Clips from two sources, one from the 1920s and one from the 1950s depicting those incredible survivors of the Victorian era, the Beattie 0298 Class 2-4-0T 'well tanks' (for the curious, a well tank is a locomotive where the water is stored in a tank between the frames) on the line to which they will be forever associated, the Bodmin to Wadebridge route. When withdrawn, they had gone through 3 distinct phases of rebuilding and although replacements had been tried over the years, nothing else was found to be suitable for the picturesque but lightly-laid branch line. Of the three remaining locomotives of the class in 1962, Nº298, which eventually became 30587 in the BR stock list, had worked the branch since 1895.
The three engines that worked this line had already had outlasted the remainder of the class (which once comprised 85 members) by 25 years when the first clip was filmed. The second clip at Wenford Bridge Goods Depot shows how little had changed in the intervening 30 years.
The Standard Well Tanks were introduced by Joseph Beattie on the London & South Western Railway in 1862 as a result of the rapidly expanding network of the railway. The design can be traced back to the 'Nile' class of 2-4-0 well tanks of 1859, but were modified by Beyer Peacock in collaboration with the LSWR. Six of the engines were ordered for working the LSWR trains on the West London Extension Railway. They were so successful that by 1875 a further 79 had been built. Representatives of the class worked over lines over most of the LSWR although in early years most were concentrated in the London area.
When built all locomotives had the high-domed firebox typical of early Victorian locomotives, but Williams Adams began to replace these fireboxes with conventional coal-burning fireboxes when he came to office. This was a slow process and by 1886-9, with the Beattie fireboxes worn out, 12 of the original 85 were withdrawn from service. The introduction of Adams class 415 4-4-2 tanks (Radials') in 1883, saw the need for the well-tanks in the London area reduced considerably. Thus 31 of the class were given tenders to become standard 2-4-0 locomotives. As newer and larger locomotives were introduced, particularly the Adams O2 class, the need to keep so many of the well tanks was reduced and gradually their numbers were cut back in the 1890s until by 1899 only three remained.
They owed their survival to an anomaly. Until the North Cornwall Railway, an independent concern operated by the LSWR, reached Wadebridge in 1895, the LSWR's Bodmin and Wadebridge line, with its Wenford Bridge branch, was isolated from the rest of the LSWR network. Two years prior to this, one of the well tanks, no 248 was sent by sea to Wadebridge to replace the ancient and worn-out Fletcher Jennings 0-4-0 saddle tank, 'Bodmin'. By 1895, nos. 44, 266 and 298 were working the Bodmin and Wadebridge lines. By 1921, the boilers of all three locomotives were almost worn-out but because of the uniqueness of the Wenford Bridge line, with its very tight curves, replacement was not an option, so three new boilers of the 1907 Drummond O2 pattern were built for them.
In 1929, with the line having been part of the Southern Railway for six years, a former South Eastern & Chatham Railway P class 0-6-0 tank was trialled on the line but the track was damaged by its longer wheelbase and the locomotive which it was supposed to replace was reprieved, repaired and returned to service. The next crisis came in 1931 when one of the machines was found to have broken frames, but it was again rebuilt with new ones of modified design, as were it's sisters shortly therafter. And so things continued as before right through BR days, when they acquired their BR numbers. Their last general repair was in 1960 when they received their BR classification 0P.
By chance, three unique, but more modern, ex-GWR 0-6-0 small pannier tanks, numbers 1367/8/9, became redundant around the docks of Weymouth in 1962. The opportunity was taken to send the three Western Region tank engines down to Cornwall, and bring to an end 70 years of historical working. The Well Tanks swansong was the joint RTCS and SLS "South West Suburban" rail tour of December 1962 which saw their return to London, an event so well recorded on film and in photographs as to be almost embarrassing.
Two have been preserved. Nº298, now 30587, was a static exhibit under cover at the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh but was moved in December 2001 to the Forest of Dean where she has since been restored to full running order and is now based on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. Nº314, now 30585, was overhauled to running status at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, at Quainton Road.
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Southern Steam - Nine Elms MPDby SouthernRailwayFilms21,456 views
A splendid video, and many thanks for the comprehensive history of the class. It's great to see the shunters at work and all the bits of lineside furniture, now all gone!
5705Seahorse 1 month ago
love it what a great find
chairuser4 1 month ago
Very good video! 5 up
trainfart 1 year ago
Great Video, 5 Stars!
60103Henry 1 year ago