NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 109
BRECON ENGINE SHED
Michael L. Roach
I only visited Brecon Engine Shed once, while on a week's railway holiday in the area. I was staying at a B&B in Brecon and was at the shed between 8.50 and 9.00am before a day of photographing trains and stations to the east and south and later catching a train to Hereford and return. The date was Friday 7 September 1962. At the time there were only three classes of steam engine working all four routes out of Brecon; they were the GWR 5700-class pannier tanks a design dating from 1929, the GWR Collet 0-6-0 2251-class goods from 1930; and the LMS Ivatt 2MTs 2-6-0 dating from 1946. The Western Region built a batch of 25 of these Ivatt 2-6-0s numbered 46503 to 46527 at Swindon in about six months over the winter of 1952-53. The last three went new to Bristol SPM, while the first 22 went new to Oswestry Shed to replace the last of the 0-6-0 Dean Goods engines. The class became ever linked with the Mid-Wales route until it closed in 1962. They also worked from Brecon to Hereford, but never worked regularly from Brecon to Neath and Brecon to Newport. Swindon carried out comparative tests between the Ivatt 2-6-0s and the Dean Goods introduced 1883 and also rated 2MT by BR. Despite the 63 years between the designs the later engines were no great improvement except in one respect. The footplate men loved the tender cabs of the Ivatts, especially in winter, because on a couple of turns they worked tender first between Three Cocks Junction and Builth. On a sweltering hot summer day the men preferred the open cabs of the Collet 0-6-0 tender engines. For the last few years Brecon Shed had no engines allocated there and relied on engines provided by Oswestry Shed and Ebbw Junction, Newport Shed. This resulted in Ebbw Junction pannier tanks working into Neath regularly, via Brecon, which they would probably never have done along the South Wales Main Line. Although the Ivatts were perfectly suited to working passenger and freight trains along the Mid-Wales route, in preservation they have proved themselves quite capable of working eight or nine coaches along lines like the Severn Valley. Two of the Swindon batch entered preservation nos. 46512 and 46521.
The shed building at Brecon was built almost wholly of timber, and is believed to have been built in 1863 by Davies and Savin the contractors for the first 19 miles of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway to Pant (Dowlais) opened to passengers on 1 May 1863. The shed survived in daily use until the last day of passenger services 99 years later. I have no doubt that there were other timber engine sheds but most were small single-road sheds at the end of a branch line; and most were blown down, fell down, were consumed by fire, or replaced by a more permanent structure long before they reached 99 years old. Brecon Shed was a remarkable survivor. The engines on shed during my visit were:- 2218, 3201, 3714, 46510, 46514 and 46522. A short distance away from the shed was pannier tank 3764 shunting the goods yard.
The first passenger train to arrive at Brecon on a weekday in September 1962 was at 7.57am (from Builth Road), with a quick turn around it departed back to Builth Road at 8.15am. There were four morning passenger trains starting from Brecon for which the shed would have provided motive power. They were at 6.40am (ECS to Hay-on-Wye); 6.50am (Hereford); 7.35am (Newport); and 10.25am (Hereford). After that the motive power came mainly from arriving trains (9 in total) until 6.20pm and the last train of the day out of Brecon to Neath. The shed also had to find engines for two freight turns: first the 7.15am from Brecon Yard to Bassaleg Junction (Newport); then at 10.10am an engine and brake van departed for the ten minute run to Talyllyn Junction where on the far side of the triangle, on the goods only lines it would marshall a freight train for Merthyr departing at 10.50am. At the end of the day the engines arriving off passenger trains were at 5.25pm (from Moat Lane Junction); 5.56pm (Hereford); 9.11pm (Hereford) and 9.33pm (Newport); and off freight trains at 4.53pm or 8.15pm (from Moat Lane); and 7.32pm (LE from Talyllyn Junction). So there were six steam engines arriving at Brecon Shed between about 5.45pm and 9.45pm needing attention: fire cleaned out, smokebox emptied of char and bunkers topped up with coal at the primitive coaling stage believed to be 100 percent manual work. When all the day staff and footplatemen had departed for the night there would have been two men (probably) engaged overnight to undertake all these tasks, tend to the engines through the long night, and then at about 5.30am start building up the fires on six engines ready for the day's work ahead.
The final image dates from 6 September 1936 and was taken by the well-known Birmingham enthusiast W.A. Camwell. He caught the shed at an interesting time when there were GWR and ex-Cambrian and ex-Midland engines on shed. The LMS had inherited the Hereford to Three Cocks Junction line from the Midland at the grouping and the MR engines were in 1936 working the passenger trains between Hereford and Brecon and freight trains on to the Swansea area where the LMS had inherited a number of lines. Anyone interested in the LMS in South Wales (where the Company also inherited LNWR lines) may find this book interesting: ISBN 1 85902 671 0. The book explains the tortuous history of how the LNWR and the Midland Railway managed to infiltrate South Wales by means of acquisitions, joint lines and running powers.
Up until the end of 1930 the LMS had also operated through passenger trains from Hereford to Swansea but could not make them pay over such a long stopping train route which took 3 to 4 hours to complete. Passengers preferred to travel via Newport and the main lines, and the line passed mostly through thinly-populated countryside. William Camwell caught some interesting engines at Brecon Shed in 1936. The ex-Cambrian engines were 0-6-0 tender engines nos. 848 and 876 both withdrawn just after the end of the 1939-1945 war. 1531 was an ancient GWR Armstrong 0-6-0 pannier tank from 1879 withdrawn 12/49; 2760 was a Dean 0-6-0 pannier tank withdrawn 10/50. 2342, 2386, 2431 and 2435 were 0-6-0 Dean Goods tender engines which were the staple motive power on the line to Moat Lane Junction. The other three GWR engines were modern 0-6-0 pannier tanks.
Everything written so far in this article is about Brecon Shed; and the building had all the attributes of a steam engine shed. There were facilities for servicing steam engines, including dropping the fire, clearing char from the smokebox, watering and coaling etc, and most importantly parking the engines under cover should they need to be worked on; and yet one authority records the shed as being reduced to a mere stabling point in 1954. The various websites record slightly different dates but the shed code sequence according to Hugh Longworth's excellent book “BR Steam Locomotives, Complete Allocation History” was January 1948 BCN; January 1949 89B; January 1960 no code – sub-shed of Oswestry; January 1961 88K.
The shed building at Brecon was built almost wholly of timber, and is believed to have been built in 1863 by Davies and Savin the contractors for the first 19 miles of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway to Pant (Dowlais) opened to passengers on 1 May 1863. The shed survived in daily use until the last day of passenger services 99 years later. I have no doubt that there were other timber engine sheds but most were small single-road sheds at the end of a branch line; and most were blown down, fell down, were consumed by fire, or replaced by a more permanent structure long before they reached 99 years old. Brecon Shed was a remarkable survivor. The engines on shed during my visit were:- 2218, 3201, 3714, 46510, 46514 and 46522. A short distance away from the shed was pannier tank 3764 shunting the goods yard.
The first passenger train to arrive at Brecon on a weekday in September 1962 was at 7.57am (from Builth Road), with a quick turn around it departed back to Builth Road at 8.15am. There were four morning passenger trains starting from Brecon for which the shed would have provided motive power. They were at 6.40am (ECS to Hay-on-Wye); 6.50am (Hereford); 7.35am (Newport); and 10.25am (Hereford). After that the motive power came mainly from arriving trains (9 in total) until 6.20pm and the last train of the day out of Brecon to Neath. The shed also had to find engines for two freight turns: first the 7.15am from Brecon Yard to Bassaleg Junction (Newport); then at 10.10am an engine and brake van departed for the ten minute run to Talyllyn Junction where on the far side of the triangle, on the goods only lines it would marshall a freight train for Merthyr departing at 10.50am. At the end of the day the engines arriving off passenger trains were at 5.25pm (from Moat Lane Junction); 5.56pm (Hereford); 9.11pm (Hereford) and 9.33pm (Newport); and off freight trains at 4.53pm or 8.15pm (from Moat Lane); and 7.32pm (LE from Talyllyn Junction). So there were six steam engines arriving at Brecon Shed between about 5.45pm and 9.45pm needing attention: fire cleaned out, smokebox emptied of char and bunkers topped up with coal at the primitive coaling stage believed to be 100 percent manual work. When all the day staff and footplatemen had departed for the night there would have been two men (probably) engaged overnight to undertake all these tasks, tend to the engines through the long night, and then at about 5.30am start building up the fires on six engines ready for the day's work ahead.
The final image dates from 6 September 1936 and was taken by the well-known Birmingham enthusiast W.A. Camwell. He caught the shed at an interesting time when there were GWR and ex-Cambrian and ex-Midland engines on shed. The LMS had inherited the Hereford to Three Cocks Junction line from the Midland at the grouping and the MR engines were in 1936 working the passenger trains between Hereford and Brecon and freight trains on to the Swansea area where the LMS had inherited a number of lines. Anyone interested in the LMS in South Wales (where the Company also inherited LNWR lines) may find this book interesting: ISBN 1 85902 671 0. The book explains the tortuous history of how the LNWR and the Midland Railway managed to infiltrate South Wales by means of acquisitions, joint lines and running powers.
Up until the end of 1930 the LMS had also operated through passenger trains from Hereford to Swansea but could not make them pay over such a long stopping train route which took 3 to 4 hours to complete. Passengers preferred to travel via Newport and the main lines, and the line passed mostly through thinly-populated countryside. William Camwell caught some interesting engines at Brecon Shed in 1936. The ex-Cambrian engines were 0-6-0 tender engines nos. 848 and 876 both withdrawn just after the end of the 1939-1945 war. 1531 was an ancient GWR Armstrong 0-6-0 pannier tank from 1879 withdrawn 12/49; 2760 was a Dean 0-6-0 pannier tank withdrawn 10/50. 2342, 2386, 2431 and 2435 were 0-6-0 Dean Goods tender engines which were the staple motive power on the line to Moat Lane Junction. The other three GWR engines were modern 0-6-0 pannier tanks.
Everything written so far in this article is about Brecon Shed; and the building had all the attributes of a steam engine shed. There were facilities for servicing steam engines, including dropping the fire, clearing char from the smokebox, watering and coaling etc, and most importantly parking the engines under cover should they need to be worked on; and yet one authority records the shed as being reduced to a mere stabling point in 1954. The various websites record slightly different dates but the shed code sequence according to Hugh Longworth's excellent book “BR Steam Locomotives, Complete Allocation History” was January 1948 BCN; January 1949 89B; January 1960 no code – sub-shed of Oswestry; January 1961 88K.
GW Pannier 3714 of November 1936 peeps out of the 2-road shed at 8.50am on Friday 7 September 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Another view of 3714. The engine went new to Ebbw Junction Shed, was still there at nationalisation and stayed there until withdrawn December 1963, a year after the Brecon to Newport line closed. This was quite unusual for an engine to spend the whole of its working life at just one shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Collet Goods 0-6-0 no. 3201 of 1946. The engine had given me a return trip to Newport the previous day on the 2.05pm off Brecon. The engine had been based at 9 different sheds (some twice) in its short life with the last one being Templecombe where it was withdrawn May 1965. Behind 3201 are 46510 and 46514 at the primitive coaling stage. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
3201 again; it can be seen that the engine has been kept in steam overnight and would again work the 2.05pm and the 7.07pm return train from Newport. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pannier 3764 of December 1937 shunts the thriving goods yard which was just west of the engine shed at a lower level. The engine was at Ebbw Junction Shed from August 1961 and withdrawn there the month after the line closed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Collet Goods 2218 of June 1940 sits out of use just west of the shed; the goods yard is on the left. The engine had been at 86A Ebbw Junction since nationalisation and after the Brecon line closed was stored and then went to Westbury and Templecombe where it was withdrawn in November 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pannier tank 9631 of 88D Merthyr Shed passes through Talyllyn Junction Station at 10.20am on Thursday 6 September 1962. This is the train described in the text and the WTT as “engine and brake van” due off Brecon at 10.10am. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
William Camwell's article describing his visit to Brecon Shed. No Copyright.
June 1976
Part 11
Roger Winnen
A Class 50040 on the 10.30 ex Newquay seen at Bugle. 19.06.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
A Class 50040 on the 10.30 ex Newquay seen at Bugle. 19.06.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
Bugle Band Contest 1976. 19.06.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
Bugle Band Contest 1976. 19.06.1976, copyright Roger Winnen.
