Grange Finds its Feet
Published 26 June 2011 | 
Agreement has been reached between the 6880 Betton Grange Society and the GWR(SVR)A for the loan of the spare driving wheels from Collett ‘Mogul’ No. 7325 for use under 6880 Betton Grange which is being constructed at the Llangollen Railway’s workshops.
6880 Chairman Quentin McGuinness and Mick Haynes of the Severn Valley Railway-based owning group, exchanged contracts on 27th April in an agreement that will see the set of 5′ 8″ drivers released for refurbishment after 30 years of storage at Bewdley for the unlikely eventuality that they might be needed as spares for the out of ticket ex-Great Western ‘Mogul’, which is currently on display inside the Engine House at Highley.
“The wheels have been hidden out of sight since the early 1970s” Quentin told Heritage Railway, “Our next task is to get them craned out from their storage area on the ‘Stourport triangle’ and moved to Bewdley yard where we can get them NDT tested and assessed for suitable use under 6880”.
Although the wheels have been untouched since being acquired by the GWR(SVR)A they are thought to be in reasonably good condition and restoration and adaptation for use under 6880 isn’t thought to be a major problem. It is planned to get a quotation from the South Devon Railway to have the wheels refurbished later this year, which along with the overhauled bogie truck, currently stripped for repairs at Williton on the West Somerset Railway, will allow Betton Grange to become a rolling chassis at Llangollen by next spring.
The final major components required to complete the new-build ‘Grange’ is the casting and machining of a new pair of cylinders, the appeal for which was launched in Heritage Railway (No. 148) and already over £10,000 of the £60,000 required has been raised.
August 2010 Working Weekend
Published 28 August 2010 | Whilst Llangollen Railway was hosted the Thomas the Tank Engine specials, a number of 6880 members were busy working away in the C&W sheds. The aim of this working weekend was to prepare our recently purchased box van for outside storage, as at present it is not in the best of condition. The Van was moved down from the loco shed to Pentrefelin Shed by Quentin and Graham Hoyland during the previous week.
On Saturday Mick, Jeff and Q started by removing all the remains of the old roof canvas. There were numerous old nails to be removed before the roof boards were ready to be sanded down. Two boards had sprung and required coach bolts to pull them back down. Once the roof had been sanded, a sealant was applied.
The two sliding doors required repairs. A new set of T&G boards were cut and fitted to replace a poor set on one door. The frame on the other door required two new main timbers. The same gang, now assisted by Richy P and myself fresh from Thomas duties, and Hank, did this on Sunday. Due to the joints this proved a lengthy job but was completed by the end of Sunday. Further vertical planks were replaced and a start on sanding the remaining planks down prior to painting was made.
Next working weekend we plan to fit a new roof canvas and make a start on painting the exterior and fitting of shelves inside.
Below is a brief history of this van, courtesy of Steve Best from Preserved Railway Stocklist.
Box Van 30454 was purpose built for the MOD by Chas Roberts in 1940, and is loosely based on a LNER diagram 094 box van. 30454 is its ROF Glascoed ID number, & wouldn’t have had a ‘M’ pref. They were also 10t not 13t as in your photo. It was registered by the GWR in the 85xxx range as all privately owned wagons, MOD included, were registered by one of the main operators in pre nat days and later by BR. The registration would have been plated on the frame. These were not the running number the owners applied. In 1994 the Van was purchased by a Mr Mimms and it moved to the Dean Forest Railway, where it was used as a stores van. The 6880 Society recently bought the wagon from Mr Mimms and intend to use it for storing all the parts for 6880 that they have acquired over the last few years.
Jon