HC Deb 13 July 1925 vol 186 cc860-1
65. Sir F. WISE

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what steps are being taken to dispose of the locomotives which have become sin-plus for disposal since the Armistice?

Mr. GUINNESS

With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate the reply, which is a long one, in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the reply:

At the Armistice there were in traffic with railway companies in Great Britain 518 fast goods mainline locomotives. Sales of these locomotives lives have been made to railway companies as follows:

London and North Western Railway in 1910 … 30
Great Western Railway in 1919 … 20
London and North Eastern Railway in 1924–25 … 173
Great Western Railway in 1925 … 80

In addition l8 of these locomotives have been sold for overseas, leaving 197 still unsold.

In addition to the locomotives referred to above, fast passenger main-line locomotives were manufactured at Woolwich Arsenal after the Armistice and became surplus for disposed, namely, 50 complete locomotives and 50 uncreated sets of unassembled parts of locomotives. The 50 complete locomotives were sold to the Southern Railway in 1924–25. Of the unassembled parts, sales to railway companies were made as follows:

Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland in 1923 … 12
Metropolitan Railway in 1924 … 6
Great Southern Railway of Ireland in 1925 … 15

This leaves 17 sets of unassembled parts still for sale.

I may say that in addition to advertising both types of locomotives extensively abroad, I have been in personal communication with the railway companies in Great Britain, with a view to securing that these companies purchased approximately the number of fast goods locomotives which they had in traffic during the War. In the case of the London and North Eastern Railway and the Great Western Railway, I am glad to say that it has been possible to effect sales on that basis. In the case of the Southern, that company stated that the fast goods locomotives, of which they had 13 in use during the War, were not suitable for their traffic, but, as already mentioned, that company purchased 50 of the fast passenger locomotives manufactured at Woolwich after the Armistice.

The London and North Western Railway and its associated companies (now London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company) had in traffic at the Armistice a total of 231 fast goods locomotives, of which they purchased 30 in 1919. The company say that they are unable to purchase any further locomotives, as the capacities of their bridges and gauges necessitate the use of this type of locomotive being confined to a very restricted area.