The Bristol Railway Archive

On another forum someone asked;
"Why would 03121 be fitted with a bell just in front of the cab.. I've looked at other 03 pictures and this seems to be the only one so fitted..?"

Amongst replies was;
Looks as though 03121 shunted down the Avonside Branch. No idea what the area was like back then, but I wonder if, after passing over the Barton Road level crossing, there was street running towards the Kingsland Road Bridge and Princess Street?

Was the bell being rung when it passed over the busy road in Keynsham to get into Frys Factory??

Someone else suggested the loco needed the bell when allocated to Swansea and kept it when transferred to Bath Road.

Hymeks also worked into the Fry's siding at Keynsham and I don't recall any of those being fitted with a bell. 03382 also worked the Avonside sidings alongside 03121 but again no bell fitted on that one.

Looking back towards the Swansea era, 03121 was allocated to Danygraig 87C which appears to have been the shed which covered the docks area at Porthcawl serving the coal and steel industries. However, it looks as if that particular docks fell largely into disuse at the beginning of the 20th century. The railmapsonline site does show a complex of sidings once existed in that area but none specifically at the village/town of Danygraig itself so why the shed was named as such is a bit of a mystery.

More research came up with records of shed bashes from the late 1930s until the mid 60s when presumably the shed closed. Within that site is a photo of a very short wheelbase ex Powlesland and Mason 0-4-0 dock tank loco built by Hawthorn Leslie and later absorbed by the GWR sporting a bell mounted centrally high up near the cab front. This loco survived until 1955 according to the caption and further digging came up with a few similar locos of this type with bells fitted . Circumstantial evidence I accept but I think it's reasonable to draw conclusions here that the answer lies somewhere within the docks around the Swansea area. Pure speculation but I wonder if one of those actual bells was transferred to 03121 when one of the tank locos was withdrawn. I suspect the probability is quite high.

I can't see any evidence of other class 03s based at Landore having a bell fitted but then maybe not all of them have had photos uploaded. Ironically, had this question come up in the mid 1980s when I had a lot of dealings with the supervisors at Landore depot, some of them were of an age whereby it is possible they might have been able to shed some light. I suspect the definite answer lies somewhere within the local Sectional Appendix to the Rule Book from that era. I wonder if there might be something within the Great Western Society Archives. Food for thought!!!

Roy

On the railphotoprints website there's a shot of D2179 sporting a brass bell while working on the Weymouth Quay branch. Is it possible that 03121 spent some time at Weymouth? That said, even if it did, it would be a bit odd for a loco to keep the bell after being transferred away from Weymouth.

Certainly possible but checking a shedbashuk blogspot throws up a number of lists of locos recorded at Weymouth on certain dates, Around half a dozen DM 0-6-0 shunters are listed with pre-TOPS numbers up to the final listing in 1967 but D2121 is not one of them. I can't pin down a website showing comprehensive allocations but to the best of my recollection this one was based at Bristol when renumbered 03121. Granted that still leaves a gap of around 5 years with no data.

I see we have a photo in our Archive of this loco crossing the main road at Keynsham in 1977 complete with bell and man with red flag. But other locos in the same location including a Hymek, 08 shunter and a privately owned Fry's shunter do not appear to have a bell.

My money is still on Swansea Docks within the realms of probability.

The internet is not the be and end all! Does anyone have the Ian Allan Locoshed books from 1967 to 1974? That would confirm it one way or the other

Roy

OK folks; thanks for the contributions.
This topic featured on another forum and the bell was fitted when the loco was allocated to Swansea.
On transfer the bell was not removed.

Would that have been RMWeb by any chance? I raised the question there with a guy who operates an 0 gauge shunting layout called Peasevern Yard based on the Avonside Wharf sidings. I first saw it at the Larkrail model railway gathering in Bath last summer. He runs both of the Bath Road allocated 03s, one in blue and one in green both with TOPS numbering. I asked him about the lack of bell on his model of 03121 hoping he might be able to supply some more of its background. He is aware of it but just a detail he has not got round to sourcing a suitable one yet.

Roy