Sydenham Quarry 0-6-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class Winifred (Locobase 11334)

Data from [], the website for the reconstructed small tank locomotive described in this entry. Works numbers were 1424 in 1915, 1578 in 1918, and 1641 in 1919.

Although the site rightfully celebrates the survivor of this trio - the middle child Gertrude - hre history includes the information that Winifred, Gertrude, and The Doll (catchy name, that) were designed specifically for supporting the ironstone quarry at Sydenham. This domestic source of iron was safe from submarines, and thus suggested itself for greater exploitation during the First World War.

Alas for the Sydenham Quarry, says the Gertrude account, the depression that hit the fields right after World War One forced a consolidation of Alfred Hickman holdings and ultimately their sale to Stewart & Lloyd in April 1925. The trio was packed off to Billston Quarry, where Winifred was disposed of in 1939 and Gertrude and The Doll worked until 1959.

Both survivors were rescued for preservation by Max Sinclair. The Doll wound up on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway and Gertrude passed through several owners before Peter and Sue Westmacott eventually began the restoration effort that put her back in service. The 2006-2008 effort was led by Andy Richards and included regauging her to 60 cm. She ran her first train in 50 years on 29 August 2009.