Folly #2  – These are in no particular order

OK, I admit it I like Claytons.

I probably shouldn’t as they were pretty rubbish, unreliable and short lived. With a 450 HP engine in each end at 900hp they were woefully underpowered. They spent a lot of time running around in pairs to get the power up and, probably, give you a chance of getting home.

They were a product of the BR Modernisation plan built from 1962 to 1965 for a job that was disappearing as fast as they made them. 117 were built, 87 by Clayton and the rest subcontracted to Beyer Peacock. They couldn’t even standardise them between batches as each had different multi-working gear! Their biggest achilleas heal was the engines. In most of them they had six cylinder Paxman engines.

Looking back with bucket loads of hindsight Paxman engines were crap in rail applications, but they weren’t alone in that. I think the load profile, flat out or idling was something diesel engine manufacturers hadn’t encountered before. Two were built with Rolls Royce engines as an alternative but they were rubbish, just in a different way, and ended up with Paxman engines.

By the time these were ordered the English Electric Class 20 was already in service and a reliable success. As these were a single cab at one end design they spend most of their life in pairs with the cabs at the outer end. There are still a good few of them running today!

British Rail came up with the spec for what became the Clayton as they figured they needed to address the poor visibility of the Class 20 but they were so unreliable that all but four were lined up in yards like this as  prelude to scrapping.

On a mid 70’s Merry Maker trip from Derby to Edinburgh we bunked round Miller Hill Yards to the east of Edinburgh and there were lines of 17’s along with 24’s & some 25’s all lined up waiting their fate.

I mentioned four escaped. Three made it to the Railway Technical Centre in Derby which as a Deby spotter is where I saw them. Most of the time they were inactive but one was used on the Mickleover Test Track which I used to cycle past regularly. Even then they were wrestling with poor adhesion and one of them used its gen set at one end to move whilst the other generated Plasma to torch the gunge on the railhead. I believe from some info from a colleague in later life that it also torched signalling insulated block joints.

The fourth, D8568, after withdrawal in 1971, went on to see industrial use at Hemelite, Hemel Hempstead and at Ribblesdale Cement, Clitheroe, and was then secured for preservation. This is the only one still with us.

So to MY FOLLY. The Models

I’ve a thing for models of things I saw when I was a kid in Derby or that I worked on. The research centres three qualify under the “seen as a kid” banner [as does the APT-E that sits on my test track shelf).

I thought I had satisfied that itch with the pair of Heljan 00 models seen in the pictures. They’ve had an occasional run on the test track but spend most of their time posing on the collection shelves.

When Heljan announced the O gauge version I said NO! Whilst I have a collection of 0 gauge tank engines this would be too big.  I remained unanimous in my decision for some six years. Then I got offered one part chop in a no cash changed hands deal and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Even then its sat under the bench in its box for weeks and have now only appeared because I was doing a load of other photos.

What is its future. Well it’ll get DCC & Sound installed and, whilst its in bits it’ll get a driver in the cab. Then its for a serious weathering. Not massively filthy but work worn as in the picture below. When? Who knows!

Class 17 D8505 BR green livery Motherwell June 1967 (S)

Addendum of daft ideas

Now imagine some of the body shells had survived to now -unlikely I know but play along.

In one bonnet, using a modern diesel and alternator set, you might even get 1500 HP in there given the things they stick under the floor of modern trains are just shy of a 1000. Do that to both ends you’ve got a 3000HP diesel but more likely stuff the other end with batteries and you’ve got a fancy modern hybrid that looks the business.  New AC traction motors and all of todays fancy electronics and you got a modern loco that works and looks the part.

F.R.E.D.

What on earth is FRED? FRED, was and is once again the Festiniog Rolling stock Electrical Department.  FRED existed in the 80’s & 90’s and then sort of fizzled out. It was a group of volunteers that developed in my time on the full time staff doing projects like rewiring carriages with what it still referred to as “the new carriage electrical scheme” (blue plug scheme) and the push pull train.

It kind of fizzled out as the gang developed other interests and family life got in the way. There would be the occasional burst of activity like wiring the diesel Bill or rewiring Upnor Castle but for some time now since Ged Perks retired the routine stuff has been done by contractors.

Now were putting the band back together!

You can’t help but notice that last year with the fire risk we asked a lot of our diesel fleet and are likely to have to do so again. Asking a lot without some plan for TLC is asking for trouble. This has been recognised by management and a few of the old gang have been approached to do some of that TLC to the electrical side of the job. Initial approaches were to individuals but it quickly became apparent that we needed to reinvent some sort of cohesive group, hence the rebirth of FRED.

Apart from the need for a new name to include the Welsh Highland the group needs to recruit some more volunteers, get a tool kit together and sort out our workshop. That is a plus, as part of the Great Boston Lodge Rebuild we have a nice warm workshop, although at the moment it has more the look of a slightly tidied skip.

Initially, at least, we’ll be taking on specific projects. Whilst this will represent a major cost saving over using contractors the main reason is that railway vehicles have specific needs to both comply with the operational needs and safety requirements. This is an experience that we developed and have retained. I am reluctant to list the projects in the queue because when I do it seems to get longer as someone adds a CYJ to the end of it. As I type the list is: Sort Diesel #9’s battery charging, restore Criccieth Castles Deadman’s (these two are in hand), rewire Vale of Ffestiniog, rewire Moel Hebog, design and fit a Deadman’s to Harlech Castle.

Its very early days as we only got “volunteered” after this years bygones so I’ll report more in future magazines but for now I’d be delighted to hear from: –

• Anyone who would like to help – don’t have to be a sparky, we can teach
• A benevolent electrical wholesaler specialising in industrial equipment
• A benevolent electrical wholesaler who’d lets us do a trolley dash through the tool section

I can be contacted on pmartin@ffwhr.com

The following is an extract from the Winter Festiniog Railway Magazine penned by me. Blanche aka Ricket is very dear to me (both as in close and expensive). It used to be that I referred to Blanche as “the other woman” though Annie now says she’s the other woman as I’ve known Blanche longer. 

My first footplate ride was 0n Blanche in 1977, I learnt to fire & Drive on Blanche. I ran the first RicketRescue [RR1] in 1992 & 3 to get her overhauled and back in traffic for the Hunslet 100 celebration. Since then we’ve done RR2 & 3 at 10 year intervals. Now its time for RR4.  The following article explains the current situation, plans and opportunities to help.

RicketRescue IV update

Blanche remains available for traffic and can run into next season on its boiler ticket. Mechanically you might not want to do that! The joke at Boston Lodge at the moment is that its friction free and that it couldn’t run a bearing hot if it tried as nothing touches anymore!

Three seasons ago it was declared that, with the return of Linda, Blanche would be the low mileage engine. Didn’t happen. Linda was later into traffic than planned and Blanche did most of the Quarryman service for an annual mileage of 4230. She didn’t really take it easy in 2024 with a mileage of 3317. Finally this year she did with 860 miles to mid November with possibly another 50 to be added with coal trials although as Matt commented “Having now written that no doubt some crisis will occur and it will end up doing 1500! “

This season Blanche has mostly been running trials with a different coal type which, if we can get the engines happy with it, offers potential for smoke reduction and consistent supply. She, of course, ventured out for the 70^th weekend and during Bygones doing a lot of double heading with Linda. In October she stepped in for nearly a week of Quarryman’s when Linda decided she’d had enough of living at Glan-y-Pwll (failed tender bearing). You may have seen her with “Blanche’s Begging Bucket” on the smokebox. The bucket also had an outing to The Greatest Gathering at which we offered a free ride but placed the bucket on the exit with a QR code upgrade for electronic contributions.

Whilst at the `The Greatest Gathering’ I received the comment, “I’m waiting for more on donation incentives” so hear goes.

The return of the replica Name & Works plate reward. In 2004 a significant amount towards Blanches new boiler was raised by offering `replica’ name and works plates cast from moulds taken off the originals fastened to the loco. They were taken from the fireman’s side nameplate and the driver side works plate, the one with the crease down it from an altercation with Wales.

We still have the patterns so;-

• In return for a donation of £2k (minimum) you will receive a reward of a cast brass nameplate.
• In return for a donation of £1k you will receive a cast brass works plate as a reward

Just to head off the most regular comment from last time we did this, you aren’t buying a plate you’re receiving one as a thank you for your donation. A minimum quantity is required to make this viable and the rear of the plates will be numbered and marked as RicketRescue IV.  If you really want to be generous I could be persuaded to set about Linda and do a set of Linda & Blanche plates but, remembering the faff of doing the moulds for Blanche you’d need to be generous!

Other things? Here are a couple of suggestions that I am not going to put a price on. Make an offer and see if it gets us grateful enough to do it: –

• A day on the Footplate. Spend a full day with the crew on Blanche prepping her, working passenger trains, disposal and the afterworker in Spooners.
• A guest driver day. Spend a day on Blanche with your own train and get to drive. Share it with someone to maximise the donation.
• Before & After. It’s the day on the footplate but twice. Once in 2026 so you get a guided tour of all the bits that bang, rattle and may not last the season and again after the overhaul to see how good Boston Lodge are at mending them. If you are a regular in Wales we might throw in a personal tour of BL whilst its in bits.

Some T&C’s will apply (able bodied, work attire etc) but I’ve largely just made these up and am open to suggestions backed by £££££. As a guide the above would need to have four digits before the decimal point to fly. In the summer I asked the boss if I could offer these sort of options and he said. “go for it” and right now the Ops Manager is probably going, “ you offered WHAT” as he reads this.

With all this talk of big money donations I should add that any donation is welcome as explained on this webpage https://www.ffestiniograilway.org.uk/full_article/blanche-appeal or use the QR code

Please contact me with your suggestions and offers of suitcases of untraceable notes on pmartin@ffwhr.com