Foreign Stock in Britain

[Jawfin]

Hi all

 

I'm sure a lot of us are familiar with exported BR stock - various MK Is and IIs, 08s, 58s, 20s, RB3, some of the Internationals to name a few.

I was wondering if anyone has any reference to any items of standard gauge stock that were used elsewhere in the world and bought over to Britain for service, or at least for use in preservation that isn't for in a field etc.? I imagine that loading gauge will severely limit the answers that I will get!

 

I think these are all of the examples still around that were originally used in Britain, taken to Ireland, then made the full circle back over there again:

- MK I genny vans 3188, 3177, 3178 and 3172. There was another one as well but it was scrapped

- Ex-MR coaches bought over during the war, LMS NCC 238 and 241

- Ex-BR MK IIs NIR 924, 546. There were a good few more of these plus an IÉ MK II bought over but they were then scrapped

 

[Jenny Emily]

Lots of stuff at the Nene Valley Railway. They filmed Octopussy and Goldeneye train bits there because they were very good at making the place look oversea!

[eastwestdivide]

Do any ferry wagons fall into that category? Originally built for ferry/tunnel service but now stuck in the UK? Those converted bogie timber wagons?

[russ p]

GB brought those horrible loco's from Norway to replace the GECs in Lackenby

Also remember that an awful lot of modern stock is built abroad

[jamie92208]

Steamtown at Carnforth certainly had a DB loco and I think a French loco for several years though I think they have gone back to the continent.   Another interesting one that I know about was the French electrics that pulled the first freight trains through the Channel Tunnel until the 92's were put into service.  I think they were all 22200 class and had British yellow warning panels applied which generated the nickname 'Yellow Submarines'.

 

There have been various US built switchers used at Port Talbot steelworks and also one at Merehead quarry.  Also recently a class of Norwegian shunters were imported to work the steelworks railway at Redcar when it was reopened.

 

Jamie

[Clearwater]

There are also plenty of examples of stock destined for overseas built in the uk, eg BRCW

 

 

 

David

[russ p]

Although ordered for this country the first of the big loram railgrinders was deemed unnecessary by Railtrack until the Hatfield crash when rail condition was the cause.

After this the grinder was finally brought to the UK after working in the US.

All the safety notices on used to be Norfolk Southern ones and one end still had a working bell

[PhilJ W]

There were vans, wagons and tank cars made for the USATC during the war bought over for D-Day. Most of it went to the continent but some remained here in the UK in use at Bicester and Longmoor and IIRC a van built by the Pullman car company still survives. There was also some ferry stock from European countries 'trapped' in the UK after the fall of France. Some French ferry vans remained in use after the war at Longmoor. Rolling stock 'trapped' in this way would make an interesting subject in its own right, also British rolling stock left behind after Dunkirk.

[Fat Controller]

There were vans, wagons and tank cars made for the USATC during the war bought over for D-Day. Most of it went to the continent but some remained here in the UK in use at Bicester and Longmoor and IIRC a van built by the Pullman car company still survives. There was also some ferry stock from European countries 'trapped' in the UK after the fall of France. Some French ferry vans remained in use after the war at Longmoor. Rolling stock 'trapped' in this way would make an interesting subject in its own right, also British rolling stock left behind after Dunkirk.

Here's a link to a photo of one of the USATC wagons that stayed behind;-

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/longmarston/h1c1b1530#h1c1b1530

and one for some German, non-ferry, tanks that came to the UK:-

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/hydrogenperoxide

[Jenny Emily]

Did the trapped rolling stock get used during the war, and did any of it stay or did it find its way home after the cessation of hostilities?

[Judge Dread]

The Great Northern Railway had 2-6-0 tender locos built in the USA to American standards, also the South East & Chatham Railway had 4-4-0 tender locos built in Germany to British spec. The latter became members of the Class L fleet.

[jamie92208]

The Midland had 30 US built locos in the late 1890's from Schenectady and Baldwin I think that the GN and GC had some as well.  The Midland also had their original Pullman cars, all built in the US and shipped over as kits for assembly at Derby.   There were even some US built trams that worked in Leeds in the 1890's these were standard gauge.

 

Jamie

[Fat Controller]

Did the trapped rolling stock get used during the war, and did any of it stay or did it find its way home after the cessation of hostilities?

The German HTP wagons I linked to remained in the UK until scrapped. Some 'detained' ferry wagons almost led to diplomatic disputes; there were some Hungarian wagons, used to transport live carp, which were stuck in Britain after 1940. Hungary was non-aligned at the time, and wanted its wagons back; unfortunately, there was no means to repatriate them. This led to some heated sessions at the British Embassy in Switzerland.

[Northroader]

Go back far enough and you'll find the Midland Railway had a coach of German design built (?Nuremburg) placed in with the rest of its trains, followed by a succession of American built Pullman cars, starting a fashion which several other lines followed, before the Pullman co. opened a branch over here. Then, of course, the GWR imported a couple of French designed and built compound engines around 1900. At around the same time there was a glitch in British loco builders capacity, and the Midland Railway and the GNR had goods engines built in America.

[russ p]

There was also a one off coach built after the war,from Budd in the US called the silver princess. It was fluted stainless steel like US coaches of the time

[EddieB]

There have been some "demonstrators" brought over for trials in the UK.  The Michelin Railcars and the little Graz (Austrian) diesel that was tried out on the Cambridge line have been discussed on this site before.

[TonyA]

... the South East & Chatham Railway had 4-4-0 tender locos built in Germany to British spec. The latter became members of the Class L fleet.

 

Before 1914, my previous house was called Heidelberg Villa and was one of four houses occupied by Germans who worked for the SECR and presumably came over with the locomotives. The foreman lived in what is now The Bickley in Chislehurst.

They all disappeared when the war started and the house names were dropped. However, there was apparently quite a German community in the area at the time including a German baker. I wish there were some German shops near here now  .

 

More recently, Channel Tunnel Track Group used a couple of ex-DB class 211 locomotives as seen here.

 

http://www.railalbum.co.uk/industrial-railways/cttg-locomotives-german-1.htm

 

Tony

[newbryford]

GBRf have some General Motors JT42-CWRs that were originally built for use in Europe and then brought to the UK (Now 66747-751?)

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Nearholmer]

I'd have to delve through sources to check, but some EMUs c1900 were US-built, as Westinghouse and GEC were beginning to lever-open the British market prior to building their own factories at Trafford Park and Rugby. I'm pretty sure that the entire kit and kaboodle of the electrification of the Mersey Tunnel Railway, including the trains, came from the states.

 

Kevin

[Clay Country]

SNCF BB22200 electrics were used on Channel Tunnel freights as far as Dollands Moor yard in 1994/95 due to the late introduction of the class 92s. There's also Eurotunnel's MaK Bo-Bo centre-cab diesels, which have reached St Pancras on a few occasions.

 

Balfour Beatty had a couple of German Kof II shunters, which were stored at Derby for a while and an Austrian Jenbacher shunter was used during CTRL construction.

 

Foster Yeoman also used a US-built switcher for shunting at Merehead quarry.

[russ p]

Germany have also supplied us with some fairly horrific bits of kit, the Waggon und Maschinenbau railbus and the worst item of motive power I've ever encountered the MPV!

[stadman]

Doesn't Eastleigh works have one of small european shunters? (Similar to Kof's and the like)

Not forgetting the Shay locomotive new to the UK

[Steadfast]

From the posters who've already mentioned the Switcher at Merehead, this is an EMD SW1001 built in the early 1980s and is numbered 44 and named Western Yeoman II.

Whatley has one too, originally built for the Boke project in Guinea, shipped back to the U.S. and refurbished before being sold for use in the UK. Numbered 120, it was originally named Whatley Endeavour but last year was renamed Kenneth John Whitcombe in memory of someone who worked at the quarry and passed away shortly after retirement. It's African heritage means some of the cab dials and levers have French labels as well as English.

 

Jo

[TonyA]

Just remembered that there was a GE 44-tonner owned by Esso at Fawley Refinery. I believe it was preserved but then scrapped.

 

Tony

[Marshall5]

Apart from the DB 012 and SNCF 231 Pacifics at Steamtown they also had a DB class 80 0-6-0T for a while.  The Severn Valley also had an ex DB class 64 2-6-2T in the early 70's but, due to loading gauge issues it could only run  for a short distance out of Bridgnorth.

Ray.