Novelty (locomotive) - The Replica

The Replica

For the Rocket 150 event in 1980, a completely new replica of Novelty was constructed by Locomotion Enterprises in the Springwell Workshop of the Bowes Railway. It was a fully working replica that was built to look correct when display at the planned event; however many changes were made to reduce the construction costs and meet modern standards. It has been suggested that the replica was built to last no longer than the 3 days of the Rocket 150 event.

Some of the differences between the original and replica are:

• Carbon steel used instead of wrought iron

Wrought iron was no longer commercially produced, while carbon steel was understood by every commercial fabricator.

• Boiler built from welded steel instead of copper

A copper boiler would have been very expensive in materials and would have needed specialist skills while welded steel had much in common with industrial pressure vessels.

• Blower built from plywood and painted copper colour

The blower is likely to have been the subject of development work, plywood being much cheaper and easier to work with. Additionally few people would get close enough to tell the difference.

• Handbrake fitted to act on both wheels

This may have been fitted after the ‘Rocket 150’ event.

• Boiler fitted with gauge glass and Bourdon pressure gauge

Requirements for any steam boiler, vital if the engine was to be operated safely.

• Safety valve is "pop" type rather than "dead weight".

Firstly the pop valves were a type used in industry; secondly the dead-weight type could be held down (so it would never work properly); and thirdly a dead-weight valve tends to bounce and thus waste steam.

• The boiler of the replica contains approximately twice the volume of water

This is mainly as a result of the construction methods used (flanged joints on the barrels and standard steel pipe for the flue tube). It is also gave bigger water spaces between the inside and outside plates. In consequence, the fire grate must have considerably smaller than on the original.

For a reason that is not fully understood, the wheels of the replica were built with very narrow treads. It is possible that wheels were scaled off a model in the London Science Museum. As a result it was unable to travel over modern pointwork.

During the Rocket 150 event, Novelty was carried on a Well wagon, supported in such a way as to allow the engine to be run and its wheels to rotate freely.

Following the Rocket 150 event, Novelty was steamed on a small number of occasions in Manchester. Around 1982, it was sold to the Swedish Railway Museum, Gävle, and left the UK.

During July 2002, Novelty was collected from its then home in the Angelholm, for use in a TV programme. It was returned to Sweden during the spring of 2003, but made a short visit to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester during the autumn of 2005.