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Stuffed and Mounted Loco


melmerby
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Hi all

 

I don't know whether this has cropped up before.

 

In a TV programme yesterday I spotted a stuffed and mounted loco outside Blumsom' s Timber

I found it here:

 

https://goo.gl/maps/2UeMb4bKL7F2

 

Anybody know what it is and why it's there?

 

Cheers

Keith

 

Nothing originating in the UK, I'm sure.

 

It's not one of the Finnish (?) batch of imports which are of a wider gauge than standard, is it ?

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Edited by cctransuk
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Yes, I think it is a Finnish loco - while working in the area 20-odd years back, I saw around a dozen of them all stored at the premises of Webbs, a truck body company near Sudbury in Suffolk and was allowed to take a close look at some of them. I remember seeing at least two 0-6-0Ts plus various larger types and some coaches - one of the 2-8-0s ended up near Southend for a while (in a yard next to the main Southend arterial road) and IIRC was actually steamed on a short section of track; I think it may have since returned to Finland. One large loco - either a Pacific or a Mikado - was still at Sudbury a few years ago, all but engulfed in vegetation. What happened to the rest - does anyone know? I read somewhere that some had been intended for a theme park in the West Country, presumably this never happened.

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Yes, I think it is a Finnish loco - while working in the area 20-odd years back, I saw around a dozen of them all stored at the premises of Webbs, a truck body company near Sudbury in Suffolk and was allowed to take a close look at some of them. I remember seeing at least two 0-6-0Ts plus various larger types and some coaches - one of the 2-8-0s ended up near Southend for a while (in a yard next to the main Southend arterial road) and IIRC was actually steamed on a short section of track; I think it may have since returned to Finland. One large loco - either a Pacific or a Mikado - was still at Sudbury a few years ago, all but engulfed in vegetation. What happened to the rest - does anyone know? I read somewhere that some had been intended for a theme park in the West Country, presumably this never happened.

Something still on Bing maps whenever this was taken:

https://binged.it/2e3bQbm

 

https://binged.it/2e3biSF

post-6208-0-57636200-1476812791.jpg

 

Looks like a fair bit of rolling stock there.

 

Keith

Edited by melmerby
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To add to what Colin says, these locos were part of the "strategic reserve" of steam locos set aside in Finland during the Cold War (Sweden and the USSR also had similar allocations, although they differed in how and where locos were kept).  After the fall of the Iron Curtain, tensions eased (perhaps prematurely) and the locomotives were offered for sale.  A number of the common VR classes Hr1 (4-6-2), Tk3 (2-8-0), Tr1 (2-8-2) at Vr1 (0-6-0T) found their way to the UK, ostensibly for the theme park that never happened, and were subsequently distributed around the country.  To the best of my knowledge all have remained in this country (there are plenty of examples preserved in Finland).  Their present locations are known and documented, but other than those already remarked upon in this thread I'd rather not list them on a "public" website.

 

The loco at Blumson's Timber Yard in Barking is Vr1 794, which spent some time at Ongar prior to moving there.  It is visible from the road outside (per Google Streetview), but I had no problems when asking permission to photograph it from inside the gate (2011).  As Keith notes, Tr1 1077 remains on site near Sudbury/Long Melford in Suffolk.

 

Tk3 1151 was the locomotive that was steamed at Southend (and at Ongar).  It is now at a private site in a neighbouring county.

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There used to be one ( or two?) of these sited in a builders yard on the A1010 just north of Ponders End. (70s-80s) It was a bit terrifying to come around the left hand bend and suddenly be faced with a massive loco ,appearing to be heading towards you

Do you mean VR Hr1 1016 that was parked in a builder's yard adjacent to Southbury station?  If so, that loco has now gone to a private site (a different one to 1151 and 942) and the builder's yard is now more - buried inevitably under newly-built flats.

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Eddie

 

No it was definitely on the Hertford Road, LH side heading south. I lived about 2 mile fro there ans saw it on a regular basis. It may well have been moved to southbury after i moved away

Sorry, my confusion (Southbury station is quite nearby) - 0-6-0T Vr1 792 "HEN" spent several years in the yard of Enfield Timber, 1-23 Hertford Road, but as noted above (post #13) it was removed and is now at a private site.

 

Are you sure it's the same locomotives as I thought these were only brought to the UK in the 1990s?

 

 

 

Jason

I think most, if not all of the Finnish locos arrived in the mid to late '80s. Some rolling stock may have turned up later on.

All the Finnish locos arrived as a batch in 1991. 

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Fair enough, it must be my (poor) memory playing tricks again!

I always did wonder just what use a load of 5' gauge locos we're going to be - I was once told that rebuilding one or more of them to standard gauge was considered but soon dismissed as a complete non starter if only on grounds of cost, never mind how much actual work it would entail.

Got to say, the Pacifics and Mikados are very attractive IMO.

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  • 6 years later...
On 19/10/2016 at 12:28, EddieB said:

To add to what Colin says, these locos were part of the "strategic reserve" of steam locos set aside in Finland during the Cold War (Sweden and the USSR also had similar allocations, although they differed in how and where locos were kept).  After the fall of the Iron Curtain, tensions eased (perhaps prematurely) and the locomotives were offered for sale.  A number of the common VR classes Hr1 (4-6-2), Tk3 (2-8-0), Tr1 (2-8-2) at Vr1 (0-6-0T) found their way to the UK, ostensibly for the theme park that never happened, and were subsequently distributed around the country.  To the best of my knowledge all have remained in this country (there are plenty of examples preserved in Finland).  Their present locations are known and documented, but other than those already remarked upon in this thread I'd rather not list them on a "public" website.

 

The loco at Blumson's Timber Yard in Barking is Vr1 794, which spent some time at Ongar prior to moving there.  It is visible from the road outside (per Google Streetview), but I had no problems when asking permission to photograph it from inside the gate (2011).  As Keith notes, Tr1 1077 remains on site near Sudbury/Long Melford in Suffolk.

 

Tk3 1151 was the locomotive that was steamed at Southend (and at Ongar).  It is now at a private site in a neighbouring county.

Vr1 794 is no longer there.

IMG_7232.jpeg.43776068d0f46328bf490ed6b1b88459.jpeg

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One of the Finnish imports has been restored to working order - in BR apple green! - by David Buck. It appears to have been converted to burn people, which let's face it is cheaper than coal nowadays. 

 

Edited by papagolfjuliet
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