Foster & Dicksee contractors 0-6-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class Hollymoor (Locobase 8017)

Data from [], reproduction of C G Down's article "Horton Estate Light Railway" in the Industrial Railway Record, No 13, pp 11-15, 29 (March 1967).

This locomotive was Manning Wardle's works #1519. It was the first of the locomotives to serve this large hospital complex begun in 1904. The railway ran from the London & South Western station at Ewell West up to the Longrove Asylum site.

Hollymoor is said by Down to have been operated by Foster & Dicksee as shown above. A letter in #18 -- [] -- by G Alliez argued otherwise, saying in part:

"I wonder whether there is any significance in the fact that Foster & Dicksee were domiciled in Rugby. In June 1909 this firm offered for sale a six-coupled engine with 11in cylinders lying at Ewell; this could be HOLLYMOOR except that the latter originally had 12in cylinders and Mr Down states that it was sold in 1907. However, the loco staff at Horton told me that HOLLYMOOR was used by A. Leslie & Co, contractors for the building of West Park Hospital about 1918-1919 and this ties up with the date given by Mr Down for the building of this hospital."

The editors chimed in with the following at the bottom of Alliez's letter:"Manning Wardle records are not particularly helpful concerning 1519, a class K 0-6-0 saddle tank, which was supplied new on 25th March 1901 to J. Bowen & Son, Rubery, named HOLLYMOOR. Later owners are recorded (without dates) as "Foster & Dicksee, Ewell, Surrey" and "Mitchell Bros, Sons & Co Ltd. No.11". There is no mention of the Austin Motor Co Ltd, and we wonder on what authority this loco appears in the Longbridge Works list for this owner in Pocket Book A. - Hon. Eds.)

Still later, in IRR 23, a Mr Aidan L Fuller offered a different history that seems to resolve some of the disagreement:

"I would refer to your comments on page 230 (RECORD 18) regarding HOLLYMOOR. Some years ago I was told by an old driver at the Austin Motor Co Ltd that this loco had worked there. "Hollymoor" is the name of a large mental hospital in Worcestershire close to the line between Halesowen Junction (official name of the Junction by the Austin Works) and Rubery. Old maps indicate that there was a spur to the hospital at one time, probably during the construction period. I would suggest that J. Bowen & Son were the contractors for the hospital, and that HOLLYMOOR worked on this contract, subsequently being either sold to, or hired to, the Austin Motor Co. Ltd.

HARPENDEN, HERTS.

AIDAN L. F. FULLER