The Cheddar Valley line
Sandford and Banwell station is a part of the story of the Cheddar Valley line, affectionately known as the Strawberry Line, that ran from Yatton to Witham.
“Marjorie”
From 1919 Sandford Quarries Company came under the ownership of Roads Reconstruction Ltd. an expanding company which had other quarries in the Mendip area including Conygar at Clevedon and Tytherington near Thornbury. In 1948 a fleet of four identical 100 horse power, four-wheeled geared vertical boiler geared-transmission (VBGT) shunting engines was ordered from the Sentinel works in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. These engines were sturdy, economical and could cope with gradients. They were designed to run at 7½ mph in first gear and at 13 mph in second in order to exceed the power of the diesel locos of the day.
Sentinel No 1262 works no 9391, no. 4 of the fleet, was allocated new to Sandford in 1949 and worked the half mile private siding into Sandford Station until 1964 when the Cheddar Valley Line closed to all traffic under the Beeching cuts. It was transferred to New Frome Quarry, Whatley in September 1964. Despite its manoeuverability, it often de-railed on the steep right angle turn into the station yard!
Sentinel 9387, No 3 of the fleet, spent its working life at Whatley Quarry near Frome. It was taken out of service in 1971 and, as an initiative of the local Round Table, was donated by the quarry owners to ‘Welsh Mill Children’s Adventure Playground’ in the town where it gave much pleasure to local children, who climbed all over it for the next thirty years! With the ensuing years, safety became an issue and the veteran was removed by the original owners to be the
frontispiece of their quarry at Tytherington.
SSRHC was aware of the existence of this rare surviving engine so closely related to the one at Sandford. When Tytherington Quarry closed, the group was fortunate to have the help of a mutual friend, in obtaining permission for the Heritage Centre to have the engine. We are grateful to former owners Hanson Ltd. for this goodwill gesture.
Thanks to the generous backing of members and supporters, engine 9387 was rescued and restored by SSRHC. Restoration work was carried out during 2015 at Severn Valley Engineering Works in Bridgnorth, Shropshire – only a few miles from where it was made!
Our gleaming engine, restored to its original glory, was delivered to the station on 1st March 2016 and welcomed in on the 12th April at a celebration party for the important people who had helped bring the restoration project about, together with SSRHC members and supporters.
The rare survivor is now permanently on display at Sandford Station Railway Heritage Centre to the delight of visitors of all ages.
The sharp eyed amongst you may notice that the works plate attached to the locomotive is actually that of locomotive 9382. The original plate for 9387 is lost and SSRHC have used this one in its place as it is believed to come from another locomotive of the same model that also worked at Whatley Quarry.
