Alco at Swanage...ooops No it's a Lima

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:30 am

Well this cheered up a rather cold, grey and wet Easter in Dorset!

A Much smaller locomotive than I'd imagined from the pictures I'd seen.

Geoff

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 9:00 am

Nice pics

Is that engine a Swanage resident?

leedavo · Post by **leedavo** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 10:43 am

No its on loan from the Churnet Valley Railway and was former based and restored at the Llangollen Railway.

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 10:48 am

well Lima, Baldwin or Alco it's on loan at Swanage right now. See http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news305.htm for the full story and some better pictures.

I didn't read this till just now so catching a glimpse of it pulling a train towards Swanage last Saturday was a pleasant surprise! The M7 is away for a major (?) overhaul and with one of the pacifics on loan to NYMR the latest additions complement the excellent 80078 perfectly. A linkup with SWT at Wareham would be the icing on the cake for this line making it's DMU evening service a real and more useful transport link.

NG fans will be delighted to know that work is pressing on with a spectacular restoration of some of the quarry lines that the branch originally served too at the Norden Park and Ride site.

Also on the Swanage Site news of the GWR Tank loco just back in service after over a quarter of a century in restoration http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news300.htm

This has to be one of the best Preservation Society Web Sites out there. Much more newsy and with good in depth articles and loads of current pictures than some of the bigger players!

JonPotter · Post by **JonPotter** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:03 am

MuzTrem wrote:Nice pics
Is that engine a Swanage resident?

I thought you read Railway Magazines by the hundred....

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 8:15 pm

I do, but I don't remember seeing anything about an ALCO 2-8-0 going on loan to the Swange...hence I simply wondered if I just missed this one last time I was there.

Doubtless it will be front page news in this month's editions...

JonPotter · Post by **JonPotter** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:37 am

Try Heritage Railway and the Railway Magazine. And it's not an Alco

Why would it be front page news? Exciting stuff does happen, and front page in next months Steam Railway will be 'Steam Railway offers you...............'

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 8:35 am

JonPotter wrote:Try Heritage Railway and the Railway Magazine. And it's not an Alco

...............'

.......er the CLUE was in the title???

More on S160's here...

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... light=s160

BTW Dan kindly put the article up on the site for a limited time but in response to the manufacturer detail THIS loco was mad by Lima but they were late building them as Alco and Baldwin already had them in production according to the article in Steam Railway.

The original spec was drawn up by the USATC (United States Army Transportation Corps) to be able to run on the British (Smallest) Loading Guage. They were for use in occupied Europe after D Day. As you'll see from the links in the thread above they lasted for decades in Europe.

http://www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk/locos.htm

It's funny how striking the red Buffer plate is. It really makes it a UK loco. Remove it and fit a "cow catcher" and it would be instantly recognisable as a US loco......although U S A on the tender is a bit of a giveaway...

You know what I mean.

Here's a couple more of it tucked away on a siding. Swanage has an excellent viewing garden just opposite the turntable and another opposite the main Swanage Platform end. The Bridge over the line also gives good views of the station (looking East) and the Shed (looking West) but the limited sidings and good amount of coaching stock make it operationally necessary for "dead" loco's to be rather tucked away. After all it's the coaches that carry the fare paying/revenue earning passengers.

Geoff

JonPotter · Post by **JonPotter** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:10 pm

lateagain wrote:
JonPotter wrote:Try Heritage Railway and the Railway Magazine. And it's not an Alco

...............'
.......er the CLUE was in the title???

Stating for Murray

JSReeves86 · Post by **JSReeves86** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:30 pm

slightly off topic but whats happened to 257 squadrons tender (see first pic) oh it might be used for manston i supose.
JR

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:21 pm

JSReeves86 wrote:slightly off topic but whats happened to 257 squadrons tender (see first pic) oh it might be used for manston i supose.
JR

Good question. It's been standing around without it for a while now. They've got bits of stock in just about every available siding and a whole bunch out of public access beyond the level crossing at Norden. The one thing that Swanage lacks, that some other heritage railways have, is a yard where the non running or under restoration stock can be publicly viewed. They've done such a brilliant job of the line and all the stations that it cries out for a "Museum/Workshop" facility which done to the same standard would be the icing on the cake for railfans.

Geoff

davvydo · Post by **davvydo** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:41 pm

I think it looked better painted grey.
nice shots !