the extensive improvements, please use it and enjoy it. The committee are now investigating the next stage; the possibility of a boating facility. I look forward to seeing you at the June meeting.

Secretary’s Newsletter - Roy Verden

Hello to all members, hope you are all well, enjoying the good bits of the weather. I was over the Puffing Field a week or so back and saw the second new container in place. It is amazing that the two containers blend in with the surroundings as well as they do. The Field is now more a Park and I recommend all to visit. Just in case anyone is ‘taken short’ over there the toilet has been moved to a less obtrusive place by the containers.

I made an ‘oops’ in my last Newsletter, sorry Noel, I got mixed up with names and Noel has also added that he was in the group, which in 1946 formed the Society the following year that we all belong to now.

We were well supported on our outing to Stockwood Park and we had a very good day. Please check the back page for our ‘fixtures’ and do put your name down to help us run our Club exhibition, all are welcome. We now have our new exhibition flyers printed.

Look forward to seeing you all at the June meeting, until then take care.

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The Puffing Field session on 23rd May found Mike Collins relaxing in the sylvan setting of the back straight.

The Boys in Blue! The team were on form for the Redbourn Steam Day on 28th May: Roger Stephen, Den Blazdell, Jack

Green and Neil Byrne.

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Puffing Field - The 2018 Season Is Open - Neil Byrne

On 13th May I went to the Sunday steaming session. Jack was there and we steamed our Club loco ‘Alice’ around the track for about an hour.

Later on no less than four families turned up for a look at what we were doing! Jack's son, wife, daughter and granddaughter came in for a look as well.

David Ranger turned up with his new Sweet Pea. We were able to get him on the track for about an hour so he could get the hang of running it. We had a nice sunny day and finished at about 3pm.

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Down at the Lake this May - Tony Mason

When I arrived Sunday 13th May Alan Wood’s tug was busily rescu-ing his skiff which had run amok due to an electrical fault. Alan Phillips’ ferry boat ‘Bute’ was performing well and David Ander-son had brought one of his newly acquired boats for a test run. The water level was fairly good, if a little shallow.

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Straight Running is back! Sunday 20th May - Tony Mason

It was such a nice surprise to see Roger Lane and his Model Power Boat Association once again running a session, especially after their absence in recent times. The small lake at Verulamium Park was in perfect shape, hardly a whisper of wind and enough clear water to see each boat through its course. Roger explained that the winners are not necessarily the fastest but the boats who maintain a straight

course in both directions and have the closest timings to prove it. The best built boats have the most consistent times for each crossing of the lake.

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The railway’s Joffre class Kerr Stewart loco ‘AXE’ from the first world war taking a demonstration goods train down the line at the Spring gala on 13th May with the rolling hills of Exmoor and the sea in the background.

The diminutive loco ‘FAITH’ on the opposite end of the demo goods train to AXE pulling into Woody Bay station beside the railway’s rake of four original passenger carriages. Built and owned by an L&B Railway Trust member, FAITH is for sale if you have a bit of spare cash.

The Lynton & Barnstable Railway - Roger Stephen

9

The line was sponsored by the famous publisher Sir George Newnes and opened in 1898. This delightful railway was built to a narrow gauge of one foot eleven and half inches and was loved by the local populace, but never made much money. It was absorbed into the Southern Railway in the ’grouping’ of 1923. Despite further significant investments in track and loco-motives, road improvements and the growing efficiency of road transport , the death knell sounded for this delightful line in 1935.

LYN (front cover) was one of the original engines operating on the L&B Rail-way. Nicknamed ‘The Yankee’, she was built by Baldwins of Philadelphia, USA, and first steamed in 1898. She was scrapped when the line closed in 1935. 82 years, 7,000 drawings and 25,000 components later the more powerful and efficient new-build LYN, built by Alan Keef Ltd, is now back in service at Woody Bay. The planned opening of line is a long way off but as a member of the preservation group I shall be doing my bit.

Roger Stephen

A picture from September 2007 showing the ‘Swiss

style’ architecture of Woody Bay station as built and

which, after restoration, still looks the same today.

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Effort = Results photos by Den Blazdell

Partners in crime, movers and shakers, call them what you might, Jack Green and Neil Byrne and all the membership who helped are the heroes of the hourt when it comes to the transformation of the Puffing Field. Some are so impressed it is now being called the Puffing Park!

Container number 2 arrives at the Puffing Field—May 2018

The 9th May Club Night

We had an excellent talk and visual presentation by Richard Thomas, who managed to include huge amounts of detail on the history of the building of the Panama canals. Did we know that the difference be-tween the mean sea level at the Pacific coast and at the Atlantic coast entrances was just 8 inch's, or that the first railroad was built across the isthmus in 1855 and provided much of the finance for the French Canal, or that the Canal saves 7872 miles on the journey round Cape Horn? Do come to our Club nights if you can - Ed.

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Derek Wheatley

M7 Class 30133

The M7 Class 0-4-4T was Drummond’s minor masterpiece in that they were

totally reliable for the duties they performed and, apart from two, all survived

well into the 1950s never having been replaced except those removed from

London suburban services as a result of electrification.

Dissatisfied with the performance of Adams’ T1 Class 0-4-4Ts on London

suburban services the Traffic Department called for a more powerful loco for

these and Drummond was instructed to obtain quotations from a number of

outside builders for 25 large passenger tanks in April 1896. When these

were considered by the Locomotive Committee at their May meeting it was

felt that even the lowest was too high. The decision was taken to build them

at Nine Elms instead.

Known as the M7 Class they entered service between March and December

1897 numbered 242-256 and 667-676, totalling 26; it is not known why one

extra was built. They were based on an earlier design of Drummond’s for

the Caledonian Railway. Driving wheels were 5’7” diameter, cylinders 18½” x

26”, and a working pressure of 175lbs/sq in was employed. It is believed

that the first batch was put to work from Nine Elms (19), Exmouth Junction

(5), and Salisbury (2), the locomotive register at the time being somewhat

confused. Some were surprisingly used on semi-fast passenger services

over the Waterloo-Portsmouth and Exeter-Plymouth lines but when no. 252

12

left the road at speed near Tavistock in March 1898, such use ceased. The

Board of Trade report criticised the use of front-coupled tank engines on ex-

press trains but overlooked the more probable cause, badly worn rails and

loosely packed sleepers. With the cessation of this work the existing mem-

bers of the class and all built later had their boiler pressure reduced to

150lbs/sq in.

A further 79 were built between 1897 and 1911 at Nine Elms and Eastleigh

(10 only). At first numbers were consecutive (31-40, 22-26, and 41-44) but

thereafter numbers tended to be those replacing older withdrawn engines.

There were a number of variations in these later builds but these were mainly

minor and too complex to detail here. All, however, were fitted with Drum-

mond’s trademark wing plates but these were removed from 1939 when new

smokeboxes or front plates were required.

Until the partial electrification of the London suburban lines in 1915 the class

handled most of the commuter traffic as well as stopping services to Ports-

mouth, Basingstoke and Alton. Some of the business trains were smartly

timed with average speeds of 45 mph over relatively short distances. Push-

and-pull trains were now regularly used on many branches so that 31 M7s

were fitted with equipment for this purpose.

Urie had successfully superheated other Drummond classes and this led to

similar treatment for no. 126 which went into Eastleigh in mid-February 1921

and emerged in July with 19” cylinders, superheated, extended smokebox,

stovepipe chimney, and with boiler pitched 9” higher in the frames. At first it

worked semi-fasts from Eastleigh to Bournemouth and Weymouth but, in

November 1921, was transferred to Nine Elms for suburban services. Satis-

fied with the success of its work Urie recommended that 20 others be similar-

ly treated. Maunsell, however, did not proceed with this work instead fitting

the sole example with his own Ashford superheater in 1928. Working from

Nine Elms, this loco was regularly rostered for the Waterloo-Windsor and

other outer suburban services. Electrification of these lines in the mid-1930s

saw it relegated to piloting at Clapham Junction or working empty stock to

and from Waterloo. Withdrawal came in May 1937 when a major overhaul

was due and, being an oddball, the expense could not be justified. It was

dismantled at Eastleigh, its boiler going to 700 Class 4-4-0 no. 689, the

wheels to sister engine no 328, cylinders to no. 112, side tanks to no. 481,

and frames to no. 254.

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Maunsell also decided that the working pressure of the class should be re-stored to 175 lbs/sq.in. soon after the Grouping and all had been dealt with my March 1928; their performance was, of course, much improved.

In December 1931 the class was to be found at Nine Elms (32), Feltham

(17), Guildford (26), Eastleigh (2), Salisbury (2), Bournemouth (14), Ex-

mouth Junction (7 including no. 320), and Barnstaple (5). By then the deci-

sion had been taken to drop the ‘E’ prefix to numbers which had been ap-

plied since shortly after the Grouping. Most of those in the London area

were employed on empty stock workings in and out of Waterloo or piloting in

the carriage sidings at Clapham Junction but some continued to work Read-

ing services until mid-1937.

In November 1939, 17 members of the class were in store at various West-

ern Section sheds and would, no doubt, have been withdrawn but the 1939-

1945 war resulted in them being returned to traffic. Some were loaned to

the Somerset & Dorset Railway in October 1941 and remained there for

some years, the last not returning until 1953.

A strange incident occurred in 1942 when the driver of no. 667 lost his cap

in the dark on the approach to Alton. He stopped his train and started to

walk back along the line with his lamp. The Home Guard nearby observed

this and, being highly suspicious, arrested him; his release was eventually

obtained by the intervention of the Stationmaster and a perusal of the

guard’s journal. The delay on this occasion was 23 minutes.

At a meeting of senior officers in late 1944 one of the agenda items was the

1946 locomotive programme. During the discussion the Traffic Manager,

R.M.T. Richards, referred to the need to replace the nearly 50-year old M7

Class as they were ‘completely out of date and inefficient by modern stand-

ards’. Bulleid came up with a number of suggestions but none seemed to

satisfy Richards. A number of meetings between the two culminated in an

approach to Eustace Missenden, General Manager of the SR, for authorisa-

tion for 25 passenger tanks to be built. A number of drawings were pro-

duced but Bulleid was not satisfied so it was not until April 1946 that the first

drawing of a 0-6-6-0T was produced. The approval for the construction of

five of these experimental locos was given on September 5 1946, to be-

come the Leader Class, but it was not until June 1949 that the first of these

was completed. After extended trials the decision was taken by Robin Rid-

dles, CME of British Railways, to abandon all further work on the type.

Thus, the M7s were left to soldier on.

14

Apart from the ill-fated no. 126, the entire class entered British Railways

stock in 1948 and were renumbered in the 30xxx series apart from no. 672

although nine received temporary ‘S’ prefixes. No. 672 met an untimely end

when, in May 1948, it fell down the Waterloo & City lift shaft and was cut up

on site.

By 1952 the arrival of Ivatt 2-6-2Ts from the Midland Region in July and BR

Standard Class 2 2-6-2Ts in September threatened the future of the M7s but

the rapid withdrawal of ex-LBSCR D3 Class 0-4-4Ts in the Central Section

provided a haven for the displaced members of the class.

They were clearly not going to last for ever and general withdrawal com-

menced with no. 30042 in June 1957 and a further eleven had gone by the

end of 1958. 16 more went in 1959, 6 in 1960, 20 in 1961, and 13 in 1962.

Between 1960 and 1962, as a result of withdrawals, there was some renum-

bering: no. 30031 was withdrawn as no. 30128, the latter being renumbered

30031; no. 30106 was renumbered 30667, the latter being withdrawn as no.

30106. Why this occurred has not been explained.

The survivors hung on grimly to services over the Lymington and Swanage

branches, Bournemouth West-Brockenhurst route, and station piloting at

Salisbury. All were badly run down, many were in store, and 22 succumbed

in 1963 – one of these was no. 30320 in February of that year. The final 14

went in 1964. Considering that nearly 20 years earlier the class had been

declared ‘out of date’ and ‘inefficient’ this longevity was a tribute to Drum-

mond’s original design.

Editor’s note: These columns provide a detailed description and history by

Derek Wheatley of one of the many railway locomotives photographed by

John Day. However in this instance John’s picture proved impossible to re-

produce. We have therefore used a picture taken by Keith Harwood and our

appreciation and thanks goes to him. The locomotive is M7 30133, liveried in

its final British Railways form and resting at Three Bridges shed. Incidentally,

the Three Bridges site is still used by Network Rail, currently as an operating

centre and signalling hub for Thameslink trains.

Dr Malcolm Wright

We have been advised by Malcolm’s wife, that he has recently died. He lived in Flamstead and was a member of the Club for some 20 years. Although he was not an active modeller he regularly attended Club nights. Our condolences go to his widow and family. Roy Verden

15

Building a Foden Steam Lorry From a Kit - Part 10

Simon Saunders

6th July 2016

Having steamed a few times it’s about time the boiler had a good flush through,

hopefully the water treatment has done it’s job.

All the drain plugs removed around the foundation ring and the one at the top of

the boiler inside the smokebox, hose in hole, switch on and leave for a few mins…….

Lots of yuk comes out the drain holes so hopefully there will be less priming next

time it’s in steam.

Total time 1 ½ hr

10th July 2016

Redbourn Museum today, 6hrs in steam and seemed much better having flushed

the boiler out properly.

The steam siren seems to be playing up, works then stops, must be the clearances

inside so will need to take it apart and fiddle.

Had a long break from doing anything due to work and then a long holiday abroad.

28th August 2016

Removed all the cab parts ready for cleaning and painting.

Total time 1hr

29th August 2016

Drill vent hole in front water tank, as it was missed out, and fit vent tube.

Tighten water lifter steam pipe fitting, hopefully now steam won’t come out all over

the underside of the wood.

Took steam siren apart and there was a little evidence of the 2 siren rings ‘picking

up’ a little, gave them a quick rub down with 600 grit and then a light polish. Once

back together with a little WD40 it works briefly on air but then binds again.

Total time 2hr

16

1st September 2016

Took metal cab parts into work and sand blasted them to remove the rust marks. Sent email to the supplier of the steam siren, lets see if he can help. Total time 2hr

3rd September 2016

Sand blast the cab floors and mudguards ready for black powder coating.

Fiddle about again with the steam siren to attempt to get the tolerances to what was suggested by the guy who made it, seems better on air but will need to be in steam to check it properly.

Prime all the cab parts ….. 1st coat. Total time 3 ½ hr

4th September 2016

Start undercoating the metal parts, as the top coat is going to be blue so is the un-dercoat.

Finish off some of the priming too.

Originally, I was going to brush paint everything but decided to spray instead. As I don’t really have anywhere to spray I decided to turn the back of my van into a makeshift spray booth, worked quite well really.

Total time 3hr

17

5th September 2016

Took parts for powder coating. Lightly rub down all painted parts and put second

coat of primer on the wooden cab parts.

Total time 1 ½ hr

6th September 2016

Started painting the inside of the cab, I decided on an off white, I think I might have

got the paint mix wrong as it wouldn’t spray properly. (to be continued)

18

Guy Ellerby is 99 years old this month!

Our ex-Chairman just goes on and on! He will be 99 on June 17th this year, and Guy is more active than many 20 years his junior. He has just pur-chased castings for a Stuart 1 launch engine. He says that his eyesight is a bit challenged these days so he decided to find an engine to build where the smallest nut was 4 BA!

Guy was our Chairman for 19 years before he retired from the job about 14 years ago. He is a regular at Club evenings, being brought along by a fellow

Club member. Guy is active in his workshop with all the usual equipment of an enthusiastic engineer. His biggest problem is frustration! It takes a little longer to set things up these days, however Guy showed me the results of an early machining process on a launch engine casting and he was pleased to say the parallel milling was just 3 thou off perfect.

His knowledge and enthusiasm is infectious as is his ability and perseverance, despite having impaired sight. He is always happy to receive visitors, but you will be dragging him in from his workshop so pre-arrangement please. Happy birthday Guy. Roy Verden

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Now until 21st July

2018

150 Years Of Rail at Elstree & Borehamwood

www.elstree-museum.org.uk

Borehamwood Museum, 96 Shenley Road, WD6 1EB

01442 454888

25th

July

Once a year, Harpenden Common Comes Alive for half a day with more than 1000 classics cars, motor cycles and scooters.

14.00pm - 17.30

Harpenden Common stretches alongside the A1081 (St Albans Road) for almost 2 miles from the Town Centre southwards.

18th- 21st October

Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition

10.00 - 16.00 Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Fosse Way, Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN

Non Club Outside Events 2018

Club Night 13th June Clive Reynolds

This month we have an illustrated

talk from Dr Rudi Newman. Rudi is a

somewhat younger man than the

average age of our membership. For-

merly the Honorary Secretary of the

British Titanic Society, Rudi has a

passion for transportation history. So

for our meeting in June we have an

aeronautical flavour.

We are exhibiting

and running our

raised track steam

railway at the

Elstree Fair on

30th June.

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2018 Club Nights and other Club Activities

Club Nights* and Outside Events**. Club nights are held on 2nd Wednesdays of each month at the Christchurch Centre, High Oaks, St Albans, AL3 6DJ and start at 7.30pm. Non-members are always wel-come and refreshments are served. An entry charge of £3 is made to cover hall costs etc.

Summer Chipperfield Track (Puffing Field) Running Sessions. There are normally two Club running sessions each calendar month at the Puff-ing Field . They are at 10:00am on the first Sunday after club nights and again at 1.00pm on the Wednesday two weeks after Club nights. Club night dates are listed below, so to check availability attend the Club night, or check with Roger Stephen by phone or email, or join his regular Puffing Field e-mail list; his contact details are on the inside cover of this Gazette. To reduce the risk of getting stuck you are advised to check ground conditions carefully before driving beyond the entrance gates.

The Puffing Field’s post code is WD4 9DA

13th June* Club Night: A talk On a Wing’ and a Prayer’

(The British Imperial Airship Scheme 1924-1930) Rudi Newman

23rd June ** Club Trip to the Bluebell Railway Mike Grossmith

30th June** Elstree Fair support required

11th July* Club Night tbc

15th July** A Boating Day Verulamium Lake support required

8th August* Club Night Rare Footage from the Ether Tony Mason

12th August ** Puffing Field Barbeque Mike Grossmith

27th August** Verulamium Park Show support required

12th September* Club Night Terry Summers

22nd September** St Albans Market - Club Stand support required

29th/30th Sept** Club Exhibition support required

29th June deadline for articles and advertisements for the July Gazette.

The St Albans and District Model Engineering Society do not accept any responsibility for the condition or suitability of items offered in this Gazette.

Opinions contained in articles are not necessarily those of the Society.