Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM 48DS class
built 1946, converted to sg, number 242915 "Hercules"
Above:
Ruston 4wDM 242915 "Hercules" as restored and displayed at Caverswall Road
This
tiny diesel locomotive was built by Ruston & Hornsby of Lincoln to
their type 48DS, for 2'0" gauge track. Supplied new to the Shelton Iron
& Steel Co Ltd in Stoke-on-Trent, it was used in the 18" Rolling Mill
until made redundant by road transport in the 1950s. Rather than sell the
locomotive, it was converted to standard gauge by Shelton Works, using
a home-built underframe that the existing narrow gauge loco could sit in.
It was housed in a small tin shed and used by the permanent way department
at Shelton to haul materials around the steelworks complex, using vans
specially converted for the purpose. When iron and steel making finished
at Shelton in June 1978, it became redundant again, was purchased privately
and moved to Foxfield on 2 March 1981 in the company of pioneer diesel
"Coronation" (which has
since left the railway). Known affectionately as "Hercules", it has been
used for works trains at Foxfield and is in full working order.
A set of four Shelton platelayers vans SIS1
to 4, converted from a variety of open wagons, are also preserved at
Foxfield.
Below:
Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM 242925 at Shelton works [late HB Holland collection]
