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Reconvert electric locomotive back to steam

Taking Welsh Pony first, the locomotive in its present form, as with Princess, is currently a ‘time capsule’ of FR pre-preservation era practice, having not seen action since before World War Two.

The rebuild of Palmerston undertaken during the turn of the 1980s and 1990s decade effectively produced a replica in all but name and it is likely that Welsh Pony would fare little better should similar plans be implemented on its behalf.

Paul Lewin’s intial instincts were in my view correct and if the FR wishes to go down the avenue of further representation of the Englands in its fleet, then as far as modern safety requirements will allow, the correct course of action would be to produce a replica in 1860s condition of either Mountaineer (although this would require renaming the current locomotive of that name in the fleet) or Little Giant.  This major difficulty is exemplified by the problem of what to do with The Coalition. Given that one of the electric conversions has to return to Llechwedd in its current condition, this should in my view be The Eclipse, as this locomotive was a conversion of the ubiquitous 'Bullhead Bagnall' type, several examples of which are extant around the world, including sister engine Dorothy, now in an advanced state of restoration.

The Coalition in original form as Bagnall Edith was representative of both the 'mainstream' pattern of narrow gauge steam locomotive (pioneered in 'production' form by the 18in gauge Manning Wardle '6 by 8’ 0-4-0STs and represented today by the likes of the Alice class Hunslets, Russell and Lyd), and of the rare inverted saddle tank form adopted by Bagnall during the last quarter of the 19th century.

Should the political will be present, the surviving components of Edith would therefore offer a unique opportunity to recreate the Bagnall inverted saddle tank in preservation if the resources and courage could be plucked up to carry out the necessary work.

I realise that two arguments would be raised in opposition to such a course of action; namely (1) that the locomotive has been in its electric form for longer than its steam form, and (2) that its original makers’ plans do not survive. The first of these contentions has to be weighed against the fact that reconversion would fill a significant gap in the ranks of industrial steam locomotive preservation (in any case the electric motor and associated components could be displayed alongside The Eclipse); while the second can be answered by the experience gained in the production of replicas of the Heywood and Laxey locomotives against similar limitations; the use of modern digital photograph scaling techniques, and the fact the plans of similar but later locomotives do survive.

Mark Smithers
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