Chapter 41: Ocean Liner Passengers (I)
(Thursday, August 2nd 2012 – 4:47pm; China Clay Pits)
With a loud clattering of buffers bumping and clanking into each other, the last of the trucks were all shunted together into a long line and were then coupled together with a brake van at the back. With a short blast from his whistle, Bill reversed away from the trucks, having at last gotten the last of them assembled into the train to be taken away to Brendam Docks. Within these trucks was the last bit of a large delivery of China Clay that was to be taken over to the docks, so that it could be put aboard a big cargo ship that was leaving the docks very early the following morning. And this train was only a small part of a very large order that needed to be prepared for the ship to take away from Brendam Docks, with ships taking the china clay away from Sodor to where it was needed, whether it was to more distant parts of the British mainland, across the Irish Sea to Ireland, or around to different points all over Continental Europe.
Bill's twin Ben had also been working very hard at helping to prepare the china clay for dispatch to Brendam Docks at the day had gone on. One of the other engines who had been helping them out with the jobs of getting all the ordered china clay moved from the pits along the line over to Brendam Docks had been L.N.E.R. J94 Class 0-6-0ST No.68019, a saddle tank engine, and a veteran of working in ports, quarries, mines, and pits (71), who had the task of going back and forth between the china clay pits and Brendam Docks and taking the loaded trucks over to the docks, before then bringing any empty trucks back up to the china clay pits, and then they had to take another heavy load of china clay down to the docks all over again.
Carrie had been assigned to work on the footplate of No.68019 for today and to help out with the task of moving the china clay down to the docks. After being assigned to her duties at Tidmouth Sheds earlier on that morning, she had taken a ride with Edward down to Brendam Docks, where she met up with No.68019 and his crew at the engine depot there. Not long afterwards, once the introductions were complete and they were handed their assigned duties for the day by the docks manager, they set off to get on with the job of moving the orders of china clay from the nearby pits.
Even though Carrie had been to the china clay pits at least once before, she was still quite impressed by the sight of the high grey-white cliffs that surrounded the entire area where the china clay pits were situated, as well as just how big the place was and how much activity that was going on there. She could see heavy machinery hard at work against parts of the different cliff faces, trucks being shunted into place, as well as the workmen in their health and safety gear working away.
(71): The L.N.E.R. J94 Class 0-6-0ST saddle tank engines are a reclassification of a very successful class of tank engines, the Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST saddle tank engines. Built to be used as the War Department's standard shunting locomotive during the Second World War, the class eventually numbered 485 locomotives built in all, thus becoming the largest class of industrial tank engines ever to be built in the U.K., with construction of the class continuing right up until 1964.
After the Second World War broke out, the War Department needed a standard design for shunting work, and initially chose the L.M.S. 3F 0-6-0T tank engine class, also known as "Jinties" for this particular task. However, the Hunslet Engine Company later persuaded the War Department that a simplified version of the Hunslet 50550 Class would be a much more suitable design for this task. It was realised that large numbers of these engines would have to be built for shunting duties, both for use in Britain and on Continental Europe.
The very first example of the new class emerged from the Hunslet works in Leeds at the very start of 1943, and over the course of the next four years, a total of 377 locomotives would be built, along with an additional two built for colliery use that hadn't been authorised by the Ministry of Supple. It wasn't only Hunslet who built them; a number of other works also built examples, including Andrew Barclay Sons & Co, Hudswell Clarke, and the Vulcan Foundry to name but a few. The distribution of orders for the class out to various other contractors was done in order to meet the requirements of getting as many of the class built as possible.
As time was important to getting as many of the new tank engines out as possible, the class incorporated a number of austerity feature which weren't intended to last for very long. Attempts were made to reduce the number of steel castings; the frames were of welded plates, and the wheel centres were made of cast iron. The slide valves were also made of cast iron, and the valve chests were located in between the two inside cylinders. The boiler was paired with a round-topped firebox, which had an inner copper shell, and two Ross pop safety valves were fitted. The saddle tank fitted over the boiler was of welded construction.
The new Hunslet Austerity Class 0-6-6ST design had two inside cylinders which were 18in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke. Combined with a boiler that was pressed to 170psi, and six driving wheels that were 4ft 3in in diameter, the class had a maximum tractive effort of 23,870lbf. Their bunkers could carry up to 2 tons of coal while their water tank could hold around 1,200 gallons of water. Inside Stephenson valve gear paired with slide valves was used on the two inside cylinders.
The class were used by the British Army in North Africa, as well as on Continental Europe in the time after the D-Day Landings in June 1944, as well as in various military and industrial sites and docks that were spread throughout the length and breath of Britain. In 1944, a number of them were also loaned to the Ministry of Fuel and Power for working at their various open cast coal mines.
After the war came to an end in 1945, and with the need for locomotives for military use massively reduced, many examples of the class were sold off for further use elsewhere by other railway companies. The military alone kept 90 examples for their own use, while 75 examples were sold off to the L.N.E.R., who reclassified them as J94. Another 27 examples were sold off to the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), who reclassified them as the NS 8800 Class, while another 11 examples were loaned to the Nederlandse Staatmijnen (Dutch State Mines), who later bought 9 of them.
Other examples were sold off for industrial use. Some of those sent to the Continent were used on light and industrial railways in France, including on the Peugeot industrial branch line in eastern France, with six going to be used on railway lines in Tunisia.
After the war, the National Coal Board (N.C.B.) in Britain placed orders for the class to be used at their collieries. Between 1948 and 1964, 77 examples of the class were built for use with the N.C.B., and another 14 examples were built for use by the British Army in order to supplement the 90 engines it already had. The Yorkshire Engine Company also built 8 locomotives of the class in 1954 for use in the ironstone quarries in the area, as well as at the steelworks in Scunthorpe. Hunslet rebuilt many of those used by the N.C.B., and also rebuilt 15 examples used by the British Army that had been sold off in 1959, with some of the ex-British Army examples later being bought for use by the N.C.B.
The Hunslet Austerity Class continued to be used by the N.C.B. well into the 1970's, and some of them even remained in service until the early 1980's. They were used notably at Bickershaw Colliery near Manchester. A few examples were also fitted with mechanical stokers and either Kylpor blastpipes or Giesel ejectors in order to improve their efficiency and to reduce the amount of smoke they made.
Those that were sold to the L.N.E.R. and reclassified as J94 were numbered from No.8006 to No.8080, and all of them entered service on British Railways, with them being renumbered from No.68006 to No.68080. They were mainly used for shunting in docks, as their short wheelbase allowed them to go around sharp curves with ease. They were also used on branch lines, most famously being the difficult Cromford and High Peak Railway in the London Midland Region, where they replaced the older Class 75 0-6-0T tank engines that had been built by the North London Railway. One was initially based at Cromford and made transfer trips in between High Peak Junction and the bottom of the incline. Two more were based at Middleton Top and operated workings to Friden and Parsley Hay. By 1962, four further J94s had been allocated to the Cromford and High Peak.
The J94s were initially allocated to Immingham, Gorton, Blaydon, Darlington, Newport, Selby, West Hartlepool, and York. Transfers to Scarborough and Sunderland occurred before Nationalisation in 1948, and British Railways would transfer them over a wider area, which meant they would be seen at many other sheds, such as Ardsley, Birkenhead, Consett, Gateshead, Hexham, King's Cross, Mexborough, Retford, Tyne Dock, and Wrexham. As well as shunting small yards, the J94s proved to be ideal engines for short distance trip workings.
The L.N.E.R. made some changes to the design and added a few features in order to meet its operational needs, including fitting cab seats for the crew, cab-side doors, as well as standard L.N.E.R. lamp irons. A number of the J94s had their coal bunkers extended in 1947, with ladders, steps, and rear cab windows being fitted at the same time. British Railways would convert a number of other J94s between 1948 and 1951, but many more of the class would remain unchanged for their whole working lives.
Withdrawals of the J94 Class began in 1960, when No.68022, No.68027, No.68072, and No.68076 were removed from service. The pace of withdrawals continued up until 1967 when the last three engines, which included No.68006, No.68012, and No.68025, were withdrawn from service after the last section of the Cromford and High Peak line was closed. Six examples of the J94s were sold off for use in the coal industry between 1963 and 1965.
Amazingly, out of the 485 Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST tank engines that were built, a very respectable 70 examples have survived into preservation in various states, from fully operational examples to ones that are still undergoing restoration. Among these are two L.N.E.R. Class J94s; these two engines being No.68077 and No.68078, with the former currently on the Spa Valley Railway and awaiting an overhaul, and the latter being overhauled to working order at a private site in Sellindge. Another two examples of the class are preserved over in the Netherlands. The surviving Hunslet tank engines are often referred to as "Buckets" by railway enthusiasts.
Of the 70 surviving engines, three were built by Andrew Barclay, seven by W.G. Bagnall, three by Hudswell Clarke, eight by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn, two by the Vulcan Foundry, with all the remaining engines having been built by the Hunslet Engine Company.
The small size of the Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST makes it quite a popular engine type in preservation, as it can go on stretches of line that most larger engines simply can't go, as well as being powerful enough to haul a reasonable load on many of the preserved lines they work on, including the Dean Forest Railway, the East Lancashire Railway, the Ribble Steam Railway, the Severn Valley Railway, and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Many of the preserved examples have also been painted in B.R. black livery and given the numbers of scrapped J94s so as to represent main line use rather than industrial use.
The weather had been quite bad all day, with very heavy rain falling from thick, dark clouds in the sky not too long after Carrie had started work with No.68019. They were actually just about to leave the docks when the rain began falling, and when the rain came, it came down in an intensity that Carrie had never seen before. At times during the day, the rain did ease off in intensity somewhat for brief periods, but it still kept on falling without let-up.
Carrie was lucky that the cab of No.68019 provided quite good shelter from the rain, and that the fire burning merrily in the firebox helped to keep things warm too, as with the rain the day was also quite a bit cooler than it would have normally have been for August. She was also grateful for the fact that there were the familiar tea-cans on the warming plate over the firebox doors, which meant they would have hot tea while they worked.
For Carrie, the day was quite a routine and easy one, which mainly involved working away on the footplate of No.68019 as they shuttled back and forth between the china clay pits and Brendam Docks, with them taking the trucks full of china clay along the line down to the docks, and then taking the empty ones back to the pits to be loaded up again.
One of the things that Carrie had been a little bit concerned about when she found out she would be working on helping to move china clay was the dust, as she was told that china clay could be very dusty at times and so would be concerned about where all the dust would end up. In the event though, she didn't have to worry about the dust getting all over her work clothes or even into mouth and down her throat, as the rain falling today was more than enough to keep all the dust firmly down on the ground, much to her relief.
Although the work of moving the china clay trucks to and from the docks was certainly an important job, it did get a little bit dull and monotonous at times, particularly as they went into the afternoon in the time after they had finished lunch. It did get a little boring seeing the same sights on the same short stretch of line between the pits and the docks, with the only things to break the routine being to wait at signals until other trains had cleared the junction, or even having other trains go past them on their way to or from the docks.
Normally, BoCo would have also helped out with moving the china clay to the docks, but on that day, he was away from the area and in the workshops near to Wellsworth due to him needing some routine maintenance to his motors. As a result, the other engines down in the china clay pits, including Bill and Ben, would have to get the job done without BoCo's help. However, it was promised that BoCo would be returning late in the day, and so there wouldn't be a lack of help at the china clay pits for long.
For much of the day, Carrie was assigned the task of shovelling coal into the firebox and helping the fireman to keep a good head of steam in the boiler, just like on the other engines she had worked on, however at one point not long after they started work after lunch, she was given the chance to try driving No.68019, which she took gladly. After being shown how the controls worked and what else she needed to do, Carrie managed to drive No.68019 along the line with a fully loaded train of a dozen wagons from the china clay pits to the quayside at Brendam Docks where the ship was being loaded with the china clay. With the driver standing by her side and give her instructions on what to do, as well as to tell her what any of the signals meant, Carrie managed to get the train into the docks on time and onto the quayside safely.
As she fully closed the regulator and then firmly put on the brakes, bringing the train to a gentle halt on the quayside, Carrie couldn't help but beam a big smile; she had successfully managed to drive her first train the short distance from the china clay pits.
A little later on, after they had gone over to one of the other sidings and picked up a line of empty china clay wagons, Carrie was given the opportunity to drive No.68019 back along the line to the china clay pits. Carefully going through the docks via the confusing series of points on the way out, and once briefly waiting at a signal so another train could go by, they soon rolled out along the line towards the pits, with Carrie keeping one hand on the regulator handle and her other very close to the brake controls, just in case, while also keeping a sharp eye out through the cab window, as well as leaning out from the side of the cab every now and then to expose her face to the pouring rain. She was glad the driver had some dry cloths on hand, so she could wipe down her face of the rain water.
They soon arrived safely at the china clay pits, and Carrie was just as pleased to have safely gotten the empty trucks to where they needed to be. No.68019 was very impressed that Carrie had managed to get them along the line between the docks and pits twice, and without any incident or trouble arising from it.
By 4:45pm that afternoon, and with the end of her shift drawing ever nearer, Carrie was feeling quite tired and was eager to get things finished up as soon as possible so that she could head on back to Tidmouth Sheds and clock out for the day. By this point, the heavy rain that had dominated much of the day was finally beginning to ease off considerably, and the vast bank of thick dark clouds overhead were finally beginning to break apart in many spots, allowing shafts of bright sunshine through. But there were a few more trucks to take to the docks before Carrie could head off back to Tidmouth.
The twins Bill and Ben were also tasked with helping to take another line of trucks over to the docks, and just like Carrie, they were eager to get these last trucks down into Brendam Docks as soon as they could, as they were also quite tired after their long day of wet work.
"I'll be glad as anything to get these last trucks out of here!" said Bill, as he and Ben were coupled together at the line of trucks they were to be taking.
"Me too! I've done so much rushing around back and forth here today, I can hardly get my wheels to move!" agreed Ben.
"Now come on, you two! There isn't much left to do now. We just need to move these last two lines of trucks down to the docks, and then the job will be finished." No.68019 said, as the shunter, who was appropriately dressed for the day in a heavy raincoat, rubber boots, and waterproof trousers, coupled him to the line of trucks.
"All right! All right! Don't rush us please!" the twins said, as they were made ready to depart too. The twins were eager to get these last trucks over to the docks, as they were both exhausted from such a long day of work, especially in the heavy rain that had fallen for almost the entire day.
Soon though, everything was ready to go, and they set off on their way, with No.68019 heading off first with his line of trucks, and then Bill and Ben following shortly afterwards with the long line of trucks they were coupled to.
(Insert soundtrack – Bill and Ben's Season 2 Theme)
As the two trains moved out and rolled on down the line towards the junction that would take them to the docks, the rain finally eased off, and the clouds in the sky began to very slowly and gradually thin out as well as spread further apart, allowing more bright sunlight to come through and light up the land below them. As the two trains rolled along the line, and going round the twisting curves the line had, the crews and three engines couldn't help but marvel at how much improved the weather was, compared to how it had been for most of the day.
From the footplate of No.68019, Carrie, who was driving him for this last train of the day, couldn't help but marvel at the bright beams of sunlight that were coming through the growing gaps in the bank of dark clouds as the rain finally stopped and the clouds thinned out.
"Oh, it's so good to see the sun at last!" she said, as she concentrated on looking on ahead.
"Absolutely, and I'm pleased to see the rain stop too!" the driver said, with a smile.
As they puffed over a bridge the took the line over a stream, they briefly looked down to the water to see there was a rushing torrent of light brown water travelling within the narrow confines of the stream, a clear consequence of the heavy rain that had fallen.
(At Brendam Docks)
Finally, with short blasts on their whistles, the three engines arrived into Brendam Docks with their trains. They soon reached the quayside where the ship was to collect the china clay, and slowly rolled in reverse along the dock, pushing their trucks into place where they could be loaded onto the ship.
"And there we are." Carrie said, as she put on the brakes of No.68019, and brought the train to a full stop.
"Well done there, Carrie. I think the Fat Controller will be pleased with you." the driver said, as he watched as Carrie made certain the regulator was fully closed and the reversing lever was set at mid-gear.
"Thanks…and I think my father will be pleased as well, when I tell him later on." Carrie said, as a tired, but grateful smile crossed her face.
"And I'm sure he'll be a very happy man when he hears, matey!" came a familiar voice. Looking out from the cab, Carrie saw none other than Salty, the dockyard diesel, coming up towards them.
"Oh, good afternoon there, Salty!" Carrie said, when she saw him.
"I think you've all done a good job there today!" Salty said to No.68019, Bill and Ben. "I think the Fat Controller will be very pleased!" And the other three engines just smiled.
As work began on getting the china clay loaded onto the ship, No.68019, Bill and Ben were uncoupled from their trains and made their way away from the quayside over to the nearby station, as there was an engine waiting there to take Carrie back to Tidmouth Sheds. Arriving at the station, Carrie leaned out and could see that the engine waiting for them was none other than James, and he was coupled to a line of eight coaches.
After thanking No.68019 and his crew for allowing her to work with them for the day, Carrie stepped off from No.68019's footplate and, after saying goodbye and goodnight to No.68019, Bill and Ben, she turned and stepped over to where James was standing and waiting for her.
"Hello there, Carrie! Did you have a good day today?" James asked, as Carrie stepped onto the platform and walked over to him.
"Hi James. Yes, I did have a good day today, though it was a bit boring to be honest, as we went back and forth between the china clay pits and the docks all day. And I'm feeling quite tired after all of that." Carrie said.
"Don't worry, Carrie. Just step aboard, and I'll take you home." James said.
"Thanks." Carrie said, and she stepped over to the cab and hopped aboard the cab, to be welcomed by the driver and fireman.
A few minutes later, it was time for James to leave the station and set off back to Knapford, and then on to Tidmouth Sheds. With a blast from his whistle as well as his driver opening the regulator, James set off on his way home, gently moving his coaches out from the station and through the docks. From the cab, Carrie briefly stood and looked out at the familiar sights as they headed on out from the docks, and then she sat herself down.
(Insert soundtrack – James Season 1 Theme)
For the journey back to Knapford, as James rolled along through the Sodor countryside along the Brendam Line and then back onto the Southern Main Line, Carrie sat down on the front of the tender and rested her feet and herself from all the hard work she had done during the day. As she had been standing for much of the day, she was keen to rest her feet, which were feeling quite sore.
Carrie also let the cool breeze blow over her face as they went along, as it certainly felt good on her tired face and helped to keep her alert somewhat. She sat and watched as the driver and fireman went about their work, and also looked out from the left-hand side of the cab as they went along, and took in all the sights that were quite familiar to her by now, including the various stations, the viaduct and other bridges, Henry's Tunnel, and other familiar sights like that.
It wasn't too long before they finally arrived at Knapford Station, and Carrie was really pleased to see the familiar sight of the station come into view as they pulled into the line adjacent to Platform 2. After James came to a stop, the passengers disembarked from the train and made their way out from the station, while a shunter uncoupled James from the coaches and disconnected the brake pipes.
"I'll be glad to get into bed tonight!" Carrie said, as she stretched her legs out.
"Long day today?" the fireman asked.
"Yes, and my feet are sore, as I've been standing for much of the day." Carrie said, as she stood up for the first time.
"Well, not to worry now, Carrie. We'll be back at the sheds in a short while, and then you can go get a shower and clock out for the day." the driver said.
"Thank goodness for that!" Carrie said quietly, as a small smile crossed her face. Wondering what the time was, Carrie checked her watch; it was 5:36pm.
It wasn't too long before James left the station and they set off on their way back to Tidmouth Sheds, where they arrived a few minutes later. After being turned on the turntable, James reversed into one of the berths in the main shed, and, after coming to a stop, Carrie stepped off the footplate and, after giving her thanks to the crew, stepped forward out of the sheds.
"Thanks for bringing me home, James." she said, as she stepped alongside James.
"Oh, it's no problem at all, Carrie! I'm happy to help you get back safely!" James said.
"Now, I'm gonna go have a shower and clock out for the day…I'll see you in the morning!" Carrie said, as she turned and walked off towards the crew building.
"Good night, Carrie!" said James.
After arriving in the ladies changing room upstairs, Carrie hung up her raincoat in one of the racks off to the side, and then, after stripping off, including taking off the overalls, she went and had a long hot shower. Rubbing shampoo into her hair and allowing the hot soapy water to flow down her tired muscles, Carrie began to feel much better. As she stepped under the shower and rinsed the shampoo from her hair, she began to wonder what the following day would bring, as well as which engine she would be working on for the jobs she had to do tomorrow.
Stepping out from the shower a few minutes later, she wrapped herself in soft white towels and went to dry herself off and change into the clothes she had worn when she arrived that morning. As she sat down and started drying off, she briefly paused and listened; it was fairly quiet in the changing room, with the only sounds she could hear being that of engines moving about close by, along with their whistles, as well as the sounds of the jacuzzi hot tub that was bubbling quietly away in one corner within the main shower area. Even at this time, Carrie had not yet had a chance to use the jacuzzi, but did plan to do so when she could get the chance.
After drying her lower half off and the dressing into her trousers, socks and shoes, she had dried her top off, and was using a hairdryer on her hair, she heard the door open. Looking over to see what it was, she saw some of the other girls on the apprenticeship scheme enter the changing room. Among them, Carrie could see Saoirse, Alice, Olivia, and Sophie, and, judging from the filthy state of their raincoats and overalls, and the soot, coal dust, and ash on their faces, Carrie could tell they had all had a much dirtier day of work than she had.
"Hey there, Carrie!" they all said, as they came in one by one, and then over to their lockers.
"Hi there, girls! What was your day like?" Carrie asked, as she watched her four friends go over to and open their lockers, or begin stripping off their filthy overalls even before they opened the locker doors.
"I was working over at the coal mines with Percy for today, and I ended up slipping and falling into a pile of wet coal not too long after lunch…hence the filthy state of my overalls." Alice said.
"I was working with Murdoch, and we were taking heavily laden wagons away from the Cement Works near the docks earlier on, and somehow some cement dust ended up getting blown into the air. Some of it ended up on me." Sophie said.
"We had a bit of an incident over at the flour mill earlier on. A bag came loose and burst open, causing flour to blow everywhere. The rain did a good job of spreading much of what had spilled out of the sack." Saoirse said, showing that the front of her overalls was covered with patches of flour.
"And as for me…well, I was on the footplate of No.90460 up at Anopha Quarry near to Ffarquhar earlier on today, and some loose dust, which somehow managed to escape the rain, ended up blowing into the cab and onto me, as well as on top of the driver and fireman." said Olivia.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about all that." Carrie said, as she finished off drying off hair and then set about brushing her hair before she finished dressing.
As the other girls all removed their filthy overalls, as well as their sweaty work clothes they wore beneath, and looked through their lockers for their bottles of shampoo and what else they might need, the familiar sounds of girls talking with each other about how their day on the railway had gone, as well as what their plans were after they clocked out, filled the air. From the stacks of fresh neatly folded white towels that lined one wall, the towels began disappearing one by one as the girls took them and then went into get showered off.
"So, how was you day today, Carrie?" Saoirse asked.
"Well…to be honest, it was a little bit dull and repetitive. We had to go back and forth from the china clay pits to the docks all day, taking a large shipment of china clay to a ship that was to take it away to another part of the world, and then taking all the empty trucks back to the pits. I didn't get dirty at all, as the rain did a good job of keeping down any loose china clay dust, but I did get quite a bit bored after a time, especially from constantly shuttling back and forth all day." Carrie said.
"Oh, yeah, I know how you feel about that. I've done that job twice before this year already, and it does get quite repetitive at times." Sophie said, with some sympathy.
"But against that…" Carrie said, "…I did get to drive No.68019, with trucks coupled behind him, from the pits to the docks and back again at times during the afternoon."
"Did you really?" Alice asked, as she picked up her towels and bottle of shampoo.
"I did, and, with the driver helping me out, I managed to get to the trains from the chine clay pits down to the docks safely, as well as to get all the empty trucks back again." Carrie said.
"Was that the first time you drove one of the engines between two places?" Olivia asked.
"It was, although a few times earlier this year I did get to briefly drive some engines, but this was when we were already travelling on some of the lines, and I handed back control of those engines to the drivers well before we arrived at our destinations." Carrie said.
"What was it like for you to drive an engine with a fully laden train from where it started right down to its destination?" Alice asked.
"Well…it was a lot easier than I had originally expected it to be, though I did have some trouble with the lever reverse at times. As No.68019 has slide valves, the lever reverse is a very difficult thing to link up when the regulator is open." Carrie said.
"Oh, I experienced that when I drove No.68019 along that line last week." Olivia said.
It wasn't too long before Carrie had finished getting herself dressed, just as many of the other girls, as well as the four she was good friends with, just heading off to the shower area to wash off in the showers. At the same time, some of them were getting into the Jacuzzi hot tub and relaxing their tired muscles in the warm swirling waters, with thin clouds of steam rising from the tub as a few girls stepped into it.
"If we don't see you downstairs in a while, Carrie…we'll see you in the morning." Olivia said to Carrie, just before she went in to have her shower.
"Okay, good night, everyone!" Carrie said, as she went out from the changing room and into the corridor outside.
After making her way downstairs, Carrie clocked out for the day and then stepped outside in front of the main entrance. Stopping in her tracks, she looked up to the sky and took in the sight of the clear sky, with the heavy rain clouds now gone. Feeling herself smile, she hoped the weather the following day would be much better than it had been today.
"Ah, there you are, Carrie." came a familiar voice. Turning her head, Carrie saw that it was her father.
"Oh, hi dad." Carrie said.
"Ready to head on home?" Ralph asked.
"Yeah, I am. I'm ready to do that, especially after the day I had." Carrie said.
"Let's go then. And before I forget to say this…the Fat Controller has said that we're to be here much earlier than expected tomorrow morning." Ralph said.
"Whatever for?" Carrie asked, curious as to what the Fat Controller had in mind.
"I don't know, but I reckon we should get an early night tonight." Ralph said.
"Okay, let's go home then." Carrie said, and they both headed out onto the street, and from there back home.
(Next morning; Friday August 3rd 7:35am)
Carrie and her father arrived back at the depot early the following morning, when the morning air was still fairly cool and with the sun rising up into a clear sky. From the weather forecasts they had seen on the T.V. the night before, they knew that it was going to be a perfect summer day today, with warm temperatures, clear skies, and light breezes to be expected throughout the day.
After getting changed in the changing room, Carrie made her way downstairs to the cafeteria, where she took the chance to get some breakfast before she went to work. Quite a few of those who were on the apprenticeship scheme, as well as a number of veteran crews, were already in there having breakfast at the different tables, and the room was filled with the sounds of chatting, people moving along the buffet line, as well as a mix of other sounds.
After getting what she wanted at the buffet line, Carrie made her way to a table where Simon and the girls she was friends with were sitting. Greeting her friends, she sat down with them and, as they ate their breakfasts, they all chatted together about what the day might bring and what the Fat Controller had in mind by having them arrive much earlier than usual this morning.
"You know…I'm guessing that we'll soon find out." Simon said, as he took a sip of his orange juice.
Simon was right; just as many of the younger recruits were finishing up their breakfasts, none other than the Fat Controller himself came into the cafeteria. On seeing him, everyone quickly quietened themselves down, and watched at the Fat Controller walked to the other end of the cafeteria, where there was a raised section of floor on which he stood, so that everyone could see him.
"Well…good morning, everybody!" the Fat Controller said, as he faced everyone.
"Good morning, sir!" everyone said in response.
"I expect everyone in the apprenticeship scheme is wondering why you've all been asked to come here at this time in the morning. Well, I can all tell you the reason for it now…this very morning, at precisely 8:00am sharp, an enormous ocean liner is coming in to dock at Brendam Docks, and that mean there's going to be a lot of passengers going to be visiting the island for the day." said the Fat Controller.
"Ah, so that's why we've been called here early." Carrie whispered to Simon and the girls.
"And it also means that there's going to be lots of trains arranged to take all these visitors to all the different tourist sites around the island as well, and so I'm relying on you all to make sure these visitors are brought to where they want to go, as well as getting them back to Brendam Docks by this evening, because that's when the ship leaves the docks." said the Fat Controller.
"Let's hope we can get all the visitors to where they need to be today." Simon said quietly, and Carrie and the other girls nodded or murmured in agreement.
"As well as the very heavy coaches too." Carrie whispered to Simon.
"All the engines are being readied outside in the depot right now, and as soon as you're all finished with your breakfasts, you're to head off to work and be ready to pick up the visitors." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir!" everyone said at once.
"Very good, everyone. And I wish you all the best of luck out there today." and with that talk over, the Fat Controller left.
A short while later, with everyone having finished their breakfasts, they picked up what they needed for the day, and then they headed out to their assigned engines for the day. Carrie and Simon walked out from the crew building side by side, having been assigned to work on an engine together for today. As they walked along to where the engine was, they were both wondering which engine they could be assigned to for today; considering the fact there were going to be lots of visitors visiting the Island of Sodor today, which meant that the trains were going to be very heavy, they were very likely going to be assigned to work on one of the bigger express passenger engines.
And they were quickly proved to be right about that; one of the yardmen led them over to a shed where their engine awaited them. As they approached, both Simon and Carrie could see that their engine looked very similar in many appearances to the B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacifics, but they could also see that it was in fact a completely different class of locomotive entire. It was painted in B.R. express passenger green livery with orange and black lining, which had been polished down to a high shine a short while earlier on in the morning. Even the nameplates that were fitted on the sides of the boiler had also been polished to a very high shine.
This particular engine was in fact No.35023 Holland-Afrika Line, and he was a member of the Southern Railway's Merchant Navy Class Pacifics in their later rebuilt form (72), and he was among the types of powerful express passenger locomotives that would have travelled quite regularly on the route that ran between London Waterloo and Southampton, England all the way back in the day, taking countless numbers of people to and from the cross-channel boat trains, as well as to and from the enormous ocean liners that called quite regularly at the port of Southampton. So, in that respect, both Simon and Carrie had been very lucky to be assigned to an engine who had actually had plenty of experience in working on taking heavy boat trains to and from the south coast of England back in the day and, thus, had a lot of experience in such a job.
Not only that, but Carrie was pleased to be assigned to work on one of the bigger express passenger engines for today, as it would be so much more interesting than just constantly shuffling back and forth all day with full and empty trucks in between the china clay pits and Brendam Docks. It also meant that the journey would be much faster than on a tank engine, and the land would go by much quicker and with a lot more to see as well.
(72): Designed by Oliver Vaughn Snell Bulleid, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway, the Merchant Navy Class Pacifics were built for use on the heavy express passenger trains that ran along the Southern Railway network, particularly those named trains that ran between London Waterloo Station and various places along the Channel coast, in particular to Southampton, Bournemouth, and to Dover. The design for the class was chosen over a number of other different locomotive proposals that Bulleid had originally proposed.
When Bulleid, former assistant to Gresley on the L.N.E.R., took over as the Southern's C.M.E. in 1937, he had wanted to introduce his own class of heavy and really powerful heavy express passenger engines onto the Southern network in order to solve the Southern Railway's express engine problems once and for all, particularly as both the L.M.S. and the L.N.E.R. had recently introduced their own classes of heavy express engines on their own networks in the form of the Princess Coronation Class and the A4 Class respectively, both of which were streamlined. Bulleid had seen the advantages of the L.N.E.R.'s big engine policy under Gresley, and he had wanted to introduce that onto the Southern Railway's network, especially as many express trains were still leaving various stations in that region double-headed, which was seen as inefficient to the Southern's operating costs.
Bulleid was given the go-ahead by the Southern's general manager to design a brand new class of engine for heavy express work. The deteriorating international situation in the lead-up to the outbreak of the Second World War was an additional factor in the decision. The requirement for the new design was that it had to be capable of hauling a heavy train of between 550 and 600 tons in weight at an average speed of about 60mph in the Eastern section of the Southern and at a speed of up to 70mph in the Western section.
Initially, Bulleid had wanted to introduce a new class with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement that would be used on the heavily-laden Golden Arrow and Night Ferry express trains to the channel ports, with the design later being amended to be a 2-8-2 Mikado wheel arrangement with three cylinders and 6ft 2in driving wheels, based on and nearly identical in some respects to Gresley's P2 Class 2-8-2 heavy express engines that were being used on the L.N.E.R. network. This design would have used a Helmholtz system on the front pony truck and leading set of driving wheels in order to assist with entering and going through curves. However, the Southern's Chief Civil Engineer resisted the two new eight coupled designs, very likely due to weight restrictions, and so a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement was selected for the new design instead.
The new design, although it was clearly intended for use on express passenger trains and semi-fast work, also had to be capable of working on freight trains as well. The reason for that was that the class was designed in the early part of the Second World War, and so Bulleid had managed to get his new design designated for use as mixed-traffic engines, in order to gain permission for them to be built during the war years. Also, there were administrative measures were put into place by the government, in order to prevent the construction of express passenger locomotives, due to the shortages of materials and a need for engines with the capabilities to haul heavy freight, and so giving the mixed-traffic classification circumvented this restriction.
The new Merchant Navy Class was designed at Brighton Works, with some other work being under taken at Ashford Works and at Eastleigh Works. The design incorporated a number of new features into the class, which were rather unique to British steam locomotive design. The Merchant Navy Class used a unique chain-driven valve gear, which Bulleid had used due in preference to gear-driven valve gear to space restrictions between the frames as well as war-time shortages of valuable materials. This chain-driven valve gear later gained a bad reputation, as it could cause highly irregular valve events, which was compounded by the use of a steam-reverser. It also required frequent servicing, and offered little or no notice to the crews if there was a problem, which pushed up the maintenance costs.
Another feature of the design was that the driving wheels used on the Merchant Navy Class were the Bulleid Firth Brown type, which was both lighter and much stronger than their equivalents that were paired with more traditional spoked wheels, and they helped to reduce the overall weight of the engines by around 2 tons. These wheels proved to be highly successful, and were later used on Bulleid's later West Country and Battle of Britain Light Pacific classes. The wheels had no balance weights fitted, as Bulleid had intended for the engines to be self-balancing. The rear supporting trailing truck was a one-piece steel casting which helped to give the class a very smooth ride, with the design later being used onto the B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacifics. The frames were also rather different from other British steam designs in that they were placed closer together, which had the added benefit of avoiding the bending of the horn guides that other engines experienced.
The spaces that were in between the six large driving wheels housed the steam-powered brakes clasps, which gripped the six driving wheels by way of a "scissor" action. The hangars the brake blocks were fitted on were connected together by outside rods in order to make access to them easier, with the whole system being operated by the driver from his position on the left-hand side of the footplate. The unique design of brakes also helped to reduce the stresses on the axle-boxes and horn guides due to the balanced brake force on each driving wheel, which meant that the Merchant Navy Class, as well as the later West Country and Battle of Britain Classes, were known for their smooth braking.
The boiler barrel that was used in the Merchant Navy Class was of traditional riveted design and construction, although the firebox was of the newer welded construction and were made of steel as opposed to the more usual copper that had been used for steam locomotive fireboxes for decades prior. As the boilers were pressed to a higher working pressure of 280psi, the the boiler was very heavily riveted together in order to hold in the pressure. Two welded thermic syphons were also put into the new boiler design in order to try and improve the water circulation around the boiler and thus improve the heat distribution in the water.
The boiler was covered with an air-smoothed casing that was made of sheet-steel, which was used as a way of lifting the exhaust gases clear of the cab. Due to its flat front end, it was not intended for the purposes of streamlining as some people have often commonly misinterpreted. The casing's flat sides were also intended to make cleaning the locomotives easier with mechanical carriage washers, as a way of trying to reduce labour costs. The smokebox, which was a fabrication construction that was made of sheet-metal, housed the Lemaitre five-nozzle blastpipe arranged in a circle within a large diameter chimney and it gave a surprisingly soft exhaust when the engines were on the move.
The class was at first paired with a tender that ran on six wheels, and could carry up to 5 tons of coal and about 5,000 gallons of water. The new tender design featured BFB wheels and streamlined panels or "raves" that gave the top of the tender a very similar cross-sectional outline to the carriages that would be hauled by the locomotives. The tender tank was of welded construction in order to save weight, and the tender itself was also fitted with vacuum brakes that were the similar clasp type used on the locomotives. One problem that the original tender design suffered from was due to a lack of bracing, and it would often leak badly if it was even slightly damaged, or if water surging around inside the water space caused the welded joints to break. It wasn't until 1944 that additional baffling was installed inside the tender tanks and the problems of surging water were solved. Later members of the class were paired with larger six-wheel tenders that carried 6,000 gallons of water, and this was important in order to increase the range of the engines as much as possible due to the fact that there were no water troughs in place on the main lines of the Southern Railway.
Another innovation fitted to the Merchant Navy Class was electric lighting on both the locomotive and footplate, which was provided a steam-powered Stones-turbo generator that was fitted below the footplate. The gauges were lit by ultra-violet light, which allowed for clear night vision while eliminated and dazzle, making it much easier for the crews to see the various gauges as well as the signals on the side of the line. The ergonomics of the cab were also massively improved, with all the controls grouped together according to the needs of the driver and fireman, allowing for safer operation. The fireman was also helped by the inclusion of a steam-operated treadle, which used steam pressure to open the firehole doors when the fireman was stoking the boiler and releasing the pedal allowed the doors to close by gravity, preventing the admission of any secondary air into the firebox. The cab was also entirely enclosed, which massively improved the working conditions for the crew during the colder winter months or in bad weather.
In total, 30 members of the Merchant Navy Class were built at Eastleigh Works between February 1941 and April 1949, and they were named in honour of the various merchant navy shipping companies that were involved in the convoy battles in the Battle of the Atlantic that was raging when the first members of the class were being built. Although the locomotives were built at Eastleigh, the boilers were supplied from private industry, and the tenders were built at Ashford. Due to the fact they were fitted with air-smooth casings, which gave them a rather utilitarian appearance, the class earned the nickname of "Spam Cans".
What made the early examples of the class quite unique, apart from their rather unconventional appearance, was the fact that they had Continental-style numbering, with the first engine carrying the number 21C1; the 2 and 1 referred to the number of unpowered leading and trailing axles, while the C referred to the number of driving axles, in this case three. The first 20 members of the class to be built were numbered from 21C1 to 21C20, but when the railways were nationalised in January 1948, this numbering scheme was abandoned by British Railways and the first 20 engines were renumbered from No.35001 to No.35020. The final batch of ten engines to be built were renumbered from No.35021 to No.35030.
The Merchant Navy Class were fitted with three cylinders which were 18in in diameter with a 24in piston stroke, six driving wheels that were 6ft 2in in diameter, and a boiler that was pressed to 280psi, all of which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 37,515lbf. The boiler pressure was later reduced down to 250psi, which in turn reduced the tractive effort down to a still respectable 33,496lbf. All three cylinders drove onto the second set of driving wheels. The main reason why the piston stroke was 24in in length instead of either 26in or 28in on engines of other British companies was to keep the overall sizes of the cylinders smaller and thus cutting down on the weight of the engines.
The numbers and names of the S.R. Merchant Navy Class were:
21C1 (No.35001) Channel Packet, 21C2 (No.35002) Union Castle, 21C3 (No.35003) Royal Mail, 21C4 (No.35004) Cunard White Star, 21C5 (No.35005) Canadian Pacific,
21C6 (No.35006) Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co., 21C7 (No.35007) Aberdeen Commonwealth, 21C8 (No.35008) Orient Line, 21C9 (No.35009) Shaw Savill,
21C10 (No.35010) Blue Star, 21C11 (No.35011) General Steam Navigation, 21C12 (No.35012) United States Lines, 21C13 (No.35013) Blue Funnel,
21C14 (No.35014) Nederland Line, 21C15 (No.35015) Rotterdam Lloyd, 21C16 (No.35016) Elders Fyffes, 21C17 (No.35017) Belgian Marine,
21C18 (No.35018) British India Line, 21C19 (35019) French Line CGT, 21C20 (No.35020) Bibby Line, No.35021 New Zealand Line, No.35022 Holland America Line,
No.35023 Holland-Afrika Line, No.35024 East Asiatic Company, No.35025 Brocklebank Line, No.35026 Lamport & Holt Line, No.35027 Port Line, No.35028 Clan Line,
No.35029 Ellerman Lines, and No.35030 Elder Dempster Lines.
There had been a plan to name the new class of engines after British victories that had been achieved during the Second World War, and even a mocked up nameplate was made with the name River Plate, in honour of the Battle of the River Plate of December 1939. However, when British successes in the early years of the war proved very few, it was suggested that it would be more appropriate to name them after the companies that called in at Southampton Docks in the peacetime years before the war and that were taking part in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The second batch of ten engines were built at Eastleigh Works, and each of them were paired with tenders that could carry about 5,100 gallons of water, and the final batch of ten engines, which were also built at Eastleigh Works in 1948-49, were paired with larger tenders that could carry up to 6,000 gallons of water. The larger tenders with increased water capacity was of the utmost importance to allow the class to travel long distances on the main line, as there were no water troughs in place on any of the main lines on the Southern Railway network. The last batch of ten engines were also fitted with a T.I.A water treatment chemical feed-water equipment, which was intended to prevent scale from forming in the boiler from the hard water found in Southern England and turn it into a non-adhesive mud that could be cleaned out from the boilers when they needed to be washed out.
When the first two engines came into traffic in 1941, they were found to be seven tons over the specified weight limit, and so the production of the rest of the first batch was halted until steps were taken to remedy this issue. It was achieved by using thinner steel plates for the frame stretchers, covering the boiler cladding, as well as enlarging existing lightening holes in the main frames, which were applied to the remaining 8 engines in the first batch before they came into traffic.
When the class first came into service, the war was raging in Europe with France, Belgium, and the Netherlands all being under German occupation, which meant that the heavily laden Continental Boat Trains that the class were intended to haul between the Channel coast and London Waterloo were postponed until after the war came to an end. So instead of Continental boat trains, the class were put to work at hauling express trains on the South West Main Line to Southampton and Exeter. In August 1945, the class was used in a series of test runs in between London Victoria and Dover, with the Continental Boat Trains resuming in October that year. In October 1946, the Bournemouth Belle Pullman train was reinstated and was entrusted to the class for the next two decades. However, due to the fact that the Merchant Navy Class had quite a high axle load, they were banned from running on certain areas of the Southern Railway, and later the Southern Region of British Railways.
When the early reliability problems had been solved, the Merchant Navy Class became very popular engines with their crews, as there was now a class of engine that could haul any train on offer and be able to keep time. The cabs were particularly well liked by the crews due to the fact that there was electric lighting and all the controls were conveniently grouped together. The crews also appreciated the fact that the boilers could steam very freely, which meant that they were able to get the class up to some very impressive speeds, and they also deeply appreciated the fact that the class could give a very smooth ride. Speeds well in excess of 80mph, and even well over 90mph, became quite commonplace when the class were running along with 12 or 13 coaches coupled up behind them. The Merchant Navy Class could often cover the distance of 108 miles from London Waterloo to Bournemouth via a stop in Southampton in about 2 hours. The express passenger trains that they pulled often included the Bournemouth Belle, which was often loaded down to over 500 tons, as well as the Atlantic Coast Express and the Golden Arrow.
A few modifications were made to the class in their original forms during the first part of their service lives; due to drifting smoke often obscuring the view of the drivers, some changes were made to the shape of the air-smooth casings, including adding smoke deflector plates onto the front sides of the air-smooth casings. However, the problem of drifting smoke was never fully resolved, and the addition of smoke deflectors only added to the already poor visibility from the footplate.
In the 1950's, the T.I.A. water treatment system was removed from the class and replaced with a simpler system that used chemical briquettes, which were fitted into each tender in order to ensure that the water was maintained at the correct softness. This system helped to ensure that a build-up of scale inside the boilers was prevented, allowing the boilers to produce steam more efficiently.
Another change that was made to the class was the reduction of the boiler pressure from 280psi to 250psi, as well as redesigning the forward footplate windows in order to allow for better vision ahead of the engines for the footplate crews. One experiment that was undertaken involved fitting 21C5 Canadian Pacific with a Berkley mechanical stoker that had been imported from Canada, but little improvement in the performance of the engine was seen when the system was trialled under British Railways, and so the engine was reconverted back to hand-firing.
From 1952, the air-smooth casings that were fitted ahead of the cylinders were removed in order to make maintenance, as well as lubrication, easier. At the same time, the raves that were fitted on the tender sides were also removed, as they quickly rotted, obstructed the packing of coal in the coal bunker, and also obstructed the view of the drivers when the engines were running in reverse. Once the tenders were cut down, they had new storage space for fire-irons, revised stepladders fitted at the back, and glass spectacle plates to protect the crews from coal dust when the engines were running in reverse.
Although the Merchant Navy engines in their original forms demonstrated that they could generate enormous power when fired on poor-quality fuel, due to Bulleid's excellent boiler design, and ran very smoothly at high-speed, there were a number of different problems that plagued the engines of the class during much of the first part of their working lives.
Among these various issues that the class had in their early days of service included:
Adhesion problems; due to the problem of their oil-baths often leaking due to the poor-quality materials that were being used in the immediate post-war years, as well as their high power-to-weight ratios, the engines were often prone to wheel-slip when they started moving, and so they needed very careful driving when starting from rest with a heavy train behind them. But once they were in their stride, they were noted for their free running, excellent steam production, and for being quite stable machines when they were running at high speed.
Maintenance issues; the chain-driven valve gear was expensive to maintain and often wore out rapidly. The oil baths would often leak, causing oil to splash onto the wheels and onto the boiler lagging. When the lagging was saturated with oil, coal dust, and ash would be attracted, forming a combustible material. Any heavy braking would send out sparks which would cause the lagging to catch fire underneath the air-smooth casing. In that case, the local fire brigade would have to be called in order to put the fire out, with the cold water often causing thermal stress to the casing. Another problem was that water often found ways of entering the oil bath, which almost always ended up causing corrosion issues, which in turn led to causing more oil leaks. The chains of the unique chain-driven valve gear also had a tendency to break every now and then.
High fuel consumption; due to the variability of the chain-driven valve gear, the fuel consumption of the Merchant Navy Class was much higher than might have been expected from a class of their size, particularly during the 1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials, as well as on the locomotive testing plant at Rugby in 1952.
Axle-box issues; the axle-boxes fitted to the Merchant Navy Class often had a tendency to wear out after around 55,000 miles of running, which was far lower than many other classes of heavy express engine, such as the ex-L.N.E.R. Peppercorn A1 Class Pacifics.
Restricted forward visibility; the issues of clouds of swirling exhaust gases drifting down from the chimneys often obstructing the view of the drivers was never fully resolved, and drifting clouds of smoke and exhaust from the chimneys constantly obscured the view of the track and the signals ahead from the drivers when the engines were on the move.
Another issue that came up took place on 24 April 1953, when the crank axle on the central driving wheelset of No.35020 Bibby Line fractured while the engine was approaching Crewkerne Station at speed. Although no-one was injured in the incident, it did result in all 30 Merchant Navy Class engines being temporarily withdrawn from service until the cause of the incident was solved. It resulted in the discovery of metal fatigue in the crank axles which caused the fracture, and was a common fault. So, until the problem was solved with a redesigned crank axle, the class was temporarily kept out of service, and other engines from other regions had to be brought in to cover for it, including B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacifics, a few ex-L.M.S. Stanier Black Five Class 4-6-0s, as well as ex-L.N.E.R. Gresley V2 Class 2-6-2s and Thompson B1 Class 4-6-0s.
Due to the problems the class had, serious consideration was given in 1954 to scrapping them and replacing them with B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacifics, which had just entered service at around that time. However, due to their excellent boilers and several other good features they had, including the fact the trailing trucks under the cabs ran very smoothly, the cab that was laid out for efficient operation of the engines, the efficient ashpan arrangements, as well as electric lighting - which meant that the controls in the cab were easier to see, as well as for illuminating the head-code lamps and tail lights, and other areas around the engines - the decision was taken to rebuild the entire Merchant Navy Class while removing many of Bulleid's less successful features, and retaining as much of what was good about the class as possible. Getting rid of the features that were trouble-prone would also reduce the number of days the class spent out of traffic, thus reducing costs further, and make them much more efficient in their day to day operations.
It was projected that the total cost of the rebuilding programme, which was estimated to be around £5,615 per engine, would be more than offset by a projected annual fuel and oil saving of £1,770 per engine per year.
So, between February 1956 and October 1959, the entire Merchant Navy Class was withdrawn from service on the Southern Region and were then rebuilt in order to look like more conventional engines; the air-smooth casings were removed and replaced with traditional boiler cladding, while the chain-driven valve gear with its oil bath was removed and replaced by three sets of more conventional Walschaerts gear with piston valves, while the driving wheels had balance weights put in place. The old smokeboxes were also removed and replaced with brand new and more traditional cylindrical smokeboxes, as well as Lord Nelson-type chimneys and L.M.S.-style smoke deflectors. The original steam reversers that had proved to be quite problematic in service in the first few years were also removed and replaced by mechanical screw-link types, which were much easier for the crews to use, while rocking grates were fitted into the fireboxes in order to make the disposal of the fire at the end of the day much easier.
The mechanical lubricators were repositioned on the running plates that ran on both sides of the boilers, and new sanding gear was also fitted. The older steam pipes that had been inside the older type of smokebox were replaced with ones that were made out of steel. Balance weights were also fitted onto all six driving wheels as well as onto the crank-axles, and brand new steel axles-boxes with manganese steel liners, matched with manganese steel horn guides, were also fitted. The safety valves were moved back to the second barrel rings of the boilers in order to avoid causing priming when the engines had to stop sharply. The boilers were also lagged with fibreglass mattresses contained within the lagging plates as was B.R. standard practice. Sanding gear was also added, with one for forward drive being put in front of the leading driving wheels, and one for reverse being placed behind the middle set of driving wheels.
The first example of the class to be entirely rebuilt from its original appearance was No.35018 British India Line which was rebuilt into a more conventional appearance in February 1956 and was thoroughly tested out on the main line before the rest of the class were rebuilt, while the last member of the class to be fully rebuilt was No.35028 Clan Line, which emerged in its rebuilt condition in October 1959.
After being rebuilt, it was clear that most of the maintenance problems that the class had suffered from earlier on in their working lives had been completely solved, while the good features were all retained, thus creating an excellent locomotive that performed very well in service. And without the air smoothed casing fitted, the view of the tracks ahead for the crews was much better than it had been before. However, one minor drawback of the rebuild was that because balance weights had been added to the driving wheels, for the conventional Walschaerts valve gear to be effective, the greater weights meant that the hammer-blow effect being put on the track by the rotation of the wheels was much greater than it had been when the engines were new. The original valve gear had been self-balancing and didn't put as much hammer-blow on the track.
Another issue was that because the oil bath had been removed from the class, it did result in many more points that needed to be oiled up by the crews before they could set off for work. However, the exposed running plate and valve gear made the rebuilt Merchant Navies far more efficient and cost-effective machines. It also resulted in a reduction of oil consumption to 1 gallon of oil per every 100 miles of running. But even so, the modification programme proved to be a great success in improving the performances of the Merchant Navy Class, and it was also to influence the design of the future modification of the West Country and Battle of Britain Classes, of which 60 engines would later be rebuilt in similar style to the rebuilt Merchant Navy Class engines.
The new axle-boxes fitted to the re-built Merchant Navies also proved to be far more reliable than the older ones had been, often allowing the class to reach distances of up to 90,000 miles before the axle-boxes needed any repairs.
In service, the rebuilt engines proved to be very good performers, with many instances of high-speed running being recorded, including regular instances of the engines exceeding speeds in excess of 100mph at times. During their working lives, the class were based at a number of depots around the Southern Region, including at Stewart's Lane and Nine Elms depots in London, in Bournemouth, Exmouth Junction, and at Salisbury. During their working days on B.R., they were given the power classification of 8P, and were often seen hauling the heaviest of express trains from London down to the holiday resorts in the west and south of England, including on the famous Atlantic Coast Express (A.C.E.). The rebuilt Merchant Navy engines were described by one writer as being the finest express locomotives to work in the U.K. and earned their designer, Oliver Bulleid, the title of the "Last Giant of Steam."
In late June 1967, No.35005 Royal Mail recorded the highest speed that was ever attained by any member of the Merchant Navy Class, when it reached a total recorded speed of 105.88mph while on a run in between Weymouth and Waterloo. It was also the very last authenticated speed in excess of 100mph to be recorded by a steam locomotive in the U.K. at least until April 2017, when new-build L.N.E.R. Peppercorn A1 Class 4-6-2 No.60163 Tornado reached a new preservation speed record of 101.6mph.
The class worked well on their usual express runs until 1964, when main line from Salisbury to Exeter was transferred to the control of the Western Region, as well as the introduction of Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives on these services. So, in 1964, the first 7 engines were withdrawn from service, which included the first two engines of the class No.35001 Channel Packet, and No.35002 Union Castle. The withdrawals continued throughout the 1960's until 1967, when the final 10 engines were still in service on the Southern Region. Of that number, 7 engines survived to continue working until the end of steam on the Southern Region in the summer of 1967. It had only been a few years since the entire class had been rebuilt, and almost all of them were still in excellent condition when they were removed from service. When the class were rebuilt, it was anticipated that steam would remain working on B.R. until about 1990 when steam would be replaced by electric traction.
Out of the 30 Merchant Navy Pacifics that were built, a very respectable 11 examples have managed to survive into preservation, in various states ranging from engines that are still awaiting restoration to examples that are in full working order and certified to run out on the main line. Of the survivors, 10 of them were rescued from Woodham's Yard in Barry, South Wales. Although regrettably, neither of the two prototypes engines, No.35001 Channel Packet and No.35002 Union Castle, or the fastest example, No.35005 Royal Mail, have survived into preservation, which is a real shame considering their historical importance.
The surviving 11 S.R. Bulleid Merchant Navy Class engines include;
No.35005 Canadian Pacific; built in December 1941 at Eastleigh Works, she was famous for being fitted with a Berkeley mechanical stoker from March 1948 to April 1951 which made little difference to the engine's performance but increased the already high coal consumption. She was rebuilt in May 1959, and in this state she achieved a speed of 105mph in May 1965. She was withdrawn from service in October 1965, having covered about 976,806 miles in service during her career, and was sold for scrap to Barry Scrapyard in January 1966, as the oldest Bullied Pacific sent to Barry. Rescued from the yard in March 1973 as the first member of the class to be bought from Barry, she was brought up to the Great Central Railway where she was restored to full working order by November 1990. During her career in preservation, No.35005 has worked extensively on the main line and on many different preserved heritage railways as well. As of 2024, No.35005 is currently undergoing a major overhaul on the Mid Hants Railway, which is including a lot of extensive work on the boiler, and so it shouldn't be too long before she returns to steam once more.
No.35006 Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.; built at Eastleigh Works in December 1941, she was rebuilt in October 1959 before being withdrawn from service in August 1964, having covered 1,134,319 miles in service. Sold to Woodham's Yard in Barry, she was rescued in 1983 and brought to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway where she was completely stripped down all the way to the last nut and bolt before restoration could begin. By 2016, the restoration work was finally completed, and No.35006 returned to steam on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway for the first time in more than 50 years, where she's currently working.
No.35009 Shaw Savill; built at Eastleigh Works in June 1942, she was rebuilt in March 1957 before being withdrawn from service in September 1964, having covered about 1,127,452 miles during her time in service. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in 1989, as one of the last 20 engines to leave Barry Scrapyard, but she was moved about between a number of different places over the years since then, including to the Mid Hants Railway and Swindon, and always in a dismantled condition. After many years of sitting around in an unrestored state, she's now undergoing restoration to full working order at Riley and Son (E) Ltd with the intention of restoring her to full main line running condition.
No.35010 Blue Star; built at Eastleigh Works in July 1942, she was rebuilt in January 1957 before being finally withdrawn from service in September 1966 with a damaged right-hand cylinder, having covered 1,241,299 miles during her career in service. She was sold to Barry Scrapyard in 1967, and spent 18 years there before she was rescued from the yard in 1982. She's currently sitting in storage at the Colne Valley Railway while waiting for restoration work to start, which will include making a replacement for the damaged right-hand cylinder.
No.35011 General Steam Navigation; built at Eastleigh Works in December 1944, she was rebuilt in July 1959 before being withdrawn from service in February 1966 and sent to Woodham's Yard in Barry, having covered 1,069,128 miles during its time in service. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in March 1983, and spent some time over the years at a number of different locations before she ended up at a private site in Sellindge, Kent where it was put into long-term storage. As of 2023, No.35011 is at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway where she's undergoing restoration to running order. The plan that's in place for her restoration is to restore her back to her original as-built condition with the original air-smooth casing in place and chain-driven valve gear, as none of the other surviving Merchant Navy Class engines have survived in their original condition. The engine has been stripped down for the work to begin, with the boiler being lifted from the frames for the first time since 1959 in October 2020.
No.35018 British India Line; built at Eastleigh Works in May 1945, she was rebuilt in February 1956 as the first member of the class to be rebuilt. She took part in the 1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials on the Southern Region. She was withdrawn from service in August 1964, having covered 956,544 miles during her life on the main line, and arrived in Barry Scrapyard in March 1965. After being bought and saved from Barry in March 1980, she was brought to the Mid Hants Railway for restoration work to begin. After being moved around a few times, she finally settled in Carnforth at the base for West Coast Railways where the restoration work was finally completed by November 2016. As of 2023, No.35018 is operational and working on the main line.
No.35022 Holland America Line; built at Eastleigh Works in October 1948, she was rebuilt in June 1956 before being finally withdrawn from service in May 1966, having covered 903,542 miles during her career on the main line. She sat in Barry Scrapyard until 1986, when she was finally removed from the yard and was put into storage at Swanage until 1995. Although some restoration work has been undertaken on No.35022 since she was rescued from Barry, she's currently sitting in long-term storage at the L.N.W.R. Heritage Centre at Crewe and waiting for more restoration work on her to return her to full working order.
No.35025 Brocklebank Line; built at Eastleigh Works in November 1948, she was rebuilt in December 1956 before finally being withdrawn from service in September 1964. She sat with many other withdrawn engines in Barry Scrapyard until she was rescued from the yard in 1985, and then brought up to the Great Central Railway for restoration work to begin. With No.35025 in quite a sorry state from 20 years of sitting in Barry Scrapyard, a lot of work was needed to restore her to working order, and as of 2023, the restoration work is still on-going at Hope Farm in Sellindge, Kent.
No.35027 Port Line; built at Eastleigh Works in December 1948, she was rebuilt in October 1959 before being finally withdrawn from service in September 1966, having covered 872,290 miles during her career. She was sent to Barry Scrapyard in March 1965, and sat there for over 17 years before she was rescued from the yard in December 1982, and taken over to the Swindon and Cricklade Railway for restoration work to begin. All the work was completed by 1988 when No.35027 steamed for the first time since being withdrawn, and becoming the first Merchant Navy engine rescued from Barry to be returned to steam. As of 2023, No.35027 is awaiting a major overhaul at the Crewe Diesel Traction Maintenance Depot.
No.35028 Clan Line; rightly seen by many railway enthusiasts as being the flagship of the class, No.35028 was built at Eastleigh Works in December 1948 and was rebuilt in October 1959 as the final member of the class to undergo the rebuilding programme. She was withdrawn from service in July 1967 as one of the final seven members of the class that were still in service at that time, having covered a respectable 794,391 miles during its career. Bought straight from service on B.R. by railway enthusiasts for £3,850 only one month after she finished hauling the farewell special for steam on the Southern Region, she was the only member of the class to be bough straight from British Railways. In the years since then, No.35028 has seen extensive service in preservation and has travelled far and wide through the British railway network, hauling many specials and enthusiasts' trains, and covering many thousands of miles in places that would never have seen a Merchant Navy travel over them in B.R. days, such as on the Settle and Carlisle Line. In 1975, No.35028 undertook a 325-mile long run from her then home base at the Bulmer's Railway Centre in Hereford to Shildon in County Durham in order to attend the Rail 150 celebrations there, which was the longest journey undertaken by any of the locomotives attending the celebrations. As of 2024, No.35028, having undergone some repairs to her boiler, as well as having new boiler tubes put in at Stewart's Lane depot in London, is in working order and registered to run on the British national network.
No.35029 Ellerman Lines; built at Eastleigh Works in February 1949, she was rebuilt in September 1959 before being withdrawn from service in September 1966, having covered 748,323 miles during her career. She was sold for scrap to Woodham's Yard in Barry, and arrived there in March 1967. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in January 1974, and then became a part of the National Collection at York's National Railway Museum, where she's been sectioned along her entire right-hand side in order to show visitors to the N.R.M. how a modern steam locomotive works, including the firebox, boiler along with some of the boiler tubes, steam pipes, the smokebox, cab, tender, as well as the right-hand outside cylinder. So, she will most likely never run again.
In this story, any members of the Merchant Navy Class that will be appearing as the story goes on will all be in their later rebuilt states, as it's clear that the rebuilt engines were much more efficient in their day to day operations than how they were originally built.
"Good morning there, you two!" Holland-Afrika Line said, as Carrie and Simon approached him.
"Morning, Holland-Afrika Line! Are you ready to go down to the docks and pick up the passengers who are coming in this morning on the ship?" Simon asked, as he and Carrie stopped in front of the S.R. Merchant Navy Pacific and looked up at him.
"Yes, I am. In fact, the men here have been hard at work for the last while getting me ready for that job, and making sure that my fire is in good order, as well as making sure that my paint has been really polished and perfectly presentable for all the visitors." said Holland-Afrika Line. He was right about that; his B.R. express passenger green paintwork had been polished down to a very high shine, so much so that you could see your face reflecting back at you, and there wasn't even the slightest speck of dirt or a slight smudge to be seen anywhere. Not only that, but his tender had a full load of coal inside the coal space, and the tank had been completely filled up with more water earlier on, which meant they would be no need to stop and refill the tender before they left the yards.
"Okay, come on there, you two! We're all ready to start off now, and we should get down to Brendam Docks as soon as we can. After all, there's a lot of passengers waiting for us." the driver said, as he and the fireman climbed up to the footplate.
"Coming!" Carrie said, as she and Simon also quickly came over, and clambered up the steps aboard the footplate too. For Holland-Afrika Line, going down to Brendam Docks to pick up passengers from an ocean liner brought back to him many memories of him and his brothers of the Merchant Navy Class taking long lines of heavy coaches out from Southampton Docks back in the 50's and 60's, when giant ocean liners, like the S.S. United States, R.M.S. Queen Mary, and R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, called in at Southampton Docks in order to drop off the many countless numbers of passengers from their long transatlantic journeys over from New York City in the United States before they were whisked off to London by train. It also brought back many pleasant memories to him of taking the equally long and heavily-laden boat trains out from London Waterloo Station directly down into Southampton Docks so that all the passengers could go through the terminal building located at the Ocean Dock and then catch the enormous liners heading off on their long journeys across the North Atlantic from Southampton via Cherbourg to New York City.
Within two or three minutes, having been given the all-clear to go, the driver sounded the whistle for a few seconds, and then he opened the regulator. Slowly, with condensed steam shooting out from the cylinder drain cocks as steam flowed into the three cylinders, Holland-Afrika Line moved forwards out from the shed and out through the depot towards the main line. On the footplate, Simon took first go with the shovel and placed a few shovelfuls of fresh coal into the firebox, where the fire was already glowing in a white-hot state. On the fireman's seat, Carrie sat down, leaned out a little, and watched as they rolled towards the main line, taking in everything she saw go by them.
After waiting by one of the sets of points for a few moments, while they stood and waited for a freight train to go by, they were soon allowed to proceed on their way, and they left the depot and went out onto the main line, before proceeding on their way down to Knapford.
"Do we need to stop at Knapford and pick up anything before we head on towards the docks?" Carrie asked the driver.
"No, there's no need to do that at all, Carrie. Our instructions are to go straight down to Brendam Docks, as that's where we're picking up our first train of the day." said the driver, as he opened the regulator a little more, thus allowing more steam to flow into the cylinders.
"All right then!" Carrie called, as she turned her head to look back out ahead of them, as they rolled smoothly along the track. She had only been wondering if they needed to pick up anything before going onto the docks. As the rolled along, she listened to the smooth and even beat from chuffing at the chimney which was caused by the pistons in the three cylinders moving backwards and forwards, as well as the sounds of the Walschaerts valve gear moving, and steel wheels on steel rails.
It wasn't too long before they approached the busy Knapford Station, and with the signal they passed set at yellow, which meant "proceed with caution," they knew that the station was very likely to be quite busy as they went through it this morning. And they were right, for as they went along the line that went into Knapford Station from the north, the driver and fireman looked out and saw that there were trains lined up at some of the platforms, with passengers seen getting aboard the waiting trains, which were of different lengths and made up of different coach types.
"We best take care going through here." the driver said, as he closed the regulator and put the brakes on to slow them down gradually.
"Yes, sir." Simon said, as he stood and leaned out from the cab just behind where the driver was sitting.
From where she was sitting, Carrie also leaned out a little, and she saw just how busy Knapford Station was, and how many people were getting aboard the trains there. Letting out a low whistle and shaking her head a little, she couldn't imagine just how busy things were for the station staff there. For Holland-Afrika Line, he had seen this particular scene many times over his life, both during his life on the Southern Region of B.R. as well as on Sodor, and so it was something he was entirely used to.
Passing along the line that ran adjacent to Platform 2, Holland-Afrika Line rolled slowly along as some of the waiting passengers briefly turned their heads to see him go on through the station, with some even waving to the crew on the footplate as No.35023 went on past. However, most didn't take much notice and continued on boarding the trains and getting to their seats. Standing at the front of the train alongside Platform 1, Gordon was waiting to leave with his train, but he had to wait until the passengers had boarded his coaches.
"Morning, Holland-Afrika Line!" Gordon said, as he watched the Merchant Navy Pacific go past him.
"Good morning, Gordon! I can't stop to chat! I need to be at the docks as soon as I can!" Holland-Afrika Line said, as he went on past, while whistling out in greeting. Picking up a little more speed as he got further away from Knapford, Holland-Afrika Line continued on down the line toward the curve that went off to the right, and from there out onto the main line.
Once out on the main line, the driver opened the regulator further and wound the reversing gear back towards mid-gear, and that allowed their speed to climb further. Looking down to the speedometer, Simon watched as their speed climbed gradually from around 25mph to just about 60mph. Holding onto the side of the cab so as to keep himself, Simon stood and felt as they accelerated faster and faster, and he was very impressed by how smoothly a Merchant Navy Class Pacific was when it was running at speed. And the fact they were not hauling a train of heavily laden coached behind them at the moment just meant they were able to accelerate faster than expected.
In the meantime, Carrie was taking a go at stoking the boiler with fresh coal, and she was determined to be sure that the coal was placed where it was needed in the firebox in order to make steam. Turning back and forth between the coal space in the tender and the firebox, Carrie moved about six shovelfuls of coal, with each shovelful being about 15 pounds or so in weight, into the firebox.
After placing the sixth shovelful into the firebox, Carrie handed the shovel to the fireman and then went and sat down on the fireman's seat, eager to rest her arms for a while before she went to go and stoke the boiler again.
For the next while, they went along the main line and passing by or going through all the familiar landmarks, including Henry's Tunnel, past Crosby Station, through Crosby Tunnel, over the viaduct, and then approaching Wellsworth Station, which they went through without stopping, and then approaching the junction not too far from Wellsworth which led down to Brendam Docks. After slowing down on approaching the junction, they were switched to run over the points that crossed the other lines and from there they went onto the line to Brendam Docks.
As they went on down the line towards the docks, Carrie felt herself getting anxious; she was wondering how big the ocean liner waiting down at the docks was, as well as how many people were going to be coming ashore and who would want to go and visit the different tourist attractions on Sodor. After going past the very familiar junction to the china clay works, they went along the stretch by the canal and towards the docks.
(Brendam Docks)
Even now, as they approached the docks and entered them, Carrie couldn't see where the enormous ocean liner was docked, as there were already enough tall buildings and equally taller chimneys about that were blocking out the view of any ships that were secured to the different quaysides around the docks.
"The dockside where the visiting ocean liner should be tied up is very close to the main terminal station. And that's where the passengers from the ship will be disembarking from and going to board the trains to go and visit the tourist places on Sodor." said the driver.
"All right then." Simon said, as he steeled himself to see what was going to be coming soon.
Then they went round the last curve before the main terminal station, and, with both Simon and Carrie leaning out from the fireman's side of the cab, they both looked up and gasped on what they saw spread out before them.
"Oh, my goodness." Carrie said, when she saw what was before them.
"What a sight! What a sight!" Simon said, as he gazed at what he saw towering above the quayside before them.
And that's enough for this chapter, everyone! I promise that in the next chapter, we'll see exactly what Carrie and Simon has seen before them, as well as where the rest of the day will take them! Until next time!