The Railway Magazine – July 2019

70 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019

Didcot’s ‘Saint’ unveiled

in full Georgian finery

£120,000 appeal launched to return Irish

preservation group’sSlieve Gullionto steam

THE Railway Preservation

Society of Ireland has launched

a £120,000 appeal to complete

the restoration of its semi-

overhauled flagship Great

Northern Railway (Ireland)‘S’

class No. 171Slieve Gullion.

The popular 4-4-0 last steamed

in July 2002, and in early 2014

it crossed the Irish Sea to

undergo a contract overhaul

by Rail Restorations North East

Ltd (RRNE) in Shildon, County

Durham.

Unfortunately, RRNE ceased

trading part way into the project

and No. 171 was returned

unfinished to Whitehead in

early 2015, where it has been on

public display since.

With GNR(I)‘Q’4-4-0 No. 131

now in traffic and‘V’No. 85

Merlinpart way through its boiler

ticket, the RPSI hopes to get

Slieve Gullionin traffic to allow

the locomotive to replace No. 85,

and ensure the society has the

required number of operational

locomotives in its main line fleet.

Some work has already been

carried out since the loco

returned to Northern Ireland,

most notably the installation and

testing of AWS safety equipment

in 2018. However, before it can

venture out again it requires

the overhaul of pistons and

valves, including fitting of a new

valve liner, the completion of

boiler repairs and a re-tube, the

big ends refurbishing, and the

mandatory electrical apparatus

such asTPWS, electric lights and

train radio equipment.

The tender has already been

overhauled and painted, and

was used in the early trials of

No. 131.This now requires a new

set of springs.

A package of incentives to

encourage donations has

been created, and more details

can be found at: http://www.steam

trainsireland.com/donate

GNR(I) No. 171Slieve Gullionpasses Ballinasloe with the RPSI’s

‘Corrib’railtour on May 11, 2002, just two months before retiring to

Whitehead for overhaul.CHARLES FRIEL

THE Great Western Society’s
re-creation of a Churchward
‘Saint’4-6-0 – No. 2999Lady of
Legend –is officially complete.
The milestone has been
achieved 45 years after donor
locomotive No. 4942Maindy
Hallwas acquired from Barry
Scrapyard in 1974.
The‘Saint’made its public
debut at Didcot, albeit cold and
in unlined black, in November
last year, followed by a formal
launch in steam on April 5.
However, the loco was still
incomplete at the time as the
application of full Georgian
GWRliveryhadyettobe
completed. This was carried out
during May, and a resplendent
Lady of Legendwas finally
unveiled to the public during
Didcot’s‘Hall & Saint’weekend
on June 7-9.
The loco has been completed
in the condition the original
‘Saints’would have been seen

in around 1912, fully lined out

in middle chrome green and

finished off with the addition

of an oval brass builder’s plate

beneath the smokebox which

reads‘Great Western Railway

Company, Didcot Works, 2018’.

The plate also declares that

No. 2999 has been given the

GWR works number 3540.

No. 2999 was joined in service

by Gloucestershire Warwickshire

Railway-based Hawksworth

‘Modified Hall’No. 7903

Foremarke Hall (RM June), which

was making its first visit to

Didcot.

Its presence enabled the

GWS to‘bookend’the story of

the Great Western’s use of the

‘Swindon No. 1’boiler on 4-6-0

types, which was first employed

on the‘Saints’and finally on the

‘Modified Halls’.

To illustrate this the two

operational locos took part

in a photographic line-up

outside the loco shed together

with resident‘Hall’No. 5900

Hinderton Halland No. 7903’s

classmate No. 6998Burton

Agnes Hall. All that was missing

was a‘Star’and a‘Grange’.

When not on display,

Nos. 2999 and 7903 could be

found on the demonstration

line, often working individually

and sometimes as a pair.

Double-heading provided an

opportunity to compare the two

types, which were built some

four decades apart, but whose

common ancestry is strikingly

evident.

Foremarke Hallremained at

Didcot work services on the June

15-16 weekend before returning

toToddington.

No. 2999, meanwhile, will settle

down for a period of running-in

at Didcot, where it will remain for

the rest of this year.

The GWS has received a number

of requests for the hire of the loco,

and it is expected it will make its

first away visit during 2020.

Right: No. 2999Lady

of Legendshows off its

newly completed GWR

livery during the Hall

& Saint Weekend on

June 8.

NIGEL VALENTINE

Below:Lady of Legend

and the vintage

train passes‘Hall’

No. 5900Hinderton

Halland‘Modified

Halls’Nos. 6998Burton

Agnes Halland 7903

Foremarke Halloutside

the Didcot shed on

June 9.PETER ZABEK

Steam & Heritage Track Record

COMPILED BY

GARY

BOYD-HOPE

Call: 01507 529589

email: gboyd-hope

@mortons.co.uk

Your reports and

pictures are most welcome.

Highly competitive rates

are paid, especially if

exclusive toThe RM.