Overview

In 1946 the railway companies were requested by Government to explore alternatives to burning coal in order to save stocks which was desperately need for export in order to accumulate foreign currency that could then be used in turn to acquire other essential items in short supply. The intention was to replace coal with oil in the fireboxes of steam locomotives. The requested timescale was totally impractical. The instruction had only been issued to the railway companies in August 1946 yet implementation was requested by January 1947. They were given a matter of months to change the way locomotives had been powered since the beginning of the railway age in the 1830s and 40s. Only two companies managed to comply in anything like the time suggested, the GWR and the Southern. This is the story of the Southern Railway conversions, the installations required, details of the engines converted to oil burning and how this was done and the duties they performed. This in-depth study of those days reveals much new information for the first time. Heavily illustrated throughout and including details of locomotive duty rosters and accounts from railwaymen involved in the episode, this is fascinating account of a short-lived but ultimately unsuccessful experiment.

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9781910809709

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Kevin Robertson had his first article on the local railway published when he was just 14. He took up full-time writing in 1982 and since then has had numerous books on the railway scene published, including The Leader Project: Fiasco or Triumph? which was published by Ian Allan Publishing in 2007 to critical and commercial acclaim. He has written a wide selection of books for the Ian Allan list, and is a particular expert on all things relating to the Southern Region. Kevin also runs his own publishing company, Noodle Books, and currently lives in Corhampton in Hampshire.

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