SR Merchant Navy Class 35027 Port Line

35027 "Port Line" was one of a batch of ten SR Merchant Navy Class steam locomotives built by the Southern Region of British Railways between 1948 and 1949. Completed at Eastleigh Works in December 1948, she was named on 24 April 1950 in Southampton Docks. She was shedded at Bournemouth with others of the class such as "Canadian Pacific". Along with the rest of the class "Port Line" was rebuilt by removal of the air-smoothed casing (at Eastleigh in 1957) and this rebuilding made them more like the BR standard class engines of the time. Two years later she pulled the Royal Train from Windsor to Hamworthy Junction. Last working from Weymouth in 1966, she was withdrawn at the end of steam in 1967 and sent to Barry Scrapyard.

"Port Line" was not as lucky as her sister 35028 "Clan Line" which went straight into preservation. She stayed in the scrapyard until 1982 [cite book|author=Warren, Alan|title=Barry Scrapyard: the preservation miracle|publisher=David & Charles|year=1988|isbn=0715392093] when she was saved and this was put into a BBC documentary "The train now departing" (episode six). After restoration she was based at the Bluebell Railway before moving to the Swanage Railway for repairs to her boiler. She was sold in 2004 to Jeremy Hosking and moved to Southall where she is to get the boiler from "Holland America Line" so she can be restored to mainline standard.

Locomotive statistics

*Wheel arrangement: 4-6-2
*Length: 71 ft 7¾ in (21.84 m)
*Wheelbase: 61 ft 6 in (18.75 m)
*Driving wheel diameter: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
*Boiler pressure: 250 psi (1.73 MPa)
*Cylinders (3): 18" bore x 24" stoke (457 x 610 mm)
*Tractive effort: 33,495 lbf (148.99 kN)
*Weight in working order: 94 tons 15 cwt (96,270 kg, c. 212,240 lb)

ee also

* Southern Locomotives Ltd

References