Alan Keef Ltd Explained

Alan Keef Ltd is a British narrow gauge railway engineering company which manufactures, overhauls, and deals in narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and associated equipment.

History

The limited company was formed in 1975 at Cote, Bampton, Oxfordshire, continuing what Alan Keef had already been doing for some years as an individual. The first new locomotive was built in 1976.

In 1986 the company moved to larger premises at Lea, near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. In 1987 it took over the production of Motor Rail locomotives.

Production

, the company had built more than eighty locomotives – steam, diesel and electric. Most have been miniature or narrow gauge except for two standard gauge steam locomotives for Beamish Museum: the replicas of "Steam Elephant" and "Puffing Billy". In 2008 the company built the frames, running gear and mechanical parts for two Parry People Mover railcars for use on the Stourbridge Town branch (139001 and 139002). A number of Alan Keef's locomotives are replicas of steam locomotives but with diesel power. These are referred to as steam outline (s/o) in the listing below.

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 Light Railway and more recently No 794 (referred to as No 590)^[1] from the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. However, this project was eventually paused and the WHHR moved the locomotive to the Vale of Rheidol's Aberystwyth workshops for completion in 2020.^[2]

During the annual Open Day in September at the company's premises, the company welcomes the public to see and ride examples of rail equipment brought by visiting exhibitors, and its own in-house rail equipment, on the facility's tracks,^[3] which accommodate rolling stock of 3feet, 3feet, 2feet, 2feet and NaNinches gauges.

New and rebuilt locomotives

Works No.	Plated Year	Number/ name	Wheel arrangement	Gauge	Class	To	Notes
1	1974	"Trixie"	OC		Trixie	First steamed at Cote on 05/09/1974, sold to Meirion Mill Railway in January 1975. Returned to Alan Keef in 1976 and resold to Rail Rebecq in Belgium where it was renamed "Paula". Now located at the Tacot des Lacs railway, France.[4]	Alan Keef Ltd did not build Trixie, though they were involved in the design. The builder was Trevor Barber, former manager of the Whipsnade and Umfolozi Railway.
2	1976	Skippy			Motorised skip wagon	Richardson's Moss Litter Co. Ltd
3	1978					Richardson's Moss Litter Co. Ltd	Rebuilt from AK 2[5]
4	1979					Wilmslow Peat Farm; donated to Moseley Railway Trust, 2020[6]	Available for service on Apedale Valley Light Railway
5	1979					William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd, now at The Highland Light Railway	Out of Use image
6	1981					Private Location
7	1982	BARBIE				Pleasure Beach Railway, Blackpool
8	1982	T2 SALLY				William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd	Out of Use image
9	1982					Leemspoor Narrow Gauge Museum, Netherlands	[7]
10	1983	5 ALISON				Gartell Light Railway
11	1984	IVOR	steam outline			Thorpe Park	Treasure Island Railway closed 1993
12	1984	SIR GEORGE	steam outline			Greenlea Light Railway	image
13R	1984				Ruston & Hornsby 452280 rebuilt	Evesham Vale Light Railway
14	1984		steam outline			John Redden's Scrapyard, Wellingborough	[8]
15	1984					India
16	1985	WEASEL	steam outline		Replica of Wisbech & Upwell Tramway locomotive	Wells & Walsingham Light Railway	[9]
17	1985	3	steam outline			Cotswold Wildlife Park Railway	image
18	1985	05 581				William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd
19	1985	JEFFREY				William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd
20R	1986				Ruston & Hornsby 283513 rebuilt	William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd, now at The Highland Light Railway	Dismantled
21	1987	05/582				Chemring Energetics UK Ltd
22	1987	05/583				Chemring Energetics UK Ltd
23	1988	3 JACK	steam outline			East Hayling Light Railway
24	1988		DH		U-series	Kyung Dong Coal Mine, Korea
25	1988		DH		U-series	Kyung Dong Coal Mine, Korea	image
26	1988				40SD	William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd	Out of use
27	1988		Bo'Bo'-DH			J. Hall-Craggs	[10]
28	1989	T9			40S	West Fife Munitions Railway
29	1988				60S	Nigeria
30	1990	"Taffy"	VC			Alan Keef	De Winton replica
31	Chassis (AKL) 1990 Body, Tender and Mechanical (RVM) 2012	Princess Swee' Pea	steam outline			Hastings Miniature Railway
32	1990		4wDMF			Nigerian Coal Corporation
33	1990		4wDMF			Nigerian Coal Corporation
34	1991		steam outline			Singapore Zoo Railway	Garden ornament[11]
35	1991		steam outline			Singapore Zoo Railway
36	1990				60S	Nigeria
37	1990				85S	Chemicals & Fertilisers of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
38	1991	"Trijntje"	OC			De Efteling B.V.	Efteling Steam Train Company[12]
39	1992	SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL	steam outline			Blenheim Park Railway
40	1992					AKL Hire Loco
41	1992		steam outline			Haigh Railway	image
42	1992		steam outline
43	1992				60SP	Guyana Sugar Corporation	image
44	1993					Peatlands Park Railway
45	1993					India
46	1993					Woodhead Tunnel donated to Moseley Railway Trust	For service on Apedale Valley Light Railway
47	1994	T5 SANDRA				West Fife Munitions Railway	image
48	1994					TPC, Moshi, Tanzania
49	1994					John Muir Country Park Railway
50	1994					India
51	1995		steam outline			Cricket St Thomas Railway
52	1996	PAM				Wotton Light Railway
53	1997				Rail Lorry	Sub-contracted from Severn Lamb, delivered to Dream World, Cairo Egypt
54	1998	DENSIL	steam outline			Wells Harbour Railway	[13]
55	1998					Walton Water Treatment Works Scrapped December 2010
56	2000				K80 tram	Rainforest Ecological Train, Iguazu Falls, Argentina
57	2000				K80 tram	Rainforest Ecological Train, Iguazu Falls, Argentina
58	1999	CHARLES	steam outline			Ferry Meadows Railway, Peterborough	[14] image
59R	1999	80 BEAUDESERT			Motor Rail 101T018	Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
60	2000	Edward Milner				Buxton Miniature Railway	[15]
61	2000	SIR WALTER RALEIGH	steam outline			Bicton Woodland Railway
62	2002	4		Lartigue Monorail		Listowel & Ballybunion Railway
63	2001	JAMES GORDON	steam outline			Alford Valley Railway
64	2001	POMPEY	B-B DH			Wotton Light Railway	image
65	2001	MARGAM CASTLE	steam outline			Margam Country Park Railway	image
66	2002	2 THE EARL OF OAKFIELD				Difflin Lake Railway
67	2003					Morwellham Quay
68	2003	4 BELLA	steam outline			Cotswold Wild Life Park Railway
69R	2003	9 MARK TIMOTHY	OC		Winson 20 rebuilt	Bure Valley Railway
70	2004	LADY ALEXANDRA	steam outline			Great Woburn Railway
71	2004	"PUFFING BILLY"	VC		Replica of 1813 locomotive	Beamish Museum
72R	2004	313 POLAR BEAR			Wingrove & Rogers 5568001 rebuilt	Groudle Glen Railway
73	2005					Private owner, north Devon; later Statfold Barn Railway	[16]
74	2005	HOWARD	steam outline			Wells Harbour Railway	[17]
75R	2007	2 BICTON			Ruston & Hornsby 213839 rebuilt	Bicton Woodland Railway; later Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills	Store image
76	2006	15001	s/o			Lithuanian Railways, Ignalina, now at Vilnius Railway Museum
77	2007	LYDIA	OC			Perrygrove Railway	http://www.steam-loco-design.co.uk/lydia.html
78R	2007	6			Motor rail 102T007 rebuilt	Difflin Lake Railway
79	2007	7 FLYNN				Longleat Railway
80	2007	BORIS				Hotham Park Miniature Railway	[18] image
81	2008	139001	British Rail Class 139			Parry People Movers for West Midlands Trains
82	2008	139002	British Rail Class 139			Parry People Movers for West Midlands Trains
83	2008	ERIC				Lappa Valley Steam Railway	[19] image
84	2008	SIR PETER GADSDEN				Blists Hill Victorian Town
85R	2010	BUNTY	OC		Construction started by Neville Smith and Sid Ford. completed by Alan Keef Ltd.	Heatherslaw Light Railway
86	2010	MERLIN				Wicksteed Park Railway
87	2009	Claus	4wBE			Mønsted Kalkgruber	K20E type
88	2009	Svend	4wBE			Mønsted Kalkgruber	K20E type
89	2010	No 1 Eagle/Helang	4wBE Railcar			Brunei Liquid Natural Gas
90	2010	No 2 Sparrow/Layang-Layang	4wBE Railcar			Brunei Liquid Natural Gas
91	2022	Corris No. 10			Replica of Corris Railway "Falcon" locomotive	Corris Railway	Under construction in 2018, a replica of one of the Corris Railway's original Hughes locomotives.
92	2012	E762 LYN			"Lyn" Replica	Lynton & Barnstaple Railway	Various components and final assembly of replica of 1898 Baldwin loco[20]
93R	2013	"STEAMPLEX"			Motor Rail 5877 rebuilt	Groudle Glen Railway	[21]
94	2013	Winston				Blenheim Park Railway operating in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England.
95	2014	THE DUKE				Wells Harbour Railway	https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003332/http://www.railwaymedia.co.uk/Heritage/Wells-Harbour/
96R	2015	CUMBRIA			Rebuilt and regauged from Clayton B4227B/2006.	South Tynedale Railway
97	2016					Ree Park – Ebeltoft Safari, Denmark
98R	2021					Isle of Wight Steam Railway	[22]
99	2018	VER 4			Extensive rebuild of the original car.	Volk's Electric Railway
100	2017	Arthur	0-6-0DH(so)			Wellington Country Park, Reading	[23]
101R	2018	VER 6			Extensive rebuild of the original car.	Volk's Electric Railway
102R	2018	VER 10			Extensive rebuild of the original car.	Volk's Electric Railway
103	2018	HOWARD				Beale Park
104	2018	8 JOHN THYNN	B-B DH			Longleat Railway
105	2019		B DH			Centre de Culture Scientifique, Technique et Industriel, Beauport, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe	[24]
106	2020		Bo-Bo BE			Sonoma TrainTown, California
107	2020		4wDM		AK40 type	Pakistan
108	2020		4wDM		AK40 type	Pakistan
109	2021						[25]
110	2021	Jill	0-4-2BE			Delamont Miniature Railway
111	2021		4wBE			Morwellham Quay
112	2021	9 HENRY THYNN	B-B DH			Longleat Railway	[26]
113	2023	tba	B-B DH			Lappa Valley Railway	[27] [28]
60SD757	1986				60S	Ghana Bauxite	Ordered by Ghana Bauxite from Simplex Mechanical Handling Ltd but delivered by Alan Keef Ltd.
40SD530	1987				Motor Rail 40S	Volks Electric Railway	Originally for Butterley Building Materials Ltd, ordered by them from Simplex Mechanical Handling Ltd but delivered by Alan Keef Ltd.
M001	1988			Monorail		Mrs. Whites Garden Ltd, Wiltshire
M002	1989	M002 IVOR		Monorail	Skip wagon	Alan Keef Ltd	Stored
M003	1989			Monorail	Skip wagon	Alan Keef Ltd	Stored
	1977	PW 3 REDGAUNTLET				Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway	Originally built by Michael Jacot, rebuilt on new frames 1976.
	1979	"Thomas"				Telford Development Corporation	Frames built by Kierstead Systems & Controls; boiler and steam engine by Peter Bridges; wheelsets by Allens of Tipton; bodywork and final assembly by Keef. To Telford Horsehay Steam Trust c.1987
	1988				Motor rail 9932 rebuilt	Chilmark Mine & Teffont Quarry
	1988	8			Baguley 2w-2DM Railcar	Leighton Buzzard Light Railway	Rebuild of railcar to unpowered carriage.
	1993	1 DROMAD	OC		Kerr Stuart 3024 rebuilt	Cavan & Leitrim Railway
	1995				Drewry Cars 1495 rebuilt	Cavan & Leitrim Railway
	2001	STEAM ELEPHANT			Joint construction with Dorothea Restorations, replica of Steam Elephant.	Beamish Museum
	2004	COL. FREDERICK WYLIE			Hunslet 9349 rebuilt	Beeches Light Railway	Line being reconstructed at new location
	2004	3 ENTERPRISE			Motor rail 60S382 rebuilt	Waterford & Suir Valley Railway
	2019	Nancy			Avonside 1547 of 1908. Rebuilt between 1999 and 2019	Cavan and Leitrim Railway	[29]

See also

• British narrow gauge railways
• Lea Bailey Light Railway

References

• Alan Keef Ltd - Locomotives Built at Cote . Industrial Railway Record . 113 . Industrial Railway Society . June 1988.
• Book: Keef, Alan M.. A Tale of Many Railways: An Autobiography and History of Alan Keef Ltd. Lightmoor Press. Lydney. 2008. 978-1-899889-30-3.
• Book: Keef, Alan M.. Half a Century of Locomotives from Alan Keef Ltd. Lightmoor Press. Lydney. 2022. 978-1-915069-09-2.

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. http://test.whr.co.uk/stock/steam/baldwin-794 Baldwin 794/590 Loco description
2. Web site: www.isengard.co.uk .
3. Web site: Lea Bailey Light Railway - Alan Keef Open Day, 21 September 2013 . 20 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140223090901/http://www.leabaileylightrailway.co.uk/ak2013.htm . 23 February 2014 . dead .
4. News: Quine . Dan . Dan Quine. Trixie and the Meirion Mill Railway . Narrow Gauge World . November 2016.
5. Keef 2022, P8-12
6. Moseley recovers locos from last UK peat line. Narrow Gauge World. 150. August 2020. 10.
7. Web site: Thomason. Steve. The Springfield Agricultural Railway - Locomotives. 24 September 2013.
8. Web site: 3nd - Narrow Gauge Diesel / Petrol Locomotive Record No: 9445. UKLocos.com. 29 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002184904/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=9445&Location=Wellingborough. 2 October 2013. dead. dmy-all.
9. Web site: Best. Steve. Record No: 11976. Preserved Railway Stocklist. 1 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203093354/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11976&Location=Wells-%26-Walsingham-Light-Railway. 3 December 2013. dead. dmy-all.
10. Keef 2022, P8-12
11. Web site: Stuart. Flower Train. cymro76's photostream. 26 January 2013. Flickr. 18 November 2013.
12. 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
13. Web site: Best. Steve. Record No: 11973. Preserved Railway Stock List. 17 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104734/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11973&Location=Wells-Harbour-Railway. 18 May 2015. dead. dmy-all.
14. Web site: Record No: 11829. Preserved Railway Stock List. uklocos.com. 29 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002185009/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11829&Location=Ferry-Meadows-Railway. 2 October 2013. dead. dmy-all.
15. Web site: Record No: 11867. Preserved Railway Stock List. uklocos.com. 29 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002185435/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11867&Location=Buxton-Miniature-Railway. 2 October 2013. dead. dmy-all.
16. Book: Keef, Alan M.. A Tale of Many Railways: An Autobiography and History of Alan Keef Ltd. Lightmoor Press. Lydney. 2008. 978-1-899889-30-3.
17. Web site: Best. Steve. Record No: 11974. Preserved Railway Stock List. 17 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104741/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11974&Location=Wells-Harbour-Railway. 18 May 2015. dead. dmy-all.
18. Web site: Best. Steve. Record No: 11740. Preserved Railway Stocklist. 1 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203085347/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=11740&Location=Hotham-Park-Miniature-Railway. 3 December 2013. dead. dmy-all.
19. Web site: Record No: 10759. UKLocos.com. 29 September 2013. Preserved Railway Stock List. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002185320/http://www.uklocos.com/preservedrailwaystocklist/final-results.asp?action=display&Id=10759&Location=Lappa-Valley-Steam-Railway. 2 October 2013. dead. dmy-all.
20. Web site: LYNformation Bulletin No.60: Monday 11 September 2017. 8 May 2018.
21. Web site: New Haven Neil. Groudle Glen News. 25 September 2013.
22. HANDBOOK 18EL Amendment List No. 11 . September 2021 . 1076 . 1076/6 . Industrial Railway Society.
23. Web site: Hewitt . Sam . Keef No. 100 heads to revamped Wellington Country Park Railway . The Railway Magazine . 28 December 2021 . 2017-05-29 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191121045114/https://www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/2291/keef-no-100-heads-to-revamped-wellington-country-park-railway/ . 21 November 2019 .
24. News: Overseas News. 1042 . . January 2021 . Guadeloupe . 25.
25. Industrial Notes and News. Industrial Railway Society Bulletin . November 2020 . 1057 . 8.
26. HANDBOOK 18EL Amendment List No. 15 . May 2022 . 1090 . 1090/11 . Industrial Railway Society.
27. HANDBOOK 18EL Amendment List No. 25 . Jan 2024 . 1122 . 1122/2 . Industrial Railway Society.
28. Web site: Meet The Engines . Lappa Valley . 6 February 2024.
29. News: Bulletin . 1031 . . May 2019 . Industrial Notes and News . 13.