This locomotive was built by the Hunslet Engine Company in 1931 for a consortium of John Mowlem & Son Ltd. and Edmund Nuttal, Son & Co. (London) Ltd for use on the construction of the King George V dock at Southampton. It was one of six such locomotives supplied for this work.
The six engines had the following features-
- Tractive Effort – 11,760lbf
- Boiler Pressure – 160psi
- Cylinders – 15 inch x 22 inch
- Wheels – 3 feet 9 inch
- Weight – 30 tons 6 cwt
The six were delivered in three batches of two during July. On the completion of this contract, in 1933, the engines were transferred to Dover for work on the Train Ferry Dock.
In 1935 Edmund Nuttal brought them from the joint company and they were moved to Wallasey for use on the Sea Wall and Promenade contract until 1938.
During the first half of the Second World War ‘Cunarder’ was used on contracts for the construction of the Royal Ordnance Factories at Glascoed, Monmouthshire and Hirwaun, Glamorgan. The locomotive was also known to have worked for the British Sugar Corporation and as detailed below:
– April 1944 to August 1944 fort Whitehall Securities Corporation Purfleet Essex
– January 1945 to September 1945 for Samuel Williams and Sons Ltd, Dagenham Estate, Essex
– October 1947 to March 1948 for Ransomes and Rapier Ltd Ipswich Suffolk
– March 1949 to February 1952 for CEGB at Cliff Quay Power Station, Ipswich, Suffolk
– December 1952 to June 1953 for Metal Union (Plant Dealers)
– November 1954 to March 1955 for Samuel Williams and Sons Ltd, Dagenham Estate, Essex
Many of the above were undertaken with the locomotive being hired out to contractors. In March 1957 Cunarder was sold to Allied Cement Manufacturers (ACM) at Harbury.
In 1969 it was purchased for preservation by a group of Quainton Railway Society members (Cunarder Locomotive Trust) who moved it to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton in April of that year.
Whilst at Quainton the locomotive was steamed on many occasions.
It left Quainton in March 1976 and spent a number of years at Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers (APCM), Houghton Regis, Dunstable.
The next move was to the Swanage Railway where it operated as both a saddle tank and a side tank from 1981 to 1995. During this period the locomotive was converted from a saddle tank to a side tank although the saddle tank was retained for possible future use. The idea of converting it to a side tank came from the owners who also owned MR 1F 41708 at that time and thought it would be interesting to have the Hunslet locomotive look more like a Midland Railway engine. The application of the number 47160 was suggested as a joke by the owner of a model of the Fowler tank engine 47160 who was visiting the Swanage Railway.
In 1995 it went to the Lavender Line and ran there until the following year when it was taken out of service due to firebox problems.
It was then stored for several years at the Flour Mill in the Forest of Dean until 2004.
The next move was to the South Coast Steam Co Ltd at Portland in Dorset where it stayed until 2012.
In 2012 the locomotive was moved to a private site in Dorset where it is being restored as a saddle tank.
Current Location – Somerset & Dorset Steam, Poole, Dorset
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 