Difference between revisions of "686 The Lady Armaghdale"

686 in service

Manchester Ship Canal

Built by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds in 1898, 0-6-0T works number 686 was the second of ten Hunslet ‘Chest’ class locomotives ordered by the Manchester Ship Canal Company (MSCManchester Ship Canal). It was given the name “St John” after Port Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada.^[1]

The locomotive had a number of special features to enable it to work heavy trains round the tight curves of the MSCManchester Ship Canal’s extensive railway network. These included Cartazzi leading axle boxes and flangeless centre driving wheels. Leaf springs were fitted on the front two axles and coil springs on the rear axle. In a powerful loco with a short wheelbase, this resulted in a lively dancing ride which led to members of the class being referred to as a ‘Jazzer’.^[2]

During the First World War the MSCManchester Ship Canal stopped using locomotive names and introduced numbers, 686 becoming No 14.^[3] One name plate was retained and fixed on the rear inside of the cab, where it can still be seen today.

• 

  ‘St John’ nameplate 686’s cab

During its working life with the MSCManchester Ship Canal, 686 may have carried a number of different liveries, probably starting life in dark green with double white lining and possibly later acquiring a slate blue livery. The final livery was known to have been black (see gallery below).^[4]

686 was finally withdrawn from service by the MSCManchester Ship Canal in 1962, at a time when the railway was being scaled down due to the transfer of traffic from rail to road.

ICI Dyestuffs

In 1963 a locomotive at ICI Dyestuffs at Blackley Manchester was damaged in a runaway accident. The locomotive was a Hawthorn Leslie saddle tank No 3455/1920 named “The Lady Armaghdale” after the wife of a former Chairman of the company.^[5] Rather than repair the Hawthorn Leslie, the company opted to purchase 686 as a readily available working replacement. 686 was duly repainted in ICI crimson livery and acquired the name “The Lady Armaghdale”, although the locomotive was never popular at ICI, being regarded at best as a pseudo ‘Lady Armaghdale II’. By 1968, 686 had been withdrawn from service for a second time.^[6]

686 in preservation

Following their acquisition of MW 2047 Warwickshire in 1967, 686 was the second locomotive to be purchased by the Warwickshire Industrial Loco Preservation Group, arriving on the Severn Valley Railway in July 1969.

Since arrival, 686 has spent some time serving as ‘Thomas’ both on the SVRSevern Valley Railway and elsewhere, including overseas. She has also appeared in film and TV productions including The Incredible Dr. Baldick. Although not sufficiently powerful to haul service trains, 686 has from time to time acted as 'station pilot' and shunter.

1998 marked the centenary of HE 686. The locomotive began the year as a roving ‘Thomas’ and was photographed by David Cooke at the East Lancashire Railway in May of that year (see gallery). By October, 686 had been repainted in the more appropriate livery of Manchester Ship Canal No 14 and, as part of the celebrations, re-visited the East Lancashire Railway (see gallery) in the county where she first worked and the Middleton Railway in Leeds, the city where she was built.

After being withdrawn from service in September 2009, 686 has been cosmetically restored in ICI red livery, and as of 2016^[update] is on display in The Engine House while awaiting overhaul.

• 

  686 cosmetically modified for filming in 1972 (David Cooke)

• 

  686 appearing as 'Thomas' on the ELREngineer's Line Reference, East Lancashire Railway, May 1998 (David Cooke)

• 

  686 as MSCManchester Ship Canal No 14, Buckley Wells October 1998 (David Cooke)

• 

  686 having arrived at Holland for a 'Thomas' event in October 2002 - the first SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotive to go abroad (David Cooke)

See also

Steam Locomotives

References

1. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 31.
2. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 27.
3. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 29.
4. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 30.
5. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 35.
6. ↑ Shaw (1998) p. 36.

Information from a display board in the Engine House and from past editions of SVRSevern Valley Railway News.