Spa Valley Railway

Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email: enquiriesatspavalleyrailway.co.uk
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(Photo ©K&ESR)

SR USA Class "Yankee Tank" No. 65

SR USA Class 0-6-0T Introduced November 1947
Length - 29ft 8in
Wheel Diameter - 4ft 6in
Cylinders - 16½in x 24in
Outside Walchaerts valve gear
Tractive Effort - 21,600lbs
Weight in working order - 46 tons 10 cwt
Boiler Pressure - 210 PSI
Water Capacity - 1,000 Gallons
Coal Capacity - 1 ton 10 cwt

Built in 1942 for the United States Army Transportation Corps Engineers for use in the Europe after the post D-Day invasions. The tanks proved very powerful and with their short wheelbases meant that they could negotiate tight track curvatures. These characteristics made them ideal candidates for use by the Southern Railway in Southampton Docks.

The Docks had been served for a long time by Drummond B4 and Brighton E1 and D1 tanks for a number of years. But after the war these engines needed new boilers, which Eastleigh works could supply, but not for 18 months and at a high price. Because of this the Southern Railway CME, O.V.S. Bulleid, was forced to look at other alternative forms of traction. His search led to the former British and USA War Department tanks. The Austerity tanks were rejected by Bulleid due to their longer wheelbase, inside cylinders and general condition. The USA tanks were in a lot better condition, had a shorter wheelbase at 10 foot, compared to 11 foot of the Austerities, and had outside cylinders. Fortunately for Bulleid, after the war a number of the class had been placed in store at Newbury Racecourse station and he was able to purchase 15 of these for use on the Southern, becoming numbers 61-74.

Following trials on a class member, each of the class was sent through Eastleigh works for a number of modifications to be carried out for British use. This included the fitting of steam heat, vacuum ejector, sliding cab windows, lamp irons and new cylinder drain cocks. Once in traffic, it became clear that further work was needed, which included extended bunkers, large roof vents and a British style regulator to replace the US pull-out originally fitted. Despite all these modifications, the engines still retained a US 'switcher' appearance with stove pipe chimney, bar frames, no running plates and sanding domes. One distinctive feature of the engines was the outside valve gear driven from the rear axle.

In service, the condition of the engines deteriorated rapidly as a result of poor steel used to construct their fireboxes during the war and the hard water in Southampton. As a result the engines were withdrawn from service and replaced by the E1 tanks, which they had replaced, for a period in 1951. Eventually new fireboxes were built and installed in the engines and they returned to service for am further period of use. Operationally, the engines were well suited for their environment with the only major failing being that they regularly run hot axlebox bearings if run too many miles.

Their dockside duties continued until 1962 when they started to be replaced by Class 07 shunting diesels. Six entered departmental service whilst the others continued to see action around Southampton on menial duties until withdrawal between 1964 and 1967.

No. 65 (30065 by this time), along with sister No. 70 (30070) were transferred into departmental service at Ashford Works in November and August 1963 respectively. Here No. 65 was named "Maunsell" after the Southern Railway's first CME and numbered DS237. No. 70 was named "Wainwright" after the SE&CR's first locomotive superintendent and numbered DS238. No. 65 saw service until April 1967 where it was laid aside pending a decision on its future. In March 1968 both it and No. 70 were sold to Woodham's scrapyard at Barry, South Wales. However whilst being towed from Ashford to South Wales, the engines developed hot bearings and never made it any further than Tonbridge. Here they were parked in the former steam depot until they were resold to the Kent and East Sussex Railway and therefore entered preservation in August 1968 and arriving at the railway a month later.

No. 65 was the first of the pair to enter traffic on the K&ESR in 1974. It received an extended bunker and improved lubrication to overcome the problems of the hot bearings. In 1978, it received the boiler from No. 70 and re-entered traffic in April 1981 for a further 9 years. Following a further overhaul it returned to traffic in 1997 in its current livery where it served until 2002 when a new firebox was required. This was fitted and following another overhaul the engine returned to service in 2008. In 2009 it made a brief appearance on the Spa Valley for the annual steam gala, proving very capable of hauling whatever was placed behind it.

Livery - Black with Southern Sunshine Lettering

Current Status - Visited from Kent & East Sussex Railway for 16th & 17th May 2009

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