Mystery Tender Chassis Duport Briton Ferry

[justin]

In the Industrial Railway Society's magazine Industrial Railway Record no 232 there was an article about the former tender chassis converted to ingot carriers at Duport Briton Ferry and Llanelli. Following on from this Sydney Leleux submitted two pictures published in Industrial Railway Record 235 taken in July 1961 of tender chassis at Briton Ferry. One is easily identified but the other has me a bit puzzled. I am grateful to Sydney for allowing me to post a cropped picture here in the hope someone can confirm its origin.

Only one axle box has survived intact which isn't a design I can find in my usual reference books. Other features from its mainline days are steps at both ends and, nearest the camera, a cutout in the frame in addition to those between the axle boxes.

 

I have got some possible contenders for its origin but would like people to make up their own minds before I add in my two pennyworth.

 

Justin

[Bucoops]

The springs look flatter but maybe NER? If the load is very heavy it might flatten the springs I guess.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/79615-ner-cl-r-4-4-0-1260-york-5-5-1923-lner-cl-d20-whw/

Edited November 10, 2018 by Bucoops

[Fat Controller]

I didn't realise they'd had them that early; about five years later, there were a number of Bulleid pacifics scrapped at Bynea, whose chassis ended up at Duport Llanelli. I doubt that the chassis would have wandered far, so it might be worth having a look what locos might have been scrapped at Wards (Giant's Grave), Birds and Cohens (Morriston) and Birds (Bynea) which would have had a tender like that. Good hunting

Brian (who used to have Duport, Llanelli, at the end of the road.)

[bobthesod4479]

It Isn't GE. so that is one less to check on!. sorry i cant give a punt on what it is

[Steamport Southport]

Midland Railway.

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/mrsalt1261.htm

 

http://www.cherryclan.com/2017/11/tender-body-midland-3f/

 

 

 

Jason

[Michael Edge]

Looks like a GC (or ROD) tender frame to me.

[Fat Controller]

Llanelly shed, at the end of the 1950s, had several withdrawn RODs; the tender of one remained at Landore diesel depot for many years. Perhaps the underframe in the photo came from one of these?

[Phil Bullock]

Looks like ROD could be a possibility...

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gwr+rod&rlz=1C1GGGE_en-gbGB569GB631&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3-4zb8szeAhXLA8AKHfUtBt4Q_AUIDygC&biw=1093&bih=526#imgrc=MuyRfL0q-snlcM:

 

Phil

[justin]

Thanks for the input everyone. My hunches were for SECR, MR or GCR with the latter being the most likely.

 

Some early SECR tenders did have an opening in the frame at the front but they didn't have the steps at both ends, later SECR had steps at both ends but no frame opening at the front.

 

MR tenders look very similar to the picture but all MR tenders have spring hangers with a  rectangular/square cross section rather than a round section as on the Duport chassis. 

 

Since my original post I have being looking in Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Appendix Two which covers GCR tenders and this shows the axle box in the picture fitted to GCR Robinson 3250 (albeit with a shorter spring hanger) and 4000 gallon tenders. The only thing I can't see on this tender are the large blocks at the bottom of the spring hangers that are a noticeable feature of many Robinson 4000 gallon tenders.

 

I would therefore go with it being a GCR Robinson chassis. Pinning down where it came from is more difficult as it could have come from almost anywhere. The LNER sold tenders for scrap after the war and there are records of the steel works at Briton Ferry buying tender chassis from the GWR in 1947 and from the Western Region in 1949 as well as later purchases. The LMS/LMR also had a stock of Robinson 4000 gallon tenders many of which in later life were used as sludge carriers. The other possibility remains purchase from a private scrap company who had bought complete locomotives and tenders. This would exclude ex GWR ROD locos which were all disposed of at Swindon.

 

Justin

[Michael Edge]

The blocks you mention are rubber dampers, they didn't have to be fitted.

[justin]

The blocks you mention are rubber dampers, they didn't have to be fitted.

 

In that case given the very harsh environment the chassis were working in they may have just disintegrated even if they had been fitted in the first place.

[t-b-g]

Another vote for a GCR or ROD here.

 

The slight inward slope of the steps and the two holes in the lower front edge of the frame where the bearing for the handbrake lever would have once been are good guides.