During the Second World War, the 'Big Four' railways were still in existence, but under Government direction. Riddles was seconded to the Ministry of Supply to ensure that locomotives were available for the war effort. One of the classes he chose to manufacture was Stanier's '8F' freight locomotive and orders were distributed amongst a number of workshops. This is how the locomotive numbered 48624 post-war came to be manufactured by the Southern Railway at Ashford Locomotive Works. It was delivered in 1943, one of a batch of 13 locomotives built there and was initially allocated to Willesden M.P.D. on the L.M.S.
After a little over 20 years service, the locomotive was scrapped in 1965 as part of the frenzy to eliminate steam and languished in Barry scrapyard until 1981, when a group of enthusiasts purchased the locomotive and commenced restoration at Peak Rail's Buxton site.
The problems Peak Rail experienced at Buxton necessitated a fresh start at Darley Dale and so 48624 relocated to the South Yard at Darley Dale to allow work to continue. The amount of money and dedication necessary to restore any locomotive from Barry condition, particularly a large one like an '8F', is hard to imagine. It took 28 years of hard work by the volunteers of the 48624 Society to bring the locomotive back into steamable condition and in that time some of the stalwarts have passed on. Almost all the work has been carried out in the open air - it's only in the last few months that the locomotive was moved to the new Locomotive Shed at Rowsley, offering a significant improvement in working conditions.
On the 25th April 2009, the locomotive moved under her own steam for the first time in 43 years. Alan Taylor made a video of this historic event. To watch Alan's historic video, Click here.
During the restoration, the locomotive had been painted in British Rail black, numbered '48624' and with the 'star' symbol on the cabside (indicating that the locomotive had improved balancing and was suitable for working high-speed freight trains). But, at a late stage, the controversial decision was made to turn her out with the L.M.S. running number '8624' and L.M.S. express passenger livery which, of course, is historically incorrect. The Power Classification has been altered to '8P', to correspond with the livery.
I imagine there'll be some debate about the appearance of the engine. My view is that people who have expended such a super-human effort in bringing the locomotive back to life have a perfect right to choose the livery. Although I have some personal reservations, it can't be denied that she looks very handsome in the chosen colour scheme and I'm sure the general public (as opposed to the rivet-counters) will approve. Click here for my pictures.
The public debut of the locomotive in revenue service is set for 23rd May 2009 at Peak Rail - click here for the Peak Rail website.
