35029 Ellerman Lines

35029 was built at Eastleigh in 1949 and rebuilt there in 1959

BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.

Date Arrived	Depot
January 1948	Bournemouth
October 1949	Dover Marine
June 1955	Nine Elms
August 1964	Weymouth

It was withdrawn from service only seven years later in September 1966 having completed just 748,343 miles whilst in service. The locomotive was then sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers where it arrived in March 1967 and remained until January 1974.

This locomotive owes its preservation in the National Collection not to its technical or historical significance but due to the decision that the then new National Railway Museum should have a sectioned steam locomotive for educational purposes. It was decided that a rebuilt Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ 4-6-2 would meet the requirement, even though it incorporated some unusual features, particularly as regards the firebox, ie a steel rather than copper inner firebox, and thermic siphons.

Ellerman Lines was sectioned at Sewstern in 1974, on the ex British Steel iron ore quarry lines at the end of The High Dyke branch, which ran from High Dyke Junction at the north end of Stoke Tunnel on the east coast main line, south of Grantham.

Sewstern had been the site of one of the British Steel workshops and had the benefit of a 40tom overhead gantry crane as well as a fully equipped machine shop including a wheel lathe. Locally the workshop was known as the giraffe house as it was so tall.

By the time 35029 was sectioned the workshop had been taken over by the Buckminster Trust Estate as part of a preservation attempt and also to be a part of an industrial site to provide local employment.

The final finishing touches were put to Ellerman Lines at Market Overton, further along the British Steel network, at that time Pendennis Castle and Flying Scotsman were based there.

Home Base

Current Status

Owner

National Railway Museum – York

Section static display

National Railway Museum

NRM Object Number{1975-7021}