Mystery Industrial Locomotive Ollerton Colliery

[carlwebus]

Hi to all

 

I have the attached black & white photo (bought at an  auction with loads of others of all sorts).

 

I am interested in modelling industrials - especially the sort of thing now appearing on heritage railways such as the Mid-Suffolk.

 

The photo is marked on the back ""OLLERTON CHESS" and "Ollerton September 1956".

 

Now, Ollerton Colliery was in Nottinghamshire (an  area that I have railway connections with) - on the  edge of Sherwood Forest - and had the  reputation of being  one of the most left-wing politically.

 

I can't  find out anything  about its locomotives.

 

This looks to me like a Hudswell Clarke.  It compares  quite closely to No.1208 "Mitchell" (colour photo attached) and Hudswell Clarke certainly supplied diesels to Ollerton.

 

But it could be a Hunslet or even Manning Wardle?

 

If anybody out there could shed some light I'd be most grateful.

 

[br2975]

To my, ignorant eye, it's got the look of "Black Hawthorn" about it.I

.

Is the B21C on the leading sandbox of any relevance ?

[sir douglas]

BC is most likely the Butterley iron company

Edited April 13, 2019 by sir douglas

[carlwebus]

Thanks  guys for  your responses.

 

I can see, from picture of Black Hawthorn 0-4-0ST Wellington, that the loco on my photo does have a sort of "Black Hawthorn" look about the cab  and tank area.

 

I  also see that the Butterly company made parts/ castings for locomotives - so the sandbox could be from them. It also seemed the company owned 10 coal mines at one time before nationalisation.  Can't find out if Ollerton was one of them.

 

 

[Stoker]

http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-6/B6-1994-P2.html

Came across this, which includes a photo of an identical locomotive, and confirms that B21C is in fact former Butterley number 21, built 1907.

You also weren't kidding about the mine being politically left wing... company provided houses were "inspected" regularly by a company "policeman" and you'd get fired if you didn't keep it tidy! You'd also be fined if you walked on your own front lawn. Stalin would've been proud.

EDIT: I was just reading what Graces guide has to say about Butterley, apparently they manufactured a batch of locomotives for their own use, and this matches the 1907 date. So I think what we're looking at here is most likely a Butterley engine.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Butterley_Co

Edited April 17, 2019 by Stoker

[doilum]

Is it my eyes or is the tank on the slant?

[carlwebus]

Many thanks  to Stoker. Star man!

 

Now all I need to  do is to try to  find out some technical details on B21C.

 

And, yes, doilum, it looks like the saddle tank of B13C on the healeyhero site picture has been taken off and not put back correctly!

[EddieB]

While there was a history of the Butterley Company published in 1973, I’d recommend searching out a copy of Industrial Railway Record no. 138 (from 1994) which has a full account of the locomotives built by Butterley, running to some eighteen pages.