5" BUTCH locomotive

I have become the latest custodian of a 5" BUTCH loco to the kennions design and am trying to find out about it's history. It was perchased from a fellow in Bury St Edmunds, suffolk. in 1986, seems well made and has a boiler serial No of DT1031. Nothing is known before this date, who built the engine or boiler and when ? Did ME serialise the building of this loco or any comments on it ? Does any body have any advice on this machine ? Noel.

The 5" Butch loco was originally designed by Dick Simmonds of Erith in Kent as one of a series of four very similar locos 0-4-0 & 0-6-0 in both 5" and 7¼" gauges, however I don't think there was ever a serial published.

The Dick Simmonds business was bought by Reeves.

If you search the ME index there are numerous references to Butch which might repay looking up if you (or your local library) has access to the copies. Several of these references refer to a Butch as a club loco at the Rugby club, but this was a long time ago.

Butch castings and drawings are listed by Kennions. I had always assumed the design had been with (GLR) Kennions for a long time, but I don't know.

Noel, it steams well, pulls hard and has a good reputation. Of course, all the parts have to be working properly especially draughting, slide valve seats and piston rings (packing on the original design). Just paint it in black and it looks good!

Norm

Nick , Thank you for the reply. In Feb 1951 ME carried a note that they had been sent a set of drawings from Kennion Bros for what seems to be a new design by Charles Kennion, and I believe that Kennions still supply the castings. Looking at Reeves catalogue 27th edition I can find no reference to BUTCH in any scale. Though a small loco, being 6 coupled it has good adhesion and is described as an ideal club engine for passenger hauling. Noel.

My apologies - I appear to have been misinformed by a friend a bit back that they were a set of four- obviously incorrect.

Thinking about it I believe that in the early 1970s one ran on the old Nottingham SMEE track at Valley Road built, as far as I can remember by member Frank Scotton.

The drawings say Kennions. I think there was a sister loco AJAX, I seem to think that is a 4 wheel version with shorter boiler, but I'm open to correction