Scanned print circa 1984/5: One of a class of locos that totalled 85 examples, all but three of which were built by Beyer Peacock, with the exceptions being built at Nine Elms. No. 314 was built in 1874 and like the rest of the class was used on London suburban traffic, but the class was displaced by larger Adams tanks in the 1880s. Water capacity being an issue when they moved to branch line work, some of the class were converted to 2-4-0 tender locos in the 1880s and subsequently all but three of the class were withdrawn by the end of the 19th Century. The three survivors, however, found their niche on the tight curves of the Wadebridge and Wenfold Bridge branch, particularly on china clay trains. The three survivors, Nos. 298, 314 and 329, were placed on the duplicate list becoming 0298, 0314 and 0329. The first of many attempts to replace them was with made with an O2 4-4-0T that proved unsuitable, leading to the engines being rebuilt with new boilers in 1901/2. Re-boilered again by Urie in 1921, in 1929 No. 0329 was withdrawn at Eastleigh, only to be rebuilt and reinstated. Thereafter the trio survived into BR ownership becoming Nos. 30585 to 7, although curiously the new numbers matched neither the locos’ ages nor the LSWR number sequence, No. 0314 becoming 30585
In 1962 the locos were finally replaced by GWR 1366 Class 0-6-0-PTs and after a brief and well documented finale for 30585 and 30587 on rail tours in the London area, all three were withdrawn in December 1962. No. 30587 was preserved as part of the National Collection, initially being displayed at Buckfastleigh before completing a circle and returning to steam at the preserved Bodmin and Wenfold railway. Whilst Buckinghamshire may be a less appropriate home, 0314/30585 moved there after purchase by the London Railway Preservation Society and has become a treasured part of the collection at Quainton Road. At the time these two photos were taken the diminutive tank was in the queue for overhaul and realistically the opportunities presented by the ‘Steam on the Met’ events, probably meant work on Met No. 1 and GWR/LT No. 7715/L99 understandably took priority.
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