See LNER class J94 for details.
This locomotive was built in 1953 for the Ministry of Defence by the Hunslet Engine Company to the design used to supply to the Ministry of Defence and is thus regarded as an Austerity type locomotive.
It was delivered new to the Longmoor Military Railway in February and was placed in store.
Numbered WD192 it was put to work on the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire.
In July 1955 it was reported to be working at Histon and in May 1959 it was at Bicester.
By May 1961 it was in store at the Royal Engineers Stores Depot, Long Marston, and in 1968 it was renumbered WD92 and named Waggoner in recognition of its service with the Royal Corps of Transport.
In April 1969 the locomotive was stored at Proof & Experimental Establishment Shoeburyness.
During 1974 the locomotive was transferred to Marchwood Military Port, Southampton, in order to work the internal passenger train service. It continued to work around the dock yard system until 1979 when its ten-yearly boiler overhaul was due.
It returned to Shoeburyness for the boiler work and a heavy overhaul, a boiler repair facility was maintained at Shoeburyness by the Army Railway Organisation in order to repair the steam cranes that were still in use on the ranges there. The overhaul included a repaint into Longmoor Military Railway Oxford Blue livery, with red lining. On being declared fit for use it was, along with sister engine WD198 ‘Royal Engineer’, passed into the care of the Royal Corps of Transport Institution which at that time had responsibility for historic Royal Corps of Transport artefacts.
Agreement was reached that the locomotive should be retained and used at Shoeburyness as a VIP train with the historic Kitchener coach with the MOD paying for its continued use and insurance. It was seldom steamed and fortunately spent most of its time stored under cover.
The locomotives very last task at Shoeburyness was to move the Army’s only surviving rail-borne gun, which had been parked on a short siding at Shoebury for many years. This 18″ gun had a total weight estimated at about 180 tons and it was known that at least one of the axles had seized solid. Immediately forward of the gun position the siding ran across a level crossing, which was set in concrete.
Due to the soft nature of the terrain, the track under the gun had sunk by at least a foot leaving a short, sharp climb up to the crossing. A pair of diesel locomotives had failed to budge this monster, but using a double coupling and full regulator this steam locomotive lifted the whole thing up and across the level crossing. The Gun and its carriage were displayed for many years outside the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich and has now been moved to the Royal School of Artillery at Larkhill in Wiltshire.
In June 1984 Waggoner was taken to Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot for what proved to be the final Aldershot Army Show, where it was exhibited as part of the Royal Corps of Transport display. During the two-day show it was kept in steam with the regulator handle bolted closed, the footplate being visited by over 50,000 people, most of whom contrived to blow the whistle.
This was to be its final steaming in Army hands and, after the show it was loaded onto a Royal Engineers trailer, (which had a stated maximum load capability of only 35 tons), and was taken to the Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, for permanent exhibition.
Apart from one brief spell when it was loaned for display to a theme park in the Midlands ‘Waggoner’ remained at Beverley. Direct responsibility for both No.92 and No.198 passed to the National Army Museum in 2001. In the summer of 2003 the Museum of Army Transport was unfortunately forced to close by financial problems and, following a period in store, the National Army Museum decided to place ‘Waggoner’ on loan to the IWSR. where it can now be seen alongside sister engine WD198 Royal Engineer.
Waggoner was moved by road from Beverley to Havenstreet (the home of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway) in February 2005.
An initial inspection of the boiler and mechanical parts was carried out shortly after arrival and the work necessary to return her to service, including a boiler re-tube and the fitting of Westinghouse air brake equipment, was rapidly completed. The locomotive was steamed for the first time on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway during May 2006.
In May 2008 the National Army Museum transferred the ownership of both Army locomotives (WD192 Waggoner and WD198 Royal Engineer) to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
Waggoner is currently out of service and undergoing a thorough overhaul.
In January 2022 it was anticipated that the overhaul would be completed before the end of the year.
The boiler was fitted back onto the frames of the locomotive in July 2022 at Havenstreet.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 