75069

75069 at Welshpool - September 1991 large version.jpg

75069 was completed at Swindon in September 1955 and was equipped with a double chimney in October 1960.

As one of the batch of locomotives allocated to the Southern Region it was attached to a BR1B tender which was able to hold 4,750 gallons of water.  This was because there were no water troughs on the Southern Region.

Motive power depot allocations.

Date ArrivedDepot
September 1955Dover Marine
May 1959Bournemouth
November 1959Stewarts Lane
August 1963Nine Elms
May 1965Eastleigh

In 1959 the locomotive replaced a failed Standard class 5 locomotive, which had failed, on a Victoria to Ramsgate working with a load of ten coaches. Despite being ten minutes late at Chatham due to some subsequent fast running it arrived at Ramsgate only three minutes late.  

It was withdrawn from service in September 1966 and sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers. It arrived at the scrapyard in Barry in May 1967 and remained there until March 1973.

It was saved from the scrapyard by The 75069 Fund who own the locomotive. It was diesel hauled from Barry to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) and arrived at Bridgnorth in July 1974.

Work on restoring the 75069 began in earnest in 1977 following the return to steam of British Standard class 4 tank engine 80079. The locomotive was back in steam and operational in 1984.

Although a Southern machine, 75069 was painted in Brunswick green to coincide with celebrations of 150 years of the Great Western Railway in 1985.

75069 operated on the main line and in 1992 it attended the Ashford 150 celebrations.

75069 was out of service from 1994 for a number of years as it required an overhaul which started in 2013. The overhaul had been regarded as a lower priority than some of the other locomotives requiring attention at Bridgnorth.

The locomotive is planned to be back in service in late 2017 and be painted in authentic BR lined black livery for the first time in preservation.

In May 2017 the frames were re-wheeled and subsequently the motion was reassembled.

By the end of 2017 it was hoped that the locomotive would be back in traffic on the SVR in 2018. At this time extensive repair work to the boiler was still ongoing.

By May 2018 the locomotives rolling chassis was complete and ready for the boiler to be fitted which was expected to be done the following month. The hope then was that the locomotive which last ran in 1994 would be back in steam in July or August 2018.

By the middle of 2018 the boiler of the locomotive had been filled with water in readiness for a hydraulic test. After this had been completed the boiler was trial-fitted into the frames and clad

In August 2018 a fire was lit in the grate of the locomotive for an out of frames steam test. Following the successful completion of the test work started on cladding the boiler and reuniting it with the frames.

In December 2018 the locomotive underwent its first steam tests and light engine runs. Its first moves under its own steam for 25 years.

Having completed 300 miles whilst running in in December 2018 the locomotive entered traffic in February 2019. The total cost of the overhaul was estimated to be £900,000.

In July 2019 the locomotive was partially derailed when it struck a fallen tree whilst running light engine on the Severn Valley Railway.  The only part of the locomotive derailed was the engine’s bogie. It was expected that the locomotive would be back in service September 2019.

Home BaseCurrent StatusOwner
Severn Valley RailwayOperational75069 Fund
75069 at Oxted – 1961
75069 thought to be on Stewarts Lans shed – December 1962
75069 at Queens Road – September 1964
75069 possibly at Oxted – Date unknown
75069 and 47406 in Woodhams scrapyard at Barry. 75069 has been tidied up ready for departure to the SVR.
75069 at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway – 1973
75069 at Bridgnorth – August 1974
75069 under restoration at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway – July 1979
75069 at Newport – July 1985
75069 at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley railway – c1989
75069 at Welshpool - September 1991.jpg
75069 at Welshpool – September 1991
75069 at Gloucester Central – 1998
75069 at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway – March 2009
75069 at Highley on the Severn Valley Railway – March 2019
75069 at Highley on the Severn Valley Railway – March 2019
75069 at Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway – March 2019
75069 at Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway – April 2019

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