Quote:
Originally Posted by hereward
2-8-0 8F WD, In my Ian Allan they are numbered 90000 to 90732 then under that Vulcan. Any idea what that refers to?
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935 of the WD Austerity 2-8-0s were built between 1943-45. After WWII 200 of the locos were purchased by the LNER, becoming class O7 & a further 533 were purchased by the British Transport Commission in 1948. Together with the ex-LNER locos, the 733 locomotives were numbered 90000-90732 by BR, the last of these No.90732 was named 'Vulcan', after the Vulcan Foundry where it was built.
None of these ex-BR locos survived, but No.79257 has been preserved at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway & given the No.90733 - the next number in the BR sequence. This loco had been returned to the UK having seen service in Sweden post-war.
The 2-10-0 version of the WD Austerity had the same power output as the the 2-8-0, but with the added driving axle gave the locos a lower axle loading, therefore a greater route availability. 150 of the 2-10-0s were built between 1943-45 and 25 of these were acquired by BR becoming Nos.90750-90774. As with the 2-8-0s, none of the ex-BR locos survive, but three locos are preserved in the UK, plus one in The Netherlands, and a handful survive in Greece although some of them are dumped and derelict.
No.600 'Gordon' (originally No.3651) is preserved at the Severn Valley Railway and it's entire career was spent in WD service, latterly at the Longmoor Military Railway.
Nos.3652 & 3672 saw post-war service in Greece before being repatriated in the early 1980s. No.3652 moved initially to the Mid Hants Railway and was restored in Longmoor Military Railway livery as No.601 'Sturdee', before moving to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where it was repainted into BR livery as No.90775 - the next in the BR numbering sequence. 90775 later moved to the North Norfolk Railway and has since been named 'The Royal Norfolk Regiment'.
No.3672 was returned to steam at the Lavender Line, Isfield and named 'Dame Vera Lynn'. No.3672 also later moved to the NYMR where it is currently awaiting it's next overhaul.
No.73755 'Longmoor' is preserved at the Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht.
Tony