6990 Witherslack Hall

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6990 was built at Swindon in 1948.

During the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges this locomotive operated over the Great Central main line.

BR motive power depot allocations.

Date ArrivedDepot
April 1948Old Oak Common
December 1950Oxford
January 1952Old Oak Common
October 1963St Philips Marsh
May 1964Bristol Barrow Road

It was withdrawn from service in December 1965 from Bristol Barrow Road shed and sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers at Barry. It entered the scrapyard in February 1966 and remained there until November 1975.

It was bought by the Witherslack Hall Locomotive Society and it arrived on the Great Central Railway (GCR) in November 1975, having operated on the line during its British Railways days. Restoration was completed in 1986.

It was withdrawn from service on the GCR in January 1992 for boiler repairs after which it returned to traffic in January 1996. It was taken out of service again in August 1999 but returned to traffic again in the following year.

After suffering continuing boiler problems 6990 was withdrawn from again service on the GCR in 2001 and in October of that year it went to the Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley for a full ten year boiler overhaul.

Whilst at Tyseley boiler repairs progressed as funds allowed. During this time the Witherslack Hall Locomotive Society found that, having been involved with 6990 for more than thirty years, the strains of continuing support were becoming too great. It was felt that to secure the future of the locomotive on the GCR changes had to be made. Discussions with The David Clarke Railway Trust led, in January, 2006, to the Trust taking over the ownership of the locomotive. It was very quickly decided that the locomotive would return to the GCR where the boiler repairs would be completed and 6990 returned to traffic.

In October, 2013 the boiler was sent to Tyseley for the completion of fast track repairs whilst work on the rest of the locomotive continued at Loughborough on the GCR. The overhaul was completed in October 2015 when 6990 returned to steam once again.

Home BaseCurrent StatusOwner
Great Central RailwayOperationalDavid Clarke Railway Trust
6990 Witherslack Hall at Old Oak Common shed – 1963
6990 Witherslack Hall waits to depart from Devizes with a Paddington to Trowbridge train – May 1963
6990 Witherslack Hall leaves Bristol Temple Mills with a parcels train to Plymouth – November 1963
6990 Witherslack Hall on Southall shed alonside class 6100 6117 – December 1963
6990 Witherslack Hall at Bristol Temple Meads hauling empty stock – 1964
6990 Witherslack Hall at Bristol Temple Meads station on a train to Weymouth – April 1964
6990 Witherslack Hall in the scrapyard at Barry – 1972
6990 Witherslack Hall at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – August 1986
Frames of 6990 Witherslack Hall at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – January 2013
6990 Witherslack Hall & 34053 Sir Keith Park in the early morning light at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – January 2016
6990 Witherslack Hall at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – January 2016
6990 Witherslack Hall at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – January 2016
6990 Witherslack Hall at Rawtenstall on the East Lancashire Railway – June 2017
6990 Witherslack Hall at Rawtenstall on the East Lancashire Railway – June 2017
6990 Witherslack Hall at Bury on the East Lancashire Railway – August 2018
6990 Witherslack Hall at Quorn & Woodhouse on the Great Central Railway – January 2019
6990 Witherslack Hall at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway – January 2022

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