View source for GWR Pannier 1501

{{Infobox GWR steam loco
|image      = 1501_20120909.jpg
|caption    = 1501 approaching Highley in 2012
|construc   = BR Swindon Works
|wheels     = 0-6-0PT
|rating     = GWR: C, BR: 4F
|axleload   = GWR: Red
|status     = Stored
|locono     = BR 1501
|othernos   = 
|designed   = 
|locotype   = GWR 1500
|built      = 1949
|years1     = 1961
|events1    = Withdrawn by BR
|years2     = 1970
|events2    = Acquired by SVR
|years3     = 1997
|events3    = First entered service
|years4     = 2012
|events4    = Re-entered service
|years5     = 
|events5    = 
|years6     = 
|events6    = 
|length     = 
|weight     = 58t 4cwt
|power      = 22,515 lb
|pressure  = 200 lb/sq in}}'''GWR Pannier 1501''' is the only surviving example of a GWR 1500 class 0-6-0PT shunting engine.  Designed by GWR CME Frederick Hawksworth, 1501 was ordered under GWR Lot 373 but completed by the Western Region of British Railways at Swindon in 1949, two years after nationalisation.<ref name = StockBook>SVR Stock Book 9th Edition</ref>  The class, of which only 10 were built, used the 'Standard 10' GWR boiler.  Unlike the SVR’s other panniers, 1501 has outside cylinders.

The cabside of WR steam locomotives bore a letter on a coloured disc: the letter showed the power classification and the coloured disc showed the [[GWR Power and Weight Classification|weight restriction]]. The 1500 Class was Red (up to 20 tons axle load) and power classification C. The class was rated as a 4F by British Railways.

The class are mostly associated with London’s Old Oak Common, where duties included hauling long rakes of empty coaching stock in and out of Paddington Station. Some saw service in South Wales, Southall and Didcot.

==1501 in service==
===British Railways===
1501 entered service on 31 July 1949<ref name = "BRD">BRDatabase.info</ref> at Old Oak Common. On 30 November 1950<ref name = "BRD" /> the locomotive was reallocated to Southall for local shunting duties.  

The BR modernisation programme led to a swift replacement of the 1500 class by 350hp diesel shunters, and 1501 was withdrawn from service at Southall by BR in January 1961<ref name = "BRD" /> after a working life of just 11 years 5 months. Following withdrawal, 1501 was moved to Swindon. Two other class members, '''1502''' and '''1509''', were also moved to Swindon after withdrawal from Didcot and Newport respectively, and in February 1961 all three were sold to the National Coal Board<ref name = StockBook/>.

<gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">
File:Didcot geograph-2565399-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|Classmate 1502 at Didcot in 1957
</gallery>

===National Coal Board===
In June 1961 all three locomotives were towed by rail via Bagnalls at Stafford to the Andrew Barclay works at Kilmarnock for repairs and a repaint into unlined maroon livery. Later in the year they returned by road to the colliery at Keresley, Coventry where, still carrying their BR numbers, they worked in the NCB sidings and on the two mile branch line to the Coventry to Nuneaton line at Three Spires Junction.  1969 saw the locomotives once again replaced by diesel shunters, with 1501 the last of the three in use until September of that year.<ref name = StockBook />

<gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">
File: S1504_1501_David_Cooke.jpg|1501 at Coventry in 1969 (David Cooke)
</gallery>    
  
==1501 in preservation==
All three locomotives were inspected during 1969 and reserved by members of the [[Warwickshire Railway Society]] and SVR.  After this inspection and consultation with NCB staff, 1501 was selected for preservation on the SVR and an appeal for funds appeared in the Autumn 1969 edition of SVR News.<ref>SVR News 14</ref> The other two were used as a source of parts for restoring 1501 and other ex-GWR locomotives lacking fittings at Barry following vandalism, after which the remains were sold for scrap and cut up at Cashmores, Great Bridge in October 1970.<ref name = StockBook />  

1501 was initially towed by a Brush type 4 diesel from Coventry to Tyseley in July 1970 for wheel turning, before a further move behind Class 25 D7630 to Bewdley on 17 October 1970. During the latter move, excessive speed caused damage to one of 1501’s axle boxes. 

A lengthy restoration was undertaken, largely through the endeavours of the [[1501 Pannier Tank Association|15xx Pannier Tank Fund]] with financial assistance from the Warwickshire Railway Society. Restoration began at Bridgnorth but initially progress was slow as the locomotive had only a small support group to provide funds and labour. By summer 1977, following several years of inactivity, disposal of the locomotive was under consideration, but a small team at Bewdley swayed the decision and the engine was moved to Bewdley where restoration restarted. The proceeds of an [[:Category:SVR fundraising lotteries|SVRA raffle]] in 1980 were also used to help fund the restoration.<ref>SVR News 45, 56</ref>  

Work on the locomotive initially concentrated in two areas, the bunker and the axleboxes with their associated suspension. The boiler was lifted by a road crane on 30 April 1982.<ref>SVR News 65</ref> Another road crane was hired on 9 September 1983 to re-wheel the locomotive and lift the rebuilt bunker and cab roof back into place.<ref>SVR News 78</ref> A further SVRA raffle was organised in 1987 to help the restoration,<ref>SVR News 85</ref> following which progress continued slowly as funds and labour permitted.

On 5 April 1996 the locomotive was towed to Bridgnorth for completion of the boiler work, including fitting the new smokebox door and performing a boiler hydraulic test and steam test. By that time the locomotive had been fitted with all of its motion and valve gear, although it was the first time that it had moved more than a few feet in that condition. Following the boiler steam test on 25 July, the locomotive returned to Bewdley on Sunday 4 August. The boiler lagging was refitted, and arrangements then made to move the locomotive to Kidderminster Carriage Works over the Christmas holidays, where Mike Hill and Brian Hill worked around 10 hours a day for 12 of the 13 days in near-freezing temperatures to complete the painting. The locomotive was returned to Bewdley on 3rd January where the water tanks were refitted on 25 January.<ref>SVR News 122</ref> 1501 was first steamed on 29 May 1997.<ref name = StockBook/>  

Over the next 10 years the locomotive was re-tyred but otherwise served a full ‘ticket’ before being taken out of service at the end of 2006. 1501 then became one of the first group of locomotives to be displayed in the [[The Engine House | Engine House]] from opening in March 2008.<ref>SVR News 161</ref>

During 2009, plans for an overhaul of [[BR Riddles 4MT 75069 | 75069]] were delayed after a review of the boiler revealed that significant work would be required.<ref>SVR News 168</ref> 1501 was seen as a potential quick turnaround,<ref>SVR News 169</ref> and the locomotive left the Engine House in October 2009<ref>Wikipedia</ref> to begin an overhaul.  1501 was steamed again on 15 August 2012, re-entering service in BR lined black livery which, although not normally appropriate for shunting engines, was carried by 1503 and 1505 while at Old Oak Common.<ref>SVR News 179</ref>

A Valve and Piston overhaul in 2020 was completed in August 2020, only for a severe crack to be discovered in the right hand return crank. Fortunately, a replacement return crank was in store from its long scrapped sisters at Coventry Colliery.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/blsep20 Branch Lines newsletter, September 2020] (Retrieved 29 August 2020)</ref> The locomotive's last day in traffic before the expiry of its boiler certificate was 2 January 2023. The owning group's website shows volunteers conserving the locomotive from the summer of 2023 onwards by cleaning and painting parts both in situ and removed, at Bridgnorth and Bewdley. {{As of|2024|7}} it is in store in [[Bridgnorth Loco Works]].<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bljul24 Branch Lines July 2024]</ref>

In service on the SVR, 1501 has proved a powerful locomotive for its size, acquiring the nickname “the raging bull”.  At the end of 2019, 1501 had recorded a total of 98,933 miles in preservation on the SVR. The reported total may include mileage on hire to other railways.<ref>SVR News 210, SVR-based Steam Locomotive Mileage 2017-2019, Duncan Ballard</ref> The locomotive is owned by the [[1501 Pannier Tank Association]].

==Trivia==
As noted above, 1501 is a member of the GWR 1500 class, also referred to as the 15xx Class. 108 0-6-0ST tank engines of the 645 Class were built at the GWR’s Wolverhampton works between 1872 and 1881.  The last 72 of these featured a revised design; the first of which was numbered 1501.  This modified sub-class is therefore sometimes referred to as the “1501 Class”<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_645_Class 645 Class on Wikipedia]</ref>.

==See also==
*[[Steam Locomotives]]
*[[List of preservation groups]]
*[[SVR-based locomotives visiting other events]]

==References==
<references />

==Links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_1500_Class GWR 1500 Class on Wikipedia]
*[http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=102796&loco=1501 1501 on BRDatabase.Info]
*[https://1501pta.jimdo.com/ 1501 Pannier Tank Association website]

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