563 Victorian victory

As LSWR ‘T3’ No. 563 steams for the first time in 75 years, Steam Railway explores its fascinating history and journey towards its revival.

London & South Western Railway ‘T3’ No. 563 in original livery at Nine Elms in the mid ‐1890s. SOUTH WESTERN CIRCLE

June 25 1948 – Waterloo station. It is the last day of an exhibition celebrating the centenary of the former London & South Western Railway’s terminus. Sitting in one of the platforms is an example of the newly formed Southern Region’s most modern steam locomotives: air-smoothed Bulleid ‘West Country’ 4 ‐ 6‐2 No. 34017 Ilfracombe. Only three years old, Ilfracombe’s radical, boxy shape and vibrant Malachite green and sunshine livery are in stark contrast to the decidedly traditional, Victorian outlines of the other locomotives lined up behind it. The first is ex-London, Brighton & South Coast Railway ‘A1’ 0 ‐ 6‐0T No. 82 Boxhill. The second is one of Ilfracombe’s direct predecessors: ex-LSWR ‘T3’ No. 563.

With its elegant stovepipe chimney, undulating splashers and delicately painted lining, this quintessential pre-Grouping 4 ‐ 4‐0 is the aesthetic antithesis of Bulleid’s bold and innovative design – or indeed the muscular, semi-streamlined form of ex-LMS Stanier ‘Princess Coronation’ No. 46236 City of Bradford which, bizarrely paired with a former War Department eight-wheel tender, arrives with a train from Exeter as part of British Railways’ Locomotive Exchange Trials. This strange tableau epitomises the new, emergent BR era, with archaic technology giving way to new designs and a breakdown of old, regional identities.

Later that day, with the festivities over, No. 563 withdrew to the electric carriage shed at Farnham, seemingly destined for a life on static display. Few could have imagined then that, 75 years, one month and a day later, the ‘T3’ would be resurrected. It’s a fairytale story for one of preservation’s sleeping beauties.

No. 563 poses alongside ‘M7’ No. 30055 at Brighton on April 13 1958. L.V. REASON/ COLOUR RAIL

Adams’ apples

By the time William Adams assumed the role of Locomotive Engineer for the London & South Western Railway in 1878, he had already enjoyed a long and successful career.

Born on October 15 1823, Adams was apprenticed at 17 to a firm of marine engineers and, in 1848, joined the Sardinian Navy as an engineer. He returned to Britain in 1853 and, two years later, was appointed as Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent of the North London Railway. He helped organise and extend the NLR’s Bow Works and, in 1863, introduced the first of the NLR’s 4‐4‐0T designs – the first to be built by the railway itself at Bow rather than by outside contractors.

In 1873, Adams became Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Eastern Railway, where he was responsible for the reorganisation of Stratford Works. In 1876, Adams introduced the first of what would be several outside-cylinder 4‐4‐0 designs – the 20-strong GER’s ‘265’ class. Another notable ‘first’ during his time at the GER were the ‘527’ class 2‐6‐0s, the first ‘Moguls’ to run in Britain. Indeed, the class prototype was named Mogul, thus lending that assignation to all subsequent 2‐6‐0 locomotives.

No. 563 under restoration at Eastleigh in May 1948. S.C. TOWNROE COLLECTION

Adams moved to the LSWR in 1878, where his affinity for express passenger 4‐4‐0s would reach its zenith. He introduced eight 4‐4‐0 designs, with the first – the ‘380’ class – arriving in 1879. All shared Adams’ typical touches – a relatively small boiler, long frames and running plates between the front bufferbeam and smokebox, horizontal outside cylinders, and plain but elegant stovepipe chimneys.

No. 563’s story really begins in June 1890, when Adams introduced the first of the 20-strong ‘X2’ express passenger 4‐4‐0s. With their large 7ft 1in driving wheels, the ‘X2s’ were designed for the Waterloo-Bournemouth expresses, and were followed from September 1895 by ten of the very similar ‘T6’ class, which were all but identical.

The ‘T3s’ were originally planned as 6ft 7in‐wheeled versions of the ‘X2s’ for the more arduous routes west of Salisbury and to Portsmouth, with an order for an initial ten locomotives being placed with Nine Elms works in December 1889 (before the first ‘X2’ had been completed) with a further ten being ordered in June 1890. However, with the works focused on building ‘O2’ 0 ‐ 4‐4Ts, construction of the ‘T3s’ didn’t start until December 1892.

Prior to the first ‘T3s’ being built, however, trials of ‘X2’ No. 582 revealed the need for greater steam capacity, so Adams modified the ‘T3’ design by increasing the coupled wheelbase by six inches to accommodate a larger firebox with a 19¾sq. ft grate. Author and historian D.L. Bradley notes in his book on Adams’ LSWR locomotives: “In the later years of British steam locomotion, such increase would probably have been considered insignificant, but with the smaller engines of the 1890s, these changes were sufficient to transform an adequate design into one of the finest express classes of the period.”

A rare colour photo of ‘T3’ No. 563 at Eastleigh in June 1948, shortly after its restoration for the Waterloo centenary. The ‘Light Pacific’ on the left is likely to be No. 34022 Exmoor, which received its BR number that month. Next to it is ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34064 Fighter Command, which was one of a handful of ‘Light Pacifics’ painted in experimental BR Apple green livery in the early years of nationalisation. On the right is ‘T9’ No. 30119, which for many years was used for Royal Train duties. COLOUR RAIL
No. 563 in its final Maunsell-era livery in olive green on December 19 1938, just months before initial withdrawal. Note the lack of bogie splashers, piston tail rods and smokebox lubricators, as well as the Drummond lipped chimney and tender coal rails. RAIL ONLINE

Southern stalwart

Outshopped in March 1893 as the seventh ‘T3’, No. 563 was initially allocated to Nine Elms, but spent most of its career based at either Guildford or Eastleigh. As originally turned out, No. 563 was painted in LSWR lined green livery, with stylised intertwined LSWR lettering on the leading splashers, brass beading on the driving wheel splashers, piston tail-rods, and separate splashers over each bogie wheel. No. 563’s current livery is an approximation of its second, Drummond-era livery, when it was repainted into a slightly darker shade of green after Drummond took over as CME in 1895, with the company’s crest replacing the LSWR lettering on the leading splashers. During this period, around the turn of the century, the piston tail rods were also removed, as were the splashers over the front bogie wheels, while the springing arrangement was altered from the original Adams setup with equalised beams, which effectively made the driving wheels compensated, to a more traditional layout. The tender was also modified, with larger LSWR lettering and coal rails added to increase capacity. At some point during Drummond’s tenure, the original stovepipe chimney was replaced by a lipped version.

Upon the Grouping in 1923, No. 563 came under the aegis of the Southern Railway. It was subsequently repainted into Maunsell-era olive green and gained an ‘E’ prefix to its number in March 1924 (which was dropped in February 1933).

Although all 20 ‘T3s’ had been taken into Southern stock, they had long since been usurped on the principal expresses by later Drummond, Urie and Maunsell designs, and relegated to secondary work. Withdrawals began in October 1930, when No. 561 was condemned; by August 1933, only Nos. 557, 563 and 571 remained in service, although No. 557 was withdrawn in April 1936 with cracked frames.

No. 563 lines up behind LBSCR ‘A1’ No. 82 Boxhill and ‘West Country’ No. 34017 Ilfracombe at Waterloo in June 1948 for the terminus’ centenary celebrations. NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM

Unusually, considering that withdrawal was likely on the horizon, No. 563 was sent to Eastleigh for overhaul in August 1935, emerging the following month with smaller-than-usual numbers on its tender sides. According to the LSWR Stock Book by Peter Cooper (ISBN: 9780946184200): “She was transferred to Salisbury at this point, where she was kept highly polished and where she remained, working as station pilot or on the Bournemouth ‘slows’, until being transferred again to Eastleigh in February 1938” (Tony Sedgwick notes the move as taking place in June 1937). The Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group says: “During the locomotive’s time based at Eastleigh, No. 563 was regularly rostered for the Salisbury-Portsmouth services, and on summer Saturdays occasionally worked the Down portion of the through service from Birkenhead.”

However, No. 563 was placed in storage in October 1938 and, aside from use over the busy Christmas season, did not return to traffic until March 1939. This reprieve was very short-lived as, on March 9, No. 563 failed while hauling the Fawley goods train and was immediately withdrawn.

Last-minute reprieve

It is intriguing to speculate whether No. 563 would have survived into preservation had the Second World War not intervened. With conflict with Nazi Germany seemingly inevitable, Britain’s railways would need all the motive power they could muster, so after a period in storage, No. 563 was sent to Eastleigh for repairs, returning to traffic on November 2 1939, based out of Basingstoke. In February 1943, classmate No. 571 was withdrawn, leaving No. 563 as the last ‘T3’ in service. Alas, time was running out for the venerable 4 ‐ 4‐0 and, in August 1945, it was finally withdrawn and seemingly destined for scrap.

No. 563 was not disposed of immediately. Instead, it was taken to Eastleigh shed and stored on the ‘Shop Road’ until August 24 1947, when it was taken to the works themselves. It returned to the shed on January 15 1948 and was subsequently taken by Bulleid ‘Q1’ 0 ‐ 6‐0 No. C23 to Awbridge Sidings, between Romsey and Kimbridge Junction, from where it would be taken to Ditton for scrapping. After avoiding the scrapman for over two years, No. 563 seemed destined to finally meet its maker. However, fate intervened again.

1948 marked 100 years since the opening of Waterloo station, and the newly formed Southern Region of British Railways wanted to celebrate the milestone with a display of heritage locomotives and rolling stock. BR(S) general manager John Elliot instructed Stores Superintendent A.B. MacLeod and Deputy CME E.A. Turbett to select a suitable Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0 for display. MacLeod consulted with Eastleigh Running Superintendent S.C. Townroe to identify a suitable candidate and, deciding that No. 563 was the best of those waiting to be scrapped, a visit to Kimbridge Junction by MacLeod, Turbett, Townroe, and Painter Foreman Miller was hastily arranged for May 4.

The ‘T3’ and Tweedmouth in 1958. In the background is Gresley ‘J39’ No. 64854. Also in the roundhouse at this time were Boxhill and ex-SECR ‘D’ 4 ‐ 4‐0 No. 31737. COLOUR RAIL

Things happened very quickly. No. 563 was taken back to Eastleigh on May 17 for transformation back into LSWR condition. It was painted back into Drummond livery with the LSWR crest on the splashers; the Adams-type stovepipe chimney, smokebox door and bogie wheel splashers were reinstated; and it received appropriate couplings, whistle and ejector, while two cast cabside numberplates were made to complete the makeover. The boiler was also re-tubed to allow No. 563 to travel to Waterloo under its own steam, albeit at a reduced 60lbs/sq. in. pressure owing to the fragile nature of its firebox.

Just three weeks later, on June 7, a transformed No. 563 travelled to Micheldever for official photographs, before travelling to Waterloo – paired with restored 1903-built ex-LSWR Tri-Composite Lavatory Brake carriage No. 847 (now preserved at the National Railway Museum at York) – on June 11. The exhibition – which also featured Boxhill and Ilfracombe – took place on June 14-25, after which No. 563, the LSWR carriage, and the ‘Terrier’ retired to Farnham for storage and an uncertain future.

Society saviour?

Curiously, the Stephenson Locomotive Society may have played a hand in No. 563’s preservation. In the July 1948 edition of the society’s journal, it said: “The society takes particular pleasure in the decision to preserve this example of British locomotive design, because it began its own efforts a long time ago to persuade the authorities that this was a type thoroughly worth saving for public exhibition. The Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0s are important from the viewpoint of the student of locomotive history, as they typify the best engineering practice of the closing years of the nineteenth century.” In thanking Southern Region CME Oliver Bulleid for allowing the restoration to take place at Eastleigh, the society added: “We recount drawing his attention to the worthiness of an Adams locomotive for preservation in a talk with him nearly three years ago; more recently the society began negotiations with him, with the same object in view, and we know he will understand how satisfying it is for the society to see the realisation of this proposal which they have so much at heart.”

If this discussion took place, and if the timings are accurate, it would have happened around the time of No. 563’s withdrawal, which may explain why it was stored at Eastleigh for so long before being taken away for scrap. Another possible explanation for No. 563’s long time in limbo can be found in the surviving Eastleigh records, which list No. 563 as one of several Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0s – including ‘X6s’ Nos. 658/9 and ‘X2’ No. 586 – “to be retained for E’leigh Museum”. Of course, the museum never happened and Nos. 586, 658 and 659 were cut up.

However, confusing the matter further, the May 1948 edition of the SLS journal says: “At the time of the nationalisation of the British railways, the society was in the process of negotiating with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway for the preservation of Kirtley 2 ‐ 4‐0 locomotive No. 20002, and the Southern Railway for the preservation of Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0 No. 571. With the passing of the railways into public ownership, it was decided that an attempt should be made as soon as practicable to find out the general attitude of the new administration to saving of historical railway relics, with the view to placing them on public exhibition. An interview was arranged on 19th March with Sir Cyril Hurcomb, Chairman of the British Transport Commission, when the president and Mr [William] Skeat put the case for these two locomotives, and outlined the efforts already made.”

While No. 20002 – perhaps better known today as No. 158A – was eventually preserved, No. 571 was ultimately scrapped. So, how did No. 563 become the preserved ‘T3’ and not No. 571? Photographic evidence of No. 571 in the Eastleigh scrap line in circa 1947 shows front end damage, so one hypothesis is that the meeting with Sir Cyril Hurcomb prompted the Southern Region’s decision to restore a ‘T3’ for the Waterloo centenary celebrations, and that No. 563 was chosen over No. 571 because it was possibly in better condition.

Whatever the true story is, it seems the Stephenson Locomotive Society played an important role in No. 563’s preservation – 20 years after it also saved LBSCR 0 ‐ 4‐2 No. 214 Gladstone for the nation.

Writer and railway historian John Scott-Morgan tells a different tale: “William Skeat was the editor of the Journal of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and had been one of Sir Nigel Gresley’s engineering pupils. He approached Oliver Bulleid after a meeting of the Institute of Locomotive Engineers in 1946 and said to him, ‘Why don’t you preserve an Adams T3 4 ‐ 4‐0?’, to which Bulleid said, ‘Why should I preserve one of those?’. Skeat said, ‘Because they are historically very important and one day someone might want to preserve one of your locomotives’.

“Bulleid was a closet railway historian, who took an interest in railway engineering development, so it was no surprise that he had the ‘T3’, an LSWR tri ‐composite bogie carriage, and the Stroudley ‘Terrier’ Boxhill laid aside for preservation.”

Roving ambassador

No. 563 on the turntable at John Street Roundhouse in Toronto, Canada, on April 14 2011. STEPHEN GARDINER

Following the Waterloo centenary celebrations, No. 563 and Boxhill became roving ambassadors for the Southern Region, appearing at Eastleigh Works open days in 1954, 1955 and 1957, and at Guildford, Hove and Salisbury sheds in early 1958. On April 13 that year, both Boxhill and No. 563 were displayed outside Brighton shed, as part of the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society’s ‘Sussex Coast Limited’ railtour, which featured ex-LBSCR ‘H2’ 4 ‐ 4‐2 No. 32424 Beachy Head on the outward leg from London Victoria to Newhaven.

While at Brighton, both the ‘Terrier’ and ‘T3’ were prepared for transport to the roundhouse at Tweedmouth near Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. The pair departed Brighton on April 27 1958, and remained in storage at Tweedmouth. According to D.L. Bradley, the interlude at Tweedmouth was because No. 563 and Boxhill’s external condition had deteriorated badly while based at Farnham, and they needed a safer location while work was ongoing to create the Museum of British Transport at Clapham, which was intended to be their permanent home following their formal induction into the newly created National Collection.

Following one final Eastleigh Works open day appearance in August 1960, a somewhat forlorn-looking No. 563 entered the works in September for a thorough cosmetic overhaul to prepare it for display at Clapham. Paperwork held in the National Railway Museum archives reveals just how extensive the restoration was; space precludes us from listing everything, but the main jobs included: • Altering the front footsteps • Reinstating the splashers over the front bogie wheels • Reinstating the piston tail rods • Fitting Roscoe lubricators, as per original specification • Fitting a new, wooden cab roof • Reinstating brass beading on the driving wheel splashers • Removing the tender coal rails, and fitting a new lid to the tank filler hole.

No. 563 at the National Railway Museum in August 1985. On the right is ex-GNR Ivatt ‘C1’ 4 ‐ 4‐2 No. 251, and on the left is ‘EM2’ Bo ‐Bo electric locomotive No. 26020. CHARLIE VERRALL

The list goes on. Eastleigh went to the nth degree to get the details right, such as making sure that the pipe to the vacuum gauge coupled up “without circling the gauge first”, or that the buffers were “held together with rivets then bolted onto [the] bufferbeam with bolt heads outside”.

With the restoration completed, No. 563 was painted initially into pink undercoat and, on January 25 1961, was moved by rail to Southampton for onward transport to Clapham. However, a landslip at Hook meant the final part of No. 563’s journey was completed by road on the back of a low-loader. After installation at Clapham, No. 563 was repainted into original Adams-era LSWR Pea green, with intertwined LSWR lettering replacing the LSWR crest on the leading splashers.

The ‘T3’ remained on static display at Clapham, sharing a roof with other relics from the National Collection – including its old stablemate Boxhill – until the museum’s closure in April 1973. Happily, a place had been earmarked for No. 563 in the new National Railway Museum in the former roundhouse at York and, on April 12 1975, the ‘T3’ returned to the main line as part of an extraordinary convoy. Towed dead behind a ‘Peak’ diesel, No. 563 – curiously paired with the Great Eastern tender from ‘T26’/’E4’ 2 ‐ 4‐0 No. 490 – was coupled behind ‘A4’ No. 4468 Mallard; No. 563’s own tender was carried on a Lowmac wagon, as was its stalwart sidekick Boxhill, which was coupled behind the Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0. Has there ever been a stranger train in preservation?

Stage star

No. 563 spent most of the next 30 years enjoying a relatively quiet life displayed around the turntable at York. On brief interlude came in 1990 when it was relocated, along with several other locomotives, for temporary display at Swindon from April to October that year while the NRM’s Great Hall was being re-roofed. In 2004, the ‘T3’ was one of the exhibits transferred to Shildon for the opening of the NRM’s new Locomotion outpost. The locomotive undertook what was perhaps the most adventurous journey in its history in March 2011, when it was sent to Canada to appear in a stage production of The Railway Children at the John Street Roundhouse in Toronto, accompanied by 1912-built ex-Great Eastern Railway Director’s Saloon No. 63. Both No. 563 and the carriage stayed in Canada until September that year, when they returned to Britain.

Upon arrival, the ‘T3’ resumed its duties on display at Shildon. It didn’t remain there long, however, as it reprised its Railway Children role for a new production staged in a temporary 1,000-seat theatre next to King’s Cross station in London, running from December 2014 until January 2017. During that time, both it and 1896-built ex-Great North of Scotland Railway four-wheel five-compartment Lavatory Composite No. 34 (loaned to the production from the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway by owner Stephen Middleton, who also loaned the GER carriage for the Toronto production) covered 96 miles on the temporary track used in the production.

No. 563 is resplendent in original LSWR livery at the Museum of British Transport at Clapham. ALAN PRATT

By late March 2017, with the theatre around it dismantled, No. 563 had been sheeted over ready for what many believed would be a return to Locomotion for further display. However, on March 30 that year, the NRM announced that it was disposing of the ‘T3’ from the National Collection and donating it to the Swanage Railway Trust. Such a move – coming less than a year after the museum deaccessioned sole surviving North Staffordshire Railway ‘New L’ 0 ‐ 6‐2T No. 2 to the Foxfield Railway – sparked controversy, but raised the tantalising possibility of No. 563 returning to steam for the first time since 1948, something that would arguably never have been sanctioned under the NRM’s stewardship.

On April 12 2017, the Adams 4 ‐ 4‐0 returned to its former London & South Western Railway territory for the first time since the early 1960s when it arrived at its new home on the Isle of Purbeck, thus setting the stage for the next era of its career.

In Part 2, we’ll explore how No. 563 was revived for the first time in 75 years.

Thanks to the Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group for access to their archive.

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