Bluebell Railway Atlantic Group
Background and early progress
The LBSCR Atlantics were built to drawings modified from the GNR design, and so the boiler is entirely correct for the new locomotive.
An LBSCR C2X tender was based for some years at Guildford where it served as a water carrier No DS 70183 until being purchased by Woodham Brothers in about 1981. It was felt that some of the locomotives in the scrap yard would have a better chance of being sold if tenders were available, but in the event the C2X type was sold on its own to Madame Tussauds for the Royalty and Empire Exhibition at Windsor station, where it was made to look Great Western behind a dummy locomotive "The Queen". The axlebox castings were machined off and new GWR-type covers were cast to make it look authentic behind the loco.
This attraction closed some years ago and little had been heard until an article in Steam Railway indicated that the tender had been cut up as only the replica locomotive was needed in the new arrangement, believed to be a restaurant. Because it was not possible to extract the tender in one piece it had to be cut up, but at least the wheelsets were left intact and sold to scrap merchant in Uxbridge where they were traced by Roger Cruse of the Bulleid Society. We are grateful to Roger for his help in identifying where these items had gone. Following negotiations between the workshop staff at Sheffield Park and the scrap merchant, including a visit to Uxbridge by Ray Bellingham and Paul Thorp, our offer of £400 was accepted and the items are now on the railway.
Left: The tender wheelsets.
The three wheelsets together with springs and parts of the cast axleboxes from the C2X tender chassis arrived at Sheffield Park in two loads on 20 and 23 April 1999. These items were purchased by the Brighton Atlantic Project which means that the tender could be started, based on the LBSCR B4 chassis bought from the Manston group in 1995. This had only two wheelsets as it lost its centre axle when converted to a van and used as a test unit at St Leonards depot.
The three C2X wheelsets are in good condition and will be used as a set on the rebuilt tender.
All the axles and tyres and almost brand new,
being stamped 1958 and 1959.
The axleboxes.
The main castings have been modified to look like GWR type,
by machining off a portion of the front face,
and the covers are made-up GWR style,
but the spring sockets are original.
The bronze bearings had been discarded when it was prepared for the replica locomotive.
Last updated 15 March 2008 by Richard Salmon.