THE STORY SO FAR (part 1)

This first appeared in the Shillingstone Station Project Newsletter No. 12 - June 2006.

Photos used with kind permission of Keith Bottomley

Built by BR (W) in Swindon “A" Shop during May 1959, 92207 was the 13th from last steam locomotive to be built for British Railways. It was part of lot number 429 (the final order for main line steam locomotives by British Rail), which was an order for 18 9F 2-10-0 Standard freight locomotives, to be numbered 92203 to 92220. This makes 92207 newer than some diesel classes, as some Warship diesel hydraulics and class 03 shunters had been out-shopped from Swindon before this loco was.

9F 92207 in brand new condition outside BR's Swindon works. Photo copyright Ivo Peters

Costing £38,000 to build including a 5000 gallon tender, 92207 was completed in May 1959, and was despatched to Bristol St Phillips Marsh Depot. Its main duties were heavy iron ore trains from South Wales, but during its stay at Bristol it did make a rare venture to Blackpool on an excursion. In February 1960 it was transferred to Southall for use on fast fitted freight, and occasional use on Paddington to Plymouth passenger duties. After a short stay 92207 then moved to Oxford and Banbury sheds where it returned to providing the motive power for heavy iron ore trains from South Wales again. After a brief return to Bristol St Phillips Marsh 92207 was transferred in November 1964 to its final depot, Newport Ebbw Junction, where it acquired its 86b shed plate (the one it will carry in preservation). 92207 always stayed on the Western Region carrying out a variety of freight and passenger duties. While stabled at Newport it worked Cardiff to Portsmouth duties so would have been seen passing through Salisbury regularly.

Photograph of BR Standard Class 9F No 92207 seen here at Southall 2nd Sept 1952 photo from P H Groom collection 

While shedded at Southall in 1961 92207 was involved in a light collision, which bent the front end. The main frame just ahead of the cylinders had to be cut and re-welded to straighten the damage and also relieve stress. As the damage was not thought to be too serious the repair work was carried out away from Swindon Works. (During 92207s restoration, when inspected for the first time by the railway inspectorate, as part of the requirement of MT276 for main line running, the inspector said he didn’t like the look of the repair made to the main frame at the front end. He changed his tune slightly when he found out that British Railways had made the repair in March 1961.)

After only a month stabled at Newport, and due for its 5 year major overhaul, with the Western Region well advanced with its dieselisation programme, the decision was made to scrap 92207 after only 5 years and 7 months in service. Withdrawn from Newport it was sold to Woodham Bros Scrap yard in Barry, South Wales. It arrived there as part of a convoy during March 1965. There it rested for 21 years and 7 months, 4 times longer than it was in service, until it became the 180th locomotive to leave the now famous scrap yard on 21^st October 1986.

Keith Bottomley comes into the Barry story in about 1982 after he had spent a year living in the area after having married a local woman. He visited the scrap yard regularly, and during one such trip he noticed 45337, a Black 5, had “sold” painted on it with a phone number local to where Keith was now living in Manchester. It was a group’ of lads connected to the East Lancashire Railway. Keith got involved financially by becoming a shareholder in the engine, and physically involved in the locos move and subsequent restoration. He helped a gang of about 30 enthusiasts to dismantle it and restore it for about 2 years. In 1984 or early 1985 Keith decided that he didn’t want to be a part share holder in an engine anymore, he wanted to own his own! (a childhood dream, stemming from many hours spent on Manchester Victoria Station)

So Keith then went to Barry with purchasing in mind and the 1st loco that caught his fancy was 350.11 “General Steam Navigation” which was a Bournemouth loco from the ‘1960s and was his favorite engine from childhood holidays spent on the South Coast. At that time someone else had reserved it for purchase. Dai Woodham had a reservation system, anyone wanting to buy a loco had to put a reserve on it: This reserve was entered into a register, after which the purchase had to be loosely completed within 3 months. If anyone challenged the reservation by wanting to buy the same loco, then the purchase had to be completed within the 3 months. So Keith challenged the reservation of “General Steam Navigation” but the intended purchaser managed to get the money together within the allotted time and completed the deal.

92207 with many other condemned locomotives at Barry Scrap yard on 23 April 1967  Photo copyright Colin Caddy, with permission by Keith Bottomley

Keith’s interest then moved to West Country Class 34046 “Braunton”, but this locomotive was also reserved by the same individual, on behalf of a different consortium. This deal was also completed within the allotted time so Keith was again unlucky.

92207 at Woodhams Bros Scrap yard in Barry - looking rather colourful in bright red rust! Note the Reserved and Do Not Remove Parts chalked on her tender.

Keith then went to Dai Woodham and stated he wanted his next choice whatever, and brokered a deal to cut across the reservation system. Time was pressing because Keith was off to the Middle East to work for a year. There were about 50-60 locos now left to choose from and he looked at class 4 standard 2-6-0, 76077, a Stanier 8F, Black 5s and then decided on a 9F. He looked at 92245, and 92207, which was the better of the two. The guy that had beaten Keith to the 2 earlier engines tiled to steer Keith towards 92245 as he wanted 92207 for himself, as he knew that it was in better condition. Keith was having none of this, and as the other gentleman’s reserve had expired, managed to seal a deal before he left for the Middle East, putting down a deposit for the engine to be held for 12 months. When Keith returned in August 1986 he completed the purchase for £10,000.

The next two jobs were to get the engine ready for moving and to arrange the publicity for the move. It cost £1375 plus VAT. to move so Keith formed the Limited Company that now owns the engine and he got Beatties the Model shop to sponsor the move from Barry to Bolton Street.

Station in Bury and posters were placed in all their shops advertising this. 92207 was cosmetically restored with new smoke deflectors and running boards, and a smoke-box door that was lying around was tack-welded in place. Next it was painted with black bitumen for the move. This work took several weekends and it had to be removed from the scrap-line for it to be carried out.

The Naming ceremony - note nameplate covered up, and then revealed.

Next there was a naming ceremony at Barry on 20 October 1986 where 92207 was christened “Morning Star”. It should have been named by Robert Adley M.P. for Christchurch but he had a parliamentary debate, so Sir Raymond Gower, the local M.P. for the Vale of Glamorgan came along to name it instead. The television, local schools and many enthusiasts also attended.

The naming ceremony photos

The next day Allelys Heavy Haulage came to move 92207 (this was their first ever loco move and also Andrew Goodman’s first involvement in this kind of activity). It rained all day.  For the television cameras a steam traction engine was used to winch 92207 onto the lorry. The vehicle set off on its 3 day journey, getting to the A470 M4 interchange just north of Cardiff by that evening. At 70 tons the engine was right on the weight limit for the trailer. Allelys had a separate Bedford T. K. which was used to carry the ramp, rails and sleepers, and this vehicle was stopped and prosecuted for overloading, but not the trailer and loco. On the 2nd day they set off, then stopped at Ross-on-Wye for a rest break, and while there Keith got on the local radio station from the transport café. The lorry pulled out of the car park and grounded in the process while Keith was live on air! The 2nd night was spent at Frankley Services which is the last one on the M5. Motorway bridges are all 16 feet 6ins tall, and the loco on the lorry was 16 feet 4ins. The convoy had a police escort front and back. On day 3 the locomotive finally reached Bury in the early afternoon. (23rd October 1986) it took 2 hours to construct a ramp from the back of the lorry to the rails at Bury Bolton Street. Then a Sentinel diesel shunter and brake van were run up the ramp coupled up and slowly brought the loco down the ramp and onto the rails. A tender was borrowed from 45337 and placed behind 92207 for the benefit of the television cameras. The ensemble was shunted into the platform and left there for 3 days, then the tender was removed and the loco was shunted into a siding adjacent to platform 1, and it had to stand there for a year with Beatties signs on it as part of the deal with them.

During that year Beatties paid for a CCT (a 41 feet long, long wheeled based, 4 wheeled parcels van) and its transport to Bury. It was purchased as a tool van, storage unit, workshop and a base. It was bought from Radyr yard and travelled up by rail at a cost of £200. As part of the deal the CCT had to be painted in Beatties Black and yellow livery complete with a painted map of Britain with all their branches on. This vehicle was then positioned in the same siding as 92207, for maximum publicity.

Over the next few years Beatties donated a slot model railway, which created a steady income over the next 5 years. They also persuaded Hornby to make a limited edition of 5000 models of 92207 in 00 gauge complete with Morning Star nameplates, and number 1 was presented to Keith Bottomley on a wooden plaque.

Hornby's  limited edition in 00 gauge of 9f 2-10-0 92207 "Morning Star"

 92207 "Morning Star" at her present home at Shillingstone Station.

To Be Continued . . .