Knowle and Poplar ran together during the Best of British weekend in 2022, but Knowle was noted to be in a poor state and, following a thorough assessment, had to be withdrawn from service, pending extensive repairs and overhaul. Meanwhile Poplar travelled off to the London borough of Poplar to go on show to hundreds of admiring visitors at the Docklands Light Railway Poplar Depot.
Sadly, Poplar’s story also came to an early halt when, a few weeks later, the locomotive travelled to the Bluebell Railway and suffered a catastrophic motion failure. She has therefore been out of service ever since, and necessary repair work will be carried out, in the main, under the terms of an insurance claim.
A partial strip down of the loco revealed the potentially promising news that the damage appeared to be limited to severely bent connecting rods and brake rigging. It was then agreed that an attempt to straighten the rods would be carried out. These were sent away to a company in the West Midlands who tested the rods to ensure that there no issues with their structure, then straightened and retested them before returning them to the K&ESR in last month.
Unfortunately, inspection at Rolvenden revealed that, while the shafts of the rods are straight, the big ends were actually out of line so could not be refitted to Poplar. The insurers are due to visit soon to reassess the situation.
Meanwhile, at Rolvenden, Liam Head and his engineering team came up with a cunning plan to bring Knowle back to the rails in time for the 50th Anniversary Gala. The loco was jacked up; the wheels removed; the chassis re-riveted to make it rigid again; a broken spring hanger measured with a replacement made and fitted; the axle-box bearings remade, and the lubrication cleaned and repaired, plus many other jobs undertaken, before the loco was re-wheeled and reassembled. A boiler inspection was carried out a few days before the Gala and, thanks to the heroic efforts of all the Rolvenden staff (paid, volunteers and 4253), the loco came back into service! Since then, Knowle has been a regular sight hauling services, including the innovative Doodle Carriage throughout August.
Knowle is expected to run on light duties for the next two years and will then need a full overhaul.
Patrick Favell
October 2024