41241

41241 was built at Crewe in 1949. It was withdrawn from service at Skipton in 1966 shortly before the depot closed in 1967.

In the National Archive is the correspondence covering the moving of the locomotive Llandudno Junction to Skipton. It clearly states that it sent to Skipton to work the Worth Valley branch goods train. The branch had closed in 1961 and this was commented upon by an unknown hand at Euston, when sending the memo back to Crewe where the comment was added; “send in any case; will employ at least two men and use some coal”.

Astonishingly, the move was made and at least one Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) volunteer remembers it passing his school in Keighley as it arrived from Skipton more or less every day, light engine, about noon. On arrival 41241 was parked in the Banana Siding alongside the long demolished goods shed, where it stayed for about three hours doing absolutely nothing, rather than work the branch goods, had it still been open and operated. 41241 then went back to Skipton about 3.30 p.m. having done nothing at all. It did this utterly pointless exercise for at least two years, presumably employing at least two men and burning lots of coal; a remarkable comment on the objectives of a nationalised industry.

BR motive power depot allocations.

Date Arrived	Depot
September 1949	Bath Green Park
May 1958	Bristol Barrow Road
September 1958	Bath Green Park
October 1959	Wellington
January 1964	Leamington Spa
June 1964	Wellington
June 1964	Bangor
July 1964	Croes Newydd
June 1965	Llandudno Junction
August 1965	Skipton

It went to Haworth in 1967, under its own steam, and was painted in maroon livery in time to work the inaugural train (together with 30072) when the Worth Valley Railway (as it was originally called) was reopened in 1968.

The locomotive is perhaps the most typical branch line passenger locomotive on the KWVR and it is appropriate that it should be a regular performer on the passenger trains.

For this very reason also, it was the most suitable engine to display the KWVR contribution to the development of British steam railways in the 1975 Shildon Cavalcade, marking the 150^th Anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington line.

Since then the locomotive has been repainted in its original BR lined black livery.

In 1988 the locomotive was withdrawn from service, having become due for its 10-yearly boiler removal and examination.

The engine was retired from service again in 2013 at the expiry of its 10 year boiler ticket. The plan is to have the locomotive back in operation in time to take part in the 50th Anniversary of the re-opening of the branch, in 2018. The cost of the work required on 41241 was estimated in 2014 to be of the order of £350,000. Much of this work on the boiler was undertaken at the Severn Valley Railway workshop at Bridgnorth. In early December 2017 the boiler passed its hydraulic and steam tests at Bridgnorth.

The boiler was lifted back onto the frames at Haworth in January 2018.

When it returns to service it is planned to have it in the red livery it carried when it first ran on the KWVR.

At the end of March 2018 the locomotive moved under its own steam when it clocked up two miles running up and down the Haworth loop.