The Ashover Light Railway Society

Loco:-Spondon

‘SPONDON’ LOCOMOTIVE RESTORATION APPEAL

This page details the appeal which the Society has launched to attract funds in order to continue restoration of its battery-electric locomotive ‘Spondon’.

History

Spondon is a battery-electric vehicle built in 1926 by engineers of The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company for use in their Spondon Power Station. Spondon’s main task, being a 2′ gauge loco, was to remove the ash from within the power station complex via the internal rail network. Spondon Power Station was also employed to supply low pressure steam and power to the adjacent Celenese Acetate plant. So successful was this ‘bi-product’ of steam that not only did it become one of the most profitable power stations in the network but it actually warmed the near-by waters of the river Derwent thereby allowing the local rascals to swim in it!!

When the Power Station closed in 1972, Spondon’s fate is somewhat nebulous but we do know she spent some time at Gloddfa Ganol Narrow Gauge Museum in North Wales. Sadly, this museum was short lived and in the late 1980’s when Narrow Gauge Railway preservation was enjoying a renaissance, she was repatriated to Derbyshire. During the early part of this century, Spondon underwent a cosmetic restoration and was re-gauged from 2′ to 18″, a considerable re-profiling of her body work undertaken, the 2 main electric motors were re-wound and much enhancement was made to her manual braking system.

But the loco remained un-useable.

In 2012, the ALRS acquired her and she was transferred to our engineering premises in Sheffield with a view to eventually running Spondon on a 2′ gauge railway……..

Now her restoration is complete. Viz - after a complete strip down, the chassis was inverted so the wheels/axles could be removed and sent away for re-gauging back to 2′. At the same time we decided to have a modern braking system. This was designed in-house and fitted at our Sheffield premises. Now fully air-braked, the chassis was righted and the body fastened to it.

With the electric motors in-situ and the wheels aligned with our rail system, Spondon is a useful addition to our fleet.

In May 2017 we accepted an invitation from the Festiniog Railway to attend the “Quirks and Curiosities” gala. It was with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation that Spondon winched onto a low loader for her journey “back” or North Wales. We had only been able to test Spondon on a short length of track at our Rowsley base, would she perform in front of hundreds of spectators? In the event all our fears were unjustified as Spondon performed faultlessly, culminating in a solo run across the Cob into Porthmadog station.

Should anyone reading this have any information or pictures of Spondon, we would very much like to hear from you. Contact details can be found our website

I hope you enjoy the following picture gallery which outlines what is known of its history and more recently, follows the progress of the restoration of an electric locomotive that once worked in Spondon Power Station.

Best regards……….Graham Ludlam.

(Trustee - The Ashover Light Railway Society)