Diesel and Petrol Locomotives

The Museum has a number of small Diesel Shunters, along with one Petrol.

0-6-0 Diesel Shunter - BR Class 04 No. D2279
0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive - AMW 144
0-4-0 Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive No. 23 (Currently posing as Toby the Tram Engine)
0-4-0 Simplex Petrol Engined Shunter No. 2029

0-6-2 Diesel Shunter - BR Class 04 No. D2279

Works Number: 2656/8097
Wheels: 3' 7 "
Weight: 29 tons 15 cwt
Tractive Effort: 16850 lbs

This locomotive is powered by a 204 horsepower Gardner 8L3 diesel engine through a five-speed epicyclic gearbox. Originally allocated to the Southern Region, it was later transferred to the Eastern Region, where it was finally shedded at Colchester. Withdrawn in May 1971, it was sold to the Central Electricity Generating Board for use at Rye House Power Station in Hertfordshire.

Due to an engine fault, it was made redundant by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and D2279 was purchased by a Museum member and arrived at Chappel in January 1981. Since then, it has undergone a major overhaul of the engine and transmission, running for the first time in July 1984. New inlet guides and piston rings have been fitted. The timing chain and chaincase have also been replaced, with generous help from the manufacturers.

It was initially restored to BR Brunswick Green as D2279 - complete with totem on the cabside - and its usual employment is on various shunting tasks necessary on the site. It was utilised on passenger train duties in the exceptionally adverse weather conditions of Spring 1986 when steam locomotives were unable to operate due to the lack of running water on site. It is also used when the Museum periodically operates Diesel Days. In 1996 it was repainted black to operate as 'Mavis' during 'Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine' days. It was also numbered 11249, which would have been allocated to it if the 'D' numbering system had not been introduced whilst it was being built.

AMW 0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive AMW 144

Works Number: 333
Weight: 28 tons
Wheels: 2' 11 " diameter
Wheelbase: 6' 2 "
Engine: 8 cylinder Paxman Ricardo 150 hp
Transmission: Fluid Coupling. 3 Speed epicyclic with worm final drive

Built in 1938 by Andrew Barclay and Sons Limited of Kilmarnock, it was ordered for the Air Ministry for work in their supply depots. It was delivered new to Hartlebury Base, near Worcester. Shortly afterwards it was transferred to Ruislip, Middlesex, where it stayed until rail operations ceased in 1968. It was then sold to Hill & Sons of Botley, Hampshire. Narrowly escaping scrapping, it was then destined to be part of a sale of machinery to a Belgian firm. Following eighteen months of legal wranglings, the sale was aborted with the locomotive being repossessed in lieu of transport payments. Various unsuccessful attempts were made to offer it for sale to port authorities, until it was purchased (together with twenty gallons of water in the sump !) by a consortium of Museum members in 1970.

Delivery to Chappel was on 4 February 1971. It was restored and painted in Great Eastern Railway blue livery during the latter part of 1973, but suffered serious mechanical failure in 1978. The gearbox has since been rebuilt, and the locomotive is now a reliable member of the Museum's fleet. It was repainted in the latter part of 1991. It has connections with local industry by way of its Paxman of Colchester engine- the same firm who produced the engines for British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. Following radiator repairs, it re-entered service in 1995.

This is another diesel locomotive which managed without the luxury of an electric starter, the engine being turned over by a compressed air motor supplied from an air reservoir. If the loco has not been used for some time and the air reservoir is not up to working pressure, this has to be restored by a petrol fuelled donkey engine/compressor located in the cab which has to be coaxed into life using a manual starting handle.

0-4-0 Diesel Hydralic Locomotive Number 23 (Toby the Tram Engine)

Works No. 4220039
Engine : Leyland EN900, 6 cylinders rated 165 BHP
Transmission : "Twin Disc" hydraulic torque convertor to forward/reverse/final drive
Dimensions : 21' 2" long, 8' 6" wide, 11' 7" high
Wheelbase : 6' 6" Driving wheel diameter : 3' 6"
Weight : 28 tons
Tractive effort : 18000 lbs
Maximum speed : 25 mph

Built by John Fowler & Co of Leeds in 1965. Originally supplied to Shell Oil at Coryton (now Shellhaven), it was given the number 23 in their stock book. Before entering service it was sparkproofed in order to enable it to work around the refinery. This entailed making all the electrical connections air-tight and replacing all the PVC sheathed cable with M.I.C.C. Some of the flameproof fittings have since been removed.

After fifteen years in active service, it was purchased by the Museum and arrived at Chappel in February 1980. It was used frequently for about five years, until the ex-BR class 04 No. D2279 had its restoration completed. It then immediately fell out of favour due to the extra effort required in starting.

Due to these problems, 23 was eventually put up for sale and a contract was negotiated with the Lavender Line, but this was never completed. In 1989 it was again advertised for sale, and in December of that year it was privately purchased by a member of the Museum, and subsequently bequeathed to the Museum.

Although having a 24 volt electrical system, there are no batteries and starting is achieved by means of a hydraulic starter. To operate this it is necessary to raise a pressure of 4250 lbs with a hand pump. This will turn the engine over about two and a half times but if the engine does not start it means repeating the process - which involves about two hundred pumping movements ! Understandably, anyone without the knack preferred the push button starting of the Class 04.

For many years the left hand buffer had been in a permanently depressed state. Towards the end of 1990 the existing spring was found to be broken into six large pieces and several small bits as a result of an enormous impact at some time in its life, and it was removed and replaced. This locomotive is in full working order, and is regularly used around the Museum on shunting duties.

For the 'Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine' event held over the four days of the Easter Weekend in 1996, this locomotive was fitted with a tailored wooden casing that gave a passable likeness to 'Toby the Tram Engine'. It was very well received by the numerous visitors and was retained when No.23 attended the Eastern Union Railway 150 celebrations at Ipswich in June 1996.

The proprietors of 'Thomas' have licensed this 'Toby' replica and it may at times be off-site in the future when attending events at preserved railways.

Simplex 0-4-0 Simplex Petrol Engined Shunter No. 2029

Engine: 4 Cylinder 40hp Dorman
10' 6" over headstocks"

Motorail Simplex of Bedford built this in 1920 for the British Portland Cement Manufacturers Limited, for use at their Irthlingborough Works in Northamptonshire. It was later sold to the Atlas Stone Company Limited of Meldreth in Cambridgeshire.
The British Portland Cement Company subsequently repurchased the locomotive for use at Saxon Cement Works at Cambridge, before transferring it to their Norman Cement Works at Cherry Hinton, near Cambridge. Whilst there it was used for shunting wagons between the coal stage and the British Rail exchange sidings. After being out of use for several years, it was presented to the East Anglian Railway Museum in 1970. It has the distinction of being the first item of rolling stock to arrive at Chappel - which it did by road, arriving on 29 November 1970. It was first started and moved on 20 December 1970, but proved to be very fuel thirsty and expensive to run. At present, after some years of use it is stored unserviceable after frost damage, and is awaiting repairs.

A similar locomotive, No. 8430, classified Y11 by the LNER, replaced a shunting horse by the name of Peggy at Brentwood in 1925, and remained in use until 1956.
More Details about the Simplex can be found on the Simplex 2028 Association Website.