SVR Pannier Tank Fund

L95 (GWRGreat Western Railway 5764)

7714

The SVRSevern Valley Railway Pannier Tank Fund is an unincorporated organisation, with shareholders. It owns the two GWRGreat Western Railway CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 5700 class pannier tanks 5764 and 7714.

Pannier tanks and the SVRSevern Valley Railway

Pannier tanks were an everyday sight on the Severn Valley Branch, being used for passenger work, pick up goods, and shunting duties.. It was therefore perhaps inevitable that efforts would be made to secure one or more examples for use on the SVRSevern Valley Railway in preservation. Details of the 20 surviving panniers still in use at the time (mainly with London Underground and the NCBNational Coal Board in Wales) were reported in SVRSevern Valley Railway News in January 1969. The article noted that "dozens of schemes" were under way to acquire these for preservation as they became available, with the Worcester Locomotive Society scheme thought the most likely to succeed. It also noted that the three Hawksworth 15xx class panniers were considered too heavy for use on the SVRSevern Valley Railway due to their 'Red' route colour. The article concluded that "It is to be hoped that at least one of the remaining panniers will eventually arrive on a worthwhile preserved line like the SVRSevern Valley Railway".

GWR Pannier 5786 (L92) was subsequently acquired by the WLS and steamed at the SVRSevern Valley Railway. However, a dispute between the WLS and the SVRSevern Valley Railway in 1970 led to it leaving shortly thereafter.

SVRSevern Valley Railway Pannier Tank Fund History

The Fund had its origins with the SVRA Kidderminster Branch who conducted their own search to find a suitable pannier tank for the SVRSevern Valley Railway. An appeal to SVRSevern Valley Railway members for funds was circulated in summer 1970, with over £1,000 raised by Spring 1971. None of the panniers in use by the NCBNational Coal Board were available at the time, so attention was focussed on those owned by London Transport. Final negotiations were handled by Sir Gerald Nabarro and Richard Dunn, as the Branch Committee including chairman John Hill considered a tender backed by the Company might be looked upon more favourably. This approach succeeded, with L95 (5764) being acquired from London Transport on 24 May 1971. By that time 162 SVRSevern Valley Railway Pannier Tank Fund shareholders had contributed funds.

In 1972 tender forms were received from the NCBNational Coal Board for 7714 which had become surplus to requirements at Penallta Colliery in South Wales. Further hasty fund raising and some generous loans allowed the Fund to purchase their second pannier in 1973.

In 1977 the Kidderminster branch committee recorded their thanks to those who had contributed to the Pannier Tank Fund. The three surviving ‘panniereers’ - Columb Howell, Michael Wilkinson and Peter Hudson - reunited at The Engine House on 19 June 2021 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of 5764.

In 1978 the SVRSevern Valley Railway Company purchased classmate 3612 from Barry Scrapyard to provide a replacement set of wheels for 5764 and other spare parts including the boiler for overhauling the Fund's panniers. After the necessary parts had been recovered, the remains were scrapped at Eardington.

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  3612 being dismantled at Eardington

In 2019 a new exhibition 'L95, A Locomotive History from London to the Severn Valley Railway' opened in The Engine House. The display includes copies of documents relating to the establishment of the Fund and the acquisition of L95.

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  L95 exhibition (2022)

Social media

The Fund does not have a public presence through social media or website.

See also

List of preservation groups

Notes

References