Jane
| Jane (Sandra) | |
|---|---|
 Jane at Tunnel South on a "tunnel ballast" train in June 1976. | |
| Type | Motor Rail Simplex |
| History | |
| Built by | Motor Rail |
| Built | 1940 |
| Technical | |
| Wheel Arrangement | 4wDM |
| Fuel | Diesel |
| Locomotives | |
Jane, later known as Sandra was a small diesel locomotive used on deviation works trains.
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Constructed in September 1940 by Motor Rail Ltd, Bedford. A Simplex 4 wheel diesel-mechanical locomotive, Works No. 8565, model 12428/36 Fitted with a 20 Hp. Dorman diesel engine. Reconditioned by Motor Rail in 1947 and sold for £283 to St. Albans Sand & Gravel Co. Smallford, Hertfordshire who had their number R/4 welded to the frame. They in turn, in 1966 sold it for the sum of £10 to Colonel Andrew Campbell, who resided at Dduallt Manor, and it arrived on the FR Boston Lodge, on July 15th.[1]
On the FR[edit]
Kept at the Colonel's private siding, it ran on the FR by special arrangement. The superstructure appeared to be a home made job featuring chipboard. Ownership was transferred to the FR in April 1971 and the locomotive was used on the Deviation. Previously just referred to as "Campbell's No. 1", by March 1972, a repaint, including white stripes for nocturnal recognition, and it received the name "Jane", after the wife of Bunny Lewis, the Deviation works foreman. Also it received a "plate" showing "JGF1"
By 1981, it had lost its nameplate, by by 1984 had gained one with the name Sandra which is said, by Jeremy Chapling [2], to be the result of the transfer of Sandra’s fuel tank (complete with name) to Jane without a repaint. (Sandra being Dave Payne's fiancée/wife)
Recent years[edit]
Jane/Sandra was sold in 2004 to a member of the WHRS East Anglian Group and was delivered to a private site in Cambridgeshire. The engine started almost immediately soon after arrival, possibly for the first time since 1982, the last year it is believed to have worked on the FR. The owner emigrated without restoring the loco and in 2012 it was sold on to a private site near Huntingdon where it was restored to more or less original condition. In 2016 it was sold again and now resides at at private site in south Lincolnshire.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Bradley, Vic (1993) [1992]. Industrial Locomotives of North Wales. London: Industrial Railway Society. ISBN 0-9010-9672-5. OCLC 27769657.
- ^ Festiniog Railway Heritage Group Journal, Issue 055, page(s): 031