No 5060 - Earl of Berkeley
About the engineAfter a brief closure in the early 1970s, SMR re-opened in 1974 with a brand new flagship locomotive. The sale of Trojan (and the impending sale of Maid of Kent) had been a sadness to many, but Earl of Berkeley was a clean and simple alternative for the line’s now ageing owner/operator. The engine was built by Tom Smith of Lechlade for his own garden railway, and was originally named King of the Road, entering service in September 1973.
The locomotive was purchased aged just 6 months, and was moved to Saltwood in May 1974 where it was re-liveried in Great Western green and renamed Earl of Berkeley. Tests began at once, and the line officially re-opened in December that year. On delivery day the locomotive derailed at the level crossing just outside Saltwood station (between the station and the locomotive sheds). Subsequent investigation proved that the entire line had become 7" gauge over its many years of operation, owing to gradual shrinkage of the wooden sleepers. The summer was spent regauging the entire line to the correct 7¼" gauge, with public running resuming in December 1974. Remarkably, Earl of Berkeley was a genuine double-ended locomotive in 7¼” gauge. Her controls were replicated in cabs at both ends of the fully enclosed machine. However, it became normal at Saltwood for the guard to travel in the ‘rear’ cab and operation was always in the same direction, so eventually the controls were removed from one end. The guard was initially left with a brake, but this too was later removed from the second cab. Alex Schwab also installed a bicycle horn, as he believed the locomotive’s own powerful air horns just made too much noise for the people of Saltwood to bear! Video of Earl of Berkeley A film clip of Earl of Berkeley in the early 1970s is available on-line. It can be viewed by clicking HERE. (Note: This is a silent film, onto which someone has dubbed fake sound effects. The sound is best ignored, and includes diesel engine sounds totally inappropriate for this very quiet electric locomotive.) |
Where is it now?
In his will, Alex Schwab returned Earl of Berkeley to original owner and builder Tom Smith. The locomotive was moved in the summer of 1987 from Saltwood to Lechlade, and then directly to Ledbury, where it operated for several months on the Ledbury Light Railway at Ledbury School. The locomotive was by this time in a poor state of repair, and was sold to Pettitts Adventure Park in Norfolk for just £500. Pettitts had also acquired the track and other fixtures from Saltwood, and established a railway for their visitors, which opened in 1989 with a gauge of 10¼" . The railway continues to operate at Pettitts today. Pettitts constructed their own internal combustion locomotive, which is today the only engine in service. The two Saltwood electric engines were both acquired, regauged, and converted to diesel power. Great Western was later sold by Pettitts (see that locomotive's detailed page), but the fate of Earl of Berkeley is less happy. It is reported that the engine was overturned in an accident, and that it had also been worked to exhaustion with little servicing. It did not survive, and is believed to have been scrapped at the Pettitts site during the 1990s. The locomotive's frame survived, and in 2020 was owned with sister locomotive "Great Western" as a spare part.
Please contact us if you can supply any other part of this locomotive's story. Thank you.
Please contact us if you can supply any other part of this locomotive's story. Thank you.