Reminiscences

" All rail cars had vertical boilers, the fire-hole is on top. Fire-hole covered by a handled lid. The Fireman had to throw in about a kilo of broken down small pieces of coal, the size of golf ball at a time, three or four times. The injector works continuously on the run. The bunker holds about 500 kilos of coal. The rail car that worked at Ratnapura goes to Opanayaka, a distance of 22 miles and back with 3/4th of the bunker (that is about 375 kilos). It was very cheap. No brick arch in these boilers."

from Mr Thibbotumunuwe, District Inspector-Mechanical.

"My father found that the finances of the railway had steadily worsened. In an attempt to increase its profitability he introduced new steam railcars instead of traditional locomotives because they would be cheaper to operate. The railcars were built by Sentinel-Cammell in Shrewsbury. After seeing various tests at the factory, my father ordered four cars and for the next few months travelled regularly between Shrewsbury and Jersey whilst they were being built to his exact specification. During these visits he got to know the directors well. They were grateful to him for such an important order and his easy going manner and air of bonhomie impressed them so much that they offered him a job at £750 a year, to sell their product in the East. The railway was still in decline and there was some doubt as to whether it could even stay solvent. My father, therefore decided to give up his job as manager before the whole company folded and accepted Sentinel's offer. A few weeks later he sailed East on a two year contract, involving travel to Singapore, Ceylon and Australia".

Extract from "More or Less", the autobiography of Kenneth More.

His father Bertie had introduced Sentinel-Cammell railcars to the Jersey Eastern Railway in 1927 and accepted the job as Sentinel-Cammell's agent.