Dunrobin - attention to detail...

Dunrobin – attention to detail…

As readers will know, Dunrobin’s restoration is being undertaken at the Severn Valley Railway’s engineering works at Bridgnorth, where exciting progress is being made towards completing this long-running project.  The SVR’s own magazine, SVR News, has covered progress on the project periodically, and the editor Paul Appleton and Mechanical Foreman Will Marsh have kindly allowed be to reproduce Will’s most recent notes from the magazine, concerning Dunrobin:

Sharp, Stewart 0-4-4T 4085 ‘Dunrobin’ had seen little attention in 2024 due to a variety of factors, however, 2025 has already seen a reasonable focus on this long-running project.  The weeks since Christmas have seen the new cab/bunker fabrication permanently fitted to the chassis with some modifications inside the coal space to make life easier for the fireman, and the coupling rods have had their bushes overhauled with new whitemetal linings being cast-in and machined to finished sizes.

A research trip was arranged to Glasgow Riverside Museum in order for a small group of us to view ‘Jones Goods’ 4-6-0 103.  This locomotive is also a Sharp, Stewart-built Highland Railway locomotive, with many common parts.  Chief amongst our interest was the peculiar pivoting front vacuum pipe arrangement.  By design, both locomotives’ front vacuum pipe upstand would foul the opening of the smokebox door, therefore a workaround was to have a pivoting elbow so that the pipe could be folded out of the way while not compromising the airtight seal required within a vacuum system.

Below: Two views of the vacuum stand on 103 – this pivots backwards rather than sideways, but the principle (and component) are the same.

When ‘Dunrobin’ was in Canada, the vacuum braking system was effectively disabled in favour of a more-North American standard air braking, and as part of this alteration, the front vacuum pipe was cut off behind the front buffer beam and plugged, so this elbow was presumably slung in a corner, lost to time.

Glasgow Riverside Museum have been incredibly helpful and forthcoming, allowing us to remove the same component from 103, bring it to Bridgnorth in order for the component to be reverse engineered, the necessary drawings and patterns created to enable us to put this quirky original feature back onto ‘Dunrobin’, and so allowing it to look and operate as close to original condition as possible, which has always been ours and Beamish’s aim.

It has been asked of me ‘can we not work something out from photos?’  The simple answer is ‘no’, if this locomotive is to pull a train full of passengers around, we need all components in the braking system to be exactly as they were intended to be.  Brakes are not something any of us in our industry should ‘wing it’ or take artistic licence with!  And, I would argue, going through a re-design process would take far longer and be castle more expensive than a research trip to Scotland!

Below: This extract from an image taken by Gavin Wilson (and which appears courtesy of the Highland Railway Society) shows the vacuum stand in the upright position.  This is the locomotive at Perth, during its 1950 transfer move from Dunrobin to New Romney.  It worked as far as Carlisle under its own steam, before being prepared for onward movement to Ashford as part of regular goods train services (all of this will be covered in detail, in the forthcoming book on the locomotive…).

Below: This extract from a view taken by Ray Manning in 1970 shows the vacuum stand in repose, in order to accommodate the hefty buckeye coupling fitted for operation in Canada.  At this stage the locomotive was still vacuum braked (later it was converted to air, and a large air pump rather spoilt the front end appearance of the locomotive).  This is the position in which the stand would be placed in order to open the smokebox door and the point at which it pivots can be seen just to the left of the coupler, where the vertical pipe changes direction and runs back under the buffer beam.

Another detail that we are keen to get right is that of Dunrobin’s set of lamps.  I covered these in a post some years ago, but the research to produce a set of replica lamps is now progressing and a specialist manufacturer has agreed to take on the challenge.  The originals did accompany the locomotive to Canada, but were not available when we collected Dunrobin in 2011, nor had they reappeared when it arrived back in the UK in 2012.

Below: There are two distinct types of lamp carried by Dunrobin, which echo what was common Highland Railway practice (and they are, in fact, HR stype lamps with some suitable embellishments to associate them with Dunrobin and its role).

Below:Two lamps are located on the locomotive by a spigot or peg, which slots into a square jaw at the top of the smokebox and top edge of the bunker (for running in reverse or displaying a red light running light engine).  These presented a problem for servicing, so would require either a bench with a hole in, or, as was the case on the HR, a set of legs for the lamp which would enable it to free-stand. These can clearly be seen here.

Below: There are also two running-plate mounted lamps on side brackets, as seen in this view, essentially being the same design but without the locating spigot on the base.

The lamps are a distinctive feature of Dunrobin throughout its previous life in the UK, so it is important that it can carry on this tradition once it returns to operation.  An original pair of lamps from the first Dunrobin have survived and are owned by the Highland Railway Society, being on display in Dunrobin Castle.

Below: A reminder of the state of play with Dunrobin at the moment – this is it at Bridgnorth, really waiting on the boiler as the next significant milestone (the boiler has undergone initial hydraulic tests but not yet a statutory test, whilst it awaits a new dome, which is on order).  The tanks and rest of the cab are ready for the locomotive, along with the smokebox.  But there will be a great deal of work in manufacturing new pipework and installing lubrication points to the locomotive as well as re-engineering the vacuum brake system, this having been removed in Canada, though things like the brake valve/ejector are to hand.

Photos by Paul Jarman, Will Marsh and Rebecca Walker as well as from the Beamish Archive  With thanks to Will Marsh and Paul Appleton for allowing reproduction of Will’s original text.