Press Release: The Rail Trolley Trust & Crowle Peatland Railway
copyright Will Coleman 4th September 2021
A 3ft gauge Wickham Type 17A Trolley (Works No. 4091) and a Type 17A DsmT [Dismantled from a powered Trolley to an unpowered Trailer] (Works No. Unknown) belonging to The Rail Trolley Trust (TRTT) will shortly go on loan to the Crowle Peatland Railway (CPR) at their site in Crowle, North Lincolnshire.
Works No. 4091. was one of a pair of Type 17A Trolleys of 3ft gauge, which were despatched from Wickham’s works in Ware, Hertfordshire to the North British Aluminium Co. Ltd, Fort William, Inverness-shire on 5th September 1946. This company and the Lochaber Power Co. constructed the Lochaber Works at Fort William. They were wholly owned subsidiaries of British Aluminium. The Wickham was originally fitted with a JAP 1323cc engine (No.DTZ/T 77854/S) and carried the running number W6/501.
Simultaneously with the arrival of a Type 27A Wickham (Works No.8849) in 1961 at Lochaber, both Works Nos.4091 & 4092 were dismantled and dumped off the track at Possil Park, where they remained until early in 1978.
Both were acquired in June 1978 by the late Rich Morris and stored for a period in an annex to The Narrow Gauge Railway Centre at Gloddfa Ganol, Blaenau Festiniog, which housed a large collection of narrow gauge locos. Both cars then moved to the Moseley Industrial Tramway Museum in Stockport, in February 1991, from where Works No. 4091 was sold to John Craven of Walesby, Newark, Nottinghamshire, around the end of 1994.
Following John’s untimely death in 1995, it was returned to the Moseley collection in November 1995 and was then acquired in 1998 by John Seward of Birmingham with a view to restoration. Ill health unfortunately prevented John from completing the task, so the vehicle was then donated to the Statfold Barn Railway in 2012.
The Works Number of the Trailer (DsmT) is unknown and despite ongoing research, it’s identity may never be fully confirmed.
What is known is that it was a 3ft Gauge Type 17A Trolley and like Works No. 4091 it was donated by John Seward to the Statfold Barn Railway in 2012.
In April 2014, the Statfold Barn Railway donated both vehicles to TRRT and they were subsequently moved to a private workshop in South Derbyshire, to undergo a complete structural rebuild and mechanical restoration funded by a benefactor keen to see the vehicles run again. Works No. 4091 has been fitted with the Deutz engine, previously carried by a standard gauge trolley, Wickham Works No. 7073, which is a longer-term restoration project for the Trust. As part of the loan agreement CPR will complete the replacement of the wooden bodywork on both vehicles.
Jonathan Flood, TRTT Chair, said:
“We are grateful to be able to work with CPR, to enable the restoration of these two vehicles to be completed and for them then to be returned to active use. Also, for the vehicles to be seen once again in an industrial setting by visitors who attend the railway’s events each year, as for many of them it will be their first exposure to these unusual vehicles.”
Mel Bailey, CPRS Chair, added:
“We are delighted to work with TRTT to enable visitors to see these unusual vehicles operating again. Although we are not aware of Wickham Trolleys being used on the Humberhead Peatlands, this would be typical of industrial applications for which these vehicles were manufactured.”
Crowle Peatland Railway Society (CPRS)
CPRS was formed to preserve the history and heritage of peat extraction in the Humberhead Peatlands – in particular, the story of the peatland railways. CPR is part of the Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Landscape Partnership and has been funded thanks to money raised by National Lottery Players, awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Notes to Editors
The Rail Trolley Trust (TRTT) aims to purchase, restore & demonstrate a collection of rail (construction and maintenance) trolleys and similar vehicles, as well as associated equipment and paperwork.
Links:
Crowle Peatland Railway Society (CPRS)
Tanat Valley Railway - home of Rail Trolley Trust Shropshire collection
Statfold Barn Railway
Created: 5 february 2023
Modified: 8 April 2024