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DONCASTER WORKS

PART  3  -  BOILER  NUMBERING 

(1901-02)

Whilst steel boilers had been around since the 1880s, theoretically ensuring a longer life, it was not until the mid-1890s that advantage was taken of reusing boilers.  Under Stirling it was the practice to keep a boiler with the same engine throughout its life, sometimes resulting in lengthy stays in Doncaster Works waiting for a boiler to be repaired.  This changed under Ivatt and in future if a boiler repair was going to delay an engine's return to traffic, then where possible a second-hand boiler would be fitted.  This meant building up a stock of spare boilers, but this cost would be off-set by engines being available for duty for a greater percentage of their lives.  The first example of re-use was No. 239 in 1896.  Its record card recorded that the boiler fitted in December 1896 was ex-874.  This created the problem of on which engine record card to write details of repairs to a boiler which was moving around.  It was a further year before there were further examples of boilers being reused, with two cases in December 1897, followed by a further ten in 1898, after which it became common practice. 

1900 saw an example of chain reaction.  No. 546 acquired (11/1900) a third-hand boiler from No. 778, which it had  acquired (11/1898) second-hand from No. 3, which had received it new (6/1884).  Here was an unforeseen problem, that of relating boiler repair history to a particular boiler, which prior to then would have been recorded along with the engine repairs.  The solution was to uniquely number all boilers and this was organised with an effective date of February 1901. The scheme was as follows, but for fuller details see PART 41 - BOILER REGISTER.

1-1250 (disregarding occasional blanks, to boilers already fitted as at start of scheme to engine on the Capital List), 1251-70 (under construction), 1301-1421 (orders already issued), 1422-30 (8 boilers complete and being fitted, plus 1 oddment), 1431-40 (boilers on order from Kitson's), 1441-1500 (available for future allocation), 1501-20 (in service), 1521-30 (under construction), 1530-1699 (available for future allocation), 1701- (for inevitable anomalies, and spare boilers in stock).  Numbering boilers to correspond with the engines to which they were already fitted at August 1901 would be carried out at the next shopping.

There were five anomalies which, coincidentally or otherwise, were prototypes.

The first Ivatt 4-2-2 was given the number 92, which was not yet vacant, but there is a possibility the Stirling single-wheeler with this number was in Works at the time, being considered for withdrawal, but then reprieved and returned to traffic however as 92A.  Its boiler was allocated the number 92, and the Drawing Office boiler list showed it allocated to 92A, later becoming Stationary Boiler 243 at Essex Street, Bradford, 2/1908.  The boiler on the new Ivatt engine became 1709.

The experimental Atlantic 271 appeared well into 1902, but was on order when the new scheme was introduced and was surprisingly overlooked in the original allocation.  Its boiler became 1743.

The first wide firebox Atlantic No. 251 was ordered and appeared in 1902.  Its boiler number had not been allocated in advance, so it became 1748.

The compound Atlantic No. 292 was ordered in 1904, and appeared in 1905.  Its boiler number had not been allocated in advance, and it was given what was termed Special Number 60, this number being vacant as Stirling No. 60 had been withdrawn in 1899.

0-6-0ST No. 1054 was reboilered in 1900.  Its displaced boiler was treated as no longer serviceable, so the replacement new boiler (BO523/5) was given the number 1054 in accordance with the rules.  However the displaced boiler was returned to locomotive use in 1903 and fitted to 0-6-0ST No. 970.  Its boiler number was at first shown as 1054, but was quickly corrected to Special Number 67, this number being vacant as Sturrock No. 67 had been withdrawn in 1900.  Whilst impossible to verify, it seems possible No. 1054's original boiler had been used as a stationary boiler 1900-03, to account for it having been discounted.

Vulcan Atlantic No. 1300 delivered in 1905 was given what was termed Special Number 98, this number being vacant as Stirling No. 98 had been withdrawn in 1900.

1701 was applied to the new boiler (BO532/14), fitted to No. 850 in August 1901 at the very start of the numbering scheme.  Its displaced 1892 boiler became 850, and was later carried by No. 370 (11/1901) to its withdrawal (6/1913).  There had been confusion in the Locomotive Drawing Office records, but after No. 370’s withdrawal the following note was entered in the boiler register: “Circular 1799 12/6/13 gave 850 as boiler for 370 engine according to M.O.”

Like 1701, 1702-16 were mostly allocated to spare boilers in the Works, some second-hand and some unused, which were unallocated at August 1901, also boilers currently allocated to two Duplicate List engines that were in Works about this time.  Fitting dates in brackets denote 17XX number allocated at a later shopping date.

(a) Boiler 1702 afterwards fitted to Nos. 357 12/08; 359 6/11

(b) Boiler 1704 carried by No. 334 (afterwards 334A) from May 1883, was given its number at its 1/1902 shopping.

(c) The entry in the Engine Register shows No. 566 given boiler 1705 (12/1900, which is just before the scheme began), so “1705” was written in the register at a later date.  No. 566s old boiler, and numbered 566, was fitted to No. 29 at the start of the scheme (7/1901).

(d) Boiler 1706 afterwards fitted to No. 580 (1/02).

(e) Boiler 1707 previously fitted to No. 586 (8/90).

(f) Boiler 1708 previously fitted to No. 710 (10/97).

(g) Brand new engine and boiler. Boiler allocated 1709, as the number 92 had been given to the boiler in Class B1 No. 92A.

(h) The Ivatt domed boiler carried by No. 263 (afterwards 263A) from April 1900, was given its number at its 2/1902 shopping.

(j) Boiler 1710 afterwards fitted to Nos. 368 (7/07), 553A (7/10).

(k) Boiler 1711 afterwards fitted to No. 929 (4/02).

(l) Boiler 1712 previously fitted to No. 966 (12/93) and afterwards fitted to No. 929 (4/02).

(m) Boiler 713 previously fitted to No. 999 (5/95).

(n) Boiler 1715 previously fitted to No. 118 (8/88), and afterwards fitted to No. 402 (6/06).

(o) Boiler 1716 previously fitted to No. 284 (12/92).

So far, boilers in Duplicate List engines (with the the few exception already noted) were being ignored, though the rule seems to have been a bit vague.  During 1900 and 1901 at least two engines on the Duplicate List were reboilered, as follows:

1717-49.  When (Sturrock) No. 316A was withdrawn in April 1902 this seems to have triggered off some response.  Its boiler was serviceable and was in fact fitted to (Stirling) No. 82 on the Capital List later (9/1902).  A list was made of the remaining Duplicate engines not already dealt with (30 in total) still in service at April 1902.  (The handful of Departmental engines that only carried location names e.g. COLWICK, or letters e.g. A, B, C, etc. were ignored).  The boilers of the Duplicate engines were allocated 17XX numbers, as follows:

(p) Boiler 1731 previously fitted to No. 318 (1090).

(q) Boiler 1734 previously fitted to No. 117.

(r) Boiler 1739 fitment date not survived.

(s) Boiler 1741 previously fitted to No. 444 (4/98).

Later, the number 1745 was given to the new domed boiler, outstanding from a 1899 order (522/5), fitted to Class B4 No. 235 (8/1902), whose displaced domeless boiler had already been allocated the number 235.

Towards the end of 1902 (by which time further withdrawals of Duplicate engines had taken place) the histories of those survivors that had been duplicated prior to August 1901 (and had therefore been previously ignored) were at last entered in REPAIRS TO ENGINES Volume 3.  The entries started on the last page and worked forwards in the following order: 262/63/70A, 303/02/04/06/08/32/34/43/59/60A; 247A, 245A, 112A; 329A; 179/80/92A, 362/92/96/98A, 401A.  Apart from 302A and 303A being transposed this gives two neat batches of numbers in numerical order, separated by 247A, 245A, 112A and 329A.  The logic for this sequence has not been worked out, but perhaps there wasn’t one, though 247A, 245A and 112A go together because they had been on the Duplicate List since 1879-83.  The exercise was mostly a waste of time, as for example a further nine were withdrawn in 1903.  In fact it is probable very few of these particular 17XX numbers were actually applied.

1748 was given to the new domed boiler for Ivatt's first Large Atlantic, No. 251.

1750-51 were allocated to further boilers in engines in Works at the time of the April 1902 survey.  These were:

(t) Boiler 1750 afterwards fitted to No. 968 (1/94) though originally recorded as boiler "965". In the engine register the boiler number in 968 was shown as 965 1750.

(u) The boiler register states of 1751 "allocated to the boiler which became No. 508".    Afterwards the boiler was fitted to 113 where its boiler number was shown in the engine register as 1751 508.

* No. 508 was awaiting withdrawal, and its boiler was later fitted to 0-4-2WT No. 113 (12/1902), but booked out as boiler No. 508, so perhaps it had already been given this number, inadvertently or otherwise.  It has not been checked to see if there could have been another boiler already numbered 508, but it seems unlikely.  The number 1751 remained unused.

1752.  A further check detected there were two boilers allocated the number 66.  The domeless boiler taken out of Class F2 No. 66 (4/1901) and then fitted to Class F2 No. 509 (10/1901) was the genuine 66.  The new domed boiler fitted to No. 66 (BO532/7) was originally allocated 66 also, but this was corrected at a later date to 1752.  The entry in the Engine Register shows No. 66 received new boiler 1752 (4/1901), so presumably “1752” was added at a later date.

1753 to 1757 were subsequently allocated as follows:

(v) Boiler 1753 afterwards fitted to Nos. 872 (7/07); 237 (9/10).

(w) Boiler 1754 was not used again.

(x) Boiler 1755 is a minor mystery.  This originally unnumbered boiler had been carried by No. 964 (10/1893-10/1900) and (apparently) not used again until 1/1903, so its presence as a spare boiler (if at Doncaster) should have shown up before 1903.  It could for example have been a spare boiler held at King's Cross. As 1755, it was afterwards fitted No, 111 (11/13).

(y) (z) Boilers 1756/57 were not used again.

Meanwhile new boilers continued to take numbers in the blocks as mentioned earlier, gradually reaching 1687 in 1905, approaching the Duplicate 17XX numbers.  So 5000 was simply added to the next available Duplicate List number 1758, to arrive at 6758.  As the boiler allocations were being entered in a book which had the boiler numbers pre-printed, all that was needed was to change the 1 to read 6.  From then onwards new boilers took numbers in the range 6758-9996 (reached in 1949). Any further requirement for oddities was met by simply taking the next number available in the main list.  Over the next ten years, this applied in the cases of Boilers 6822/23/75/76, 7005/31, 7192/93.

The Ivatt boilers that had numbers allocated when new are described in PART 4.

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