The Moseley Railway Trust is delighted to announce that
they are the recipients of a PRISM grant from Arts Council England.
The grant, for more than £13,000, will be used to fund the
restoration of a historic diesel locomotive in the Moseley Railway Trust
collection. The locomotive was built by the Motor Rail & Tramcar Company
Ltd of Bedford in 1918 as their number 1320. It was built as a 40hp locomotive
intended for operation by the British military light railways which served the
front lines of the First World War. No.1320 was a “protected” locomotive – that
is, the bodywork was intended to give some protection to the crew from enemy
fire. However, No.1320 did not leave Bedford until September 1918, and hence
was too late to see any active service in the First World War (which ended in
November 1918).
As with so many such locomotives, it was sold second-hand
(having probably never been used by the military!) to a Hertfordshire gravel
quarry, where it had a hard (but productive) life in industry until it was
preserved in 1978. It is now owned outright by the MRT following a bequest by
its late owner in 2012.
When new, this locomotive
would have been fitted with a Dorman 4J0 petrol engine. However, when at the
quarry, it was heavily rebuilt with the current Dorman 4DWD diesel engine. At,
or around this time, the bodywork was changed to give the loco its current
appearance.
The locomotive will be sympathetically restored to the condition
in which it worked at the gravel quarries. The history of the locomotive that
is the subject of this appeal typifies the whole history of narrow gauge
railways in industry; it was built for military use, but spent its working life
in civilian hands. The quarry company rebuilt and adapted the locomotive to
meet their own needs.
When complete, loco 1320 will form an interesting contract
with another 40HP Motor Rail locomotive in the Moseley Railway Trust collection
– no.1369, which is still in “military specification” condition.
It is planned to complete the restoration of No.1320 during
2017, which will allow the locomotive to be demonstrated at the Moseley Railway
Trust’s 2018 Tracks to the Trenches event, which will take place in July 2018.
Phil Robinson, Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust, said We are really grateful to Arts Council England for their support. This
restoration project will be delivered by our volunteer members, so not only
will the loco be restored, but our members will be able to learn new skills and
pass experience to our younger members.
