Spondon No. 1 Battery Electric Locomotive - E905

This diminutive four wheeled loco was built in 1935 at the former Dick Kerr works in Preston by English Electric. It is a type 3B locomotive. Several dozen were built by English Electric for various industrial concerns. Some were powered solely by batteries, some from over head wires. This one was powered by both. The design was based upon tram technology which was unsurprising as Dick Kerr were a prolific builder of trams. The locos had an axle hung 35hp traction motor on each axle driving through reduced gearing that sacrificed speed for tractive effort; this gave the locos a top speed of only 9mph but could haul loads that were in excess of what would be expected for such a small loco.



This was the first of three near identical locos built for The Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company for use at their power station in Spondon in Derbyshire. It was here that coal was delivered by the main line companies to exchange sidings a mile from the power station where the little electric locos would collect the loaded wagons and haul them along the short branch to the power station where the coal was unloaded. The line was electrified with over head wires at 200vDC and the locos had a pantograph on the roof of the central cab. To shunt wagons in the un-electrified sidings the locos had batteries mounted in each bonnet with a combined output of 220vDC. With a changeover switch in the cab the loco could change from over head wire to battery operation immediately. A single driving control (Type D) was provided and this could notch through series and parallel operation of the motors. Traction resistances for slowing the acceleration of the motors were mounted on the frame below the cab. The only brakes provided were the handbrake but the power controller had a rudimentary form of dynamic braking.



Spondon Power Station was nationalised in 1948 with the creation of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). The locos were eventually painted into a yellow and black livery. The CEGB sold the power station in the early 1980s to Courtaulds. The electric locomotives were retired by 1987 when their work was taken over by diesel shunters. All three were sold to the ill fated Spen Valley Railway project and moved to Hammerton Street in Bradford. It was here that No. 1 was overhauled by volunteers whilst No. 3, which had collision damage was scrapped. By the early 1990s it was clear the Spen Valley project would failed to take off and No. 2 was sold to a private buyer and moved to the Foxfield Railway. No. 1 went to the Transperience museum in Bradford where it was hoped the repaint could be completed. In due course the museum fell into financial difficulties and closed. Spondon No.1 along with all the other assets was put up for auction.



Spondon No. 1 was purchased privately by a SERA member at auction in 1998 and moved to the Coventry Steam Railway Centre. Upon arrival it was found to be in sound condition. The batteries and traction gear were fully operational and despite there being a few components from the handbrake assembly missing it was operational. The loco's repaint into green was half finished and it remained like this for over a year until repainted by the owner into a controversial blue livery. The handbrake was rebuilt in the mid 2000s and the loco saw use as a shunter on the site for the remainder of its time there. It was placed on loan to the Electric Railway Museum and received a repaint into all over black ahead of the ERMs first open day in 2010 when the loco was 75 years old. Spondon continued to be a regular performer at open days up until the last one held in October 2017. It was also kept busy shunting stock to leave the site whilst it was being cleared following closure.



In June 2018 Spondon No. 1 was moved from the Electric Railway Museum to its new home at the Battlefield Line, Shackerstone, the fourth home it had had since entering preservation. The loan between the owner and the ERM came to an end with the closure of the ERM and the SERA once more took responsibility for its upkeep and operation. Once it arrived at Shackerstone the loco was still operational but in a very tired condition so the decision was taken to effect a full overhaul on it which began in June 2019.



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