Can you help us get GWR tank engine No. 813 steaming again? Over £35,000 is required to replace its expired 125-year-old saddle tank.
GWR 813 is a rare survivor from the once extensive system of railways in the South Wales valleys, having been built for the Port Talbot Railway as their no. 26 in 1901, later absorbed and rebuilt by the GWR. Following sale by the GWR for colliery service in Northumberland in 1934, the engine was eventually acquired in 1967 for restoration and preservation on the Severn Valley Railway. Since then, it has been extensively renovated and operated on many heritage railways as well as on the Severn Valley Railway itself.
Early in 2024, following nearly two years out of service awaiting replacement of its broken drag box casting (at a cost of £17,500), the engine incurred a further setback when its return to service was prevented by condemnation of its saddle tank on account of severe corrosion.
In conjunction with the Severn Valley Railway Engineering Department, the trustees of the GWR 813 Preservation Fund (now a registered charity) have accepted a bid from the Ffestiniog Railway to construct a new tank at its Boston Lodge workshops, Porthmadog. This is in recognition of that Railway’s expertise in the construction of water tanks such as those for their own locomotives ‘Prince’ and ‘Welsh Pony’.
Drawings have been completed, and work has recently commenced at Boston Lodge. The total cost before transportation and re-assembly charges will be in excess of £35,000. This will absorb a considerable amount of the 813 Fund’s financial reserves, much of which is already earmarked for future maintenance and overhauls and rolling stock renovation projects.
We have, therefore, launched this appeal to help raise funds to return this 125-year-old engine to full operating condition. Whatever you can give will be gratefully received. Where appropriate, gift aid provisions apply.
Photo:Paul Tanner