London & South Western Railway, 1885

£20.00

Locomotives 2 1847-1901

In stock

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Description

Designed for the LSWR’s inner suburban network, these locomotives were displaced by electrification, and the entire class were scrapped by 1927 except for two which were retained to operate the Lyme Regis branch sharp curvature made the use of anything other than this class of loco impossible. Other classes were tried, but they either couldn’t cope with the heavy loaded holiday trains or were too inflexible for the many curves. This loco though had been sold to the military during the first World War, and in 1919 was sold on to the privately run East Kent Railway. In 1946 it was bought by the Southern and overhauled to provide relief for the other two Lyme Regis engines, and the three operated the branch until 1960. No 488 is now operated by the Bluebell Railway at Sheffield Park, Sussex. No.488 was chosen by the Bluebell since, out of the three, it was closest to original condition at the time of withdrawal, having an original Adams boiler. Following several spells in traffic over the next 30 years it is the boiler which now prevents this fine Victorian engine from steaming. It will require a complete new boiler barrel before it can work again, but one of our volunteer groups has it in mind as a project for the medium-term future.

Additional information

Dimensions 43 × 25.5 cm