Numbering for a Custom Built Locomotive

[JHurcum]

Hello all
I am building a very small layout in 009 Gauge to represent a rural Narrow gauge railway that survived up until 1951. The locomotive I want to use for the layout is one I am custom building - however I am not sure what Classification it should be given and what numbering. Here are the details. If anyone could help that would be great.

Layout Era: 1950
Current Operator: British Rail
Type: Light/Narrow
Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Power: Petrol
Built: 1925

Any help would be grateful - I have checked Wikipedia but still cant come up with a firm way of getting a realistic classification and number.

 

[TheEdge]

The easiest parallel could be drawn with the Vale of Rheidol steam engines. While they all fell under BR's control they were never renumbered at nationalisation, although that might have more to do with the fact they were ex-GWR locos, none of those ever got renumbered. So they carried on using their old numbers (7,8,9). Even under TOPS they all received TOPS numbers (98007, 98008, 98009) but never carried them, they still carried their original numbers until it was sold off by BR.

I can't think of another situation so I guess you would be free to number as you wanted.

 

[ilkestonian]

Hello all
I am building a very small layout in 009 Gauge to represent a rural Narrow gauge railway that survived up until 1951. The locomotive I want to use for the layout is one I am custom building - however I am not sure what Classification it should be given and what numbering. Here are the details. If anyone could help that would be great.

Layout Era: 1950
Current Operator: British Rail
Type: Light/Narrow
Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Power: Petrol
Built: 1925

Any help would be grateful - I have checked Wikipedia but still cant come up with a firm way of getting a realistic classification and number.

I'd be inclined to give it a name rather than a number. Small self contained lines, eg colliery networks etc would often do this.

 

[JHurcum]

Thanks TheEdge, so I delved into looking up the trains you mentioned and have come up with the following system. Those trains are Class VORR (for Vale of Rheidol Railway) and thus my locomotive will be a class DWT (for Dornaplepon and Willsbourugh Tramway) and be given TOPS Number 15100 (following on from the Petrol Powered ex-LNER Petrol powered locomotives) but will remain with its original running number of 2.

As for giving it a name, I think that would be quite nice - however I'm not sure how to incorporate the name badge into the BR Black Livery - but I will work on it, and ill probably name it 'Lord Hurcum' - after the fictitious creator of the Line. Thanks for the help

 

[Bevan Price]

It is quite probable that any narrow guage rural line would have been left outside the "Big 4" at 1923, and never nationalised in 1947/48 -- it might have remained "independent", like the Talyllyn or Ffestiniog Railways, or the 2 foot guage Ashover Light Railway at Clay Cross, which closed in 1950.

So, it might, for example, be a light railway between Hurcum & Much Beeching...........