Caracus Smash Ltd

*This article is about the company. For the man, see Caracus Smash. For the engine of the same name, see Caracus Smash (engine).*

* **Owner:** Caracus Smash
* **Constructed**: 1971
* **Status**: Open

**Caracus Smash Ltd** is a company owned by Mr. Caracus Smash , and is currently located at Galen Junction, Kent, and is connected to the Dark Railway. The business was previously located in Saxonhurst, Kent, before Mr. Smash relocated to the DR.

## History

### Saxonhurst Site

The yard which eventually became Caracus Smash Ltd was originally constructed by the Southern Railway during the war, for use as a storage yard for damaged rolling stock. After the war, the Southern Railway auctioned off the yard, with Mr. Smash (who was interested in setting up his own business) winning the auction. He continued scrapping rolling stock, usually under contract from the Southern, and later, British Railways.

By the late 1950's, Mr. Smash had begun a program of restoring rolling stock for future use, as he was an avid steam enthusiast. By the late 1960's, many locomotives saved by the yard had been sold on, or were being restored to working order.  In 1969, Mr. Smash made the decision to have the yard refurbished to become a fully functioning locomotive restoration facility, with the work being completed over the course of a few months. After this, the yard became the main repair facility for the locomotives of the Dark Railway, with several engines being sent for overhauls and general repairs.

In 1971, Mr. Smash decided to move his business to Galen Junction, on the Dark Railway. In preparation for this, he completed his contracted work at the original site, and began moving all of his property off the site and onwards to the new facility on the Dark Railway. Once this was done, he sold the land to a developer, who wished to build housing on the site, with the entire yard being redeveloped later in 1971.

### Galen Junction Site

Mr. Smash had long desired to move his business somewhere else, due to the isolated location of his old yard. After a fire devastated the old MPD at Galen Junction in 1969, Mr Dark, Mr. Smash and Mr Chairman decided to regenerate the site, with Mr Dark leasing some of the land to Mr. Smash so as to build an entirely new and modern facility for his company. The new facility was completed in 1971.

The new Caracus Smash Ltd is located on reclaimed land at the junction, with a much larger undercover workshop being built to accommodate repairs and overhauls for steam and diesel engines alike, therefore becoming the Dark Railway's main works (after Gothland Works closed some years previously). A year following their arrival, the works site acquired a new works shunter in the form of English Electric battery electric shunter No. 909 ("Buzz"), who was obtained from the Dark Railway Preservation Society in exchange for the previous works shunter, 04 diesel shunter No. D2217 "Mr. B".

In 1978, Caracus Smash Ltd was closed to outside contractor work for an extended period of time. While the official line was that the works building was undergoing maintenance, the actual reason was so the works could finish work on a secret project that had been in the works for some years: a replica of the long-scrapped Dark Railway 4-8-2 No. 1202. The construction of 1202 was completed in 1980 with normal work on the Dark Railways fleet of engines resuming shortly after.

## Layout and Facilities

The yard  in Saxonhurst was rather small but compact, with an extensive yard for storing rolling stock purchased by the company. The new facility at Galen Junction has two large workshops, offices, storage buildings and a shed and charging station for the works shunter, Buzz. In 1976, a traverser was installed in front of the main workshop as a space-saving measure, replacing the sprawling yard complex that previously provided access to the building.

## Current Projects

A number of locomotives are presently inside the works undergoing overhaul, restoration or construction. Present projects ongoing inside the works include.

**STEAM**

* GWR 5400 Class 0-6-0PT No.5405. Undergoing Overhaul & Major repairs to valve gear + cylinder (1980-present)
* SR N15 "King Arthur" Class 4-6-0 No.785 Sir Mador de la Porte. Undergoing Overhaul & Major repairs to firebox (1980-present)

**DIESEL**

* N/A

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

#### Saxonhurst Site

Episodes:

* Series 5 - Repulse, Time Waits for No One (*mentioned*) and Time Waits for No One, Part 2 (*mentioned*)
* Series 6 - Trepid (*mentioned*), Plunk 'n Bang (*mentioned*), The Prime Time of your Life (*mentioned*) and Apply Overnight
* Series 7 - Smashing! (*mentioned*), Ey Up? (*mentioned*), Mothership Reconnection (*mentioned*) and What a Clarence! (*mentioned*)

#### Galen Junction Site

Episodes:

* Series 7 - Mothership Reconnection (*mentioned*), Rollerskate Disco (*mentioned*), What a Clarence! and The Man in Overalls (*mentioned*)
* Series 8 - Revolution 909, Colossus and Outro
* Series 9 - 9, Goose (*mentioned*), Rock'n Roll, Rock Shock, Time Wasted, Extend Extra and Pogo / Mere Anarchy
* Series 10 - 101 (*mentioned*), Welcome to the Tunnel, Body Angels, Tunnel Vision (*mentioned*), The Road to Bellgrave, Coaled Weight, Dirty Colossus, Quack Attack, Buckin' Hell and Barry the Steam Engine
* Series 11 - The Times and Relations (*mentioned*)
* Series 12 - Ventura, 1202 and Fresh

Specials:

* Mere Anarchy
* Phantoms Can't Hang

## Trivia

* The set used for the original Caracus Smash Ltd. was custom made by Dark DJ himself. The set was also used to represent Barry Scrapyard in the first episode of *Gary the Steam Engine*, A Great Problem F\*\*\*s Off.