The Locomotives

Three identical 0-4-2 side tank locomotives were ordered from Kerr-Stuart in 1914 but not delivered until 1916. Unusually these were not of Kerr Stuart design but came from the drawing board of the MWB engineer.

It has been suggested that there was a fourth locomotive named Hurst but absolutely no evidence can be found to support this. Unfortunately, they were all scrapped when the line closed but given the necessary finance a replica could be built as we have a copy of the drawings.

The New Locomotive.

In the meantime we already have a brand new loco to help with the construction of the new line. It is actually on loan to us from Science Projects of Hammersmith and has been constructed in their workshops by one of our members, Dick Scholefield to his own design.

The completed loco before delivery  (Photo Science Projects)

As all the original locos were named after towns associated with the line ran it was decided to call the new loco "Hounslow" as part of the line runs through that London Borough.

The almost complete loco without its bodywork  (Photo:Science Projects)

It is a 0-4-0 petrol engined loco with hydrostatic transmission. It weighs approximately 500kg and is 2.2M long. The engine is a Tecumseh single cylinder 4 stroke of 195cc giving 6HP and is connected to an Eaton Model 7 light duty hydrostatic transmission. The calculated top speed without any load is 7.9mph and it should have a continuous tractive effort of 87kg with 125kg available for starting. Most of the machine has been built from readily available components although the frame and body have had to be made from scratch

Designer & builder, Dick Scholefield, takes the loco on its first run at Kempton.      (Photo: James Halliwell)