56XX No 5643

The Great Western Railway inherited a vast number of run-down or even life-expired locomotives when it absorbed the independent companies of South Wales in the 1923 railway Grouping.  There was an urgent need for new motive power, and the Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett opted to base it on the successful 0-6-2T wheel arrangement that had been favoured by the independent companies. The first of two hundred locomotives, Number 5600, was finished at Swindon works in 1924. The 56xx class may not have been the best looking machines on the Great Western, but they were powerful machines for their size, and became popular with their crews.

5643 was built at the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works in October 1925 and  It spent its entire working life in South Wales.  These engines were especially suited to work the wooded and steeply graded valleys of South Wales, equally comfortable hauling heavy goods or passenger trains.  It was withdrawn from Barry Shed in July 1963 and moved the short distance to the now famous Woodham's scrapyard in Barry. Woodham's did not scrap 5643 and over 200 other steam locomotives, thus saving them for preservation. Over 100 of this number have now been returned to steam.

The owner Dai Woodham made the decision to stockpile old locomotives because he was receiving more income from scrapping railway wagons. It was a decision that effectively saved hundreds of steam locomotives from the cutting torch. 5643 was such an engine, and was one of the first to leave Barry scrapyard.

It was originally purchased for a now defunct steam operation in its native South Wales, but was soon transferred to Lancashire, and the now also closed Steamtown Railway Museum at Carnforth, near Lancaster.

It was bought in 1986 by members of the Lakeside Railway Society, moving to Haverthwaite 3 years later. The LRS later set up the Furness Railway Trust as a charity to manage its assets, and so 5643 passed to its present owners.

5643 had first turned a wheel under its own steam 80 years to the month since it entered service in October 1925. The test steaming established there were no major flaws in the locomotive. A blocked blower and the cylinder lubricator needed attention. Once these were rectified, the locomotive was steamed to the satisfaction of the insurance company's boiler inspector, and a test run carried out on the full length of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.

One departure from the original design is the fitting of a new rocking grate mechanism in the front half of the firebox, and a hopper ashpan. This is to make life easier for the crews when putting the engine "to bed" at the end of the day. Similar equipment has been fitted to a number of other former Great Western Railway locomotives.  This system allows the remaining fire to be dropped straight down and doesn't have to be laboriously dug out. 

Many new parts were required during the restoration: we used two brake blocks from the tender of another of our engines, Number 4979 "Wootton Hall", to complete the set of six required. We borrowed the pull rods from sister locomotive Number 6619 from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which at the time was also under overhaul at Carnforth. After a successful fitting, two new pull rods were ordered from the forgers in Barrow. 6619's panel that covers the cab reversing lever was also borrowed to allow a copy to be made - many thanks to Kevin Gould from that team for his indulgence.

Principal Dimensions 

Shed Allocations

The Furness Railway Trust

The Furness Railway Trust is a Registered Charity, based on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in the Lake District in North West England.  The trust owns a number of locomotives and rolling stock which  includes the oldest working standard gauge steam engine in Britain, Furness Railway Number 20. More information on this historic engine and the other locomotives and rolling stock owned by the trust can be found on the trusts website which is shown below.

The Trust also has its own website: www.furnessrailwaytrust.org.uk  ** Note ** This link will open in a new window.