4566

4566 was completed at Swindon in October 1924.

4566 started its working life at Newton Abbott but by 1938 was to be found at Bristol Bath Road. By 1947 it was based in Penzance.

BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.

Date Arrived	Depot
January 1948	St Ives
February 1948	Penzance
June 1948	Helston
July 1948	Penzance
August 1948	Helston
September 1948	Penzance
October 1948	St Ives
October 1948	Penzance
December 1948	Helston
February 1951	Penzance
September 1961	Laira (Plymouth)

It was withdrawn from service at Plymouth Laira in April 1962 and sent to Woodham Brothers scrapyard. It left there in 1970 after being purchased by the 4566 Group.

The engine had received a relatively recent (circa 1960) overhaul at Newton Abbot – actually being the last engine to be overhauled there and when completed it was driven out of the works by the Town Mayor, who was a Newton Abbot locomotive driver.

The locomotive was saved for preservation as it was considered to be in generally good condition despite having some parts missing. The locomotive was bought following an appeal by the 4566 Fund.

In August 1970 4566 was hauled to Bewdley from Barry as part of freight trains.

The overhaul took nearly five years, undertaken in the open air in all weathers – as some of the early stalwart volunteers will readily attest. These were still pioneering days for standard gauge preservation and the restoration was quite different from the extensive overhauls undertaken today. It was fairly basic with, for example, only part replacement of 91 boiler tubes, some steelwork on the bunker and a new ashpan. 4566 first steamed in the preservation era took place in June 1975, with its first trip to Bridgnorth, double-headed with Ivatt 2-6-0 46521, following a week later.

The next overhaul was after it was stopped running with a tube issue – not the new tubes fitted by the 4566 Group during their overhaul – after nearly five years in traffic. Its second preservation-era overhaul commenced in 1984 and it returned to traffic in mid-1986 in BR lined green livery, the same as last out-shopped at Newton Abbot.

In 1995 the locomotive was stopped on expiry of its 10-year boiler ticket with an overhaul commencing at Bridgnorth in August 2004 followed by a return to steam in November 2006.

A celebration was held in June 2015 to mark 40 years of life of the engine running in preservation since it steamed again in June 1975, during which time it had travelled 102,000 miles.

4566 was steamed for the last time in early January 2017 before being taken out of service following the expiry of the boiler certificate.

As it is probable that the Severn Valley Railway will regard the overhaul of a smaller locomotive that is not owned by the SVR as a lower priority it is likely to be some time before it steams again.