David Element's Railway Web Page 23...

Steam Locomotives in Preservation - 71000 'Duke of Gloucester'

71000 'Duke of Gloucester'

BR Standard Class 8P 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' was a one-off design built in 1954 and intended to fill the gap left by the destruction of 'Princess Royal' Class 46202 'Princess Anne', a casualty of the dreadful Harrow rail crash of 1952. No. 46202 had only been very recently rebuilt into a conventional form from the unique experimental 'Turbomotive'. 'Duke of Gloucester' was not built exactly to the original specifications (see below), possibly because it was envisaged that the locomotive would not be in service for very long and during BR days much time was spent out of action as performances were not up to expectations despite the employment of modern Caprotti valve gear. When withdrawn the outside cylinders were crudely cut off, sectioned and put on display by the Science Museum. The rest of this splendid locomotive was despatched to Barry Docks (via Cashmere's) for scrap. Fortunately the sight above (at Clapham Junction) is now possible through the efforts of dedicated preservationists who saw through the apparent impossibilities of any restoration project designed to save this locomotive. Equally significant was the realisation by Dai Woodham the scarapyard owner at Barry that there might be more value to be gained by retaining withdrawn locomotives for preservation than by cutting them up (eventually no less than 213 locomotives were sold and many of these have now been steamed again). During the process of preservation it was noticed that certain significant construction errors (particularly those causing poor ventilation of the firebox) had undermined the efficiency of this locomotive during BR days. Examination of the original blueprints has enabled the preservation team to correct these defects and to make certain modifications. The reconstructed wreck of 71000 has demonstrated a significantly improved performance record ever since! For an authoritative account of the history of this locomotive, see: http://www.71000trust.com/History.html.

It should be noted that preserved locomotives undergo regular periods of inactivity for maintenance and the appearance of photographs of any particular example on these pages does not necessarily mean that it is currently operational. Newly restored locomotives may be used as replacements, locations or ownerships may change and if a locomotive undergoes a heavy overhaul it may be out of action for several years. This process is immensely expensive and labour-intensive and preserved railways always require significant financial assistance from visitors and benefactors, so any contributions towards the uptake of these marvellous machines will always be welcomed by their owners.

-> Railway Web Page 1 - Steam Locomotives 1

-> Railway Web Page 2 - Steam Locomotives 2

-> Railway Web Page 3 - Steam Locomotives 3

-> Railway Web Page 4 - Steam Locomotives 4

-> Railway Web Page 5 - Steam Locomotives 5

-> Railway Web Page 6- Steam Locomotives 6

-> Railway Web Page 7 - Steam Locomotives 7

-> Railway Web Page 8 - Steam Locomotives 8

-> Railway Web Page 9 - Steam Locomotives 9

-> Railway Web Page 10 - Steam Locomotives 10

-> Railway Web Page 11 - Steam Locomotives 11

-> Railway Web Page 12 - Steam Locomotives 12