Alan Keef
Alan Keef Ltd is a British narrow gauge railway engineer which manufactures, overhauls and deals in narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and associated equipment.
The Limited Company was formed in 1975 at Cote, Bampton, Oxon, continuing what Alan Keef had already been doing for some years as an individual. In 1986 the company moved to larger premises at Lea, near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire.
The first new loco was built in 1976. To date (2008) over eighty locos have been built – steam, diesel and electric. Most have been narrow gauge except for two standard gauge steam locos for Beamish Museum – the replicas of "Steam Elephant" and "Puffing Billy" – and in 2008 Alan Keef Ltd built the frames, running gear and mechanical parts for two Parry People Mover railcars for use on the Stourbridge Town branch (139001 and 139002).
In 1987 the company took over the production of Motor Rail locomotives.
In addition to the replicas for Beamish the company has also helped restore a number of historically significant engines including both UK preserved Baldwin Class 10-12-D locomotives – No. 778 – which now works at Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway and more recently No 794 (referred to as No 590) [1] from the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.
[edit] New Steam Locomotives
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| Works No. | Plated Year | Number/ Name | Wheel Arrangement | Gauge | Class | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1974 | "Trixie" | 0-4-0ST OC | 2 ft | Trixie | First steamed at Cote on 05/09/1974, sold to Merion Mill Railway in January 1975. Returned to Alan Keef in 1976 and resold to Rail Rebecq in Belgium where it was renamed "Paula" | Alan Keef Ltd did not build Trixie, though they were heavily involved in the design. The actual builder was Trevor Barber, former manager of the Whipsnade and Umfolozi Railway. |
| - | 1979 | "Thomas" | 4wVB VCG | 2 ft | Telford Development Corporation | To Telford Horsehay Steam trust c.1987 | |
| 30 | 1990 | "Taffy" | 0-4-0VBT VC | 2 ft | Alan Keef | De Winton replica | |
| 38 [2] | 1991 | "Trijntje" | 0-4-0T OC | 60 cm | De Efteling B.V. | Efteling Steamtrack Line | |
| 69R | 2003 | "Mark Timothy" | 2-6-4T OC | 15in | Bure Valley Railway | ||
| 71 | 2004 | "Puffing Billy" | 0-4-0VC | 4ft81/2in | Beamish Museum | ||
| 77 | 2007 | "Lydia" | 2-6-2T OC | 15in | Perrygrove Railway | ||
| 85R | 2010 | "BUNTY" | 2-6-2T OC | 15in | Heatherslaw Light Railway | ||
| E762 | 2012 | "Lyn" Replica | 2-4-2T | 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) | Lynton & Barnstaple Railway | final assembly of 1898 replica |
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[edit] References
- ^ http://test.whr.co.uk/stock/steam/baldwin-794 Baldwin 794/590 Loco discription
- ^ http://www.industriespoor.nl/Hoofdstuk29.pdf ALAN KEEF, Ross-on-Wye GB Keef K38 type Bt bwj. 1991 spw. 600 mm, 1991- De Efteling Kaatsheuvel
- "Alan Keef Ltd - Locomotives Built at Cote". Industrial Railway Record (Industrial Railway Society) (113). June 1988.
- Official site
- A tale of Many Railways – An autobiography and history of Alan Keef Ltd, Lightmoor Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-899889-30-3
