British Railways, Swindon 0-6-0DH

D9524

The manufacture, by BR Swindon workshops, of 56 48ton 0-6-0DHs using Paxman engines and Voith transmissions in the mid 1960s is generally perceived as a wasteful mistake. The duties the locos were designed to perform (they were envisaged as the diesel equivalent of an 0-6-0 pannier tank) were disappearing fast under the effects of modernisation and Beeching-closures.

+ the Paxman engine was removed and a Dorman 8QT engine fitted

+ as the Dorman maximum revs were 1800 rather than the 1500 for the Paxman, the Voith input gearing was changed in order to maintain transmission performance

+ all the 110V electrical system was removed, in favour of dynamo-direct lighting (24V) and air start.

+ The vacuum brake system was removed and twin-pipe air braking fitted, resulting in re-arrangement of the control desk to suit the non-electric controls and new braking systems.

+ compressors which had previously been driven by 110V motors were replaced by BroomWade compressors which were belt driven.

In this form it operated at Grangemouth for a number of years, but the Dorman Q range had a propensity to "put a leg out of bed" and that in D9524 was no exception. With more oil being transferred by pipe-line than by rail, and flameproofing standards having been made more stringent, BP donated the loco to the Scottish RPS, then based at Falkirk.

The SRPS removed the Dorman and installed a Rolls-Royce DV8TCE engine, which although aquired as a stand-by generator from the GPO, had reputedly been rebuilt from a Class 17 loco power unit at St Rollox Works. It is thus unique in being the only Class 14 to be R-R powered. (An ironic twist - Thomas Hills were expecting an order from BSC Corby Minerals to repower an initial 3 of the class from Paxman to DV8. The refusal of BSC to approve the expenditure caused the Corby Chief Engineer to say - "That's it, they're closing us down" and within months its closure was announced.  Thomas Hills had been so confident of the business that they had already ordered the engines from Rolls-Royce Diesel Division - their parent company - and could not cancel.  The engines languished at TH's Kilnhurst works for several years.).

Having got D9524 to work on the Rolls' engine, it seems the volunteers at Falkirk hit snags and the project stalled, the loco last being used c.1998.  Because of its uniqueness and rumoured limitations on speed (SRPS members maintain that it was re-geared to limit it to 15mph, but there is no evidence to support this assertion), it attracted little interest but eventually it was sold in 2006 to Middle Peak Railways and then on to RMS Locotec, coming south first to RMS' Wakefield works and then to Elsecar, at which place it was later acquired by Andrew. Some unexpected publicity resulted when during initial examination, it was found to be home to a family of feral cats. Recovering the mother and kittens proved to be rather problematic, attracting press and tv coverage and resulting in an award from the RSPCA for Andrew!

Assessment showed that much work would be required to improve the pneumatic and electrical installations before any attempt to run the loco could be made. Months were spent during 2008 replacing air pipes, and installing traywork to carry flexible piping and cabling. By early 2009 attempts were made to start the engine - eventually revealing that somewhow the locomotive had arrived at Elsecar with fuel injector pipes in the wrong order. As received the loco had only one starter motor (and that with defective clutches) and although Rolls-Royce claimed that a DV8 could be started on one motor at temperatures down to 0^oC, that did not take account of the loads imposed by compressors and Voith. A second starter was fitted before the engine finally ran, followed by successfully having the output shaft of the Voith turning. At this point it was apparent that the forward/reverse selector shaft of the Hunslet gearbox was seized from 10 years of dis-use. Two weekends spent pumping the shaft to-and-fro with an enerpac however freed it off and during March 2009, it powered itself down the line from Elsecar on a clearance run, escorted by Andrew's WD 72229 0-4-0DM which provided additional air capacity. By April 5th, air leaks and compressor on D9524 had been sorted and it ran solo to Hemingfield (where pictured above). You can see film clips of its first start, and early test runs, on You tube - see the Weblinks section of this site.

Following acceptance inspection in late August 2009, the locomotive has been in passenger traffic on the Elsecar Heritage Railway. During the Diesel Gala on August 31st, it suffered from a primary fuel filter blockage. The fuel tanks were therefore opened up and cleaned, taking the opportunity to replace a defective fuel gauge and modify two tank breather pipes, which had been cut off and left open during the DV8 repower. A third fuel tank was manufactured and mounted under the front of the loco for additional capacity and to maintain a reliable supply of fuel should the loco come to operate on a long upward grade, when fuel might flow to the back of the main running plate tanks.

Most recent  public running date was  Sunday November 22nd. It is due to be performing at the next Elsecar Diesel Gala (May 2nd/3rd, 2010) before going to the Midland Railway at Butterley for events in May and June 2010.

See more pictures in the Gallery section, here..