Alan Keef Limited - PDF document

1 Alan Keef Limited History of
Alan Keef Limited History of “ WOTO ” Patrick Keef with “ WOTO ”taken in July 2014 On 17 th Ma y 1924 Callenders Cables Construction Company Limited of Erith, Kent placed an order with W.G. Bagnall Limited of Castle Engine Works, Stafford for a new locomotive for their 3 foo t 6 inch gauge internal rail system. The loco was named “WOTO” after the two Callender Brothers – William Octavious and Thomas Octavious. It cost £675 and was delivered on 10 th July 1924. She was an example of the maker’s standard 7 inch x 12 inch cylin der saddle tank locomotive of which over one hundred were built. Her prompt building time of under two months was made possible by the maker’s practice of laying batches of the major components (cylinders, boiler, frame plates, etc) down to stock and then finishing them to suit customer requirements upon receipt of an order. Callenders Cables already had a standard Bagnall 6 inch x 9 inch loco “The Mighty Atom”, Works Number WB 2053/16 and in 1926 “WOTO” was joined by an identical sister loco named “Sir T om”. Their duties around the works included shunting loads of lead and copper ingots, moving finished drums of cable to the stockyard and propelling trains up the fearsome gradients onto the jetty on the Thames. At some stage, probably in the early thirt ies, the locos were converted to oil firing resulting in an ugly oil tank replacing the original coal bunker. In 1934, Callenders Cables also bought two small Ruston & Hornsby diesel locos for light shunting however the heavy work remained steam worked an d in 1929 Bagnall’s supplied a new boiler for “WOTO”. After the Second World War the company changed its name to British Insulated Callenders Cables (B.I.C.C.). The railway system continued to be a vital part of the works infrastructure. In the post - war period the growing interest in industrial railways resulted in various visits by enthusiasts, these visits became more frequent as steam operation became rarer elsewhere and thus the system was well photographed and documented. In 1953 “The Mighty Atom” was scrapped but “W OTO ”, “Sir Tom” and the diesels continued working. Somewhat remarkably the steam locos outlived the diesels; the Ruston’s being scrapped in 1966. Even at this stage both the steam locos were repainted in green with red and yellow linin g. However in May 1968 the railway system closed – the penultimate narrow gauge steam operation in the British Isles. “WOTO” and “Sir Tom” were offered for sale. The pair were bought by Mr Peter Elms who moved them to his yard in Romford where they were to reside for the next 20 years. In the spring of 1988 “WOTO” was bought by Patrick Keef for preservation and moved to Ross - On - Wye. After initial dismantling it

2 was decided to regauge her to 2 foot an
was decided to regauge her to 2 foot and thus make her a more useful loco. This entailed cu tting 18 inches out of all the frame stretchers, removing the buffer beams and then welding all the components back together to suit 2 foot gauge. New axles were made and the smoke box saddle was drastically modified! The whee l profiles were very badly w orn and required re - tyring. The cylinders were found to be in good condition. The motion was sound and was replaced after only relatively minor work however in the not too distant future a major refurbishment will be required to these components. The mi ssing cylinder drain cock linkage was made and refitted. The opportunity was also taken to fit air brakes and she has been piped for both twin and single line operation, thus making her suitable for passenger train operation. Perhaps most importantly the marine type boiler was found to be in exceptionally good condition and required no more than a clean out. Luckily all brass fittings had survived intact and also only required cleaning. It was decided to return her to coal firing – this meant making a c oal bunker, fire box backhead and firebars. The saddle tank had been patched and will probably give another five years service. The broken chimney was repaired by Metalock Limited using their metal stitching process. After 3 ½ years restoration work she was steamed for the first time over Christmas 1991. Unfortunately this first attempt was not altogether satisfactory – the regulator leaked badly and the injector refused to work. A session spent lapping the regulator plates meant that a second attempt a few days later was much more successful. Following this first steaming new lagging rings and sheets have been made and fitted. In the interests of reliable boiler feed the original remaining White injector (one was already missing) have been replaced by two new “Buffalo Nº 7” injectors. This also entailed making new clack valves and modifying the pipe work . With this work complete the tank, bunkers and cab were re - fitted for the final time. At this stage the bulk of the paintwork was done, most compon ents receiving five coats of paint. On 5 th May 1992 she satisfactorily passed a boiler steam test witnessed by the boiler inspector from National Vulcan; she is passed for a working pressure of 150psi. With this major hurdle achieved there were only mino r jobs left. Two single feed mechanical lubricators have been beautifully overhauled and these have been mounted to supplement the original displacement ones. The damaged nameplates have been repaired and a second Works Plate was cast from the original. The final job was the completion of paintwork and lining out. With this done, four years and two months restoration was finally complete ready for a private first steaming on 2

3 8 th June 1992. It was always inte
8 th June 1992. It was always intended that “WOTO” would be a travelling engin e and became a regular visitor to other railways. Therefore after her first public debut at the 1992 Alan Keef Limited Open Day she was taken to Leighton Buzzard to take part in that railway’s 25 th Anniversary Gala celebrations. After one or two initial teething troubles with overheating axle boxes (cured by altering the grade of oil used) she proved to be an extremely capable loco handling four coach trains with ease in 1 in 30 gradients. The marine boiler, once steam is raised, has turned out to be ext remely free - steaming and remarkably economical on coal. The winter of 1992/1993 was spent making various improvements as a result of having her in regular use. Initially the loco had been reassembled without any work being done to the axle boxes and horn guides however it soon became apparent that effects of the existing wear had been underestimated. As a temporary measure shim sheets were fitted between the axle boxes and guides but it was obvious something more permanent would be required. As a result , over the winter, she was lifted off her wheels and all the horn faces were individually machined square and true by hand: the axle boxes were then fitted with bronze liners to suit. The end result is a much quieter loco! The second major job of the wi nter was fitting A LBLR Trojan air pump thus completing the air brake system and enabling her to operate trains on her own. Following these works “WO TO ” again visited many nar row gauge railways within the UK and further afield including Belgium and France , running reliably for the next 11 years. S he was taken out of service in 2002 following a number of minor boiler issues and laid up pending investigation and repairs. She was strip ped down and the boiler was dis patched to Israel Newton & Sons in Bradfor d for a substantial overhaul including fitting of a ‘D’ patch into the barrel , renewing the lower section of the outer fire box wrapper and fitting of a new inner fire box. In addition to the boiler repairs the saddle tank was overhauled and a variety of m echanical repairs were undertaken and the loco was fully repainted. She re - entered service in July 2014 first visit ing the A merton Railway in Staffordshire and then the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway for their gala last September. In her nineties her r eliability is a credit to the men who designed and built her at W.G. Bagnall Limited of Stafford. Technical details Type: 0 - 4 - 0 Saddle Tank Length: 13 foot 6 inches Width: 5 foot 9 inches Height 9 foot Cylinder Size: 7 x 12 inches Wheel diameter: 1 foot 9 ½ inches Operational Weight: 7 ¾ tonnes Valve gear: Walschaerts Boiler: Marine type 50 x 1 ¾ tubes Heating surface 124 square fee