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Tuesday 4th January 2022 South Devon Railway, TQ11 0DZ

Dinmore Manor on Red & Cream MK1 Coaches in the Heart of Devon

BR(W) Manor Class 7820 at the South Devon Railway on a classic 1950's Branchline Train in deep Winter.

£79.00

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About this event

With Dinmore Manor booked to visit the South Devon Railway over the Christmas period we are delighted to be able to offer you the chance to capture her in early January before she returns to her home line. Out-shopped in BR Lined Black she will look splendid at the heard of a short rake of MK1 Coaches in early the 1950's Red and Cream Livery thus offering a very prototypical train for a Devon Branchline.

 

Our day will start at 8.00am giving us full line access until sunset with a short break around lunchtime. We will endeavour to visit as many of the lines favourite locations through out the day to coincide with the light. 


The Manor class of the Great Western Railway was designed and developed to provide the railway with a powerful yet lightweight modern engine, primarily for the weight restricted secondary routes which it found itself inheriting many miles of in 1923. Developed from the earlier Churchward 4300 class, a design that had long enjoyed much success but lacked the power for the heavier trains, parts from 4300 engines were incorporated into new Grange and Manor class engines. These engines were near identical in the chassis to each other, but the Manor’s unique smaller no.14 boiler made them perfect for the lightweight routes. 20 Manor class engines were built in 1937, nos 7800-7819, however the outbreak of war in 1939 postponed the building of a proposed second batch of 20 further engines. This batch was finally built under British Railways at Swindon in Nov-Dec 1950, starting with 7820 ‘Dinmore Manor’, but resulted in just 10 being built in the end. Further engines were not built due to British Railways favouring the Class 4 Standard Locomotives instead. Initially the Manors were not favoured by crews, gaining a reputation for poor steaming. However, extensive experiments with the draughting arrangements on classmate 7818 ‘Granville Manor’ in 1952 led to a new design of blastpipe and chimney, and to the increase to the levels of performance and free steaming for which the Manor class is known today. 

 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the owning group for allowing this opportunity. 

Event requirements

Equipment

  • Spare batteries
  • Camera
  • Lenses
  • Camera protection - rain covers etc

Other things you should bring

  • Snacks
  • Bottled water

Knowledge

  • All levels welcome

Fitness

  • Medium

Other essentials

  • High vis jacket
  • Sturdy outdoor shoes
  • Warm clothing
  • Wet weather gear

Event location