See LNER class J94 for details.
This locomotive was built in 1943 by the Hunslet Engine Company for the Ministry of Defence. It then entered service as WD 75105.
This locomotive was built in 1943 by the Hunslet Engine Company for the Ministry of Defence. It then entered service as WD 75105 at the Longmoor Military Railway in March 1944.
In February 1945 this is one of the locomotives that was sent to France before moving on to the Netherlands. It was one of 27 locomotives that were loaned to Nederlandse Spoorweggen and subsequently sold to them in 1947 to become the NS 8800 class. This locomotive became NS 8815 and is one of three remaining examples of the class which were sold on to NS (Netherlands State Railways).
Two of its classmates are in the Netherlands – the first being HC1737 – NS8811, which has been returned to steam (with a brand new boiler) at Stoom Stichting Nederland (SSN). The other is HE3165 – NS8826, which is in the Zuid Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (ZLSM) in Holland.
The locomotive was based at Roosendaal until it was sold to Laura Mine for 15,500 guilders (approx. £1,500) as LV16 in June 1957. In 1970 it received a boiler from classmate LV15 (WD 75082 Hudswell Clarke 1739 which was scrapped in 1972).
The locomotive was in regular use until the summer of 1973 when it became a spare and was sold to Van Raak Tilburh a scrap dealer. It was then loaned to SSTT (Tilburg-Baarle Nassau-Turnhout preservation line) in 1975. After SSTT went bankrupt the locomotive was returned to Van Raak in 1982.
The locomotive was bought in poor condition and returned to Britain by P.E. Waters Associates Railway Engineers as 8812 in November 1988 and delivered to the Northampton Steam Railway.
It was then sold to D W Watkins of Liverpool in March 1989 with the idea of preserving the locomotive in NS livery at Southport Steam Centre where it moved to in October 1989.
The locomotive was then cosmetically restored at Steamport at Southport but moved to the Ribble Steam Railway (RSR) in 1999 when Steamport closed.
The locomotive was then returned to steam at the RSR which involved a considerable amount of work including boiler work, cylinder re-bores, new piston rings, a new bunker & plate work. As the locomotive had significantly altered during its service abroad the locomotive was rebuilt using components salvaged from the former NCB site at Walkden, who maintained and repaired the NCB locos allocated to the North West Coalfields. As a result, the locomotive has been given the name Walkden.
The locomotive had running in trials during August 2008 and returned to service at the end of that year.
It has been hired for use on a number of heritage railways.
Currently undergoing running repairs.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 