Wickham
From Festipedia, hosted by the FR Heritage Group
Not a locomotive, but a line car.
Built by D Wickham & Co Ltd in Ware, Hertfordshire, it was built as a standard gauge gang trolley, builder's number 1543 of 1934, for the London & North Eastern Railway. Delivered to York, it was a Type 17, fitted with a JAP 1100 petrol engine.
It was obtained from British Railways in 1962 and regauged for use on the FR.
It has not been seen in action on the railway for many years and in 2006 was reported as under restoration somewhere in southern England.
The Wickham Trolley in use Penrhyn, extending the loop and re-ballasting; ex-RAFs in the background. 12th February 1966 (Geoff Plumb)
Original photo and full caption here
Two photographs of the subsequent gravity works train can be found here
The Wickham at Boston Lodge, 16 August 1967. (Photo: John Browning)
Further reading:
- Wickham of Ware - a history of D.Wickham & Co Ltd, Railcar Manufacturers by Loxley Ford & James Cooper, The Rockingham Press, 2003
- The Wickham Works List by Keith Gunner & Mike Kennard, Dennis Duck Publications 2004.