Swedish ‘B Class’ no. 101A

Status: Cosmetic restoration complete

Location: Wansford: Part of Nord Express line up by Main Entrance

 101 Cosmetically restored at Wansford

History

Swedish B Class No. 101 was one of three locos built in Stockholm for the Stockholm-Västerås-Bergslagens Järnvägar (SWB Railway) in 1944. The design however dates from 1909 when the Swedish Railways (SJ) built 96 examples of the class. Thus, in total 99 of the class were built for both express passenger services and freight workings across the country.

When the SWB was nationalised in 1945 101 gained the Swedish Railways number 1697. 101 eventually found her way into the Swedish Strategic Steam Reserve. As such, when purchased for use on the NVR she was in good condition and was a regular performer on the line in her fictitious dark blue livery until her withdrawal in January 2005.

Following the departure of Nord loco no. 3.628, 101 found her way next to 3916 in front of IRPS workshop at Wansford in 2010. Having been well over a decade since the loco was last painted, and having sat unloved for 5 years, the external condition left a lot to be desired and was nearing the critical point of no return.

Before this could happen, a team of young IRPS volunteers, with the help of a dozen students from the local Prince William School taking part in a 'voluntary work week', set to her with a multitude of power tools, paints and elbow grease to return her to an authentic livery and hold back the rot.

A major part of this has been the replacement of the rotten timbers and felt which form the cab roof, which was starting to show its age with a series of leaks and holes.

The full cosmetic restoration was complete in late 2012 and has included a full repaint, a new cab roof, replacing some metal sheet-work, a full overhaul of the electric systems so they can be operated from the ground and a number of other ancillary tasks.

The restoration as it happened is documented below.

September - December 2011

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Lewis has continued his work on 101 over the past months, focusing first on the interior of the drivers cab and then the exterior of the tender.

He has also been re-fitting the broken lights both on the outside of 101 and inside the cab.

Here are some photos of his progress:

Lewis' first hand painted 'Swedish State Railway' logo on the side of the tender. The tender exterior painted in authentic livery. One of the many bulbs that have been re-fitted in the last month. All three headlamps are now in working order. The bottom two can be switched to red. The tail lamps were the last to be fitted. Now 101 has at least one working light on each side giving the impression of a working locomotive. Interior of the drivers cab, with the new roof getting a protective coat of paint.  A recent photo showing the progress made in the last two months.

June - August 2011

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The interior of the tender was also restored and painted to protect it from further degradation. The boiler has been painted over the last few months into the original blue livery. Most of the upper half of the loco has now been stripped of rust and repainted. - Cylinder Most of the upper half of the loco has now been stripped of rust and repainted. - Cylinder cover The latest part of 101 to be completed is the driving cab exterior.

Lewis Williams painstakingly repaints and polishes the original plaque on 101. Lewis Williams painstakingly repaints and polishes the original plaque on 101. Lewis Williams painstakingly repaints and polishes the original plaque on 101.

101 as it looked at the beginning of August.

January - May 2011

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 101feltroof The broken windows in the cab were removed, their glass replaced and then refitted. The broken windows in the cab were removed, their glass replaced and then refitted. 101's Headlamp was taken down to be used on another loco during some filming. We took the opportunity to replace the broken glass, clean it up and paint it. The lamp has been put back in its rightful place and will eventually be operational as part of the 'NORD Express Experience', once the whole display is finished.

2010

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101 during its boiler repaint The cab roof after we had removed the rotten boards. To the right you can see the start of the restoration work to the metal frames. View from the ground of the cab ceiling without the roof beams The new wooden roof was completed late in 2010 ready for the winter weather More weather proofing, this time in the form of a chimney cap to stop rain from entering the boiler A

Background

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An imminent reworking of a part of the Wansford site has seen 101 take pride of place as the 'Gate Guardian', replacing the old 'Kriegslok' which left for Belgium recently . It is now the first thing visitors see when they come to the railway. As such our intention is to keep the cosmetic restoration going as an ongoing project and very much at the forefront of future plans without diverting resources away from other tasks already in hand.

101 being turned on the Nene Valley's turntable during the shunt to its current location. The loco just after it had been relocated 101sunshine