J15 in East Kent

[DS239]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering,-does anyone have any information on this loco-?,as described in an article that appeared in the KESR's 'Tenterden Terrier' magazine no.8. Here is an excerpt from the article by Douglas Barnard,obviously I've only typed out the relevant bits,as I couldn't do a cut'n'paste,so here goes:-

"In early May 1944 the writer was sent with a small detachment of Sappers from the Royal Engineers to Richborough to augment the staff of a Railway Mobile Workshop Train. ..... An ex-LNER J15 class 0-6-0 was undergoing a light repair near to the train.This was presumably a standby engine,but I never saw it working mainly because some trouble was experienced in resetting the valve gear,which was also a "low priority" job.It was rumoured that this locomotive had previously belonged to a film company and had appeared in a film made just before the war."

Incidentaly,the other loco's working at the Richborough site were several WD Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST's.


Now,I know that the WD did indeed have two J15 loco's,-WD212 [ex LNER 7835] and WD221 [ex LNER 7541], both acquired from London Film Productions [who bought them in 1936] but these went to work on the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway in Sept 1942, and it seems both were then sent to Stratford for scrap on 31st Oct 1944, 212 being written off after being severely damaged in a head-on crash with a Dean Goods between Shrawardine and Ford on 26/7/43, and 221 after being laid up with mechanical problems..

So,could 221 have been sent from the S&M to Richborough before being scrapped..?or was it another member of the class?,or has the writer erred in his locomotive recognition?


Any thoughts?

[Rlangham]

Which film(s) did the J15's appear in?

[Bryan]

Could be Military training films.

[65447]

A Day at Denham (London Films 1936) and Knight Without Armour (London Films 1937).

[DS239]

I know this is a rather old thread, but by way of a 'bump' and to see if anyone has since come up with any information, here is the original article from the 'Tenterden Terrier' magazine :