The Basingstoke Canal Railway

THE LOCOMOTIVES In all, four locomotives were used during the project. The Society locomotive was purchased from a firm in North London and had been in service for many years at the Enfield Steel Works. It was a Hudson Hunslet with a diesel engine of 20 horsepower. It was built in 1939 and the ex-works number was 1944. [photo: Geoff Helliwell]

GIRL POWER We had the two Thomas girls working at different times, Tony Thomas' daughters. They brought their own girl friend with them and they were both doing Duke of Edinburgh's Award, so we were signing books like blazes for them. more on DofE

We fitted a dynamo to the engine to provide a limited output of electricity to drive a horn and headlights for nightwork. This locomotive was first used at North Warnborough on the railway built for bankside support of the steam dredger, then on the railway built on the towing path of the Deepcut flight between Locks 28 and 21, and lastly on the Ash Embankment Railway built to carry clay out along the embankment to puddle the channel. [photo: Stan Meller]

WHEEL COLOUR? Henry's locomotive had got pretty filthy after we'd used it for over a year, and so we gave it a good mechanical and pictorial overhaul. The amusing part was that John Peart was a bit worried about the thickness of the tyres, they were wearing, and he thought they ought to be retyred. So when Henry came down one weekend, he said to Henry "I'm a bit worried about the wheels on your locomotive Henry". And Henry said "Yes I don't know what colour to paint them either....." That was the sort of engineer he was.

Henry Frampton-Jones loaned to us a locomotive for use on the Ash Embankment Railway. This was a Motorail 40 horsepower diesel. It was returned to him when the task was completed - after it had been cleaned and repainted. [photo: John Peart] We also had on loan a locomotive owned by Mrs Mary Frampton-Jones, Henry's wife. This was a diesel of only 15 horsepower and it was therefore used not on the main line but in the marshalling yard of the Ash Embankment Railway where the trains were shunted round the merry-go-round loop where it was loaded. That locomotive could be operated by a man standing on the ground. [photo: Geoff Helliwell]

This locomotive, the 4th in the series, was hired from Alan Keef Ltd by Surrey County Council to make up the fleet used on the Ash Embankment Railway. It was a very nice little locomotive, a Motorail 30 horsepower diesel, and was used during the week by the Job Creation team, mainly because we didn't feel our very old Hunslet could stand up to the abuse that they would have given it! [photo: Geoff Helliwell] On the Ash Embankment Railway during the working week only one locomotive was in service, but at weekends when the volunteers were operating, 4 locomotives were in service with 3 trains of skips. (Based on an interview with Stan Meller, November 1998) BACK

Last updated February 2000