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Thompson Locomotive Collection

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This page has been set up to document the full restoration and overhaul of Yorkshire Engine Company 2679 of 1961 and Ruston and Hornsby 165DE 0-4-0s No.1 and 3 from Clyde Ironworks

01/09/2023

Hi everyone,

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Life has been very busy on and off the railway including a new arrival in the family, and future volunteer!

As for the locos, L2 departed for its new life in Norfolk, in the care of the Bramley line heritage railway were it has taken on the role of gate guardian at their Waldersea Sidings. As usual, many thanks to Heanor Fleet Services Ltd for moving her.

2679 has been attacked with wire wheels, needle guns and a lot of paint! Many panels have been cleaned up and painted to protect them from further corrosion while the steelwork repairs are completed.

The power unit has been temporarily reassembled to free up the engine stand for a more pressing project and to allow me to assess the next steps.

The first panel has also received the first coats of the final livery, it’ll need a few more coats to complete the colour but it’s all starting to take shape.

05/02/2023

Another bodywork update for L2

Several areas have received attention thanks to Jordi and Hayden. The cab roof has been scraped a brushed of its loose paint and a coat of protective primer put on as well as the cab side that was peeling the worst.

Just a few more areas of welding and some Perspex windows to fit and she’ll be ready for her new custodians.

08/01/2023

Featuring Matt’s handiwork on L2’s nosecone over the last month or so!

31/12/2022

It’s been a busy year, full of ups and downs.

I’ve neglected this page quite a lot this year, not being able to find the time to write up about any of the happenings of the collection. But that will change in 2023

The headlines for this year;

2HAP unit 4311 has departed the collection for a new life in Scotland. Unfortunately the project became too much for 1 person to handle, but has gone to a new owner with the resources to do a proper restoration on her.

L2 has become to centre of attention as it will be leaving for a static display job for the foreseeable future. At least until the other locos are further along or more space at the workshop becomes available.

A huge thanks to those who have helped me over the last year and to those who will be joining me this coming year. Big things to come this year hopefully.

25/01/2022

The First 4311 update.

Work has already started on 4311’s restoration, starting with cleaning out the years of dust and flaking paint from the DTCL. The cab was the first area to be hit and it looks so much different after a sweep and a hoover out.

The next area to be attacked was the second class compartment. Which on first inspection looked like a good clean and a reupholster would do the job, now that was an understatement!

Started by giving the seats a quick hoover then began stripping them out. Most of the quarter panels next to the seats have rotted and will need replacing so they were the next to be removed, as well as some of the panelling, which was found to be in a much worse state than I’d hoped.

So all of the seats on one half of the compartment lost all of its cushions, backs, quarter panels and bases. And now started loosing its panelling, although some will need to stay in place for now as the window frames all need removing but will have to wait for now.

The first section has now had everything removed down to a bare wall and floor, hopefully soon the whole compartment will look like this.

19/01/2022

A new addition to the family!

I am pleased to announce the purchase of British Rail 3rd rail EMU 414311.

414311 is an ex southern region 2 coach EMU known as a 2HAP, which comes from Half-A-lavatory electro-Pneumatic brakes. Built at Eastleigh in 1959, she spent her working life in Kent and south London until withdrawal in March 1995, when she entered storage.

In 1999, she was purchased by the Electric Railway Museum in Coventry where she spent the next 20 years on display. In 2018 she moved again after the unfortunate closing of the museum and entered the Andrew Briddon Collection at Darley Dale with plans to be restored with a new PLC based control system to run as a push pull unit with his fleet of industrial and ex BR diesel shunters.
In 2021, it was decided that the 2HAP didn’t fit the theme of the collection and was going to be put up for sale, and I decided to have a go restoring it myself. So later in the year the sale was agreed, and the unit is now a part of the Thompson Locomotive Collection.

She has had some work started already including a pneumatic test (Thanks to Matt Higham for assisting) and the interior has started to be dismantled ready for repairs to the body and floor.

Overall, the unit is in rather good shape considering it’s been sat outside with no power for the heating for nearly 30 years. And hopefully you will get the chance to ride behind her again soon.

We are always looking for willing volunteers to help to restore the 2HAP and the rest of the collection. No matter your skill set, as long as you are eager and wiling to get stuck in and learn new skills, we would love to hear from you.

Thanks to Colin Price for the photos of 4311 in traffic.

18/12/2021

A small update on Yorkshire 2679

The engine is now in the turnover stand and the process of stripping the engine to a bare block has begun. Firstly the timing case is to be removed to check all of the gears for wear. I already know the supercharger drive is extremely worn and will need replacing. Hopefully there isn’t too many more like this!

Here you can see the small amount of progress I managed in an evening on the front end. Removing the supercharger drive housing and shaft. Also the viscous damper on the front the of the crank was removed ready for the main crank nut to be taken off. This will be an interesting job as the manual states it is tightened to 700lb.ft!

Also added is a teaser to a project being tinkered with in the background. If you know what it is don’t spoil it. It will be revealed shortly!

10/11/2021

L2 Finally Moves!

It’s been a while since our last update but that’s not to say we’ve been doing nothing, lots of things going on in the background that will be unveiled soon.

L2 has finally left the Aln Valley Railway and arrived at Peak Rail this morning. She was loaded under the cover of darkness yesterday afternoon and was well on her way south that evening.

She then arrived at Rowsley at around 10:00 and was unloaded and on the rails by 11:00.

Huge thanks to the Aln Valley Railway for their assistance with loading and prepping the loco and to Mark Hayton for the photos of the loading.

As usual thanks to Pete Briddon and Heanor Fleet Services Ltd for safely moving her.

27/05/2021

A new member of the family!

Ruston and Hornsby 165DE 312989 of 1952, also known as L2 has joined the Thompson Loco Collection.

Built in 1952 and used at Castle Cements depot in Middlesborough as their L2, she was first preserved at the Tanfield railway in 1994 until she was moved to the Aln valley railways yard at Longhaughton in 2004. Later moved to her current position as the gate guardian at their main site.

She is in great overall condition with a few issues which will need rectifying when the time comes. But until then she will be giving up much needed parts to speed up the restoration of the CIW twins. Once they are complete, along with the Yorkshire. L2 will be fully restored to working order.

09/05/2021

Hi all!

Not much progress to update you all with at the moment, between the awful weather and working on other projects.

Biggest news is that the conflats have now left the collection and have been taken to their new home at the Mid-Norfolk Railway where the restoration will be complete. Between the Yorkshire and the Rustons I couldn’t devote enough time or funds to the pair to continue the restoration so have decided to stick to locos for the time being.

Thanks to Simon Lomax for sending me these photos of CIW No.3 in British Steel blue, we’re unsure of the photographer but if anyone knows that would be great. They were taken at the goods shed at Grahamston in Falkirk where they lived when first preserved by the SRPS from the late 1970s.

18/04/2021

The sisters reunited!

On Wednesdays we finally collected CIW No.1 (421439) from SRPS at Bo’ness.

By Thursday she was back in England and dropped off at Rowsley where she was towed back to Darley Dale by the Foxfield Railways Barclay 0-6-0DH which is here for some work.

Once she arrived home, all of the loose parts stored in the cab were removed and stored away. Then after 9 months of being separated, the twins were finally reunited in their original Cab to Cab formation.

The decision was made based on their condition to keep them in store until 2679 is complete, rather than having multiple projects stripped around the yard.

A big thanks to the guys at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, Heanor Fleet Services and Pete Briddon for all there help in moving them to their new home.

01/04/2021

Hi everyone,

Small update from last week, the bonnets are finally off! At least the first sections are...

The nosecone and section above the engine bay were removed ready for shot blasting and repair. The nosecone had its radiator grill removed which will have to be completely replaced as the weather hasn’t been very kind to it over the years. The cone itself also had the Thomas Hill lighting bracket removed and was ground up neatly. These are now waiting to be sent to the blasters.

Work is now concentrating on removing the rear casing section as we believe it hasn’t been removed since at least the 1970s. And as you can imagine the bolts are rather wasted and there is not a great deal of space between them and the cab bulkhead to get a grinder or burning gear in. So the priority is to get the air filters and exhaust silencer removed to give a bit more space to work in above the fuel tank.

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