The Moseley Railway Trust is delighted to announce two
more visiting locomotives for the Tracks To The Trenches event. Both are
historic internal-combustion machines, and they are being displayed courtesy of
the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR).
Motor Rail 264 was built in 1916. It is a 20hp “Simplex”
locomotive, and is the oldest surviving Simplex in Great Britain. These
locomotives, known as Petrol Tractors, formed the backbone of the War
Department Light Railway effort during the First World War. These Tractors were
vital in moving supplies from railheads up to the front lines. They could be
used in areas where steam locomotives were too vulnerable to enemy fire.
Hundreds were built in Bedford by the Motor Rail & Tramcar Company. This
particular locomotive is still fitted with a Dorman petrol engine – many others
were converted to diesel engines after the war. Although precise records of its
wartime service are unavailable, it seems highly likely that this locomotive
served on the Western Front in France. The history of the locomotive after the
War is unclear, although it is said that the locomotive worked at the notorious
Porton Down camp in Wiltshire. In the 1950s, the locomotive was working at a
peat works in Somerset until preserved in the 1970s.
The locomotive was restored to its current original
condition at the WHHR facility at Gelert’s Farm, Porthmadog.
Joining Motor Rail 264 on the journey to Apedale from
Porthmadog will be Baguley 760. These small, 15hp, locomotives were originally
intended to operate close to the front lines. However, they suffered from
glowing exhausts when working hard – which made them ideal targets for enemy snipers!
Therefore, they were re-allocated to less onerous tasks. This particular
locomotive was ordered in Board of Trade’s Timber Supplies Department in 1918.
The Timber Supplies Department had the vital task of obtaining the vast supply
of timber needed to provide shoring and other materials for the vast networks
of trenches so characteristic of the First World War. Canadian troops, with
extensive experience of tree-felling, developed a strong association with this
type of work.
Again, the war record of this locomotive is unknown, but
it later worked for a cement works in Bedfordshire. It was bought for
preservation in 1965, making narrow gauge history by being the first locomotive
to pass through the hands of Alan Keef, the well-known dealer and manufacturer.
After many years, it was restored by Peter Lowe at his Abbey Light Railway in
Leeds. Following Peter’s untimely death in 2012, the locomotive passed into the
care of the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.
Phil Robinson, MRT Chairman, said “We very much look
forward to hosting these two locomotives in September. Tracks To The Trenches
is fast becoming the Must Do narrow gauge event of 2014. The locomotives from
the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway will further add to the attractions at the
event, and they represent important elements in the story of how narrow gauge
railways supported the troops during the First World War. We are very grateful
to our friends at the WHHR for their assistance with this”.
The Tracks To the Trenches event will be on September 12,
13 and 14. Keep watching the press for more details, or visit the event’s own
website, here or the Facebook page.
