THE INDUSTRIAL RAILWAY RECORD

No. 16 - p144-145

© DECEMBER 1967

PICTURE  PARADE

FRANK JONES

    Those who have seen Sentinel 6770 (at Cliffe Hill Granite Co Ltd, Leics) and 6751 (at Barrasford Quarry of Northumberland Whinstone Co Ltd) will probably remember that they had CH after the works numbers. It may be less generally known that this stands for Chester where either the boiler or the whole locomotive was built. Now who were the builders at Chester? The photograph (below) shows Sentinel 6754CH of 1929 (London Brick Co Ltd) which was a different type to either 6751 or 6770.

    A perusal of a Sentinel catalogue shows that the rebuilding of orthodox locomotives was carried out by a subsidiary company. The catalogue does not say who, or where this was done. It is thought that a number were rebuilt by their owners in their works. This was so at Tottenham Gas Works. The point is how many were rebuilt at Shrewsbury? The photograph below shows a six wheeler, presumably Manning Wardle 848 of 1882, which became Sentinel 5667 (also London Brick Co Ltd).

    To complete the parade, we have Tottenham Gas Works 6, taken in 1950. She was rebuilt at Tottenham, from a Ruston Proctor 0−4−0 saddle tank, with a Sentinel steam wagon power unit. The engineer at Tottenham was a Sentinel enthusiast and had repaired sentinel 6516 (J. Lyons & Co Ltd, Greenford, Middx) and 6909 (WD, Tidworth) there. The note in the Pocket Book (page C71) about Church of Stamford Hill is all nonsense. There never was a yard at Stamford Hill. An "old iron Jack" did tell me that Church had a place at Shoreditch, but it is equally likely the locomotive came direct from Silvertown. Incidentally the hole by the "B" is not for the clockwork key! (What is it for? – Hon. Eds.)