WD 71516 Welsh Guardsman

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WD 71516 Welsh Guardsman
WD 71516 20200307.jpg
WD 71516 Welsh Guardsman at Bridgnorth
Built By Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns
Configuration 0-6-0ST
Status Serviceable, temporarily resident
Loco Number WD 71516
Other Numbers Works Number RSH 7170/1944
History
Built 1944
Designed By Hunslet Engine Company
Type WD Austerity
1947 Entered NCBNational Coal Board service
1980 Preserved
2013/14 Overhauled and rededicated
2020 Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway
Technical
Length 30ft 4"
Weight 48t 5cwt
Tractive effort 23.870 lb
Pressure 170 lb/sq in

Steam Locomotives

WD 71516 "Welsh Guardsman" arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway in February 2020 as a temporary resident.

The War Department Austerity 0-6-0ST was the standard World War II shunting engine, designed by the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds and built between 1942 and 1946 to the requirements of the Ministry of Supply. A number of these engines were also built by sub-contractors including WD 71516. After the war construction continued for use in industry; a further small batch was also built for the War Department in the 1950s including former SVRSevern Valley Railway resident WD 193 Shropshire.

WD 71516 in service

WD 71516 was built for the War Department by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns in 1944 as Works Number 7170. After wartime service ended, the locomotive was bought by the National Coal Board in 1947, working at several locations in Northumberland. In 1959 it moved to South Wales, working at Cynheidre Colliery and later Graig Merthyr Colliery, near Pontardulais. From 1976 until 1980 the locomotive was retained at near Pontardulais as a source of spares, before being saved by the Welsh Industrial & Maritime Museum[1][2].

WD 71516 in preservation

The Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum was located in Butetown, Cardiff and closed in 1998 with its exhibits redistributed.[3]

On arrival at Bronwydd Arms on the Gwili Railway, WD 71516 was rebuilt using parts from other locomotives including the boiler from Hunslet No. 3822 and the cab and tank of Bagnall No 2758. The locomotive was given its war department number 71516 and named "Welsh Guardsman" in a special ceremony at Bronwydd Arms.[1] The locomotive was last overhauled at Llangollen between 2011 and 2013,[4] after which it was rededicated at a ceremony at Bronwydd Arms on 9 June 2014.[1]

On 27 February 2020 WD 71516 arrived by road at Bridgnorth. The SVRSevern Valley Railway announced that it had ...agreed to host Welsh Guardsman while the owner decides on the operating opportunities for the loco during the 2020 season. Bridgnorth Locomotive Works will undertake some examination and maintenance work and we will potentially have the chance to use the locomotive.[5] The 2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic meant the locomotive stayed at Bridgnorth with occasional steamings within station limits only for exam purposes until, on 7 December 2020, the SVRSevern Valley Railway announced that the locomotive was on hire to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.[6]

The locomotive is owned by Felinfoel Brewery[1].

See also

Steam Locomotives

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gwili Railway (retrieved 28 February 2020)
  2. Preserved British Steam Locomotives website (Retrieved 19 November 2021)
  3. Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum on Wikipedia (Retrieved 29 February 2020)
  4. UK Locos (retrieved 28 February 2020)
  5. 'Welsh Guardsman touches down', Branch Lines March 2020 (Retrieved 7 December 2020)
  6. 'Meet Our Locomotives', SVR Website (Retrieved 7 December 2020)

Links