FROM MANX STEAM RAILWAY NEWS

ISSUE No. 108 - SPRING 1994

During 1993 Groudle had a very successful year due to the “Year Of Railways” celebrations and it was decided that it would be a good idea to repay Isle of Man Railways by tackling a project on the steam railway. Severel ideas were put forward but the most obvious choice was the cosmetic restoration of No. 6 Peveril. She had been marooned at the back of the Carriage Shed for over a decade and was looking in a very sorry state; the locomotive was built in 1875 and had last seen service in 1960, since when she had remained in store except whe she was given a re-paint during the Ailsa days and place on display at St. John’s and later at Douglas with all the other disused locos.

It was decided to arrange a working party for the weekend of 19^th/20^th February [1994] during which time the island-based and mainland members would get together and start work on No. 6. the locomotive was placed in the workshop ready for work to commence just prior to the weekend, having been moved to the west end of the carriage shed and re-railed a couple of weeks earlier.

The morning of Saturday the 19^th arrived; I met up with Rob Taylor and the two of us set off down the M6 to pick up Dave Booth en route to the airport. Just as we were approaching the junction for Warrington workmen decided to close it, so we had no option but to continue half way through Cheshire to turn around, consequently we were now in danger of missing our flight. Luckily Rob does a good impression of Nigel Mansell and we just made the airport with literally minutes to spare.

It was 9.40am when we reached Ronaldsway on a dull and overcast morning. Peter Hodgett was waiting for us at the airport and after checking in at our apartments at Port Erin we set off for Douglas. The site that greeted us in the workshops was one I shall always remember. There was Peveril, paint peeling off and all her brasswork tarnished, but she was ours for the weekend. No. 11 Maitland was also in the workshops together with the frames of No. 15 Caledonia.

The first job was to march the paint originally on No. 6 to a colour chart so as we were able to paint her in the original Indian Red. A patch of green paint had peeled off revealing the red which was then matched up. Rob and Dave soon set to work with the sanders whilst Peter and myself fetched the matererials required from a local dealer. It was decided to make two teams, one person used the sander whilst the other used the wire brush to reach the inaccessible places. The side tanks were tackled first followed by the back of the cab.

Slower over the Saturday the number of workers steadily grew. Next the smokebox door was removed for attention using the overhead crane and lots of sweat and elbow grease. Once this was done Bill Cubbon set to work on cleaning out the smokebox. By the end of the Saturday over half the green had been removed revealing underneath the old livery complete with lining out and even the number on the bunker.

Sunday dawned nice and early and by 9.30am we were all back at work in the workshop. Colin Kelly and Richard Booth joined us, as did some of the younger members usually at work at Groudle on a Sunday. The sanders were once again in great demand. The cab was finished first, then the boiler cladding tackled; the brasswork was cleaned up by the junior members and Bill emptied out the inside of the coal bunker, once again managing to get as filthy as he does at Groudle [!] and the bunker was found to still contain coal from some 30 years ago.

Once all the paint above the running plate was removed all that remained was to push No. 6 outside into the sunshine to allow a photo session. The chance was taken to light an oily rag in the smokebox and allow No. 6 to “steam” again! No. 6 was then pushed back into the shed just as the local press arrived to report on the weekends’ activities. The weekend was a big success and fully enjoyed by everyone involved. The amount of good publicity this small project has given the Supporters’ Association has fully justified the expense and effort involved.

Rob Fleming

FOOTNOTE (2009): there followed several more working parties on the locomotive in the ensuing months, and by the enthusiasts week in 1994 the locomotive was on display at Douglas Station, albeit unlined. The island-based junior members of the group completed painting of the wheels and motion, and the railway’s staff applied the lining out by the end of the summer, in yellow / black / yellow as was standard for the selected time period. For further information on this locomotive please refer to the steam locomotives menu and the projects page, both of which contain further details.