See LNER class J94 for details.
This locomotive was built in 1945, to a Hunslet Engine Company design, by Hudswell Clarke for the Ministry of Defence. It then entered service as WD71505 when it was delivered to the Longmoor Military Railway (LMR) in March 1945.
It latter carried the number WD118 and name Brussels
Unlike most of these locomotives it spent its entire working life under the ownership of the War Department based on the LMR in Hampshire.
The locomotive was damaged in an accident in June 1953 and withdrawn from the LMR stock. It remained derelict there until it was rebuilt to War Standard Specificattion by the Hunslet Engine Company in May 1958. It was also fitted with vacuum brake and Westinghouse air brakes. The locomotive was then used for the training of footplate staff at Longmoor in the techniques of oil firing.
It was also converted from coal firing to a Laidlow Drew oil burning system with the coal bunker having been fitted with an oil storage tank.
The locomotive was taken out of service around 1967 because of a shortage of fuel oil.
In January 1969 the locomotive was sold to J Baldock, Brussels Preservation society and housed at Hollycombe Steam Collection at Liphook.
The Ministry of Defence closed the Longmoor facility in 1970 and announced that it was intended that the railway would be closed. Some enthusiasts then planned to use the line as a private tourist railway and this locomotive was bought to operate on it. The scheme fell through and the locomotive was offered to the Worth Valley Society who purchased it and moved it to Haworth in September 1971.
It steamed again at Haworth in 1972 when it was found that in did not perform as well as Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn locomotive Fred (Works No 7289 & WD71480) which was built to the same design. Subsequently work was undertaken to redesign the plastpipe and chimney which significantly improved the locomotives performance. It was also found that the performance improved if lighter grade oil was used.
In 1988 it was taken out of service for its 10 year internal boiler examination.
The locomotive is now on static display at Oxenhope on the Keighley Worth Valley Railway and there are no plans to return it to steam.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 